Welcome to The Deduction, Big Bird Accounting LLC’s weekly newsletter (written by Christopher Small, the founder). My goal here is simple – logical insights to save on taxes. Need help – let’s chat – https://bigbirdaccounting.com/contact

Happy Sunday! Hope you’re having a great week. I’ve always got all kinds of fun stuff going on, and one fun thing I’m always doing is talking to business owners just like you who need help with your books. And one thing I consistently see over and over again is the commingling of business and personal expenses. Personal expenses on the business account. Business expenses on the personal account. Stuff going on all over the place. :) Today is another reminder to stop rationalizing away why you are doing that and JUST START SEPARATING. It is SO easy to do. Step 1 – get a business credit card (no, you don’t have to run up a big balance) – keep it with you at ALL times. Step 2 – get a personal credit card (no, you don’t have to run up a big balance) – keep it with you at ALL times. Step 3 – when you make a purchase, ask yourself, “is this a business expense or personal expense?” and use the card that corresponds with the answer. Step 4 – at the end of the month just pay the balance of the credit card. You’ll be happy because you’ll be earning points you can use on fun stuff. And your bookkeeper will be happy because you’ll have clean books. AND, side note, you’ll be happy too because you’ll be maintaining the structure of your business (ahem, piercing the corporate veil) and ensuring every single deduction you are entitled to is getting booked. The fact that you can go back and figure it out later is no excuse. The fact that you’re “not organized” is no excuse. You have high expectations for your clients and their following your advice – follow mine. Business goes on the business card. Personal goes on the personal card. Rant over. :) Cheers, Christopher Small Big Bird Accounting LLC PS – we love referrals, so if you have law firm owner friends looking for help with books and tax strategy, let them know about us!