Tax season is here. Now is the time to think about how to save money in your Professional Legal Nurse Consultant (PLNC) business. Before you know it, you’ll be filing taxes again. For those legal nurse consultants with years of experience, you know what this means. For those of you who are beginning this journey, let’s simplify a bit.
First, the disclaimer. This is not meant as tax preparation or financial advice. Always check with a tax professional or Certified Public Accountant if you have questions.
Now, on to the ideas to make April 15 just another day for legal nurse consultants:
- Keep your receipts. If you haven’t been doing this up to now, it’s a good time to start. Simply write the date and purpose of each receipt on the back and put it in an envelope or box.
- Organize your receipts. This is not the huge mess you might think. You have two options. You can throw all your receipts into a single box or bag and sort them at the end of the year or have three or four general categories and sort them as you go. These categories could include: meals, gas, supplies or utilities.
- Keep clear financial records. Do you use Microsoft Money or Quickbooks to track your expenses from day to day and month to month? If not, use check registers that show deposits and withdrawals. At the very least, have your bank statements handy.
By knowing what you earned and what you spent, you can get a clear picture of the health of your legal nurse consulting practice from year to year at tax time.
