Years of freelancing, and I’ve never had a solid system for receipts and invoices. With my first audit coming up, I see how unorganized I really am.
I’ve got a mix of folders, digital files, and physical receipts just stuffed away. How do you keep your financial records organized from the start?
I just throw everything in a big envelope honestly.
Bank statements saved me during last year’s audit nightmare. Had receipts scattered everywhere but couldn’t match half to actual transactions.
Here’s my simple system now:
Do it immediately when it happens. Wait even a day and you’ll forget or lose stuff.
Keep a basic spreadsheet: date, amount, what for, receipt filename. Takes 30 seconds per expense, saves hours later.
Bank statements show every transaction anyway. Having matching receipts makes auditors happy.
My accountant hit me with extra fees because my records were a disaster. Never again.
I handle everything monthly now. Last day of the month, I sort through all my stuff. Business receipts go in one manila envelope per month, invoice copies in another.
Digital files get organized by year, then months within each year. Business expenses in one subfolder, income in another.
Doing it monthly instead of waiting for tax season changed everything. Takes 30 minutes now versus the total nightmare it was before.
Scan your paper receipts too. Those thermal ones fade, and auditors can’t read blank paper.
Keep it simple. Get a business checking account and run everything through it. No cash, no mixing personal stuff.
Number every job invoice. Take photos of receipts immediately and toss them in monthly folders. I snap pics with my phone the moment I get receipts.
Your bank records back everything up. Money in and out with matching invoices and receipts - that’s all you need. Don’t overcomplicate it.
Covers the basics without extra fluff. Simple beats complicated when you’re swamped with work.
Been there. Same nightmare a few years ago.
Here’s what worked: pick one simple rule and stick to it. I photograph every receipt the second I get it, then dump it in a monthly phone folder.
Invoices go in another monthly folder. That’s it.
The trick is doing it immediately. Walk out of the store or finish a job? Handle the paperwork right then. Wait even one day and you’ll forget or lose it.
A shoebox works for me too. Just keep things together, you’ll figure it out when you need to.