Logistics

Hi all,

So I had posted a while back on what to do involving my part time job and my freelance work and what to do in regards of taxes. My mother has an accountant that we ended up all using so hopefully, in the end, I won't owe much in taxes.

That said, it's time to get serious since the work is picking up and I find myself in need of getting solidified with all paperwork that being a freelancer involves.

So I have an employee id number set up as a sole proprietor so I am under the books as a legitimate business.

My thoughts now are geared towards keeping track of invoices/accounting/ex​penses and well, taxes. I have gotten a few referrals like freshbooks (http://www.freshbooks.​com/) and iacez (https://www.iacez.com/) but I am totally open to more suggestions/opinions.

Next step would be to find an accountant for myself which is currently in the works through some freelance designers, etc.

My next thought now is the thought of getting a business bank account. I don't make much a salary, but I think ideally, it would be good to keep the taxes I owe in a separate account from my personal checking/savings account. I don't have a credit card currently but will also be looking into more for emergencies and well, building up credit.

That said, what do you guys do in terms of having money set aside for taxes, etc? I am trying to keep things to a minimum since I am not shooting every week but getting organized now will be a huge step weight off my shoulders in the long run.

After that, it's onto the more fun stuff I suppose you could say, promotional ideas, business and promo card design, etc.

Ultimately, I would love to hear some insight on what you guys have set up in terms of this kind of thing. What your 'work flow' I guess is when dealing with transactions, etc.

I would love to hear anything and everything you have to say.

Thanks,
Tony

I keep my sales/expenses/quarter​ly taxes due on a excel spreadsheet. It's easy and doesn't cost anything. I would imagine if business increases, I would have to find a better method but for now it's great.

As far as accounts, I had my bank add-on a second checking account to have sales from the business and hold onto sales taxes.

Keep everything as separate as possible from the very beginning.

I've seen too many accounts get jacked up with no good way of figuring out what really happned.

-F

I think that it's time to get a second checking account for the money that should be saved away for taxes.

What else can you guys give me for feedback?

toldey wrote in post #9952955
I think that it's time to get a second checking account for the money that should be saved away for taxes.

Not sure if I'm reading you wrong, you've said this twice now and it's not really correct. You need this second checking account to hold *all* financial transactions from your photography business. Someone pays you $10 for a photo - it goes in this account. You need to buy gas to drive to a shoot, you buy it from this account. And yes, you pay your sales taxes quarterly from this account. Since you're a sole prop, your business income taxes will be incorporated into your personal day job when you do your taxes on April 15, so you pay the IRS from your regular checking account that you already have.

What else can you guys give me for feedback?

Earn more than you spend

Dave

Thanks so much tracknut, you made it seem so easy. haha I am currently having a hard time sorting and seeing what is appropriate and the easiest way for me to get things going is. That said, is there a resource I can go to that would direct me to accountants that are more familiar with freelancers? More or less, freelance photographers? It would be ideal to have one that is familiar with it since I have heard on here that it is best to find one that is more savvy with how it all works in a freelancesr world. I apologize for my very very amateur and newbie questions but I am doing the best I can to get things grounded for the future so it lessens the blow of having to sort through things and potentially lose money!

I don't have any great thoughts on accountants specific for freelance photography. I'd ask friends who they use for accounting/CPA services, and just contact one or two of them. Ask them a few questions and find one that seems knowledgeable with the process of setting up your new business, can discuss things like how you might get tax advantages from depreciating your equipment, what write off's you should be tracking, etc.

A good part of this process is educating *you* on the process of bookkeeping and accounting issues, so that you and your accountant become a *team* over the years, rather than you just playing dumb and showing up on April 14th with a pile of receipts.

Dave

Very true, thank you for the input thus far.

This is such a mixed up situation, having a W-2, a 1099 and invoices from random shoots. My thought is: print out an invoice, attach receipts from the day of the shoot (gas, food) etc and file it away. When it comes time, I am able to go back and see what can be deducted.

My main goal is to basically have a workflow in terms of book-keeping, finances, accounting, all of the above. What are your guys's processes for freelancing?