Receipts: The Bane of Everyone's Existance!

Everybody hates receipts.  As a business owner, you hate them, and as a bookkeeper, I hate them.  But we all know that the scary men with briefcases will come knocking at our doors if we don't keep them, right?

I wish I could say "Wrong!" unequivocally, but I can't.  The truth is, the IRS DOES require you to keep receipts for business purchases. If you get audited, they really truly will ask you to pull random receipts for purchases that you have made--going back as far as 6 years. Believe me! I've witnessed real live audits.

That being said, there are exceptions to the receipt-keeping rules. This article from Pay Simple tells you pretty much everything you might want to know about the whole business. The main take-aways are:

-Keep your business and personal finances separate.

-You don't need to keep receipts for expenses under $75, except for lodging receipts.

-Digital receipts are acceptable, so don't delete receipts for online purchases. If you don't want to keep paper receipts around, you can scan them and keep them electronically. A great bookkeeper can help keep both physical and digital records!

-Keep receipts and bank statements for at least 3 years, or 6 years to be very safe.

The other great news about receipt management is that since EVERYONE hates receipts, there are technological geniuses working on making it better.  One product that I have been recommending to my clients is Expensify.  Expensify has options for individuals and businesses to easily track and record business expenses.  I use it for my own business as well as for several of my bookkeeping clients and so far I have been blown away by its awesome features.

Do you have other product recommendations for receipt management? Other tips? Tricks of the trade? Questions? Post a comment!