Keep Great Records-- And Your Sanity

By Jan Weeks

I eased into freelancing while teaching middle school. Back then, keeping track of expenses and income was easy. I just added my meager writing pay to my form 1040 and filed it with my W2 from my regular job. Then I started submitting and selling more, and suddenly all those scraps of paper with mileage and expenses written on them that piled up on my desk from January through December took on a demonic life of their own, and my accountant advised me that I was cheating myself out of legitimate deductions.

I tried using columnar pads meant for bookkeepers but they didn’t help me track all the things I needed to. I tried keeping separate spreadsheets on my computer but couldn’t remember where I filed them. Phone bills disappeared before I could separate the business calls from the personal ones. Editorial contacts, daily word counts, and other important information served as lunch for the labs and tabbies; at least I couldn’t find them when I needed them and had to resort to “Gee, I think I talked to you about a month ago” when contacting editors. I’ve always been organized in hard copy (my favorite birthday present was color-coded file folders) but if it didn’t go in a metal drawer immediately, it was gone for good.

Through 20 years of writing, I’ve refined my record-keeping to three simple systems: an all-purpose Excel spreadsheet, a phone log, and a store-bought daybook. Now I can keep track of everything my CPA and the IRS will ever need to know. Here’s how I do it.

The Spreadsheet

Nine columns tell me and my accountant who, what, where, when, and why:

This format allows me to sort information by category, know when and where I sent queries (abbreviated “?” on the sheet), how much it cost to send, how much I earned, and if a submission was accepted. What more do I need to know? If I wanted to, I could add columns for the publication name, address, and editor’s name, but I already have that information on the query or cover letter, which I file as a Word document, and in my daybook. After I post my expenses, the receipts go directly into a “2005 Writing Receipts” file in my desk drawer. No more searching for bits of paper.

A code system lets me arrange information quickly at the end of the year, and I don’t have to manually sort data. My codes looks like this:

1   Postage (Anything that goes USPS, UPS, or FedEx)

2   Office Supplies (Paper, ink, toner, paper clips, etc.)

3   Utilities (Phone, lights, Internet server)

4   Equipment (Computer, printer, etc.)

5   Travel Expenses (Meals, lodging-- I use the standard mileage deduction, so I don’t keep track of gas purchases.)

6   Professional Development (Writer’s magazine subscriptions, conferences, workshops, etc.)

7   Photo Supplies (Camera, film, developing)

8   Income (My favorite!)

9   Mileage (To and from interviews, research trips, book readings/signings)

10 Charitable Contributions (What I'd charge if I was paid for editing the church newsletter or writing the press release for a charity bake sale)

11 Electronic Submissions (Everything e-mailed to an editor: queries, articles)

Postage is a little tricky: I don’t enter the amount I shell out for a roll of stamps, because adding that in will inflate my postage expenses. Instead, I trust the IRS (which may be a huge mistake) to understand that a query letter won’t go anywhere without a stamp. I enter the cost of mailing each piece into the spreadsheet as it goes out. If I add proof-of-delivery or other special postage to the envelope, I get a receipt and add that both to the cost of mailing that piece and to my receipt file.

On January 1, I sort the spreadsheet by category, insert a couple of lines below each category, subtotal each category (if money’s involved), and then enter formulas that let me calculate my total income and total expenses. Within an hour, I have the information printed out and on its way to the accountant, which frees up a lot of energy to use on something besides dreading the April 15 deadline.

The Phone Log

The second form I use is a phone log. I don’t have a long distance carrier; instead, I use a prepaid phone card to make business calls. I enter the price of the card in my spreadsheet, then track each call made on a phone log, in case the IRS ever wants documentation of that expense. Since I use my office phone only for business, I record my regular Qwest bill under Utilities in my spreadsheet. If your phone service includes long distance charges, enter them into the spreadsheet as expenses. Get into the habit of recording each call when it’s made, and you’ll have info-at-a-glance if you need to know when you contacted an agent or client.

The Daybook

My preprinted daybook (free from a local savings and loan company) contains monthly, weekly, and daily calendars, which have plenty of room for notes and appointments. In it I keep track of my daily word count, monthly writing goals, to-do lists, and any other notes about writing, such as contest deadlines, websites, and frequently called business phone numbers. Conversations and confirmations get noted, as well as submissions and business appointments. An adjunct to my daybook is transparent business card pockets from the discount store that fit into the same three-ring binder I use for my phone log and hold all the cards I collect.

Even though you’re a creative free spirit, earmark an hour to think like a business owner. Set up your spreadsheet and print your phone log, and you’ll be able to let your cursor do the walking to any record you need. Your tax preparer will love you, your desk will be neater, and you’ll have more time to do what you love: Write.

Jan Weeks is a freelance writer/editor currently living in western Colorado.  She wrote her first “book” at age eight; she published her first novel at-- well, later.  Her articles, poetry, and short stories have appeared in literary journals, newspapers, and regional and national magazines. For more than you probably ever wanted to know about her, visit www.weekslit.com. 

Sponsored links

Ring binders

 

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer!

How to find a book publisher

Home

Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007 Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
Please contact the authors if you'd like to reprint articles on this site.  All copyrights are retained by original authors.  And plagiarizers will be rounded up, handcuffed, and stuck into a very small and humid room wherein they must listen to Barney sing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song over and over again.

writers writing software