Photo Education

Tips for Taxes and Staying Ahead

April 16, 2012

I’m Catherine.
A New Orleans based wedding photographer and educator. We are excited you are here and cannot wait to connect with you!.
TOp categories
how to determine your base price
Get My Free Pricing Guide 
ACCESS NOW

Today, this April 16th..so many people (especially accountants…mine included) are taking a huge sigh of relief as today marks the last day of tax season. πŸ™‚ YAY! πŸ™‚ And….it then…starts over again. lol…

So, as this sort of “new start” mile marker, I thought it’d be fun to write out a few things that really help to keep me organized from year to year. Before I begin, I have to give a huge shoutout to my accountant Luke Sonnier as he truly has taught me so much of what I know in regards to my business finances, banking, quickbooks, and so much more.

I’m a list sort of person, so I’ll highlight these things in list form. One more thing I want to say before I begin is that: These tips are things that have helped me. They may not be for everyone and by no means am I saying they are the end all be all.  I hope this helps at least one person and I encourage you to do your own research and figure out what works best for you as well!!

* Update your accounts monthly: I know this is about as fun as working out everyday. But truly, it’s saved me (and my accountant) so much time this year! On the 19th of every month as I go to file my state and parish sales taxes, I balance all of my business accounts!

* Be familiar with your finances ALWAYS: This sort of goes back to updating your accounts monthly but it’s also beyond that. I think it’s important to have an idea of how much money you have at any point in time. This is especially necessary in the case of business emergencies and expenses. Being familiar and keeping up also prevents fraud as you can catch things as they happen.

* Save a percentage of every check for taxes: Especially in a photography business, not every month will be the same. Some months are busier than others and so it’s especially important to save and to think ahead. For me, I save 30% -40% of every check for taxes (state and federal) and place it in a separate savings acount.

* Consider having three separate bank accounts: After I opened the savings account that I mentioned above for my taxes, I opened another for products. This way, in one year from now, when “Sal + Susan” are ready to order their album, I have the money to cover this cost set aside.

* Hire someone to help if you need It: I’ll admit, when I first opened my business, I was SO scared to hire someone to help. I wasn’t at the point where I was profitting and I was ashamed of how little I knew about banking and finance. I trusted Luke and because I was vulnerable he was able to help. He taught me about quickbooks and even guided me through the process of my monthly sales tax payments. As photographers and business owners, we’re responsible for knowing our trade, for gaining experience in regards to camera equipment and capturing moments. We expect people to hire us for our professionalism, so I believe we should be doing the same when it comes to elements of the business that are out of our expertise.

* Get everything together early: Although tax season offically ended today, I had my quickbooks updated for the year 2011 and sent to my accountant as of January 19th. Not only does this make things easier for him, but it allows enough time for me to fix any mistakes that need to be made.

* Filing early can allow you to catch unpaid balances: At the end of the year, it gave me the opportunity to look over my finances. And in the process I found 2 unpaid invoices. This is a great opportunity to review all aspects of the business and make sure your i’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed.

* Pay your taxes on time: This applies to both your state/parish sales taxes as well as your federal taxes. Being organized and doing things on time will save you money in the end. It prevents penalty charges and fees.

Every year I make sure to add to this mental list as I grow and learn from my mistakes. πŸ™‚ I like to continue learning of ways to become more efficient (especially on the business side) so that I can continue doing the aspect of my business that I love….taking pictures:

Add a comment
+ show Comments
- Hide Comments

Leave a Reply

Browse By Category

Weddings

Business

Podcast

Sessions

cg
photo

On the Air

Mistakes Make Magic

The Mistakes Make Magic podcast is a podcast designed to give wedding photographers and creative entrepreneurs entertainment and lessons learned. 

LIsten in
WORK WITH US

Our Services

Whether we are blending into the event experience or assisting to find the best light, the wedding day is where we create authentic and emotion-filled moments.

WORK WITH US

TOP RESOURCES

Blog Post or Freebie

Etsy sriracha williamsburg thundercats literally vinyl selfies distillery squid humblebrag. Glossier church-key subway.

TOP RESOURCES

Blog Post or Freebie

Etsy sriracha williamsburg thundercats literally vinyl selfies distillery squid humblebrag. Glossier church-key subway.

Get On the List

Embed your opt-in form on the right. We styled this placeholder version how we think it should look so just do your best to match it in your marketing email platform of choice.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consec and also really great newsletter content.

yes, I'm in!

Get My Free Editing Preset When You Subscribe