Receipts - what to do with them
(www.myorganizedbiz.com) - If there’s something we all have to deal with, it’s receipts. We need them for our taxes, we request them from employees for reimbursement, we keep them in case we should have to return something to the store.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in receipts. And I want a solution.
Right now, I have an accordion file where I drop my receipts by category. It helps when it is time for taxes. But I also have a pile of receipts waiting to go into said file.
All I really want to do is get rid of all of the paper clutter. Additionally, some of those thermal paper receipts just don’t last. If I don’t immediately write down the amount and what it was for, it’ll fade so bad that it will be useless. So what can I do?
I’m thinking of getting one of those little receipt scanners. Something small, but fast so I don’t spend hours scanning and managing my files. I saw some at Fry’s yesterday and I was sorely tempted. But before I can do that, I need to do a little research. Is it cost-effective? Will it really help me reduce paper? Will the state and federal government accept scanned copies in lieu of the actual paper?
Maybe I can hire my college-age daughter to scan and catalog the receipts for me. (Delegating is another organizational skill that we’ll address later.) But I don’t know if it’s the way to go. Yet.
Do any of you scan your receipts? Does it help you? Is it worth it - for your needs?
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9 opinions for Receipts - what to do with them
Thursday Bram
Jul 2, 2008 at 6:17 am
As I understand it, if you were to be audited (knock on wood!), the IRS would ask for the actual paper receipts.
Scanning them in is great — but you still have to bundle up your receipts and store them somewhere.
Leslie
Jul 2, 2008 at 6:29 am
We file all receipts by month in a small (check-sized) accordion folder. Once the checkbook is balanced each month, we shred the receipts for consumables (gas, groceries, restaurant receipts) and keep only those for items that might need to be returned or exchanged. It seems to work well and keep the clutter down!
Becky
Jul 2, 2008 at 7:54 am
@Thursday - I can’t remember if they’ve decided to allow scanned receipts, so I need to check on it. The gov’t is always the last to adopt stuff like that, it seems.
And since Apple e-mails me receipts and doesn’t print them, I would have to give them some electronic receipts. Same with my credit card statements. As we get into more electronic billing, they’ll have to adjust that stance.
(Or maybe make me print out a copy of those that are electronic? I’m not sure.)
@Leslie - I do the same with gas and bank receipts, keeping them until I balance the books and then tossing what I won’t need. But my tax files are still huge. If I could just put a CD in the file with electronic copies of all of my receipts, I’d be a lot happier.
Jennifer Gniadecki
Jul 3, 2008 at 8:19 am
I don’t scan my receipts, I’m not sure if that’s what I should do. Many of the receipts I get are either difficult to read or already partially black from the warmth of a cash register already.
What I do is when I get home I write on the back of the receipt what it was for, the date, and how much it was.
On those thermal receipts I put a label on the back with the information. That way if nothing else I have the original receipt and what it was for along with the date and cash outlay.
Does anyone else do that? Is it a good plan or a bad plan?
Becky
Jul 3, 2008 at 9:00 am
@Jennifer - I have to write what it was for, date, and how much, too. Too many of those darn receipts fade out to where you can’t read them. I haven’t been audited, so I’m not sure how the government views it, but I would think writing it on there would be better than a faded, almost blank receipt.
Kelly
Jul 3, 2008 at 10:25 am
The IRS does allow for scanned receipts. See Rev Proc 97-22.
The key is to be able to reconstruct enough of your transactions so that they make sense to IRS. So writing notes to memorialize the expense, etc., is always a good thing.
Becky
Jul 3, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Thanks, Kelly. I knew you’d have a handle on what they allow.
The key to scanning stuff like that, though, is to name things so you can find them again later. It doesn’t do you any good to scan if you can’t find them. And even if I scan, I still have to enter them into my expense tracking.
Monica Kelly
Jul 9, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Last year I set up a simple excel spread sheet for my tax related receipts. I enter them (usually) the same day and them file them in an accordion folder. The dividers in the accordion file are labeld with the same titles as the column headings on the spread sheet.
At tax time I print out the spread sheet for my accountant. After filing, I file the actual receipts with that years return.
I’d be happy to share a master copy with anyone who is interested.
Becky
Jul 13, 2008 at 11:30 am
Monica, I guess what I do is similar. I enter things into Quicken, and put the receipts in an accordion folder w/labels to match the categories. I’ve done my own taxes in the past, but this next year I may just have to find a CPA.
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