How do you manage your receipts?

[Otis Ogle]

Hiya All,

What methods do you take to manage your receipts, i.e business expenses, petrol, shopping, credit card receipts?

Is it a headache for you, or are you on top of it?

Be interesting to see your responses due to one of our new product launches, but don't want to plug it!

-Otis

 

[Arial]

Och aye ye do! lol

Mines seem to end up in a plastic tub at the moment.

 

[Kett]

Moving to an accounts system has been a Godsend. Silly really as I could do it on a spread sheet. But because entering each invoice/receipt and payment seperately makes each task simple, I can face it emotionally.

 

[Otis Ogle]

Plastic tub, as in shoved in at no order at all, and then left for end of month and you sift through them all sorting them out?

Kett - What about receipts for petrol? Expenses? Groceries? Where do they all go?

Thanks for responses so far.

It's interesting as i am increasingly finding that the method of shoving receipts in a box, tub, draw, glove compartment, wallet, purse or sometimes even left on the desk is what most people do! There are of course the excepetions with receipts kept ontop of beautifuly =P

 

[red-source]

Mine generally end up as the " plastic tub " variety too !

 

[David Griffiths]

Scan it with all the other post as it arrives.

Enter it on to the accounting system

Bin it

Simple

No need to keep them hanging around.

 

[Arial]

Just had a look at the product and to be honest I would much rather have them in my plastic tub, than have them hanging from bits of cord(string)!!

 

[AngliaSolutions]

I have 2 lever arch files with month dividers. One for the invoices I raise and one for payments out. Each time i have an invoice or receipt it goes in the file under the relevant month and is also put on to a computerised accounts package.

You could have an accounts system or try Excel or use a plain old fashioned cash book. (Im a bit OTT and use Excel, Sage and Ledger - just in case anything happens to the PC/backups)

You must keep a copy of your paperwork in some form or another. I know many people who stash them in a shoe box or similar. If you are out on the road alot, consider something simple like an envelope in the car to put your petrol receipts in straight away so they dont get lost.

As a general rule, the more organised you are with your paperwork, the less time your accountant will need to spend sorting it out - hence a lower bill.

 

[davidshaw89]

If you are out on the road alot, consider something simple like an envelope in the car to put your petrol receipts in straight away so they dont get lost

This is where I fall foul all the time - Receipts in the drivers door are just too handy when I need to spit out my gum

 

[Call Assistant UK]

I agree with Anglia,

I actually have 4 folders

1) Suppliers Pending
2) Suppliers Paid
3) Customers Pending
4) Customer Paid

The folders are split into months and when invoices are due payable thats the month they are filed under.

I then enter all the invoices onto our accounts system, print hard copies and re-file.

Then I export to excel and backup. Like Anglia, might be a bit OTT, but protecting your business is number one priority and if you lose your invoices, how do you chase your clients??

 

[Dawg]

I have 2 lever arch files with month dividers. One for the invoices I raise and one for payments out. Each time i have an invoice or receipt it goes in the file under the relevant month and is also put on to a computerised accounts package.

You could have an accounts system or try Excel or use a plain old fashioned cash book. (Im a bit OTT and use Excel, Sage and Ledger - just in case anything happens to the PC/backups)

You must keep a copy of your paperwork in some form or another. I know many people who stash them in a shoe box or similar. If you are out on the road alot, consider something simple like an envelope in the car to put your petrol receipts in straight away so they dont get lost.

As a general rule, the more organised you are with your paperwork, the less time your accountant will need to spend sorting it out - hence a lower bill.

This is not quite right. The Revenue states:

Can I use my computer to keep records?

If you transfer details from paper records onto a computer, you will still normally have to keep the original paper records unless you microfilm them or use an optical imaging system. You don't have to print everything out, as long as the information in the original documents can be recovered from the computer and satisfies the other rules for record keeping.

You must keep the originals of any vouchers showing that tax has been taken from your income, even if you've microfilmed or imaged them. This includes

* Bank and building society certificates giving details of the tax deducted from any interest you've received
* Dividend vouchers
* Certificates of tax deducted under the subcontractors scheme
* Details of foreign tax withheld from overseas income.

You do not have to keep payslips showing tax deducted under PAYE, although you may still find it useful to keep paper records.

VAT records may be kept on computer provided they maintain all of the required information. They must be kept in such a way that our officers can easily verify your VAT returns.

The optical imaging system, (highlights mine), can be a scanner.

 

[Techy]

I save mine up in a tub and give them to my wife to sort out at every year-end :>

She loves that time of the year, so much so that she has told me to ask her mother to do it from now on :<

 

[Otis Ogle]

Thanks for all responses, interesting.

Each to their own in some cases, however there are massive benefits when looking at having multiple strings ( with discs at the top which can be wrote on to identify which receipts on which string ) including that it is automaticaly put into chronological order..

Anyhow, each to their own but thanks again for all responses =]

 

[BusinessDeli]

Big pile in my 'outbox' which get stuffed into an envelope for the accountant. That's what he's for and why I pay him!

 

[Otis Ogle]

Loofah, you could, with better management of your receipts, save your accountant time, thereforing pay him/her less, saving yourself money?

Then again, managing the receipts isn't your headache as you out-source it - this too is a solution to getting rid of the problem of receipts! =P

 

[Terri]

To all those 'in the plastic bin/carrier bag to accountant' club, you could always employ a Virtual Assistant for an hour each month to sort these things out for you. As previously pointed out... an accountant would charge you a lot more in the long run to sort out your 'files'.

Just a thought....:redface:

 

[AngliaSolutions]

Thanks Dawg, apologies for not making myself better understood.

"You must keep a copy of your paperwork in some form or another".

What I meant was you need to keep the original but file it in a way in which you can easily file, archive and access it yourself should it ever be needed or you get a surprise tax/VAT inspection.

 

[AngliaSolutions]

don't forget you also need to keep the paperwork (preferably in some semblance of order) for 6 long years too.......... so, wise to get organised.

If you do not have the time, why not employ someone freelance to do it for you? or ask a family member with a bit of time spare. Companies like mine also deal with this sort of thing, if you are interested, the site is www.angliabusinesssolutions.co.uk

 

[spigwell]

Plastic bag, Do my own bookeeping on a weekly basis now. Store as many reciepts as possible into bag then squeeze/push/lever them into the back of a cupboard.