By Nick Rojas (NASE Guest Blog post)
Being self-employed, managing your own business and financials as an entrepreneur can be very rewarding, but at other times is challenging. Small businesses are still the backbone of the American economy with over 50% of them being operated from homes rather than traditional office environments. There are more than 22 million self-employed in the US with no additional employees or payroll expenses other than their owner.
Solo entrepreneurs may struggle with their income from time to time, but there are many ways to get the biggest bang from your self-earned buck. Here are some simple ways to keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket, get your fair share from Uncle Sam and save valuable time as both boss and employee:
Sooner rather than later
Tax deductible fees, like bank and PayPal charges and other business expenses, occur on a regular basis. Instead of waiting until year end or the approaching tax season to document these amounts, put them into a spreadsheet or other accounting system immediately as they happen. This way you won’t be scrambling around at the last minute attempting to locate all this necessary information when April 15th draws near.
Take all eligible deductions
Speaking of taxes, be sure that you are itemizing your return and taking all the eligible tax deductions that are due to you as a self-employed entrepreneur. Consult the list of many IRS deductions that are available to you here or speak to an accountant if you are unsure. Be careful to note special eligibility requirements if you want to survive a possible tax audit. For example, if you are claiming a spare room in your house as an office, it cannot have a bed in that space since it could double as a guest room and disqualify it as a deduction.
Use the Cloud
Most of us have felt the panic that ensues when we see the “dreaded blue screen of death” on our computer monitor knowing that we may have lost valuable data on a corrupted hard drive. To avoid this terror, store as much information as possible on free cloud-based services, like Google Drive. Not only will it be safe, you can access your important information from anywhere there is an internet connection available and an appropriate device.
Take advantage of free services
Free is almost always good, for example, if you could get business cards at no charge, wouldn’t you take advantage of saving money on this important business investment and expense? There are many helpful business tools available for small businesses on the internet, here are just a few that come with few strings attached for their services:
- Payments: While free payment processing services come with transaction and acceptance fees, they are often competitive with traditional banking charges and with options like Square, the reader comes in the mail free of charge.
- Accounting: Why pay an accountant when you can enter your financial information on the free Wave app or Freshbooks cloud solution? Available almost anywhere there’s an internet connection, you can input your financials whether you’re on the go or at home.
- Legal: FindLaw.com offers a comprehensive listing of many free legal services available for small business on the internet.
Being practical, spending time and money wisely are important ways to ensure your continued success as an entrepreneur. Ensure your business or service will be around for many years to come and see more deposits into your company banking account by following some of the tips shown here.
Want more from Nick, follow him on Twitter @NickARojas!