Taxes Filed? Now Improve Your Records

May 8th, 2012 → 9:40 am @ Carol

I preach the importance of record keeping all the time to tax clients, writers, and business owners!

Record keeping is the life-blood of a successful business

 

Forbes  has a get article on

Tax Return Filed? Now Consider Your Records

Here’s an excerpt:

No one likes organizing records. If you just finished your tax return filings the last thing you want to do is look at them again. But now is the perfect time and it pays dividends. Here’s why.

If you’ve ever tried to tell the IRS “I lost my receipt” you don’t want to do it a second time. The IRS has heard every excuse in the book. See IRS Publication 552. You’ll find it far easier if you don’t have to go to the additional effort of proving something by another means.

If you’d rather not read an IRS publication on record keeping, try my easier-to-understand chapter on simple record keeping in  Business Tips and Taxes for Writers.

For many busy writers record keeping can become an
unnecessary ordeal. With some advanced planning this can easily
be avoided. I recommend that authors keep their system as simple
as possible and expand their bookkeeping needs as their business
grows. The system described here uses single entry bookkeeping,
not double entry bookkeeping that is taught to accountants. Record
keeping can be easily recorded on paper, in a spreadsheet program
or on a computer.

-Chapter Nine: A Simple Bookkeeping Method from Business Tips and Taxes for Writers

 

Carol Topp, CPA