Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
Poll: Do you measure and keep track of your monthly income?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jul 5, 2014

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you measure and keep track of your monthly income?".

This poll was originally submitted by tilakahuja. View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:10
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
What an odd question!!!! Jul 5, 2014

Of course I DO keep track of my earnings and expenses… How can one function without?

 
Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
Portuguese to English
+ ...
No Jul 5, 2014

But I do keep track of my yearly income of course. Monthly income is pretty much irrelevant for freelancers. In my case August is always dead, but the spring and autumn months are always very busy.

 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:10
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
A "must" Jul 5, 2014

Teresa Borges wrote:

Of course I DO keep track of my earnings and expenses… How can one function without?


Exactly!


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 13:10
Turkish to English
+ ...
No Jul 5, 2014

I get my accountant to tell me the total value in euro of the invoices I issued and the expenses invoices I submitted for the six-month period at the end of June (needed for my temporary tax return) and the twelve-month period at the end of December (needed for my annual tax return) every year. I do not worry about income on a monthly basis too much.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:10
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
You betcha! Jul 5, 2014

It so happens that I have regular expenses every month and need money to cover them. I keep close watch at what my total will be each month, as I don't want to go below a certain amount. Even if I made extra the month before, I still try to squeeze in enough work to meet that minimum. If it looks as if I'm running low, I will speed up what I'm working on so that I'm available to take on more work.

 
Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:10
Member (2003)
French to Italian
+ ...
Same method here Jul 5, 2014

Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:

It so happens that I have regular expenses every month and need money to cover them. I keep close watch at what my total will be each month, as I don't want to go below a certain amount. Even if I made extra the month before, I still try to squeeze in enough work to meet that minimum. If it looks as if I'm running low, I will speed up what I'm working on so that I'm available to take on more work.


Someone answered no?!! How is possible?


 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:10
French to English
Yes Jul 5, 2014

It's kind of necessary for tax reasons.

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:10
Member (2006)
German to English
Ditto Jul 5, 2014

Teresa Borges wrote:

Of course I DO keep track of my earnings and expenses… How can one function without?


I cannot understand why a freelancer would not do it, unless of course, if they ae simply independent and living Mummys hotel


 
Luiz Barucke
Luiz Barucke  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 08:10
Spanish to Portuguese
+ ...
I have to do so Jul 5, 2014

Almost all my clients pay me 45-60 days after my invoice. How could I control if I'm being correctly paid if I did not track my forecast and real income?

I have everything in a big spreadsheet, and this helps me to track my income, what my clients owe me, and also which clients I should and which I should not work again with.

It's impossible to work and live (and eat) as a freelancer without this accurate tracking.


 
Rebecca Garber
Rebecca Garber  Identity Verified
Local time: 07:10
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
Sort of? Jul 5, 2014

I divide my spread sheet by tax quarters. This makes calculating taxes easier, but tracking money income is slightly more difficult, especially in those quarters that are 4 months long as opposed to the second quarter, which is only two months long. I *can* break out the monthly incomes if I want to, but I've never actually needed to do so.

 
Gudrun Maydorn (X)
Gudrun Maydorn (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:10
English to German
+ ...
An absolute necessity Jul 5, 2014

The German tax office demands either monthly or 3-monthly VAT figures (depending on amount of income and number of years in self-employment), so there is no alternative to keeping your figures up to date.

 
Triston Goodwin
Triston Goodwin  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:10
Spanish to English
+ ...
My favorite part of the job Jul 5, 2014

I wonder if I should move into accounting instead of translation. I honestly enjoy keeping track of all the numbers (I blame my time as an in-house interpreter for a couple of banks).

I have a couple of layers for tracking income. I have my large white board where I keep track of current projects and invoices that need to be issued, or have recently been issued. After that, I found an online accounting system, Freshbooks.com. I love them, let me know if you want to sign up, I have a
... See more
I wonder if I should move into accounting instead of translation. I honestly enjoy keeping track of all the numbers (I blame my time as an in-house interpreter for a couple of banks).

I have a couple of layers for tracking income. I have my large white board where I keep track of current projects and invoices that need to be issued, or have recently been issued. After that, I found an online accounting system, Freshbooks.com. I love them, let me know if you want to sign up, I have a coupon! I use that system to keep track of expenses, long term projects and payments, my website design work, and to compare monthly profits.

[Edited at 2014-07-06 01:44 GMT]
Collapse


 
María González, M.A. English
María González, M.A. English  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 11:10
Member (Jan 2024)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Of course, said the horse Jul 5, 2014

Angie Garbarino wrote:

Someone answered no?!! How is possible?


Well, so far there seems to be some 18% of answerers who don't keep track. Lucky them!

Happy rest of the weekend, -M


 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 12:10
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Yes Jul 5, 2014

I even keep track of how much I invoice each week, just to always have a realistic idea of how business is going.

 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: Do you measure and keep track of your monthly income?






TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »