3 Practical Record Keeping Tips For The Self-Employed

by Alyssa Carpenter

As a person who is self-employed, you will need to be very careful about the way that you keep your records. The reason for this is that as your own boss, you are also your own human resources department, secretary, and accountant. Because of this, the way that you keep records and compile your documents will be very important for as long as you own and operate your business. In that regard, consider some of these tips to give yourself a helping hand. 

#1: Store Everything In Multiple Locations

Your strategy for keeping accurate records should start with the various storage methods that you maintain. You should save copies of work and documentation on your computer's hard drive, an external hard drive and in the cloud. Make sure that you have neat ways to keep records, so that they are properly labeled and easy to access. In addition to these computerized method, maintain hard copies of your most important documents whenever possible, so that you can readily present them in any form. Further, register all of your important documents in the official record keeping systems that apply to your particular area of business. 

#2: Invest In A Quality Document Management System

To streamline the process of keeping your records, it should take place as a regular part of your business. This is a lot more effective than doing spring cleaning with your records and attempting to do everything all at once. A way to make keeping accurate records part of your work is to invest in a document management system that will more easily compile your records for you. By doing this, you'll drastically reduce your work load, while also minimizing the margin of error and opening up more time for other things. Shop between third party companies to see what document management solutions are available. 

#3: Know Which Records Are The Most Important

In addition to how you keep records, you'll need to get a handle on what you should keep. For business records, consider some of these vital documents and records that you must properly maintain:

  1. Receipts from purchases. 
  2. Statements and invoices issued to clients and business partners.
  3. Copies of checks.
  4. Expense reports.
  5. All tax forms issued and received.
  6. Meticulous and thorough travel records.

Consider these tips, so that you are able to keep excellent records for your business. This will help you in terms of better business practices and protecting yourself from audit and litigation. To learn more, visit Conway Office Solutions. 

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