Opening your own business can be very satisfying experience. You will like freedom and flexibility you never imagined. You will also work harder than you ever have before but it feels entirely different when you are working for yourself. Here are some tips to help you get started on the right note with your record-keeping.

Keep Receipts for all transactions: If you pay for everything with a check, debit card, or credit cards this may not seem needed. As an accountant I can guarantee you it is a must. The IRS will reject deductions if you do not have receipts to go with your bank and credit card records.

Avoid Cash: Easiest way to get into difficulty with IRS is to pay for things with cash and then not have a receipt. For many of us we are in a habit of using cash the time we were kids. For your own business, you need to avoid cash.

Deposit all your Income: It is very appealing to withhold cash from your business receipts but I advice you do not. Instead be insistent with your expenses. If you are in an business where cash deals are regular the IRS will look for proof of cash deposits in your checking account. If they are missing you will have a lot of questions to answer.

Use QuickBooks: This software is simple to learn and simple to use. Within a few hours after installing you can be producing your own professional financial statements. It is the software I use for my own accounting/tax business, for my clients accounting to create client Financial Statements and Payroll Reports. I wrote a book which can be a very good tool for any individuals and business owners My QuickBooks Quick Start.

Report Employees Earnings Timely: There are numerous services on the market that will be glad to do your Payroll Reports and process your employee checks. Shop around and get the best deal. QuickBooks is a solution for your Payroll needs as well. In some cases to do the payroll can be very complicated but if you can handle it you will save a lot of money for yourself or your business.

Use a Business Credit Card. Using a business credit card has many benefits. You can regularly find one with no annual fees, 0% introductory interest rate and even cash rewards. At the end of the year you will be given a summary of all your expenses by category. Provide this to your accountant along with your other records at tax time. This will make your accountants job easier which should lower his/her fees.

There are a lot of other items to think when starting your own business as I mentioned in my book My QuickBooks Quick Start but I encourage you to speak with your accountant as soon as possible before you take your accounting needs in your hands.

Will help individuals and businesses with their bookkeeping, accounting, financial and tax needs.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 26th, 2009 at 9:35 pm and is filed under Bookkeeping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.