Experience Series: Accounting

https://dilbert.com/strip/2011-02-03

This post is part of my Experience Series where I share opinions I have formed from building companies and running product. Each posting is a break down of a company function. This post focuses on accounting specifically.

Unless you enjoy wasting money, you are going to want to track your expenses. Do that with a spreadsheet or free service. Even if you don’t make any profits, you still need to file taxes.

When it’s time to file taxes, work with an accountant to maximize your losses and handle your write-offs. Do not file your own taxes.

Setup a separate bank account for your business and get a debit card or some way to pay for services. This makes tracking expenses much easier.

Project your burn rate for the company and know how long you can be alive based on your spend. Models are free, so build them out. Worst case, best case, whatever case you want. Don’t let your accounts go to zero.

Learn to be thrifty and take pride in getting the best price. If you are paying for services, see if there is a discount for small businesses. If you want a discount, consider offering up a testimonial or some well-formed product feedback. If you can hack a small solution together instead of paying, do that.

Taxes can be complicated. If selling in other countries outside the United States, make an attempt to understand what’s required of your business or consult an accountant.

--

--

Founder of @BlockadeIO, PDF X-RAY, and @PassiveTotal. Partner and developer for @TheNinjaJobs. VP of Strategy for @RiskIQ. Roaster at @SplitKeyCoffee.

Get the Medium app

A button that says 'Download on the App Store', and if clicked it will lead you to the iOS App store
A button that says 'Get it on, Google Play', and if clicked it will lead you to the Google Play store
Brandon Dixon

Founder of @BlockadeIO, PDF X-RAY, and @PassiveTotal. Partner and developer for @TheNinjaJobs. VP of Strategy for @RiskIQ. Roaster at @SplitKeyCoffee.