Managing a small business is no easy task, and you don’t have the luxury of taking shortcuts (not even once). You can, however, be smart about how you handle your duties. Let’s take expense tracking, for example. Read on to discover the importance of small business expense tracking and understanding all of your critical small business expenses and how to record-keep like a pro with the help of innovative receipt scanners!

Why the IRS Wants You to Track Your Expenses

Is it really necessary to track all of your expenses as a small business owner? If you want to qualify for tax breaks, then tossing out your receipts is not an option. You’d be surprised at all of the purchases you can itemize as a business owner, and every little bit can help save you money come tax season. Having proof of your purchases on hand can also keep investigations brief should the IRS ever want to run an audit on your business.

Both fixed and variable expenses can be itemized on your taxes, so it pays to keep track of everything (quite literally). As long as you’re able to delineate between personal and business expenses, you can hang onto receipts for:

• Inventory restock
• Repairs and maintenance
• Office supplies
• Rent space
• Licenses and permits
• Utilities
• Insurance

The list goes on and on for small business expense tracking. If you’re not sure if a purchase can be itemized, it’s best practice to hang onto the receipt anyway and ask your trusted tax person. Then, you’ll know for next time.

Receipt-Tracking 101: Effective Tips and Tricks

Tracking your small business expenses involves collecting and recording data, but simply stuffing every receipt into your desk drawer doesn’t count. When it comes to record-keeping, your goal is to keep your information safe and easily accessible. Consider these helpful tips:

Don’t Wait to Record Your Expenses

The moment you obtain a receipt for a small business expense, it’s best to get into the habit of recording it immediately. Some people refer to this as real-time expense tracking, and it eliminates the mistake of forgetting to track a purchase. It’s easy to forget such a simple task, even if only ten minutes have passed.

Start With an Efficient Organizational Pattern

Recording your expenses won’t help if the information you seek isn’t properly organized. You can categorize your receipts by date, month, vendor name, or type of expense. The trick is to sort it out early and get a jump on how you’re going to file your papers in the long term.

Log Every Receipt in the Books

If you think it’s too insignificant to keep, it’s probably not. Every expense counts when itemizing your taxes, no matter how small. It’s better to just play it safe and record it anyway!

Take Advantage of Digital Platforms

Transferring your expenses to a digital platform opens up an entirely new world of benefits and possibilities. You can easily organize your data on command, export that data to tax software, and minimize the clutter in your immediate work area. Electronic record-keeping is especially easy with advanced receipt scanners made just for this purpose.

Is Electronic Receipt Tracking Worth It? Yes, With the Right Tools

You don’t get anything special for recording everything by hand, so you might as well save yourself the headache by doing everything digitally. Electronic platforms make it easier to organize your receipts and pull them up on a whim. The clear and legible font is also easier to read than handwriting, so you can spot potential areas where you can save on costs.

If the idea of manually entering data into your computer puts you off, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a much easier way.

Introducing the AmbirScan Receipt Scanner – Small Business Innovation at Its Finest

Scanning, tracking, and retaining receipts can be done in a flash with the AmbirScan Receipt Scanner. Small business owners love this tool as a simplified way to track their expenses in a way that’s compatible with their preferred tax and spreadsheet software. Ambir utilizes OCR technology to read and pull essential data from physical receipts, such as:

• Total amount
• Tax amount
• Date of purchase
• Vendor name
• Item descriptions

Expense tracking shouldn’t be neglected, but you can turn this otherwise tedious task into a walk in the park with the right tools. Advanced scanners such as these can help you get on board with other successful entrepreneurs by working smarter, not harder! If it’ll help out your business, then it’s definitely worth a try.

About AMBIR

AMBIR is a manufacturer of digital capture solutions for businesses and consumers. Headquartered in Chicago, IL and founded over 25 years ago on the premise of creating the highest quality hardware backed by hands-on support. AMBIR provides a variety of document and card scanners, eSignature pads and barcode scanners for various industries including healthcare, financial services, legal and more. We are known for being a hands-on organization who supports its clients with an itnernal team of dedicated professionals who know their clients by name. AMBIR is considered a market leading solution in the healthcare space due to it’s wide selection of products that integrate with leading EMR/EHR systems.