When I first started my business, I have to admit I had no idea what I was doing. My idea of being organized was throwing all of my receipts into a drawer. That was all perfectly fine until year two came around and preparing taxes became that much more difficult as I had to sort through said receipt drawer.
1 // Nate Berkus File Folders, 2 // IKEA Letter Tray, 3 // Greenroom Binder, 4 // Sugar Paper Daily Planner, 5 // Striped Expandable File
When I made the transition to running my business full time, I also made the decision to be a lot more organized in those less exciting areas of accounting and record keeping. I now use a combination of standard office items to keep track of receipts, invoices, and Etsy records as well as Outright. Outright has been one of the most useful tools I've used because it automatically enters data from all of my online sales through Etsy, my website, and PayPal. In addition, it helps me calculate quarterly estimated taxes and categorizes all of my expenses. They also have an app I use to keep track of gas mileage as well as snap photos of receipts.
I use all of the items pictured above to stay organized throughout the month with a very simple system. I file papers in the letter tray as I go and use the planner to keep on top of due dates and reminders. At the end of each month, I update anything I need to in Outright, I print any records I need, and quickly file away my receipts and invoices where necessary. While this aspect of my business is the part I dislike the most, getting and staying organized with a very simple system makes the process much less painful than it used to be.
Do you struggle with staying organized in the less creative aspects of your business? What are some of your favorite tools to stay organized?