Tax time is probably the least anticipated time of the year. While most people cannot wait for the New Year to begin, there are those who are wise enough to remember that a new year also means doing the taxes again. Taxes don’t have to be as horrible as most people assume they are, especially if you follow some simple bookkeeping tips that many Austin bookkeepers swear by. These tips are IRS auditor quality (meaning they are more for the small business owner than the government official), but they are good enough for you to use in order to keep your numbers straight and the hair on your head.
The first Lonestar bookkeeping tip is…
Keep Detailed Records
Yes, that’s right. Making tax time easier can be as simple as making sure to cross all of your t’s and dotting all of your I’s. When you spend $5 on a box of staples, write it down in a log book (one per each of the following labels) and keep the receipt in a filing cabinet that is properly labeled. These labels should include:
- Business Expenses (office equipment, office supplies, utilities, rent for office or retail space, and travel expenses)
- Payroll (if you have employees)
- Vendors (people you buy goods and services from)
- Inventory (how much you paid for each inventory item)
While keep receipts may seem messy, if you file them by date and separate each individual stack using paperclips or rubber bands, you will actually make things easier on yourself. You can choose to keep your log books on your computer in an Excel spreadsheet, and purchase a specialty scanner to keep images of your receipts on your PC – this is becoming the norm with Austin bookkeepers.
Keep Copies
When a vendor hands you an invoice or bill, make a copy of it or scan it and keep it in a separate cabinet or computer file. Making copies allows you to have a backup plan in case things go missing, get lost, or get destroyed. Too many business owners have lost money and their records during a fire.
Get the Right Software
When it comes to keep track of numbers for taxes, the best software on the market is QuickBooks. San Antonio business owners and bookkeepers know the value of being able to login, input their numbers, track their numbers, and have those same numbers available at tax time. Quickbooks was designed by innovative Inuit, a company that has perfected business software. If you don’t want to write everything out long hand or store all of your business accounts information on your computer, you can buy the software and sign up for their online services which allows you to keep all of your records on secure server – just in case of fire or espionage.
Out of all the Lonestar bookkeeping tips you can learn, buying accurate and easy to use accounting software is one of the most important – more and more businesses are using Quickbooks. San Antonio businesses are joining in, and so are small businesses in Austin.
Bookkeeping is getting easier, so it only makes sense that taxes will get easier too…right?
