Tax season seems so far away right now, but how many of you frantically pull together your receipts & clean up your Quicken accounts then race to your CPA or stay up all night to file your taxes. I hear a lot of groans so I’ll take that as most of you. Don’t do that this year!

Baby it’s cold outside so now’s the time to get your paperwork organized. No, it isn’t fun. It does however, have to happen. Here’s some steps to break the monster down to little [manageable?conquerable?] furry creatures.

1. Clean Up Categories. When was the last time you even looked at the category titles in your Quicken or other type of bookkeeping program? Well, that is too long. If the same monthly payment is in several, similar categories, it will make finding all of them difficult & cost you money.
2. Clean Up Bank Entries. Through the year, we are typically in a hurry when reviewing or creating bank entries. Simply reviewing category summaries in reports will let you quickly see errors & get them corrected saving you money.
3. Finalize Mileage/Medical/Charity Report. Or any other special report you have that will need to be filed with your taxes or for work.
4. Pull Out 2016’s Paper Receipts. Before 2017’s receipts start mixing with 2016’s receipts, pull them out. File them in an accordion file folder or move the hanging folders to a transportable file box. Create your new hanging folders for 2017 in your file drawer.
5. Schedule CPA Appointment. Be the first to schedule your appointment with your CPA and get your pick of dates & times.

Organizing now will alleviate stress and set you up for success. If you do decide to take my advice then on April 15th, reward yourself while watching everyone else running around like they are being chased by zombies.