| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you handle your finances yourself? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you handle your finances yourself?".
View the poll results »
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I handle the invoicing and banking, all the rest (taxes, etc.) is with my accountant.
| | | | | Yes, it's hardly rocket science | Dec 8, 2015 |
Do work
Send bills
Keep receipts
Tot up sales and expenses
Pay XX% tax on the difference
That said, we do have to have an accountant check our sums, but only because we trade as a limited company (for reasons that seemed compelling 20 years ago but are now a complete mystery).
| | | | Ventnai 
Spain
Local time: 02:22
German to English
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| Accountant files taxes | Dec 8, 2015 |
I submit my receipts and invoices to an accountant every quarter and they file the tax forms.
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| Everything but tax returns | Dec 8, 2015 |
My accountant takes care of the tax returns, I do everything else.
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Teresa Borges wrote:
I handle the invoicing and banking, all the rest (taxes, etc.) is with my accountant.
Same here, so maybe I should have replied yes.
I send invoices, track payments, purchase business goods and services, plan the future and generally spend my money myself, but I don't do anything even remotely linked to the admin or tax authorities.
Philippe
| | | | | I do the invoicing | Dec 8, 2015 |
... because it is quicker than explaining to my long-suffering husband what it is all about.
But he is an economist, and does all the rest, because he has a MUCH better head for figures than I have, and he knows all the legal requirements.
If he did not do it professionally, I would pay someone else.
The Danish tax authorities are OK if you keep on the straight and narrow, but if they are not satisfied, there can be trouble.
| | | | John Cutler
Spain
Local time: 02:22
Spanish to English
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Lori Cirefice wrote:
My accountant takes care of the tax returns, I do everything else.
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Chié_JP
Japan
Local time: 09:22
Member (2013)
English to Japanese
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Actually I prioritize agencies with a user friendly PO/Invoice interface.
This actually contributed to increased productivity overall.
| | | | | I have an accountant | Dec 8, 2015 |
but I do the invoicing myself
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 20:22
English to Spanish
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Back in New York (1992) when I got started as a part-time freelance translator, I had a lawyer friend of mine handle my taxes. I remember that I didn't owe any taxes because I had made so little money.
I used the services of another friend, an accountant, who did my taxes from 1993 to 1994 (if I recall correctly). When I realized that my income was going up as well as my expenses, I decided it was time to start using tax software. I think I started in 1994 or 1995 with Turbotax (may... See more Back in New York (1992) when I got started as a part-time freelance translator, I had a lawyer friend of mine handle my taxes. I remember that I didn't owe any taxes because I had made so little money.
I used the services of another friend, an accountant, who did my taxes from 1993 to 1994 (if I recall correctly). When I realized that my income was going up as well as my expenses, I decided it was time to start using tax software. I think I started in 1994 or 1995 with Turbotax (maybe I used a different package earlier on) and I am still using Turbotax (from Quicken, an American company).
I don't know what the rules or conditions are in European, Asian or African countries, but here in America you can deduct as business expenses the following:
Your mortgage interest
Your health plan premiums
Medical expenses that go above 7% of what you've already paid in such expenses
Trade shows and conferences, as well as professional membership dues
In some states (like Minnesota), you may deduct a big portion of your rent payments
Office supplies, computer equipment, furniture
Improvements to your office space
Your office space (measured in square feet), as long as it is a differentiated enclosure, like a room, a basement, etc.
Now, when you live in a one-bedroom apartment, it's hard to find a separate room, unless you slept in the bathroom tub and used your bedroom as an office. What I did in those days was to dedicate a space, regardless of walls or other physical barriers, to an office, sometimes including storage space because that's where I put my office supplies, spare computer parts, etc.
Nowadays, I own my apartment and my entire living room + den + closet are my office space. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Doan Quang
Vietnam
Local time: 07:22
Member
English to Vietnamese
| Myself by end of the month | Dec 8, 2015 |
I do it myself by end of the month
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564354352 (X)
Denmark
Local time: 02:22
Danish to English
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Mine is just a simple one-woman business, how hard can it be?
Besides, I learnt bookkeeping and how to do annual reports as part of my business communication and translation degree, and with the Danish tax authorities preparing both tax and VAT forms for us, it's not even close to being rocket science.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 21:22
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| All by myself, | Dec 8, 2015 |
IMO, if you have a company officially established, you may need an accountant (though not necessarily).
But if you are a freelancer, there is no excuse in the world to burn money with an accountant, unless the tax laws in your country are very rigorous with self-employed professionals, and it would take a lot of time to calculate and fill-in all the stuff. Otherwise, don't be lazy: learn how to do it yourself, and don't give your money away unnecessarily.
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Between Freshbooks and TurboTax, I just push a couple of buttons and I'm done.
All my invoices are automated and my expenses recorded by the system. The only issue I have is that there never seems to be enough money in the budget for my video game addiction.
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