Yes, we know the tax benefits of being self-employed are abundant, but so are the book-keeping requirements! The truth is, it’s easy to get lost in the abyss of confusion and disorganization when you’re self-employed and the responsibility of creating new business and sustaining existing business is your number one priority. Book-keeping is one of the biggest tasks that falls through the cracks when you’re busy trying to build business, and then again, when you’re busy managing the business you’ve built. There just never seems to be a good time to sit down and tame this beast of details. However, have you ever considered that a book-keeping software could actually help you build your business growth? It may seem counterintuitive that if you’re allocating time toward getting this book-keeping in order, you’re taking time from building your business and connections, but you will see that that is not the case. Additionally, while implementing a new software system may seem like a cumbersome activity, the truth is it is well worth it, considering you will save time on book-keeping, year after year. As a self-employed individual, QuickBooks makes various tasks of book-keeping easy since many of the functions are handled automatically. Like most good systems, after some initial set up, you will reap the benefits of efficiency and peace of mind. Additionally, you will see how taking minimal time up-front can save you money, and help you create more business opportunities.
Anyone who has ever been self-employed knows how being self-employed makes it easy to lose track of simple details that add up to a whole lot of important information. One of the key benefits of using Quick Books Self-Employed is that it provides a snapshot of where you stand. Not only that, but it does so in an easy to read and aesthetically appealing display. In the midst of time constrains, appointments, networking, business conversations and administrative tasks, wouldn’t it be great to know, every day, where you stand financially and what the point of it all is? Simplicity is the key, and visibility to expenditures, earnings and bank balances all in one place should be as simple as possible. The software makes it easy to see high-level information, as well as the breakdown of detail related to income and business spending, when desired. It even provides a running total of profit, which is an easy way to stay focused on the goal. Any self-employed individual knows that focused activities, with consistency create desired results. How can one confidently move forward with focused activities if he or she doesn’t know where they stand? Knowing where you are helps you know where you need to go in order to meet your goals. You can use up valuable business-building time to create your own spreadsheets and extract and calculate data to know where you stand and determine what changes you need to make to move closer to your goals, or you can simply use Quick Books Self-Employed and determine your current standing at a glance, so you can implement strategy changes quickly, to get back on track, when needed.
If desired, you can link your bank account and credit cards, which enables transactions to automatically feed to the software in one cohesive place. Enabling this functionality will truly simplify your life, helping you focus on your business objectives and growth. And, when needed, you can add transactions in the system manually and even upload a spreadsheet if desired. For those transactions that are added automatically, you can quickly allocate them as business or personal expenses, and even split the expense to properly identify these expenditures in a quick moment.
Another great attribute of QuickBooks Self-employed is that it makes allocating expenses for tax purposes as easy as can be. The reason for this is that the categories displayed in the software align with the IRS tax reporting categories. Even mileage is accounted for, and with minimal information provided it will actually calculate your deduction in the software itself per entry. There is an app available that makes this feature even more user-friendly and makes mileage tracking exceptionally easy.
If these reasons aren’t enough, you can even pull various report such as profit and loss statements and tax year summary and detailed reports in mere moments. Information is power, and for the self-employed, it is indispensible. Let proper, simplified book-keeping change your life and how you conduct your business as an informed, forward thinking business owner.
