Keep it Simple and Strategic

Some people make the mistake of running their business from their personal check book. This is a mistake for two reasons:

1) From a tax planning perspective it's too easy to lose valuable business deductions when you lump all your finances together.

2) From an asset protection standpoint, it leaves the door open for a creditor to claim that you and the business were in fact one entity, not two. This gives them the opportunity to "pierce the corporate veil” and make claims against your personal assets.

That’s very bad and also completely unnecessary.

Here’s What I Suggest: Open A Business Checking Account

Here’s what I suggest: first, open a business checking account at your favorite bank. If you're doing business as a sole proprietor (perish the thought) you can file a d.b.a. (doing business as) certificate, giving the business its own name. That name should appear on the account and on your business checks.

Buy Bookkeeping Software

Next, run to the nearest computer store and buy Quicken or QuickBooks. There is other bookkeeping software available, but these are the most commonly used. They are easy to learn, and most accounting firms are familiar with them. You probably don’t need the latest version or the one with all the super duper features. Buy last year’s version and save yourself $50. You can upgrade later, if necessary.

What’s the difference between Quicken and QuickBooks? In a nutshell, Quicken is an electronic checkbook. It allows you to print checks, add deposits and balance your check book. It can even provide you with simple reports. QuickBooks is a complete bookkeeping package. It does everything that Quicken does, plus provides full financial statements. It has lots of components and add-on modules to handle more complex accounting. It’s got everything you need and more.

That doesn’t mean it’s more difficult to use or learn. I think it’s just as easy, and the added features are there for you or your accountant to use when you want. For that reason, I’d take the plunge and buy a one or two year old version of QuickBooks to get started. It will save you many, many hours or tedious work, and by using the system of your choice you’ve taken a big step in the right direction in terms of record keeping. Yet, there are still a couple of more things to do.

Organize Yourself With Folders

Each year, my bookkeeper sets up folders for each type or expense the business has. There’s a folder for utilities, auto expenses, rent, travel, etc. The folders follow the chart of accounts pretty closely. Each time she gets a bill; she pays it, writes the check number and date on the written invoice, and files it in the appropriate folder. For example auto expenses: at the end of the year, she has every auto expense we paid that year in one place, one folder. At the end of the year, she sets up new folders and starts over again.

Bank Statements and Cancelled Checks

I keep the monthly bank statements for each checking and savings account in separate folders. After the account is reconciled each month, I file the statement in the appropriate folder and keep the checks in numerical order (depending on the number of checks you write per year, the stack can get quite high!)

Audit Proofing Your Records There are just two more steps you must take to audit-proof your records.

1) The first is to notate your receipts and keep them. 2) The second is to enter certain types of receipts into a tax log or diary. For example, expenses like travel, meals, entertainment, and auto expenses, while deductible, require an extra step.

Here’s what I do. If I take a customer out to lunch and we discuss business, the cost is fifty percent deductible. The key is to log the answers to those critical five distinct questions, remember? Who? What? When? Where? How Much?

I pay for the meal by my business credit card, and make a notation on the receipt something like “Ted T. regarding Jacksonville seminar.” Three of the questions are answered on the pre-printed receipt; the other two are in my note. When I return, I give the receipt to Mary (I hate paper work and she’s a great organizer) and she transcribes it into a tax log. It looks something like this:

Who, What, When, Where, How Much

My accountant has actually set it up in a color-coded excel spreadsheet, but you can use a table like the one above, a ledger book, or a yellow pad. It doesn’t have to be fancy it just has to be accurate. This certainly isn’t meant to be the definitive guide to corporate books and records. However, it’s a great starting point and if you follow the guidelines I've laid out for you, you will be off to a great start and your accountant and bookkeeper will have what they need to make the necessary adjustments as you move forward and grow your business.