From a Shoebox Full of Receipts to QuickBooks Self-Employed

Do you run your own business and want to keep track of your expenses better? Do you wish it was easier to be prepared for your quarterly tax payments? QuickBooks Self-Employed could be your answer.

Its features are similar to QuickBooks Online but with a narrower focus. This new product is ideal for small business owners who file Schedule C on their personal tax return. QuickBooks Self-Employed is helpful for those business owners who sometimes find it challenging to keep their business and personal expenses separate.

Getting started is easy. Once you purchase the cloud-based application, you can link all of your bank accounts straight to QuickBooks. Once your accounts are linked, the system automatically imports your income and expenses from the bank feed into the application. You can even sift through your income and expenses and classify each transaction in the appropriate category.

Key features

Aside from saving you time and money, QuickBooks Self-Employed simplifies the way you organize your expenses by offering some special features, including:

1. Automatic import of bank activity and memorized transaction classifications

QuickBooks Self-Employed requires minimal input as almost everything is on auto flow. It memorizes the category classifications you set for your vendors, helping to divide personal and business expenses.

2. iOS and Android app

Not only does this tool provide a web-based application, but it is also available as an iOS app and Android app for your mobile devices. The app makes it very easy to filter through your income and expenses to determine whether they are personal or business-related. For example, a transaction will pop up on the screen, and you can either swipe left to mark as a business expense or swipe right to mark as a personal expense.  Once your business and personal expenses are separated, the app hides your personal expenses.

The app comes free with the purchase of the QuickBooks Self-Employed subscription. It makes it easier to track business income and expenses on the go, at any time and allows you to capture receipts, send invoices and track deductible expenses (including mileage).

3. Tracking quarterly and annual federal tax liabilities

QuickBooks Self-Employed reduces the likelihood of surprise tax liabilities at year end. It helps you to keep your business activity up to date so you can see an estimate of your tax liability throughout the year and provide more accurate information to your accountant for tax planning.

Many small business owners are unaware that they may be required to pay quarterly federal estimated tax payments.  QuickBooks Self-Employed sends alerts to business owners when these quarterly payments are due, and once you review the information with your accountant and decide on the appropriate tax payment, it can help auto-populate the proper forms for printing and mailing.

QuickBooks Self-Employed is a great solution for the small business owner who wants to ditch the shoebox full of receipts and get organized with a transparent and central accounting application. Contact me or one of Kaufman Rossin’s Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors for help in setting up this new tool.