REDUCE THE STRESS OF TAX SEASON: 5 TIPS FOR EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF YOUR TAX DOCUMENTS.
Tax filing season is often considered one of the most stressful times of the year for the self-employed. Between invoices, receipts and tax documents, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the paperwork. But don't worry, dear entrepreneurs, I have a few tips and tricks to share with you to help you organize your space and manage your tax documents efficiently.
1. Keep your workspace clean and organized
First, let's start with the essentials: the workspace. It's important to have a clean, organized workspace so you can focus on the important tasks at hand. Clear your desk of unnecessary distractions, keeping only the essentials like your computer, phone and office supplies. You can use desk drawers to keep small accessories close at hand, but out of sight.
2. Establish an efficient filing system
Next, you need to determine an efficient filing system for your tax documents. It's important to have a simple, easy-to-use and well-identified system to ensure that you can quickly find what you need.
Divide your tax documents into categories such as purchase invoices, expense receipts, bank statements, tax returns, notices of assessment and tax credit documents. This simple step will make it easier to find specific documents and avoid last-minute headaches. You can use binders, storage boxes or magazine racks to organize your documents by date, category or type.
3. Scan your documents
Consider scanning your documents to save space! Receipts, invoices and other paper tax documents can quickly fade over time, but they can also accumulate and take up unnecessary space in your workspace. Digitizing your documents will give you a backup in case of paper loss, and free up physical space.
Please note that you may be asked to provide original copies of certain documents in the event of a tax audit. It is therefore imperative that you retain the paper version of certain documents. To find out the exact retention period for certain original documents, visit the Quebec Government.
There are many free scanning applications on the market (eg: CamScanner) that let you easily scan invoices and receipts from your cell phone. You can also use a desktop scanner to scan larger documents.
4. Use accounting software
Another tip for organizing your tax documents is to keep track of your income and expenses throughout the year. Use accounting software such as Quickbooks or do your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet and update it every time you carry out a transaction for your company. It may seem laborious at first, but it will save you time and money in the long run. Not only will you be able to understand your company's financial statements better, but you'll also be able to deduct the costs associated with your business activities more efficiently.
5. Establish a management routine
Finally, I suggest that you establish a tax document management routine to help you stay organized throughout the year. Determine a day of the week when you'll review and organize your invoices and receipts, preferably before the end of the day or week, so you don't pile up work for later. You can also use reminders on your cell phone or in your business calendar to remind you to scan or upload your documents to your computer or cloud.
In conclusion, managing your tax documents may seem like a tedious task, but by following these few tips, you can make the process much easier and less stressful.
If, despite everything, you're feeling overwhelmed, short of time or still don't know where to start, don't hesitate to call on a professional organizer to help you organize your paperwork. StéZen offers physical and digital organization services that can help lighten your load. Contact us or plan a free virtual assessment meeting.
