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Osnaživanje, stil i inspiracija spajaju se u svakom izdanju našeg magazina.
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June 1, 2026
When starting your own business, keep one thing in mind: taxes and social contributions are among the biggest expenses small businesses face in Serbia. Tax burdens and related costs can take away up to a quarter of your income — and that is far from insignificant. Every dinar you save on taxes matters. Running a business without a clear tax strategy can lead to serious financial problems and losses, especially in the early stages. For women entrepreneurs, this is even more important because many of them run businesses “on the go,” constantly juggling the roles of manager, salesperson, marketing expert and financial analyst.
In practice, small mistakes quickly become major expenses. Choosing the wrong tax model, poor documentation, unreported or incorrectly recorded expenses, delays in tax obligations or badly planned business growth can cost a company hundreds of thousands of dinars over the course of a year — money the business never actually had to lose.
The mistakes that make women entrepreneurs pay more tax than necessary
Paradoxically, most of these mistakes have little to do with tax fraud or breaking financial laws. They usually happen because of poor information, weak planning and the desire to “play it safe.”
At the very beginning, when they are just starting a company and have little experience, women entrepreneurs make one of the most important financial decisions for their business: lump-sum taxation or profit-based taxation. Lump-sum taxation means fixed monthly taxes and contributions, while profit-based taxation depends on actual income and expenses and changes from month to month. One option is simpler and cheaper; the other allows for growth but comes with additional administrative costs. The biggest problem is not choosing the wrong model initially — it is failing to reassess that choice when the business changes. That is when losses begin.
Lump-sum taxation usually works best when a business has relatively low costs and a simple operating model. But once a business starts growing seriously, things change. If a large portion of income is reinvested into marketing, equipment, contractors, education, software or office space, profit-based taxation often becomes more cost-effective. Under lump-sum taxation, the state does not care how much money you actually reinvest into the business — the tax remains the same regardless of your expenses. With business accounting, those expenses reduce taxable profit and therefore reduce taxes. This is where many women entrepreneurs lose money unnecessarily.
There is also the opposite problem. Some women switch too early to full business accounting because they believe lump-sum taxation looks “unprofessional” or because they fear tax inspections. This increases administrative work and costs long before the business actually benefits from such a system. That is why tax decisions should never be made out of fear or habit. What matters are the numbers: revenue, reinvestment, business activity and growth plans. Every six months, entrepreneurs should review their taxation model with an accountant.
If you run a small business, it is crucial to separate company money from personal money immediately. One of the biggest traps for women entrepreneurs is turning the company account into an account for everything — fuel, groceries, household expenses, children’s school costs, emergencies, but also software subscriptions, contractors and taxes. At first it seems practical, but after several months it becomes financial chaos that is extremely difficult to control.
The first problem is documentation. Once personal and business expenses become mixed, it becomes almost impossible to prove which expenses actually belong to the company. Receipts disappear, payments are poorly recorded and accountants are often left trying to repair incomplete records afterward.
The second problem appears when an expense has no clear connection to the business itself. Tax authorities do not care whether the money was truly spent — they care about proof, purpose and a direct connection to business activity. The more personal transactions appear on a business account, the harder it becomes to justify legitimate business expenses. That is where tax risks grow. If an expense cannot be properly justified, it may not be recognized as a deductible business cost, which ultimately means paying higher taxes.
A large number of women entrepreneurs in Serbia pay more tax than necessary because fear and uncertainty prevent them from using legitimate deductible business expenses. Small women-owned businesses often avoid reporting expenses because they fear those expenses may not be accepted during a tax inspection. As a result, they increase their taxable base and end up paying more every month.
In reality, many common business expenses are perfectly legitimate if they are properly documented and clearly connected to business activity. This is not about inventing expenses — it is about accurately recording real investments into the business. Legitimate business expenses may include laptops, phones, cameras, printers, software, AI tools, subscriptions, advertising costs, education, conferences, office rent, internet, travel expenses, collaborators, bookkeeping services, website maintenance and many other operational costs.
This issue becomes especially important for women running online or home-based businesses. Many assume they have no “real” business expenses even though they pay for internet, software, equipment, advertising and education required for their work. On the other hand, private purchases cannot suddenly become business expenses simply because they were paid through a company account. That is the difference between legal tax optimization and inventing fake expenses.
Most entrepreneurs realize how important a good accountant is only once problems appear — when a warning arrives, taxes suddenly increase or obligations become too complicated to manage alone. Until then, many business owners see accountants merely as people who “sign reports.” That mindset often creates one of the most expensive problems small businesses face.
A bad accountant is not just someone who makes technical mistakes. It is someone who never advises you, never warns you and never communicates proactively. A good accountant should alert you when:
you are approaching taxation thresholds,
your current tax model no longer works,
expenses are becoming risky,
revenue growth changes your tax obligations,
or your business structure may create future problems.
Without this guidance, problems usually appear later: delayed filings, disorganized documentation, uncontrolled tax growth, penalties and interest charges.
When you complete work for a client and issue an invoice that remains unpaid, you have not simply “missed a payment” — your business is already losing money. The moment an invoice is issued, it becomes taxable. Even if the money never arrives, on paper the work has already been completed successfully. This creates situations where revenue appears to be growing while the company lacks actual cash to cover taxes, contributions, contractors or operating expenses.
This becomes especially dangerous when several major clients delay payments at the same time. Even profitable businesses can suddenly face liquidity problems. That is why businesses need clear payment rules: deadlines, deposits, contracts and procedures for late payments. A small business cannot function as an interest-free loan provider for clients.
Growth itself is good news — but only if you are prepared for it. Many women-owned businesses in Serbia begin as side projects, freelance work or small additional income streams. At first, everything seems simple: a few clients, one monthly payment, minimal expenses and manageable administration. But once revenue starts growing rapidly, complexity increases just as fast.
More clients mean more invoices, international payments, digital services, contractors, advertising platforms and new tax obligations many women entrepreneurs do not anticipate early enough. This is especially true for online businesses working with foreign clients or digital platforms. Eventually, the business no longer functions like a simple freelance operation, but the entrepreneur continues managing it the same way. That is why many women entrepreneurs end up in a paradoxical situation: the business is growing, revenue is increasing, but financial stability feels weaker than before.
Even if you manage every detail carefully, taxes can still become a nightmare if the business has no reserve fund. Every small business should maintain financial reserves, especially businesses run by one person. Illness, lost clients, seasonal slowdowns, pregnancy or unexpected expenses can destabilize operations very quickly. Many women entrepreneurs immediately reinvest every dinar back into the business or use it for personal expenses without building a safety buffer. Only when problems arise do they realize how dangerous it is to run a business without enough savings to cover at least several months of basic costs.
Financial stability does not simply mean that a business is currently earning money. It means the business can survive periods when things stop going according to plan. That is why part of every company’s revenue should regularly be set aside as a reserve for taxes, contributions and unexpected situations.
