What is a #RecipeforSuccess? Developed by QuickBooks ProAdvisors®, the #RecipeforSuccess campaign provides key ingredients and steps for small businesses to achieve success.
Master chef: Mariette F. Martinez, EA, a self-described accounting technology ninja with a deep-seeded mission to empower entrepreneurs to win big.
This recipe will help independent contractors (also known as self-employed individuals or Schedule C clients) keep their self-employed finances organized year-round. It will also help them be aware, informed, and on top of their personal and Schedule C federal tax obligations.
What makes this dish so finger-licking good is that the demand for this recipe is in the millions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 million people – or 10.1 percent of total U.S. employment – were self-employed in 2015, and this gig economy market is growing quickly! It is estimated that the U.S workforce will more than triple this amount in five years.
Want to start perfecting this recipe in order to meet the needs of this big piece of pie? See the ingredients and steps below!
Ingredients
- Spicy accounting and/or tax professional with the passion for empowering Simple Schedule C self-employed clients.
- Hungry solopreneur with an eagerness to embrace technology and become a self-sufficient Schedule C client, as well as be accountable for his/her own business finances.
- 1 pint of QuickBooks® University trainings that focus on the QuickBooks Self-Employed product.
- 3/4 cups of quarterly meetings to review client’s accounting & estimated taxes status.
- 1 gallon of year-end accounting & tax prep meeting to close books and prepare taxes.
- Full serving of QuickBooks Self-Employed online solution to stick all of these ingredients together.
- Personal invitation from accountant to self-employed user, through QuickBooks Online Accountant, to get the oven pre-heated.
- Optional: How-to videos about the QuickBooks Self-Employed to garnish this dish for a personal touch.
Directions:
Step 1: Set the expectations
The accounting and/or tax professional should meet with their new and/or existing Simple Schedule C self-employed client and educate them on this online accountability tool. This hungry solopreneur will learn the tool, which will help him/her stay accountable for the business finances and collaborate with his/her accounting professional through the QuickBooks Online Accountant platform. At this point, the oven has been turned on!
Step 2: Quarterly check-ins
After the QuickBooks Self-Employed solution has been given some time to bake thoroughly, the accounting professional will stay engaged with his/her client by checking in quarterly. An automated workflow can be considered to send automated emails to the self-employed client, in order to keep them on track of their finances and aware of their quarterly estimated tax obligations.
Step 3: It’s tax time
Pull that dish out of the oven and savor the results! With a more organized and self-sufficient Simple Schedule C self-employed client, tax time will be a piece of cake. Just take a large slice of the Tax Details report and begin reviewing this downloadable report for all transactions that were categorized throughout the year. This P&L spreadsheet can be used to enter directly into the tax return, which provides a seamless transition from books to tax return.
Optional: Add a personal touch
For some extra flavor and garnishment, create short, how-to videos on tips to master QuickBooks Self-Employed, so that your clients can become master chefs in this solution as well.
Need more info? Check out this video playlist below:
What’s your #RecipeForSuccess for engaging new self-employed clients? The recipe may be different, but the goal remains the same: a truly satisfying business that you can get excited about, and look forward to, every day. Bon Appétit!
