It's December 27th here in the US of A and like many business owners I'm looking over my sales and expenses for the year. My tax liabilities, my successes, my failures. 2013 was a recovery year for me and my business. Sales on Fiverr got stronger each month and the last 6 months were my best 6 months with December, November and October taking the 1, 2 and 3 spots.
In the US and in many jurisdictions throughout the world, engaging in selling goods and services constitutes what is simply described as "doing business". And it makes no difference whether your business grosses 5 million dollars a year or 500 dollars a year. The moment you represent and sell a product or service to any individual or entity, you set in motion a process that requires diligence regarding the legal, ethical and moral aspects of "doing business". The moment you accept pay in return for goods or services, you create a liability and with it, a level risk.
Many people keep no accounting record of any transactions they do on Fivver. Now I'm not an attorney or an accountant. However I've owned and run small businesses for over 50 years and employ attorneys and accountants and learned a little about the "business" side of business.
Protect yourself (and your customers) by setting up a simple book keeping and client tracking system for everything you do on Fiverr (and anywhere else). It needn't be complicated. I use an Access database, but a simple Excel spreadsheet will work just fine. Order #'s, order dates, delivery dates etc. Save all your business communications. Keep a record and description of all your Gigs, products and services; dates you began offering them, dates you stopped offering them.
If you're serious about your business or when your business explodes into something bigger than you ever imagined, you'll be happy you set up a good foundation for organizing and tracking it all.
***Always consult an attorney or qualified tax accountant in your local area before making any business decisions.
Here's to a great 2014! :)
In the US and in many jurisdictions throughout the world, engaging in selling goods and services constitutes what is simply described as "doing business". And it makes no difference whether your business grosses 5 million dollars a year or 500 dollars a year. The moment you represent and sell a product or service to any individual or entity, you set in motion a process that requires diligence regarding the legal, ethical and moral aspects of "doing business". The moment you accept pay in return for goods or services, you create a liability and with it, a level risk.
Many people keep no accounting record of any transactions they do on Fivver. Now I'm not an attorney or an accountant. However I've owned and run small businesses for over 50 years and employ attorneys and accountants and learned a little about the "business" side of business.
Protect yourself (and your customers) by setting up a simple book keeping and client tracking system for everything you do on Fiverr (and anywhere else). It needn't be complicated. I use an Access database, but a simple Excel spreadsheet will work just fine. Order #'s, order dates, delivery dates etc. Save all your business communications. Keep a record and description of all your Gigs, products and services; dates you began offering them, dates you stopped offering them.
If you're serious about your business or when your business explodes into something bigger than you ever imagined, you'll be happy you set up a good foundation for organizing and tracking it all.
***Always consult an attorney or qualified tax accountant in your local area before making any business decisions.
Here's to a great 2014! :)