Hasta La Ideas

When you’re a freelancer, being on top of your financials is an unfortunate, but necessary, part of the job. Unfortunate, that is, unless you’re one of those people who lives to file receipts and update spreadsheets. Even if you aren’t, you don’t have to change who you are and how you do things to be good at bookkeeping. As long as you have control of the three essential components, you can find a system that fits your style.

Whether you’re a newbie freelancer or you’ve been grappling with this stuff for years, it’s better to keep things as simple as possible. Here are the basic things you’ll need to keep track of:

• Assignments
• Payments
• Tax stuff

Seem simple? It is. Of course there are plenty of subcategories to each of these, and depending on the type and quantity of work you do, there are plenty of other things you may need to integrate into your system. But if you’re just getting started as a writer, these are the three most important things.

The upside of having your financial house in order is greater security. You will know who you’ve invoiced, who has paid, who hasn’t — and you’ll have all the proof to back you up if you need it.

For more, read: Doing Better Business: Bookkeeping 101

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