For anyone who has their own practice...

[Pompal 09.]

Is there anything that I should do or be aware of now that the year is coming to an end?  I just opened in Aug.  I know I need to call my accountant but just was wondering if there is anything I should keep in mind or get ready for or whatever else you can think of?  What can I do to make the job easier for my accountant and his bill to me less $$?  I haven't kept any "official" books of what I've done.  I've kept track of everything, but of course I don't have it all written down in one place.  I don't even have any idea how it should work.  I have always done my taxes on my own on the computer, now I have to keep books and receipts and all that stuff to give to someone else.How can I make it easier on both of us?Thanks!

 

[mixermatt2002]

One thing I've found to lessen my accountant's load is I separate and total expense categories, i.e., Office Supplies, Continuing Education, Professional Dues, etc.   I just use a post-it note as a category label and staple all related receipts together so its easy to understand.   Also I always make sure to ask about amounts for future estimated taxes.

 

[Micah]

For anyone who has their own practice...

I wrote this a while back.  I would suggest when you get a few hundred dollars, setting up on Quick Books Pro.  It will make your life a lot easier!  

For receipts: 12 small brown envelopes so there was a Jan./Feb., etc. ... along the way, I would tally up a paper which was formatted like the following for each month's receipt envelope and put the cost of expenses behind whatever section I had spent $$ on (so you'd see Association Dues -- $45.00 in Jan. but maybe not in February):

PROFESSIONAL FEES & DUES
Association Dues
Credentials
License
Professional Associations
Union Dues
Other:

CONTINUING EDUCATION
Correspondence Course Fees
Course Registration
Lab Fees
Materials & Supplies
Photocopy Expense
Reference Material
Research Expenses
Seminar Fees
Textbooks
Other:

TELEPHONE EXPENSES
FAX Transmissions
Paging Service
Pay Phone
Toll Calls
Cellular Calls
Other:

AUTO TRAVEL
Between Jobs or Job Locations (mi)
Client Meetings (mi)
Continuing Education (mi)
Job Seeking (mi)
Out of Town Business Trips (mi)
Purchasing Job Supplies & Materials (mi)
Parking Fees ($)
Tolls ($)
Other:

MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES
Liability Insurance - Business
Subscriptions
Resume
Other:

SUPPLIES & EXPENSES
Briefcase
Business Meals
Business Cards
Clerical Service
Computer Software
Computer Supplies
Customer Lists
Entertainment
Equipment Repair
FAX Supplies
Gifts
Greeting Cards
Legal & Professional Services
Office Expenses
Poseforum.xxxe
Shipping
Stationary
Technical Publications
Other:

EQUIPMENT PURCHASES
Answering Machine
Calculator
Copy Machine
FAX Machine
Pager
Recorder
Telephone
Other:

TRAVEL OUT OF TOWN
Airfare
Car Rental
Parking
Taxi
Train
Bus & Subway
Lodging (do not combine with meals)
Meals (do not combine with lodging)
Porter, Bell Captain
Laundry
Bridge & Highway Tolls
Telephone Calls (including home)
Other:

When all of that was done, I'd make up one for the final end of the year, so that all 12 months information was accumulated onto one page. I would actually tally up the expenses per item and per section and a final total for the whole year. It was a bit of an overkill, but I wanted to make sure the accountant had all the info and would not have to call me after I dropped everything off. I also color coded a lot of that stuff. The less work for him, meant the smaller cost for me.

 

[Irvinrexs]

thanx tex, you are always i life saver! my husband cd just came out and to watch him do business i am impressed!  very organized and decipline not like me unorganized and very let's say spontaneous! ;D  truly your advice is helpful thank you! oh yeah his cd is made for lomilomi let me know if you want to purchase one.  kroonster.com is the sight still working on the sight aloha, puamaeoleps no hijacking intended sorry :-[

 

[Apricot Girl]

hey texas gal,that's exactly the kind of info i was needing.  thank you so very much!!!

 

[theymademedoit]

puamaeole, Thanks for the little link to your hubby's site!  terab & puamaeole,So glad I could help.  I hate paperwork.  *pooh*    SO I try to make it as easy as possible.I'll tell ya now, we are working on the new QuickBooks and so, far it has got me a little edgy.  I know it will all come around and make everything so much easier, but I got used to my little system, up above -- and am still using the envelopes every month  *hehe* -- so, it is hard to make a full blown change to total computer.Good luck on taxes this year though, I'm glad this will help!

 

[Leah C]

For anyone who has their own practice...

Very helpful, thanks Tex-Gal.I was curious...does most everyone MT wait til the end of the year to file taxes or do you do it quarterly?

 

[njknjk]

For anyone who has their own practice...

I file taxes yearly, but pay quarterly estimated taxes. The quartery payments are just estimates of what you will owe for the year divided by four. They are due Apr.15, June 15, Sept 15, and Jan 15th.

 

[Eldried]

For anyone who has their own practice...

And there is a worksheet you can use to see if you actually need to file quarterly estimated. I use it through TurboTax each year, and I have not yet had to do quarterly payments.Jill/Sagetherapist

 

[tbunny1us]

For anyone who has their own practice...

If you own your own business, you don't have to file quarterly but you will be taxed for waiting until the end of the year.

 

[Average Joe]

If you have an employer, you can have them take more taxes out of your paycheck, allowing you to pay enough throughout the year. This will help you avoid having to pay quarterly taxes or incurring a penalty for not paying enough.  If I had an employer, this is what I would do.