Here’s an expense receipt, there’s an expense receipt, everywhere you look, you’ll find another receipt — that is if you’re a business owner. Does that refrain sound familiar? So how many of those receipts did you carefully save all year long only to find at tax time they have faded into illegibility? (It’s that pesky disappearing ink so many merchants use.) And how many were misfiled, used as a coaster for your beverage or went through the washing machine?
Paper receipts are truly one of life’s major irritations. Yet, government agencies simply don’t take a taxpayer’s word at face value. We all know the IRS doesn’t trust us! (Do we trust them? Well, that’s a topic for another day!)
Business owners have packed schedules unless they’ve already made it to the executive suite, in which case they may have an army of accountants to handle tax prep. If you’re running a small business and have an impossible schedule each business day, there’s an alternative to rustling up those receipts, should an auditor want to take a peek.
Swipe it. (We’re not talking about swiping that auditor’s pen, although maybe you’ve considered it.) Using a magnetic-striped credit or debit card, you can automatically record those deductions at the point of purchase. Then, when it’s time to tally your expenses, you can sit back and relax instead of pulling your hair out trying to account for all those deductions racked up over a year’s time.
It’s nice and simple and with the time you save you can focus on some cool, new ideas for your growing business.