Those D*amn Receipts

daArch

How do you all organize your receipts and records of misc spending?

Jeesh, I can remember as a "kid" on April 13 I'd start collecting everything and adding a year's worth of records in two days. Glad I weren't audited

Anyway, as the end of the month is approaching, I'm trying to log in my loose receipts (supplies, parking, tolls, dinners, gas, etc) into my accounting spread sheet.

Do you all do this Monthly? Weekly? Daily? Neverly?

After you have logged them, how do you save them for the required IRS time frame (is it four years now?) File Cabinet? Coat Closet? Shoe Box? Water Closet ?

Anyway, I'd love to hear some suggestions to help organize my new office.

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

MattCoops

We have a weekly ledger that keeps a running total of expenses (in their respective categories) and income. It is filled in on the weekends.
Reciepts are stored in a file and then filed weekly in their respective expense folders.
Mileage log kept in each work van and filled in daily.
Estimated taxes paid quarterly for state and feds.
End of year, ledger, mileage logs, and reciept folders are handed over to CPA.
She puts her stamp of approval on it and we send it in to Uncle Sam.

I like to get it over and done with so around the second week of January everything is filed.

It's not a hard or daunting task to accomplish as long as you stay on top of it.
If you get backed up then you start to get to the point of pulling your hair out.

It's like doing the dishes.
If you rinse em off and put em in the dishwasher one by one everything is kept clean.
It's when you get behind, and put it off, leaving a pile in the sink.
Then you got to listen to the wife.

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
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mahlere

these days it's easy...pay for everything with a credit card or check...a business credit card will give you a breakdown at the end of the year...your checkbook will give you the rest...

Susan Betz

For the actual records, I download the bank account to Quickbooks and sort from there - everything is paid for with check or debit card, and most expenses are recurring. That's the easy part. The hard copies are strewed between several folders and date ranges.

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KentWhitten

get one of those books from staples, the black ones. when you get something, write it down, when you go somewhere, write it down. log everything. you can also get a portable mp3 player and record things, or voicemail yourself. keep track of things because the day the IRS shows up, you'll be happy and ready.

It gets to a point where you forget what you did this morning or yesterday, or two days ago. You'll lose your mind. Write it down immediately, or right after. Once you get in th habit, you'll be fine.

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Teetorbilt

Enter into Quickbooks almost nightly (really late nights get carried over). I'm not so good keeping up with with books which is why I hired people to do them. On my own, I have to do it ASAP.

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reveivl

I keep every receipt under the sun, hand it all in to the bookkeeper every month or so, they walk across the office to the accountant once a year and it's done. Costs me a bit for the bookkeeper, but I know myself, and that I would get far, far behind on it, and stress out. The bookkeeper is cheaper.

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GregS

I write down on each one of them if they were materials, tools, office or gas. Then I stuff them into a folder labelled with the appropriate month and hand them over to a book keeper. She figures out everything for me and enters them into Simply Accounting.

A book keeper is cheap and really really helps with maintaining these things.

Bone Saw

http://www.neatreceipts.com/index.asp

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daArch

NO ??!?!? REALLY ?!?!?!

Chris, do you have one ??? Does it really organize info from receipts onto a database and/or spreadsheet ????

If this does as advertised, it may be worth the $230.00

I hear what all you say. And I go in spurts. Faithfully logging in info on the spread sheet once a week , but then I start doing what I'm REALLY good at - procrastinating. And a month or so will go by. And yes, all of a sudden I can't remember what I bought at Lowe's for $250.

I'd love if the montly card statement was enough for Uncle Sammy, but my tax guy advises to have better details than that. I do try to put everything on plastic, but have you tried to give a toll booth collector a piece of plastic ??? (No, I have not gotten EZ Pass yet - I know I know)

But you all have some good tips, I still like the Neat Receipts the best. AND an excuse for a new toy .... ah, I mean TOOL

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

Bone Saw

sure do

sure does

worth every penny

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Chester County Custom Decks
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