Every year at this time, I pull out my file bulging with receipts for my real estate business to begin the tedious process of separating them into the IRS categories for Schedule C in piles strewn on the floor around my desk.
It dawned on me–how could it have taken so long?–that the pieces of paper were useful only for my calculations and in the dreaded event of an audit. There had to be a better way.
Rather than toting up the numbers in various categories on a legal pad, I belatedly realized that entering the figures on an Excel spread sheet would make sense. Lo and behold, so it did. I finished the task in a couple of hours, and the computations were done when the last number was entered or even changed.
Well, thought I, I’ll have to do this again next year, information I shared with a friend. It was Alfred who asked me, why wait? If I use Excel throughout the year, the worst part of my tax preparation will be done on Dec. 31.
Neat!
That’s what I’m doing and what I cannot recommend too highly. It’s even better than sticking receipts into separate file folders by type of expense throughout the year. Try it: You’ll like it too.
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Share This PostMalcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Senior Vice President
Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022
M: 347-886-0248
F: 347-438-3201
Malcolm@ServiceYouCanTrust.com
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I, on Cambodia 
Good points, I think I will definitely subscribe! I’ll go and read some more!
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