Just started taking on more contract work and realizing I need to get my finances in order. Been using my personal account for everything so far. Feels messy and I’m worried about tax implications.
Anyone else been through this? How’d you set up your accounts and track expenses?
Open a business checking account. Deposit all your contract income there. Pay yourself a regular draw to your personal account. Keep receipts for business expenses and pay them from the business account. Makes taxes simple. Your accountant will thank you.
Basic bookkeeping software helps track everything. QuickBooks is fine, but even a good spreadsheet works if you’re organized. Main thing is consistency. Log income and expenses weekly so it doesn’t pile up.
I keep it simple. Separate bank account for work, personal account for living expenses.
Log everything in a basic spreadsheet. Income in one column, expenses in another. Update it weekly.
Pay myself a set amount each month from the work account. Keeps things clean for taxes and budgeting.
Get a separate bank account for work stuff. Makes life easier come tax time. I just use a basic spreadsheet to track jobs and expenses. Nothing fancy but it works.
I learned this the hard way. Mixed everything at first, total nightmare at tax time.
Now I do:
Track expenses religiously. Even small stuff adds up.
One tip: set aside money for taxes with each payment. Learned that one the hard way too.
It’s a pain to set up, but way less stressful in the long run. Trust me.
Nah I just mix it all together. Probably not smart but it’s easy.
When I started out, I did the same thing - used my personal account for everything. Big mistake. Tax time was a nightmare.
Here’s what I do now:
Got a separate business checking account. All my contract money goes there.
Pay myself a set amount every month to my personal account. Keeps things clean.
Use a simple spreadsheet to track income and expenses. Nothing fancy, just columns for date, description, amount, and if it’s income or expense.
I set aside about 30% of each payment for taxes. Learned that one the hard way.
Keep all receipts in a folder. Even small stuff. It adds up.
Update the spreadsheet every Friday. Make it a habit or it piles up fast.
It takes some setup, but it’s way less stressful than mixing everything. Trust me, your future self will thank you when tax season rolls around.