ask a cmpro | how do you keep organized for tax time?

CMmentor, April Nienhuis has been gathering some questions for our CMpros from the CM community.  It’s so interesting to see the different responses and the thought processes that go into the choices they make.   Being that tax time is fast approaching, this week we asked the question “What are your methods for keeping your business income, receipts, etc. in order throughout the year?”

Jaclyn Michele

I could never quite get the hang of Quickbooks, so I use the BizBooks Excel spreadsheet from Tenille King. I keep it open and minimized in my dock at all times to remind me and every time I have information to record, I do it right away. It keeps me super organized and makes tax preparation a breeze with everything laid right out for me. Super simple and effective. Love it.

Monica Wilkinson

I use Bizbooks. I keep all my clients invoices and contracts in a three ring binder. I also keep a separate section for reciepts and business expenses. After each client I enter all thir information in Bizbooks. At the end of the year I print out all the information and take it to my CPA. He is a godsend and keeps me on track. The best advice I can give is to keep all your receipts and try to get all of your information recorded after each client. That way you will not be bogged down at the end of the year.

Courtney Keim

Quickbooks. I invoice all my clients and process all payments/invoices through my Photocart – this includes session fees. I then can pull that data from there and enter it into Quickbooks since I’m such a procrastinator. I also love that Millers allows you to download all your purchases. I then send everything to my accountant.

Amber Scruggs

OUTSOURCE! I was a business major in college and the one class I hated was accounting. As soon as I set my business up I found a local small business CPA who has been doing all of my bookkeeping and taxes ever since. She’s a godsend and worth every single penny I pay her. She has access to all of my accounts and tracks every penny I spend and earn.

Tiffany Bender

I keep it simple. I have a 3 ring binder where I print all my bank statements and put all receipts into monthly categories. I then highlight income and expenses. From there it gets shipped to my accountant! I do what I am good at and delegate the rest!

Stacie Turner

I use an online system called Outright. I enter information every month, every quarter it suggests an estimated tax payment and at the end of the year it creates a schedule C for me.

What are you doing to keep up with all your paperwork for tax time this year?  We’d love to hear about it – share with us in the comments!

Thanks to April for a fun article and to our CMpros for sharing with us!  Have a question of your own for our CMpros?  Make sure to check out our “Ask the Pros” section of the CMforum!