Accounting Basics for Photographers

If you’re about to run into financial trouble, you can better plan for the future. A bookkeeper’s job includes gathering financial data for your company and recording it properly. Some of that financial data includes when you purchase new equipment, pay to rent space for photo shoots, or receive money from clients for your services. Another big piece of running your own photography business is keeping track of your business finances.

Create graphs, charts, and dashboards to quickly assess where your income is coming from and which expenses are cutting into your bottom line. Zoom into detailed data with expense tracking and customized reports to manage your revenue, categorize expenses, and find cost-cutting opportunities. If you are recording the salary payment for your models, you would make a debit entry to the salary expense account. Then, you would credit the cash account to decrease the amount of cash your business shows. The double-entry method is required if you wish to “balance your books” after a given period.

Have a clear view of your business

If you need help determining which tax status is best for you and your business, please talk to a tax professional. That meant that the primary home sale capital gain exclusion applied in his case. He had a large capital gain on the sale, and thought he had to pay tax on it.

Just using your CRM, such as Dubsado or Honeybook is generally not enough. The best way to track your photography costs is to use an accounting software, such as Quickbooks or Xero. Quickbooks is the #1 small business accounting software and has all the features that a photographer would need to do accounting for their small business. “Getting your books in order starts with your mindset,” explains Tanya. “It takes getting over mental hurdles like shame, procrastination, and fear.

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You can track inventory and build custom financial reports through Quickbooks, as well. It’s also easy to access on your desktop or smartphone and gives you an up to date overview of your business activities, so you’re always on top of your finances. This is one of the most important things you can do to prove that you’re a legitimate photography business.

• With an iOS app feature you can access on the go, and an Android version forthcoming, ShootQ is a good choice for free accounting software for photographers that’s easy to customize.
• There are some fantastic free providers out there that specialize in software for zero to nine employees, perfect for when you’re just getting started.
• The cash method in accounting is helpful in the beginning stages when your trackable expenses are still relatively manageable.
• Bookkeeping is different from financial analysis, which often involves looking at long-term trends, spending, and patterns.

You might want to handle your own bookkeeping but invest in a professional accountant at tax time, and set aside money in savings if you want to hire a financial consultant or bookkeeper. https://www.bookstime.com/ Business expenses are great in that you can deduct them from your federal taxes. The downside is that you have to keep track of your business expenses in order for them to qualify.

Find effective ways to grow your business

Humberto Garcia is the world’s leading photography business growth expert. This is a standalone app that automatically detects and tracks your business mileage. I’ve been using it for years, and it is fantastic for tracking mileage. It is currently operated by Microsoft, so you have the reassurance that MileIQ will have long-term support. If you travel for business, many of those costs can be written off as expenses. All of these fees must be incurred during business travel to qualify.

This is particularly important for meals and entertainment deductions because it is a commonly abused deduction. You can take your dinner receipt, write these items right on the receipt, take a quick cell phone photo for your records, and upload directly to Xero, Receipt Bank, Box, or any storage system that you use. Keep it simple and easy so that you do it, and don’t find yourself with a stack of receipts to scan at the end of the year. Tax planning for video production and photography companies should include short term and long term tax strategies. Furthermore, taxes are ever-changing, and it is important that your business’ tax strategy has the flexibility to accommodate any changes that occur each tax season. When it comes to accounting software, FreshBooks is one of the more expensive options.

Their basic plan starts at $21/month, though most photographers go for the $58/month pro plan to access the best features. We’ve rounded up the best free and paid options to make running your photography business a breeze. Additionally, you can avoid overpaying for accounting software that’s too photography accounting advanced. On the other hand, you don’t want to sign up for free accounting software or the basic plan of a bookkeeping software only to realize that several core accounting features or financial reports are missing. Modern accounting software make it easier than ever to track business expenses.