5 Tax Time Tips for Creative Solopreneurs

I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to filing my taxes. Mostly because I'm a full-time employee with a side gig so at the end of the year I have a lot receipts to add up to enter all my deductions. I used to be HORRIBLE at keeping organized but along the years I've discovered ways to make the process a lot less painful, thanks to technology. If you're not a numbers person and are having a hard time like I did, here are a few tips to help you stay on track. 

1. Use one credit card or bank card for all your business transactions. 
   I didn't do this at first. I get 1.5% back on my personal credit card, so I used to charge a lot of business expenses to it in order to get cash back. But keeping a separate business bank account and only using your banks debit/credit card for all of your business transactions makes the process a lot easier. You'll have access to all of your expenses in one place
2. Use the QuickBooks Self Employed app
   This has been a Godsend for me! It's linked to my business account and after every transaction I get a notification to review the transaction on the app. When reviewing, it gives me the option to categorize that transaction as: income, software, transaction processing fees, etc. The best part, I can "work" during my downtime. I often review them while I'm in bed at the end of the day, or in the afternoons while waiting for the barista to hand me my mid-day latte, or even at the dealership while my car is being serviced. It's sooo insanely easy and it doesn't even feel like work. 
3. Use a mile tracker
   I don't mean to sound like an ad for QuickBooks Self Employed (trust me, this isn't a paid advertisement) but I like that it has a feature that tracks your miles. I actually turned off the feature because I don't travel much for my lettering side gig. I do it all from the comfort of my own couch, so rather than having the app alert me to review each trip, I turned off the feature on the app and I created a Google spread sheet instead. I'll make sure to share my template on here shortly...after I finish my taxes of course! Cause it's April 14 and that's what I'm supposed to be working on today, instead of blogging. Yikes! 
4. Use spreadsheets
   If you don't want to invest in QuickBooks, I strongly recommend using a Google spreadsheet to keep track of all your income and expenses. You really don't need anything fancy, just a place to list and ad. The only reason why gravitated towards QB is because of the convenience. I know I'm not disciplined enough to enter every transaction into my spreadsheet on my own. However, you could set a reminder on your phone every couple of days and schedule time to enter your transactions. In a perfect world, that would totally work. In MY world, I'd be all "yeah, but let me check my Instagram first" and I'd find myself crying on April 15th once again lamenting the fact that I ignored all those reminders. But not you, of course. You are much more mature and disciplined than me! ;-)
5. Keep all your receipts in a binder
   I keep my binder at work 'cause that's where I"m at all day. If my receipt is 8.5x11 in size, I just use my 3-hole punch to puncture the receipt and file it in my binder. For smaller receipts, I use scrap paper from the office, like old proofs or extra copies that should be thrown into the recycle bin. I punch holes in them and keep them in my binder and when I get a new receipt like the ones from all pen purchases at Michael's Arts & Crafts store, I just tape the receipt onto the scrap paper. 

Hope this helps! Do you have any super duper tax time strategies for staying organized? IF so, let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear about it.