Give every payment a place
Bay chak peman yon plas
Waiting until tax season turns small bookkeeping questions into a weekend of guesswork. Create one folder for each month with income, expenses, statements and questions. A spreadsheet is enough to start: date, customer or vendor, amount, category and business purpose. Keep a separate business account where practical, and record transfers without treating every deposit as sales.
Tann sezon taks fè ti kestyon kontablite tounen yon wikenn devinèt. Kreye yon dosye pou chak mwa ak revni, depans, relevé ak kestyon. Yon tablo sifi pou kòmanse: dat, kliyan oswa founisè, montan, kategori ak rezon biznis. Itilize yon kont biznis apa kote sa posib, epi anrejistre transfè yo san ou pa trete chak depo kòm lavant.
Reconcile income, not just tax forms
Rekonsilye revni, pa sèlman fòm taks
Compare invoices and payment-platform reports with your bank statement. Record cash payments too. A tax form is a reporting document, not your complete bookkeeping system. Example: a customer pays $200 and the processor deposits $194 after a $6 fee. Your records should explain the $200 sale and $6 processing cost rather than losing the difference. Do not report the same sale twice because it appears in two reports.
Konpare fakti ak rapò platfòm peman yo ak relevé labank ou. Anrejistre peman kach tou. Yon fòm taks se yon dokiman rapò, li pa tout sistèm kontablite ou. Egzanp: yon kliyan peye $200 epi processeur a depoze $194 apre $6 frè. Dosye ou dwe esplike lavant $200 la ak frè $6 la. Pa konte menm lavant lan de fwa paske li parèt nan de rapò.
A receipt needs a business explanation
Yon resi bezwen yon esplikasyon biznis
Save the receipt and add a short note about the business purpose. For mixed personal and business purchases, identify the business portion instead of deducting the whole bill. Keep mileage records for business travel and distinguish commuting. Equipment purchases may need a different tax treatment from routine supplies; flag them for review rather than guessing the deduction.
Sove resi a epi ajoute yon ti nòt sou rezon biznis la. Pou acha ki melanje itilizasyon pèsonèl ak biznis, idantifye pati biznis la olye ou dedwi tout fakti a. Kenbe dosye kilomèt vwayaj biznis epi separe trajè nòmal pou ale travay. Acha ekipman ka bezwen yon lòt tretman taks pase materyèl woutin; make yo pou revizyon olye ou devine dediksyon an.
Close the month in four passes
Fèmen mwa a nan kat etap
First download statements. Then match income. Next match expenses to receipts. Finally list anything unexplained. Example: a $75 debit you cannot identify belongs in the questions list, not automatically under office supplies. Back up the records securely and restrict access. Keep originals or reliable copies for the period required for the specific record; there is no single retention period for every tax document.
Premye etap: telechaje relevé yo. Apre sa, matche revni yo. Twazyèm etap: matche depans ak resi. Finalman, fè lis tout sa ki pa klè. Egzanp: yon debi $75 ou pa rekonèt antre nan lis kestyon, li pa otomatikman materyèl biwo. Fè sovgad sekirize epi limite aksè. Kenbe orijinal oswa kopi serye pandan tan ki obligatwa pou kalite dosye a; pa gen yon sèl delè pou tout dokiman taks.
Bring decisions to the appointment
Pote kestyon pou pran desizyon nan randevou a
Give your preparer a year-to-date income-and-expense summary, supporting records and a list of changes such as a new business partner or equipment purchase. Ask what needs more documentation and whether estimated payments should change. This workflow is an organizational example; deductibility depends on the expense, business use and current tax rules.
Bay preparatè ou yon rezime revni ak depans depi kòmansman ane a, dokiman sipò ak yon lis chanjman tankou yon nouvo patnè oswa acha ekipman. Mande ki depans ki bezwen plis prèv epi si peman taks estime yo dwe chanje. Woutin sa a se yon egzanp òganizasyon; dwa pou dedwi depann de depans lan, itilizasyon biznis ak règ taks aktyèl yo.
Sources and further reading
Sous ak lòt lekti
Source review: 2026-10-24. Verify current official guidance before acting.
Dat revizyon sous: 2026-10-24. Verifye gid ofisyèl aktyèl anvan ou aji.
Have a question about your next step?
Ou gen yon kestyon sou pwochen etap ou?
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Pale ak ME Shield an Anglè oswa Kreyòl Ayisyen.
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