OK Folks,
I have the answer for all of you, Saint Jakk, patron saint of all messy desktop owners has a system that will revolutionise the way you record and keep receipts and have them accessible within a minute.
This system actually changed my life, prior to this I had boxes and envelopes and more boxes and mess....I think you get the picture.
Firstly one must get a computer software accounting package like the one Sim wrote about above. There is a heap out there, personally I use Quickbooks nowadays after originally starting out with Quicken 3, a few years ago. (I believe Microsoft Money will do similar stuff and you'll usually find it bundled up with other Microsoft software) ...Ask Sim or one of our other computer people on here about the functionalities of these accounting packages.
Ok here's the deal, Then you get a box of suspension files and tab them up in thus fashion......January 2002, February 2002, March 2002, April 2002......and so on...........I think you all get the drift so far.........then you go to your shoebox, big plastic box, garbage bag, wallet or wherever your receipts are, Get them out and enter them in your computer accounting software package, The date you enter is the date you paid it......."you all with me so far" then you categorise the expense or sub categorise it.
You see these accounting packages are marvelous things, they allow you to set up categories for anything you like...for example say you have a property King Street, the main category would be ..you guessed it.....King Street... and sub categories would be all the things about King Street like insurance, council rates, water rates, letting fee, collection commission, rent recieved, gardening, maintenance, .....you got it so far?....
Then when you have entered the receipt you put it in the suspension folder for that month.....simple huh?
Thats the problem, we all think things have to be complicated to be great, not true....and before you ask, What about all those miniscule receipts, they'll get lost or fall out of the end of the suspension file......this system caters for that as well.
For each suspension file you get yourself an envelope and with a big black texta or any other favorite colour, you write the corresponding month on it and put it in the suspension file to house all those eeny weeny receipts e.g. in the March 2002 suspension file you would have in there an envelope marked March 2002. How easy is that?
I also use one of those desktop file frames and at the end of the financial year, I take the 12 files June to July and put then in the filing cabinet.....viola .....done....and start the new financial year. Accessing the receipts is easy, firstly look it up on the computer, and go to the suspension file for that month....viola....there's the receipt.
The other added benefit is that with this system if you have a receipt for multiple items that are attributable to different properties or part personal etc. the accounting package has a "SPLIT" feature that allows you to break down the amount to seperate categories e.g. seperate properties.
So there you have it........the patent pending JakkFile (TM) SuperSystem.
Let's face it folks, we all have heaps better things to do with our lives then spend countless hours punching holes in minuscule recipts and labelling Ring Binders.
Any questions, feel free to ask, I am the filing GURU.
Sim, Is there anything I forgot?
regards
