First of all, I am not an expert in this. I have had some questions lately from some newer photographers who don’t know what to do about their accounting. I keep mine SUPER simple. Here is my process.

I keep a binder and divide it into two sections: Profit and Expenses. There is a table for each month in which I put the dates, amount received/paid, and the reason why. At the bottom of the table, I total it all up so it’s nice and easy to see what I have for total numbers. I also calculate my use tax and sales tax and put those numbers in the “total” row. I print/collect all of my receipts for everything and put them with the appropriate month (I collect my physical receipts in a physical “inbox” so that it is all in one place). That is what I do for a physical copy of my expenses and profits. I also keep a record of my mileage and add up my monthly totals there so I can give those to my accountant.

On Pixifi I enter in all of my expenses and profits for that month as well (my profits that are paid online automatically update on Pixifi – I just enter in any checks that I received). What’s great about using Pixifi for this is that I can put each of my expenses into a category. Then, at the end of the year, I printed off all of my expenses and it includes totals for each of my categories. This is literally all I do for my accounting.

I dedicate a day each month to getting the previous month squared away so that I am not super overwhelmed trying to do it at the end of the year. I just handed over my binder and the printed spreadsheet of my expenses to my accountant on Saturday and he was very pleased with how organized everything is. I also didn’t miss anything by doing it this way. Also, it was such a relief to hand everything over to a professional and not have to worry about messing up my taxes!

So, if you’re afraid of accounting, don’t be! It is not as difficult as it seems, and it does not have to be as complicated as one would think. Keep it simple and organized so that it works for you and your business! I would also check with your accountant to see exactly what they need, but I can’t imagine that much more than this would have to be done for tax time each year.

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