{"id":7518,"date":"2016-03-28T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritelife.com\/?p=7518"},"modified":"2016-03-18T12:35:36","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T17:35:36","slug":"why-every-freelance-writer-needs-an-accountant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/why-every-freelance-writer-needs-an-accountant\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Every Freelance Writer Needs an Accountant on Your Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

I didn\u2019t work with an account the <\/span>first time<\/span><\/a> I went freelance. <\/span><\/p>\n

Back then, I made a quarter of what I do now, so I figured I couldn\u2019t afford one. I assumed hiring an accountant was a luxury I wasn\u2019t quite ready for.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the contrary, an accountant is a freelancing staple you can\u2019t afford <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> to have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hiring an accountant should be the first investment you make as a freelancer.<\/b> I promise it will save you time, money and sanity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re just starting out or trying to play catch up, you\u2019ll be so grateful to hand this hurdle off to a pro. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Freelancers\u2019 tax situations \u201cCan be pretty complicated,\u201d says Sophia Bera of <\/span>Gen Y Planning<\/span><\/a>. Hiring an account helps us learn \u201cAbout what we need to track on an ongoing basis and what we should deduct.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you love numbers and paperwork, a professional ensures you\u2019re doing things legally and with the most money left on your table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accountants save freelancers time<\/span><\/h2>\n

Why spend precious billable hours wondering what boxes to tick and whether you did your math right? Most accountants take care of everything \u2014 the right way \u2014 in just a few hours. It\u2019s especially true for us creatives who hate numbers or simply have a full schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n

Personally, when I spend too much time on work I hate, the work I love suffers.<\/span> On days I try to research tax questions, I don’t have the energy to write great copy or manage my client load. <\/b><\/p>\n

And since that\u2019s the work I charge most for, I want to spend all my available hours doing that work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone has their own process, but here\u2019s how I save time on my taxes:Les<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. My assistant inputs invoices and expenses into <\/span>FreshBooks<\/span><\/a> (sort of what I might hire a bookkeeper for, but on a much smaller scale).<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. I scan and upload tax forms (Think: 1099s) into my Dropbox \u201ctax\u201d folder throughout the year. <\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Then, in March, I send everything to my accountant so he can take care of the rest.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Accountants help freelancers keep more money<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Some folks think filing their own Schedule C isn’t particularly complicated. I am not one of those people. <\/span><\/p>\n

    But the most important reason to hire an accountant is because they help you keep more money.<\/b> Most freelancers forget to account for many legitimate business expenses and end up paying more taxes because of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    For example, my husband and I used TurboTax last year. The deeper we went, the more complicated it got. We were recently married, were renting out a room on Airbnb and I had recently started taking on freelance gigs on top of my full-time job.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We got about $2,000 back in our refund. Score!<\/span><\/p>\n

    But a few months later, after deciding to move to Europe, we hired an accountant to help with the international transition. She discovered that, through TurboTax, we\u2019d missed out on an extra $1,000 in our refund. A thousand dollars. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Yes, she cost $500, but that\u2019s still an extra $500 in our pockets because we hired her.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Accountants teach freelancers how to handle money<\/span><\/h2>\n

    They\u2019re not called your \u201cmost trusted advisor\u201d for nothing. An accountant not only knows the ins and outs of your freelance business, but is familiar with the nitty gritty details of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Working with an accountant has been invaluable to me as a general adult human. <\/span>My first accountant provided me with general coaching on how to document my expenses to protect me should the IRS ever audit my return.<\/b><\/p>\n

    Your partnership \u201cCan also allow you to understand what qualifies as a business expense and familiarize yourself with the rules to maximize your deductions,\u201d says CPA <\/span>Dan Hodgin<\/span><\/a>. Who knew a percentage of my rent counted as a business expense?!<\/span><\/p>\n

    How to choose the right accountant<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Not every accountant is right for you. Case in point: The first accountant I worked with was great for freelancers, but not so much for <\/span>expats<\/span><\/a>. When I got to Germany, the first accountant I interviewed had a ton of fancy experience, but wasn\u2019t particularly friendly. The one I <\/span>did<\/span><\/i> hire is patient and happy to answer my endless questions. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Choose an account who speaks your language<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Whatever your experience, you need an accountant who can be clear about what they need from you. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Yes, you want someone with experience (more on that below), but if you’re like me, sometimes it’s more important to work with someone who doesn’t make you feel stupid.<\/span><\/p>\n

    My first accountant had a ton of experience, but seemed to expect I knew everything about freelance taxes. Since this was my first time doing this, I needed someone who could hold my hand. It took months to find a young, friendly accountant who would answer my questions without doing a virtual eye roll every time I emailed. I\u2019m so glad I did the research to find him.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Choose an account familiar with your situation<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Experience definitely matters, but not all experience is created equal. An accountant who specializes in freelancers might not be right for startup owners. Or expats. Or luddites.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAccounting\u201d is such a broad term and you want someone who\u2019s familiar with your exact situation. Right now, I have two accountants: One specializes in expat German taxes, the other works with many freelancers abroad. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cYou need to find someone who’s willing to educate you about your tax situation,\u201d added Bera, \u201cSo you can make sure you’re taking advantage of the deductions and tax credits available to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    It may sound too nitty-gritty \u2014and most accountants have several specialities \u2014 but this granularity is worth investigating.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ask for recommendations<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Accounting isn\u2019t just about filing your taxes each year.<\/b> Do you also need bookkeeping help? Estate planning?<\/span><\/p>\n

    By talking to other freelancers in your area and industry, you can get a feel for who might be the best fit.<\/span><\/p>\n

    And size matters. Many freelancers want to build a relationship with someone long-term, so a huge accounting firm might not be the best choice. But small firms don\u2019t offer every service under the sun, so consider your needs and act accordingly. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Talk to a few different firms, both large and small to get a feel for what you need.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Do you work with an accountant? How has the process been for your freelance business?<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you\u2019re fumbling through your taxes alone, you might be doing it wrong. Read this before you hire an accountant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":7645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[630,631,418],"class_list":["post-7518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freelancing","tag-accounting-for-freelancers","tag-freelance-taxes","tag-freelance-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritelife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}