A Helpful Post About Taxes...

Taxes. Yes, I said the dreaded 'T' word! It's that time of year again. Where we all scramble to find our receipts that we've managed to shove in odd crevices of our house, desks, even purses. Umm, yeah, I'm guilty of that last one.

This year though, I plan on getting organized with this whole aspect of the Self-Publishing industry. I've scheduled an appointment with an accountant to get everything all situated for 2013.

Here are a few tips I learned the hard way this last year:

1) Print out all receipts upon viewing them the first time. If you say to yourself "well, I'll put it in this folder in my email and do it later." chances are...you won't. It will sit. And sit. And sit. Until tax time the following year. Then your printer will be on overload! Trust me. They add up!

2) Sticky notes and paperclips are your friend, but only if you don't have a filing cabinet. This is my organization process for receipts at the moment: sticky notes with type of receipts written on it (cover art, supplies, etc.) and then those recipes are paper clipped together. I need a filing cabinet. So much more organized to have a folder for each!

3) Save receipts for everything! That pack of printer paper. The bubble lined, extra large envelope you bought to ship out a paperback to one awesome fan. The mailing receipts from the post office where you waited umpteen million hours in line while the person in front of you counted out pennies to pay for their package to be mailed to the UK. Save everything.

4) Talk with an accountant early on in the game. Even if you don't think you are EVER going to sell enough copies to be able to buy a pack of gum...chances are, if you stick with it--keep improving your craft, promoting, and shelling out new works--you will at some point. And when it hits, because it will give it time, you want to make sure you have everything lined up to make your filing easier.

Here is a link to a Kindleboards Forum that the very talented Megg Jensen shared on a Facebook group I'm in, check it out. There's loads on info in there. Click HERE to head there.

Best of luck guys!