Record Keeping Essentials for Creatives

Keeping records is an important part of running your own business (and probably one of the most dreaded things for creatives!). Good records:

• Keep you sane. No more worrying about where to find your important documents.
• Save you time. 
• Help you prepare for tax time.

Are you wondering what kind of records you should be keeping? Wonder no more. Here is a list of the files every small business should have:

Bank Records: Anything bank related: bank statements, bank reconciliations, notices from your bank, and deposit slips. 
Marketing & Advertising: Brochures, business cards, etc. 
Business Records: Corporations: articles of incorporations, bylaws, state filings. Non-corporations: LLC documents, state filings. Also, permits and/or licenses needed to operate your business in your city or state.
Employee records: Employment applications, W-2s, termination letters, time sheets, payroll information, agreement of wages. 
Tax records: Quarterly and annual tax filings, W-9s from independent contractors, documents supporting your tax records, 1099s filed. (hint: the more efficient your record keeping system the easier it is to prepare for tax season!).
Client Records: contact information, contracts. Many photographers and website designers use Dubsado or Honeybook to simply this process!
Accounting & Bookkeeping Records: Receipts, business credit card statements (plus receipts to back them up), invoices, income statements, balance sheets. If you want a simple system I recommend QuickBooks Online. It'll track everything you need for bookkeeping and make tax time a breeze! Plus it can easily sync with Honeybook or Dubsado.

You can keep these files in a filing cabinet, on your computer, or in a cloud-storage system (or any combo of these). Personally, I use all three options. I use QuickBooks Online for my client and bookkeeping records [cloud-storage system], file boxes for important business documents, and my computer for tax and and business records. 

Remember that it is never too late to start a good record keeping system. Even if you’ve been in business for a few years and have let your files fall behind there is no time like the present to get yourself organized. ​

And if you're wondering how long you should keep these documents in your files before you you shred them check out my free guide.