For us on-line sellers, I think one of the biggest expenses after inventory probably has to do with our vehicles. We drive around to go buy our inventory, take packages to the post office, sometimes we even use them to go pick up boxes and packing supplies from nearby warehouses.

One benefit to having your own business is getting to turn in those expenses when it comes tax time. But in order to do that, you have to have accurate records proving you used for vehicle for business.

I don’t know about most of you, but I find that my “mommy brain” has left me with precious little space to remember things like how many miles I drove and to which stores on what day. Which is why this picture shows things that are always found in my car:

I keep a mini calendar (typically one I get sent to me free….this one from 2009 was from our local cable company….but I’d buy one if I had to!), a pen and a money receipt book in my van. Whenever I drive somewhere that includes a business related stop, I record my mileage in the calendar. At the end of every month I total up the miles I drove and write it on the page somewhere, so at the end of the year I can flip through, add up 12 numbers and find out what my mileage was for the year.

The money receipt book was an idea I got from a fellow Stork a long time ago. I wish I could remember who it was and give them credit for it. At any rate, I owe that person a huge THANK YOU because this book has been invaluable to me. I use it to write myself a receipt for any time I use cash to pay for a business-related expense that I don’t get a store receipt for (garage sales!). Back to the “mommy brain” syndrome, I can’t be trusted to even come home from a morning of garage sale shopping and remember how much I spent. I jot down on a scrap piece of paper how much I spent at each sale, then total it up at the end of the morning and write myself a receipt in the book.

I think I got the money receipt book at Wal-Mart, although I’m sure a similar product could be found at about any office supply store.

One idea I have (but haven’t implemented yet) would be to get some sort of small receipt file to also keep in my car. I tend to shove receipts in my purse and then have to sort them out between business and personal expenses when I get home. A little file in my van could allow me to at least toss business-related receipts in one spot and then when I get home I would know I had them all and be able to file them appropriately at my desk filing cabinet.

Up for tomorrow, keeping track of ALL those receipts…how to file them and how long do you need to keep them?

Filed under: Better Selling Techniques, Organization and Storage by jmk_akk
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