How to file small business paperwork

If you are working from your house with room set aside as an office, then you might also like to keep copies of your personal mortgage statements in the loans section too because you can claim a percentage of the interest payments as an expense in the business to reduce tax.

You generally will have the invoice in your creditors folder, but you need a copy of the invoice in the assets folder as these are documents that your tax accountant will also want to view at the end of the year and it will be far easier to find them if you have copies ready in your assets folder.

You may also have annual renewals to file in this regard. Your tax accountant might be taking care of this for you and so you might not need to have this file. Most correspondence these days is done by email so you will probably have very little to keep in this section of your business filing system. For correspondence you receive in the post you may be able to simply file it in date order in the correspondence section putting the most recent document at the top.

For important correspondence that you receive a lot of, such as letters from your lawyer, keep a separate section called Legal along with copies of invoices from your lawyer. R eceive it - E nter it to the bookkeeping system - F ile it away.

Every time you receive a document file it into its appropriate section or folder right away! It does take effort and some pre-planning and preparation, but once it is set up you will be ecstatic you did it and it will lift a huge weight from your mind. Site Sponsors. How to do a loan journal entry for transactions for bank loans, car loans, intercompany loans, and loan forgiveness including loan amortization.

Day to day bookkeeping process for startups. More In File. Filing Electronic Filing Options for Business and Self-Employed Taxpayers There are electronic filing options available for many of the taxes and forms that small businesses are required to file, such as excise and employment taxes, Forms , , and various information returns.

Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center. Page Last Reviewed or Updated: Jul Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

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Why You Need a Filing System. Going Paperless. By Susan Ward. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses. Learn about our editorial policies. Fact checked by Leila Najafi. Leila Najafi is an LA-based luxury travel and lifestyle writer and editor with over five years of experience covering travel rewards programs, destination and buying guides, and more.

Tax season is undeniably stressful. Good luck! Are you filing taxes as an independent contractor? Read our contractor-specific tax-filing guide. At Business. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

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Our affiliate compensation allows us to maintain an ad-free website and provide a free service to our readers. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy Page. We may earn money when you click on our links. Learn More. On this page: Gather your financial records Accounting records Calculate your tax deductions Forms needed File on time The takeaway Back to top. How to File Small-Business Taxes in By Kylie McQuarrie.

Business Accounting Staff Writer. Published on March 18, Share Article. Updated: several months ago. View all updates. How to file small-business taxes. Gather your financial records. Know your deductions. Determine which forms you need for your business type. File on time. Last year's business tax return. Best Tax Software for Small Businesses. Turbo Tax. File Now. Liberty Tax. Learn more about our top brands. Taxpayer identification number. Accounting records.