This is the Most Simple System way of keeping manual records.
It assures not one missed deduction.
It prepares you for an audit -- oh, lordy! not that.
And it is simple and time-saving.
This is recordkeeping for now and the future. And it includes my copyrighted worksheets that will be of great help in preparing your 2011 tax return.
Five Easy Steps replaces, updates, and expands on "The Most Simple System At Work," which is chapter 13 in the first edition of my book, Self-employed Tax Solutions, and chapters 22, 23, and 24 in the second edition.
If you have read my book, or are truly savvy on income, expenses and taxes as they pertain to the self-employed then Five Easy Steps is the recordkeeping how-to guide for you.
However, although Five Easy Steps tells you how to easily and quickly keep records for your income and expenses it doesn't explain the complicated rules and regulations of what is income or when is an expense a deductible business cost.
For instance, in Five Easy Steps I show you how to gather all the expenses for a home office but I don't explain whether your workspace qualifies as a legitimate home office or not. In it I show you how to record travel expenses but I don't explain whether the week at an out-of-town conference with a side visit to your sister's home is deductible or not. I do show an easy method for getting a total spent on meals & entertainment but do not explain what is a legitimate entertainment expense.
Those in-depth explanations are in my book,
Self-employed Tax Solutions.
Know what you're buying:
If you're still not sure what is a business deduction, or whether Grandma's payment to you for the quilt you made is income or not, then you first need to read Self-employed Tax Solutions.
Five Easy Steps is definitely for you if you are ready and willing to learn how to keep easy, simple, accurate, tax- and time-saving records. Think of it as an addendum to Solutions, your next step toward total confidence.
Five Easy Steps is a 75 page PDF download available here.
Self-employed Tax Solutions is a 210 page book. Also available here.
Want to save a bit of Money? Want both publications? Check Here
If you'd like more info on each publication, please visit:
Solutions:Table of Contents
Five Easy Steps: Table of Contents
Five Easy Steps: About the worksheets
