Jennifer Hofmann is the queen of organization here at My Organized Biz, so the pressure was on when she asked me to help with one of her own organization issues.

Jennifer sent me a photo of her receipts piling up and said -

I can’t get myself motivated to enter my receipts. The picture features my system of sorting them, but it’s not working because they’re now piling up on my desk.

Seriously, it’s embarrassing, but I haven’t put them in my Excel spreadsheet since the end of January. And every time I try to use the desk, I have to shove them around or try to ignore them but it’s not working.

In a perfect world, I’d enter them regularly, like weekly. But I am so busy it’s just not happening. I’d love some ideas about how to make it more fun, less painful, or just have them disappear into thin air.

My Suggestions:

My first suggestion is to minimize the number of receipts you need to deal with by -

• Direct debits – For regular expenses e.g. phone, internet, mail etc. see if you can get your bank to direct debit these from your account so the payment goes through the bank.
• Credit card payments – For non regular purchases, use a credit card, but make sure you pay it off before the interest starts to kick in so it is cost neutral. Both direct debits and credit card payments will show on your bank statement so you have the details without the receipts.

For the remaining receipts –

Instead of letting them pile up, put them straight into an accordion file or 3-ring binder with pockets, divided into suppliers and/or date order. They will be in order ready for you to enter them on your Excel spreadsheet when you are ready.

They will also be off your desk, and out of sight, which may help both space wise and psychologically.

If you really hate this task, and thinking about it is affecting productivity, would you consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant? If you can’t justify the expense, maybe there is a task or service you could barter as a swap.

Have fun, Jennifer. I look forward to the “After” photo when you have tamed those pesky receipts.

Yvonne Russell is a freelance writer and professional blogger at Grow Your Writing Business, Small Biz Mentor and Home Biz Notes.

Post from: My Organized Biz

With time quickly elapsing toward April 15th, Jess and I talked about small businesses and what to do if you haven’t started yet.

Jen: Welcome, Jess! Everyone’s wondering – can a small business really get their taxes in on time at this date?

Jessica: If the business has a tax filing deadline of 4/15, yes – there is still time to get their taxes in on time. It’s possible. The biggest question I have to ask in response to your question is “how organized and prepared are their books?” If a small business has their books up-to-date, there is still plenty of time to file by 4/15.

If the business’ books aren’t up to date, it might be a bit more challenging, so I’d suggest striving for an on-time filing while knowing that an extension is available if necessary. I must note that if the business is an incorporation and they haven’t filed, they’re already late as that due date for filing was this past Monday – 3/17, as 3/15 fell on the weekend.

Jen: What are some of the ways you’d suggest to speed up the process so they get them in on time?

Jessica: Start now! Run, don’t walk, to call or e-mail your favorite financial service provider! I’m only half-joking. If a small business owner isn’t ready to file their taxes, now is the time to seek professional help. It’s not impossible to have a professional bookkeeper get your books together in a jiffy and if you’ve done a decent job of staying organized throughout the year, you may be more prepared than you think.

Most of us in this industry are ready and waiting for clients to call during the next couple of weeks. We’ve cleared our plates and we have the time to dedicate to your last minute bookkeeping projects. It’s much easier for us to get things done at this last minute than it is for most small business owners to stop working and focus on bookkeeping and tax preparing. So if you’re really overwhelmed and unsure how to move forward – seek help! Having professionally prepared books will make it very easy for your tax preparer to file easily and on time. Your CPA will smile when you pass over financial statements or a reconciled QuickBooks file, instead of an overflowing shoe box.

Jen: You’re not the first person to mention “staying organized year-round” in these parts. If I were one of those people with a shoe box, how do I know if filing an extension is a better idea for me?

Jessica: A qualified bookkeeper or tax preparer can certainly help to evaluate whether it’s better to file an extension or if things are in line for filing a quality tax return. In general, whenever there’s a chance that mistakes might be made because of a rush job, I always suggest filing an extension with an estimated payment, instead of over cramming to file a return that may end up needing to be amended – which can be costly in and of itself in many ways.

The biggest thing to remember when you file an extension is that you should still start focusing on the project now and not return it to the backburner again, because many business owners who file an extension find themselves in the same jam when the extension filing deadline arrives. So take action now, even if you’re going to file on extension.

Jen: So, what’s the time investment of filing for an extension versus just completing my taxes now?

Jessica: The key to filing an extension is that it’s simply an extension of time to file, not an extension of time to PAY. It’s almost impossible to just file an extension without any prep work. To figure out how much you owe in taxes, you may find that you need to complete the entire project, which might even lead to filing your taxes on time. But if the project is a full year’s worth of bookkeeping, it’s definitely less time consuming and more feasible to make a good guess and submit the extension request with a payment.

