TAXES! That dreaded word

If you live in the United States, you already know the tax filing deadline is drawing near (actually, this year you have a couple of extra days - til April 17). This is for Personal tax returns and UNincorporated
Businesses or Partnerships.

If your business IS Incorporated the filing date was March 15th.

If you do not have a good Bookkeeping System, you may be putting off filing your taxes because your records are a mess. It is possible to request an Extension to file your tax reports. (The Form #4868 is found on: http://www.irs.gov - it's a short easy to fill out form.)

The tax PAYMENT has to be made, however, or at least a reasonable estimated amount.

But how do you know how much to pay if you don't have your records in order? I know, it's a vicious cycle.

By setting up a good Bookkeeping System you can be better prepared next year. Check out: http://www.keepyourbooksgrowyourbusiness.com

All the Best,
Rosemarie

How to Save Time, Money and Your Sanity

How to Save Time, Money and Your Sanity

A Simple Low Cost Solution for Business Owners

by Rosemarie Zera

How would you like to Save Time, Money and Stress with a Simple Idea that won't cost an arm and a leg.

I know you're a Busy Business Owner, you don't need any more stress and a Smart Business Owner is always looking for low cost solutions, so...

What is it?

It's A Simple Filing System! Now before you groan and stop reading, answer this:

Do you ever waste time searching through mountains of papers or drawers of jumbled records for a receipt or document?

Do you ever have to pay late fees because a bill was misplaced?

If this is a constant occurrence, you need a Simple Filing System.

A big misconception about FILING is that its main purpose is to "store" or "hide" things and how or where things are filed is unimportant.

WRONG!!

The whole purpose of a Filing system is to be able to retrieve something when it's needed. So much time and money is lost by the inability to retrieve necessary information, not to mention the stress it causes.

Here is A SIMPLE FILING SYSTEM to get you going:

First - Let’s deal with the "Pending/Due" file [for unfinished work, bills to pay, and correspondence to answer]

You'll need: either a Box of folders (31) or an Accordion File with 31 slots

Number the folders 1 - 31.

Begin sorting by "Due Date" and put items in the folder/slot with the number prior to the corresponding date it will be processed.

Each day you will check the folder/slot with the number corresponding to the date.

Process these items or refile for later.

Once processed, these will be filed into:

Second - this is the "Completed" file

You'll need: another Box (or filing cabinet) with Folders these can be multi colored to distinguish Categories.

One Color should be for Customers Receipts (Should be kept in Alphabetic Order) as this section increases, you may want to have a folder per Letter or even per Customer.

Here are some standard Categories you can start with - Have a Folder for each:

Correspondence

Assets Purchased [Large items that you will be keeping for some time -and may require service]

Bank Statements

Credit Card Statements

Automobile Expenses

Insurance

Telephone/Internet Bills

Utility Bills

Tax Reports/Payments

Miscellaneous [This tends to catch a lot - so you should separate A - M & N - Z]

In fact, if you know you constantly use another category - set it up now - this is only an example of some common categories.

Third - At the end of the year - you will want to empty these folders into a Storage file - or just Store these folders and Start the New Year with New Folders. That way you are working with current records.

Be sure to Mark the YEAR on the Storage folders before storing them for retrieval later.

This may seem like a tedious chore when first starting out, but once set up is easy to maintain.

And just think of the relief you'll feel knowing you can find anything when you need it.

If You Need More Help with Running Your CRAFTS BUSINESS - Click Here

Small Business Owners=New Blog, New website, New ebook

Hi,
I have had a Bookkeeping and Tax Service for many years helping Small Business Owners, get set up or straightened out with their financial records.

I thought I could help more Entrepreneurs by writing an ebook covering many of the areas that they need to know and often have trouble with.

Additionally, I set up a webpage to survey Small Business Owners about their most difficult problems, trying to organize and keep up with their business records - so I can add more info to the ebook or perhaps answer personally.

Go to:

http://www.keepyourbooksgrowyourbusiness.com/Business-Questionaire3.html

or if you prefer, post your answer to that question here on my Blog.