Important Read for Independent Contractors
You’re an entrepreneur. That means you once had a dream or a vision, and you’ve been able to bring it to life. Dreaming big can be a good thing, but you know you have to be grounded at the same time. Running a business comes with making sure your expenses are tracked so you can use predictive analytics and see if your key performance indicators are moving in the right direction. You have to be prepared for tax season, and have a good savings situation going on. In other words, you must make sure to set up the present in such a way as to create a good future. One way you can do this is by having good bookkeeping practices, but you’re busy so let us do it for you. Sound Bookkeepers has over five decades of accounting and business finance experience, so you can count on us to get your books taken care of and set up in such a way that makes you set for a spectacular future.
Being An Independent Contractor Comes With Its Benefits
When you are an entrepreneur and are self-employed you can experience the following beneficial outcomes:
- Have a flexible working schedule where you can be in charge of the hours and days that you work.
- Have the opportunity for higher income due to being able to set your own prices, work with only the best clients, and work on a project basis versus a salaried or hourly job.
- By writing off business expenses you’re able to leverage tax breaks.
- You don’t have to report to your boss, because that’s you. CEO, CFO, Head of Operations, Sales, and Marketing. That’s all you.
That being said, being self-employed also comes with its own hardships, one of which is that you are responsible for a lot more of the tax and legal spheres as well (as alluded to in bullets number three and four). The good news is that affordable and expert bookkeeping is now available. You can hire Sound Bookkeepers to offer you professional help.
Rules To Abide By As An Independent Contractor
- Be Prepared For The Future
As mentioned before, it is so important to think ahead, while doing so realistically. Make sure across all levels of your business, you are managing things well and can be ready for growth. This way you won’t need to scramble if a growth opportunity comes about at a minute’s notice, so to speak. Bookkeeping is definitely a category which falls under this. Be sure to have your books clean when you are starting out, to ensure they work well for you when you grow. If it isn’t working out on a small scale, it won’t work out on a large scale.
- Be Compliant
This is extremely crucial. You have to stay clean with the IRS and DOR while making sure that you know what’s going on in the financial realm – even if you outsource your bookkeeping. The rules and regulations impact your business activities, so it is vital to understand them. It is also absolutely crucial that your bookkeeper understands them as well.
- Don’t Resist Getting Help
There is nothing embarrassing about not doing everything yourself. In fact, in certain instances, it is even extremely advantageous. We’ve seen plenty of what our clients refer to as their “dirty laundry”, meaning that they are behind in their record-keeping and what they do have is a mess. This is actually a good thing in some circumstances. If your business is succeeding, you’ll fall behind in non-essential things, so maybe you’re just having some success?
Keep in mind that to be proficient in accounting and/ or bookkeeping, it takes a lot of training and experience, so don’t expect to be a pro at it from day one. It is beneficial to let someone who has studied the matter and is well versed in the rules and regulations to take care of your books.