|  | | Author | Messages | |
Greg Hall
Posts:6
 | | 03/09/2007 7:31 PM |
| Does anyone have a good "chart of accounts" they are using to tract Cat adjuster expenses? If so could you or would you please save a blank copy and email it to me. It would really help me set up and track my expenses.  Thank you, Youradjuster | | | |
| Lee Norwood
Adjuster
D/FW Texas
Posts:59
| | 03/09/2007 8:02 PM |
| I used to recommend QuickBooks, even though I've always hated it. Nowadays, I just make my own spreadsheets in Excel. The formulas behind the cells in Excel are pretty easy to learn, and the customization possible is limitless. Quite a far cry from the 25-column paper spreadsheets I used for almost 20 years! (For those of you that never had to endure the defunct method, the term "spreadsheet" undoubtedly refers to the lined and columned yellow paper pads, almost 24" wide, that were standard before digital methods relegated them to the dustbin of obsolescence).
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Lee Norwood, aka "CATdawg" | |
| Greg Hall
Posts:6
| | 03/09/2007 8:46 PM |
| | I tried using quickbooks and got a migraine everytime the screen opened. I am looking to keep all my records in excel. Problem is, I do not know "everything" that might be deductable that I need to track. I would like to find an adjuster that is using excel and get a blank copy of his/her chart of accounts. I know the basic stuff that is deductable but I know there is a lot out there that I do not know is deductable. | | | |
| Lee Norwood
Adjuster
D/FW Texas
Posts:59
| | 03/09/2007 9:04 PM |
| Greg, I'm a bit confused. Are you looking for expert advice on tax deductions, or are you wanting a template for tracking overall expenses? I would never make an IRS-related decision based on another adjuster's opinion manifested in a "chart of accounts". I might, however, peruse someone else's spreadsheet for ideas on how to keep organized.
I record every expense in my spreadsheets and let my CPA decide what's deductible. I strain to see how someone else's chart is going to help you decide your write-offs. The tax code is famously complicated and subject to change. For instance, I paid cash for my truck and amortized it 100% over 2 years; others may have regular vehicle payments, which would be handled differently. Similarly, I claim a percentage of my house expenses (mortgage, utilities, etc.) for business purposes since I have a satellite office at home as an adjunct to my office/warehouse space.
The best way to handle possible deductions is to assume that everything is deductible. Be anal-retentive about documenting the money you spend and let a professional decide what's copacetic. This opinion is based on my 27 years of self-employment! CPA fees are modest if one provides great documentation, but can be exorbitant if one presents a CPA with the proverbial "shoe boxes" full of receipts (which I can tell you already know, or you wouldn't have started this thread).
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Lee Norwood, aka "CATdawg" | |
| Greg Hall
Posts:6
| | 03/09/2007 10:19 PM |
| You hit it right I am seeking a template for tracking overall expenses in Excel that someone is already using? I do have a CPA and she wants/prefers an excel work sheet with all deductions on them. She will then markoff all thoses we can not use. The template someone has already designed would by far be better laid out then the one I have been working up.
What I have come up with so far has everything listed alphbetically in column A. I know someone out there has designed one into catagories with sub catagories under them that is easy to read and input data along with multiple worksheets.
I can get around Excel somewhat but am not very good at starting from scratch in design and layout of such. It would be great to find a good template to work with. If there are some fields I do not need all I would have to do is leave them empty.
Do you have a good template?
Greg | | | |
| Lee Norwood
Adjuster
D/FW Texas
Posts:59
| | 03/09/2007 11:02 PM |
|
>>Do you have a good template?<<
I doubt mine will be helpful, since they are numerous and rather specialized. To remove all my entries and the corresponding underlying formatting would be quite a chore. But a good start for you would be to label the cells across the top of an Excel spreadsheet thusly:
Date Auto (specify gas and maintenance separately) Meals Equipment and Supplies (ladders, printer paper and cartridges, books, etc.) Lodging Internet and Phone Service(s) Insurances Training, Licensing, and CE fees Other (tolls and uniforms, for instance)
You can set up your spreadsheet without formatting the cells to do math if you wish not to monkey around with such, although at some point your columns will have to be reconciled in some manner. This is not necessarily an impediment, unless you foresee many hundreds of entries; even then, however, it's a simple task for someone else to add the math to your spreadsheet. Your primary function will be to provide the raw data in an organized manner.
I keep a separate file folder with me for each month's receipts. Also, I would suggest keeping a vehicle log that approximates your mileage with associated business activities (to credibly separate personal from business use). Write the odometer reading on each gas receipt.
PS- I've been audited by the IRS twice since 1980, so I'm not just blowing smoke! | |
Lee Norwood, aka "CATdawg" | |
| Greg Hall
Posts:6
| | 03/09/2007 11:28 PM |
| | Thanks a lot. Never thought about listing them across instead of down. This will get me started I let you know how I make out. | | | |
| Roy Cupps
CatAdjuster.org
Texarkana, TX
Posts:327
| | A. M. Honahan
Bradenton, FL
Posts:7
| | 04/01/2007 3:50 PM |
| It's not a chart of accounts, but it might be a start. It is desinged to be printed, and filled in by hand, attaching receipts to each week. I could easily alter it to be entered on the computer where it would add up the rows and columns for you. Be sure to review the tab named "Sample". If it looks useful, let me know, and I can alter it (since I'm dying of boredom anyway!) to add automatically. | |
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes... but in haveing new eyes. -Marcel Proust | |
| A. M. Honahan
Bradenton, FL
Posts:7
| | 04/01/2007 3:51 PM |
| | Ok, forgot to add the file! |
 Attachment: 141533325571.xls
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The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes... but in haveing new eyes. -Marcel Proust | |
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