How to Keep Your Financial Records Organized

People just have too much paper to deal with - even though computers were to help us in that area - it just has not happened for most of us. I am going to offer you some quick tips to help you in keeping your financial records and receipts organized throughout the year.

• Monthly Transactions. I have found that this system works well for many small business owners. Create a file folder January through December. Keep two months on your desk (January - February; April - May) in an area that is easy to get to - colored file folders really help too. When you make an online purchase, print out the receipt and place it in the file folder marked for that particular month. The same holds true for those toll receipts or the lunch you purchased when you met a potential client. When your credit card statement comes in, and after you have paid the bill, place the statement along with your month-end bank statement in the file folder. Now you can either send the file to your bookkeeper or if you are the designated bookkeeper, once you have reconciled your accounts file the completed month away in your file cabinet.

• Client Invoices. When a client invoice is prepared, print out an extra copy and file it in an invoice file marked for that particular year. At the end of the year you will have a record of all the income you have billed. In case of a computer hard drive crash, at least you will have a record for tax purposes.

• Mileage Log. You can easily create a mileage log in Excel to track your trips to client meetings, running to your local office supply store to purchase the ink cartridge that just ran out or perhaps the run to the post office for postage or mailing of the proposal to a new client. We also can't forget about the networking events that you are attending as part of your stepped up marketing plan. The spreadsheet should have a column for date, odometer start/end, total miles, and description.

• Out of Pocket Expenses. For those cash outlays we do throughout the year - the coffee at the airport, the tolls paid to a meeting, or the quick lunch at a seminar, keep these receipts in a colored envelope marked with the year and keep track of the expense in an Excel spreadsheet. You can then total either monthly or quarterly and reimburse yourself for those expenses. Please be sure to hand off the receipts and the spreadsheet to your accountant at year-end.

• Tax File. Create a tax file folder at the beginning of each new year. Throughout the year, place any tax related expense in that file such as medical receipts, prescriptions, monthly or quarterly investment statements, property tax bills, and year-end bank interest statements. At the end of the year when you are gathering paperwork for your accountant, most of the information will already be there for your accountant and you won't be wondering where you placed the tax refund notice you received in April.

• Bank Statements. For those that do not receive monthly bank statements in the mail, I suggest you create a file folder for bank statements on your computer. Each month, download the file from your banks website and save in this folder. You can set up the folder as a password protected file if you have other people using your computer. At the end of the year, burn all the monthly statements onto a CD and store with your income taxes for that year. Most banks only hold 18 months of statements, some only 12 months on their server. The IRS requires you to hold 7 years of bank statements in case of audit. Once the CD is created, you can then delete the files from your computer and create a new folder for the new year.

I hope you find these tips helpful and soon will not feel so overwhelmed at the beginning of the new year trying to get all your files in order for tax preparation. If you are interested in receiving a Record Retention Schedule that the IRS recommends for businesses, please email me at the email address listed in my bio and I will be happy to forward it along to you.

Happy organizing!