Let's Get Organized in 2020: Starting with Expense Receipts

Organizing your Expenses

What better way to start the year off then getting organized. Taking time to create some Good Practices now will keep you from hours of frustration each month, each quarter, and at the end of the year. Let’s start with organizing your expense report receipts. It can be an overwhelming task especially if you are constantly on the road or on the go.

Receipts are messy they are small and fade, so when it is time for you to be reimbursed or the accountant has a question on a receipt from 6 months ago it can take time to find or even remember what it was for. Taking a few minutes each day can save you money and a lot of aggravation. Here are a few good practices to getting your receipts organized!

Utilize an App

In todays world we have technology at our finger tips and that is literally speaking. There are free apps or even apps with a low monthly cost that will organize your receipts for you with just a snap of a picture. These apps will also provide you with an up to date running total as well as providing the ability to run expense reports. Utilizing an app will keep you organized so you can save money, and save on the amount of time you spend on your expesnes each month. Here is a link from Review Geek with a list of 6 apps worth checking out: https://www.reviewgeek.com/2586/6-great-apps-for-tracking-your-receipts-and-expenses-on-the-go/

Take pictures with your phone

Make taking a picture of your receipt become second nature. Before rushing out of your lunch meeting to your next meeting take 2 seconds to take a picture of your receipt. You can easily keep them organized by creating a Photo Album for expenses. Pictures are always stored by date which makes it less time consuming to search for. If you use your phone and have a Google Account you can also have your pictures backed up daily to your Google Pics which would allow you access to them anytime and anywhere.

Keep an Excel Log

Expense Reports are very common but if you are not using one it is a good idea to start. You can easily create an Excel Sheet to keep a log of your receipts. This would allow you to keep notes of the date, what the receipt was for, total amount and even what GL account it should post to.

Good Practices for Organizing your Receipts

1. Keep an inclosed receipt folder you can carry with you.

2. Always take time to write on top of the receipt what it was for with the date.

3. Take a picture of the receipt.

4. Tape your receipts to a white sheet of paper to minimize the chance of losing.