Keeping accurate business records is essential if you want to save tax money and have adequate records in case of, heaven forbid, an audit.
Keeping your business records can be accomplished in as little as 5 minutes per day. And what a reward come tax time. You could save hundreds or even thousands of tax dollars and pocket the money instead of giving it to Uncle Sam!
Recording your expenses in order to take the largest possible deduction on your income tax is not hard or time consuming.
Make the following a habit and you might be surprised how quickly little things add up to big tax savings and more money in your pocket!
You need to record EVERY transaction into your Accounting Software. The easiest way to do this is spend 5 minutes every night or morning and "post" the days receipts.
One way to make sure you have all the receipts "posted" is to use the following method:
Make a folder on your desktop labeled "Daily Receipts" For anything you purchase online, save a copy of that in your "Daily Receipts" file.
Cash receipts should be put in a folder on your desk.
Post these 2 files daily and it should only take you a couple of minutes.
Make a file in My Documents called "Tax Back Up Files". File your daily online receipts in this folder.
Keeping your receipts by month in your "Tax Backup File" will make them easier to access.
You will want to back up these files at least monthly on a CD or DVD to keep with your year-end tax information.
After posting your cash receipts place them in an envelop. You should keep each month in a separate envelop.
Unless you have a problem with a bill you will probably never have to look at these receipts again.
Collecting receipts for everything that you do is a good habit to get into!
Over the year a lot of little deductions can cost you tax dollars! For instance did you go get copies for 50 cents and fail to post it in you accounting program. That's lost tax dollars!
It's guaranteed regular and consistent record keeping will pay big time at tax time! - 15485
Keeping your business records can be accomplished in as little as 5 minutes per day. And what a reward come tax time. You could save hundreds or even thousands of tax dollars and pocket the money instead of giving it to Uncle Sam!
Recording your expenses in order to take the largest possible deduction on your income tax is not hard or time consuming.
Make the following a habit and you might be surprised how quickly little things add up to big tax savings and more money in your pocket!
You need to record EVERY transaction into your Accounting Software. The easiest way to do this is spend 5 minutes every night or morning and "post" the days receipts.
One way to make sure you have all the receipts "posted" is to use the following method:
Make a folder on your desktop labeled "Daily Receipts" For anything you purchase online, save a copy of that in your "Daily Receipts" file.
Cash receipts should be put in a folder on your desk.
Post these 2 files daily and it should only take you a couple of minutes.
Make a file in My Documents called "Tax Back Up Files". File your daily online receipts in this folder.
Keeping your receipts by month in your "Tax Backup File" will make them easier to access.
You will want to back up these files at least monthly on a CD or DVD to keep with your year-end tax information.
After posting your cash receipts place them in an envelop. You should keep each month in a separate envelop.
Unless you have a problem with a bill you will probably never have to look at these receipts again.
Collecting receipts for everything that you do is a good habit to get into!
Over the year a lot of little deductions can cost you tax dollars! For instance did you go get copies for 50 cents and fail to post it in you accounting program. That's lost tax dollars!
It's guaranteed regular and consistent record keeping will pay big time at tax time! - 15485
About the Author:
Karin Russell has owned a small business specializing in tax preparation for home based businesses for 36 years. Her web site: Home Business Owners-Reap the Rewards offers more tax suggestions for home business owners. She highly recommends the book 'It's How Much You KEEP, That Counts! Not how much you Make' for all her clients.
