5 Simple Ways to Manage Your Business Expenses

July, 21 2014
Network Night at DoubleShot Tapas & Burger Bar
Presenting Sponor, DM Accounting Services
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
6:00pm – 8:00pm
 DoubleTree -Miami Airport & Convention Center
711 NW 72nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33126

 

BNI EventJoin BNI Miami-Dade’s members and guests for July’s Network Nights. You will meet local member owners, professionals, entrepreneurs, executives and invited guests who come together for productive business networking! Bring a stack of business cards, and your smile!

Appetizers and drink specials will be offered.

Cost to attend is:

$15.50 for members who register online/pay in advance

$25.50 for guests who register online/pay in advance

$35.50 for members & guests at the door, those who did not register in advance online

Questions? Contact: Anna Plaza at Phone No: (786) 258-1858

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Do you have a pile of receipts sitting on your desk? Do you have another pile in a plastic bag somewhere? Are you waiting for your employees to turn in their receipts? I recently had a small business owner with this big problem of tracking expenses, not only her own, but her employees as well. She needed help getting expenses in order, so she turned to DM Accounting.

Keeping track of business expenses can be a challenge for many small business owners, but it’s essential for proper recordkeeping and in order to get reimbursed. Here are some ways to keep track of your company’s business expenses:

1)   KNOW WHAT IS AN EXPENSE – My clients are always asking my opinion of what is considered a business expense. The list is endless, but basically, the IRS considers a business expense to be any expense with a legitimate business purpose. A dinner with a new client might be considered a business expense, but if that client has been your best friend for a decade, the IRS may not agree when auditing your books, so keep that in mind when taking someone out to dinner.

2)   KEEP TRACK OF ALL EXPENSES – Even if you’re not sure whether an expense has a business purpose, you should keep track of it. Keep all receipts and bills together and hand them over to your accountant.

Banging Your Head

3)   PUT A SYSTEM IN PLACE – Make sure you have a recordkeeping system in place to keep track of your expenses. Software like Quickbooks, Microsoft Office or ScanSnap can help you store your receipts electronically. For example, with ScanSnap you take a picture of your receipt or bill, which scans and inputs the information into an expense report for you. Later, you can add notes to the scan, with details about the expense, such as which clients or which employees attended dinner.

4)   ORGANIZE OR CATEGORIZE YOUR EXPENSES – Categorizing your expenses may take extra time, but once you have them organized properly, it will make monthly reconciling easy and save you or your accountant time when preparing your taxes.

5)   DO YOUR EXPENSES IMMEDIATELY – Finally, don’t wait to do your expenses. Set aside time as soon as you return from a business trip or at least once a week to get your expenses organized and in order.

Keeping track of business expenses is essential for both small business owners and employees. My client learned that the hard way, after losing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in receipts. Now, DM Accounting has added a system to instantly generate expense reports to her monthly bookkeeping process. She and her employees are thankful for it.

So keep track of your business expenses, so you don’t lose out on money already spent.