How to keep your receipts under control for tax time
Date posted: Friday, September 25, 2015
For many people, tax time brings to mind long hours at the computer, elbow deep in little bits of paper that make up your business receipts for the year. They get lost, they fade, they come in all shapes and sizes and are almost impossible to keep in one neat pile.
As everyone knows, managing receipts is a vital step in staying out of hot water if the ATO comes knocking on your door – but there are easier ways!
Keeping and managing your receipts doesn’t need to be the taxation nightmare it so easily can be – for individuals or small businesses.
Scanning receipts and managing on an online or cloud-based software program is now one of the best ways to keep your tax situation under control. While we don’t recommend throwing out all your bits of paper since businesses need to have back ups for six financial years, with programs like these you can certainly make them out of sight and out of mind.
The ATO also understands the limit of paper receipts, now accepting scanned documents for Business Activity Statements, annual returns and most other taxation purposes.
There are many programs out there to help out with sorting receipts, including Evernote, Docketbank, Expensify, Paperport and Shoeboxed. Each have different features and focus so make sure you do a bit of research to determine which is right for your own needs.
Once receipts are safely scanned and stored online, the data can easily be transferred to Accounting software like Xero, MYOB, Saasu or Reckon, and then on to us at PTA to finalise everything you need in tax and accounting!
We thrive on being the best accounting and taxation consultants in Pakenham and the South Eastern suburbs. If you have any questions about how to manage your receipts, be sure to talk to our team at Pakenham Taxation + Accounting.