The bookkeeper who showed me my receipts were a mess

For three years I just threw all my business receipts into a shoebox and dealt with them at tax time. Last February my bookkeeper sat me down and showed me a pile of $400 in late fees I paid because I couldn't find a single receipt. Now I snap a photo with my phone the second I buy anything for the shop, even a $5 box of screws. Has anyone else found a system that keeps them from drowning in paper every April?

3 comments

3 Comments

julia_carter702mo ago

God that sounds awful. I use a simple folder system by month and toss everything in there immediately.

the_lucas2mo ago

Same here, month folders and dump everything in, never looking back.

luna89124d ago

Ugh yeah I've been there too. Honestly what worked for me is tagging everything with the date right in the filename. So like "2025-03-21 project notes" or whatever. That way even if you dump it in a giant folder you can still find stuff later by just searching the date. Also I set up a quick rule in my email that auto files anything with an attachment into a folder named by month. It takes like 5 minutes to set up and saves so much headache later. I know it sounds extra but once you lose one important file you'll never go back.

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