Then you can tackle the project and get the filing done ASAP and send in any additional payment, if necessary. I wish I could answer this and just say it’s easy to file the extension and it takes no time at all. But the key is making a sufficient payment and to calculate that, you need info from the books!

Jen: Makes sense. I know you’re a really caring person, so would you share some words of encouragement for those of us who’ve not yet submitted their taxes?

Jessica: If you’re in this boat, you’re not alone! I receive many, many phone calls from new clients with huge bookkeeping problems and projects at this time of year. And the good news? The problems get addressed, the books are handled, and the returns eventually get filed.

Having a tax filing challenge is actually a great opportunity to learn. It’s an opportunity to investigate a solution that will prevent this from happening again next year. Often it leads to the discovery that keeping up with the bookkeeping, optimally through outsourcing, is a phenomenally helpful process that can help grow your business. Plus, a good bookkeeper can uncover unexpected or overlooked deductions and provide feedback on how to increase profits, reduce taxes, and improve cash flow. Not to mention deliver peace of mind at this time of year, when so many small business owners are overwhelmed by tax time.

Jen: Great stuff! You actually make it sound like fun! Thanks for your time, Jess.

If you want to know more about Jessica’s work, check out her business Behind the Scenes LLC, a virtual bookkeeping firm.

And if you’re looking for great tax advice and suggestions, check out Kelly Phillips Erb’s TaxGirl blog.

Your turn! Are your taxes ready? How far do you have to go?

Post from: My Organized Biz

Creating an organized business means that you can lovingly care for your financial health – including what’s owed to the government.

Today, I’m happy to be featuring an interview with Jessica Reagan Salzman, owner of Behind the Scenes LLC which does virtual business bookkeeping for people who are tired of being in the dark when it comes to money matters.

Jessica has also been called “the marriage saver” because of the assistance she has provided to husband/wife owned companies and the amazing difference it has made in their lives. As a home-based business owner herself, Jessica understands the unique advantages and challenges of running a business from home.

Jen: Welcome, Jessica! This has got to be the Season O’Stress for business owners. Let’s start by talking about why do you think people get so overwhelmed during tax season.

Jessica: I think most people end up overwhelmed during tax season because most people put off things that aren’t fun or enjoyable. And last time I checked, most people don’t find the process of filing taxes to be fun or enjoyable!

It’s easy to end up overwhelmed when you have a huge project hanging over your head. Especially when you are not even sure what first step to take in order to get that project done and off your plate.

Jen: That’s a really great point – something as big as taxes needs to be broken down into small, sane steps.

So, what would you say are some things that small business owners can be doing right now to get ready for April 15?

Jessica: The first thing any small business owner should do right now, if they haven’t already, is pull together all of their business’s bank and credit card statements for 2007, along with any other business financial paperwork (loan statements, unpaid bills, invoices issued to customers/clients, etc.).

Many small business owners try to tackle their business’s money matters on their own, but unless they are in the bookkeeping or accounting business, it’s usually much easier (not to mention less stressful) to have outside help!

Once they have their paperwork together in one place, they can then contact a professional for assistance. If they are using financial software like QuickBooks, it’s still very important to have the assistance of a professional to ensure that the software is producing accurate reports.

Jen: Speaking of money, what things can small business owners do to help them reduce tax preparer costs?

Jessica: The best way to reduce your tax preparation expense is to have your business’s books in the best possible shape before passing them off to the tax preparer. This is where the cost of professional bookkeeping assistance immediately pays off as a return on your investment. I’ve had some clients tell me that their tax prep bill was more than cut in half and the only change they had made was having a bookkeeper!

Jen: Great tip! Now, you run a business – how are you doing on your own tax preparation?

Jessica: That’s a great question! Because I stay on top of my own business’s books on a monthly basis, I’ve had my books pretty much ready for tax prep since my December bank statement was generated and available via online banking. Other than a few 1099s that are still trickling in, I’m almost set to pass my books off to my favorite CPA!

One of the beauties of doing my books throughout the year is that I’m always “in the know” regarding how much I should be paying in estimated taxes. It’s a great planning tool to help me grow my business each month.

Jen: Great – I guess it would pay off to copy what you do! In the big picture, what can people do to prevent their Jan-April 15th stress?

To reduce pre-tax stress, it’s helpful to have a system (customized so that it works for you!) in place throughout the course of the year. That way you do not end up with a huge project after January 1st.

If tax season causes you a great deal of overwhelm, it’s time to partner up with someone who can show you a better way so that you don’t end up repeating this pattern year after year. Most business owners are surprised to learn that there are some simple and low investment steps you can take to get a handle on your business’s money matters, quickly and easily!

Jen: Thanks so much for stopping by, Jessica! I feel ready to get my taxes ready (one small step at a time)!

Post from: My Organized Biz