Is your financial disorganization costing you?
This is a scary question. Is your financial disorganization costing you? Or worse, how much is your financial disorganization costing you (because if your finances are not in order, I can virtually guarantee it is costing you something).
Do you struggle to keep your financial paperwork under control? Do you have little piles of receipts all over your office, or are they shoved in a box to hand over to your accountant at tax time?
There are two secrets to keeping on top of it all so you are not missing important deductions and your poor accountant is not pulling their hair out at the end of the year!
- Set up a filing system that is easy to use and accessible.
- Do a little bit often.
Setting up your filing system
Paper systems
The simplest filing system mirrors your accounting system. The categories you use when entering your expenses into your accounting system will be the same ones you use for your filing. Make a folder for each category of spending you get receipts for. Now each week, after you enter your receipts and invoices into your financial tracking system (ledger, spreadsheet, Quickbooks, etc.), simply drop the receipts into the appropriate folder. You will keep track of your spending and your income and know where you stand each month.