PSA: Getting my freelance business set up right took way longer than I thought

I figured sorting out my taxes and invoices as a new freelancer would be a weekend job, but it took me a solid three months to get a real system going. I kept messing up my quarterly payments and almost missed a big one. Finally sat down and bought a $15 app to track everything, which helped a ton. It's wild how much of the job is just the admin stuff nobody talks about. Anyone else get stuck on the boring paperwork side when they started out?

4 comments

4 Comments

tessa_clark7415d ago

Totally get that, the paperwork mountain is real. I did the same thing as @fisher.adam with a separate tax account, but it took me a year of scrambling to figure it out. The mental load of tracking every little expense was the worst part for me.

margaretm2315d ago

Honestly seems like overkill to me. Just set a calendar reminder for quarterly taxes and move the money then. Fisher.adam's system sounds like extra work for no real payoff. My regular checking account works fine, I just don't spend money I know isn't mine.

fisher.adam20d ago

Yeah I feel that. I just set up a separate bank account for tax money, makes it way easier to not spend it by accident.

karen_perry3820d ago

A separate bank account just for taxes is such a smart move, I wish I'd done that years ago. The idea of having that much money just sitting in my regular checking account gives me serious anxiety. I'm always one impulsive online shopping trip away from a disaster. You must have way more self control than I do to even need that system.