Banking

i do that put everything in the buisness account
then transfer so much a week to personal account
use debit card for everything
then just download it to quicken
hand it to the accountant ......boom.........done

 

I normally keep a personal account (in a credit union) and a separate one in a major bank, preferably the one my company does business with. I keep em totally separate, and limit who gets what access to what. If they push direct deposit, then you should push for paper statements that document everything they pay and everything that gets deducted. They shouldn't fault you for double checking everything and asking questions about anything that doesn't seem to match your own records.

 

keeping record for every transaction you do is no good to the irs.

you can either claim your meals. or claim the per diem. you can't have both.

personal items bought for work yes. but everything else is part of your per diem which is higher then what you'll be spending every day for food.

 

Does when you are a lease or owner/operator and a business instead of a job

 

i have one account with automatic deduction to someone elses account and can do online payments as needed. And of course i have savings account that i can use.

 

I use a credit card for expenses on the road -- I figure might as well earn points or cash back on scale tickets, faxes, showers, & all the other expenses my company reimburses. Makes it easy to compare on paystubs too.

What? That's ridiculous. Here are some things I claim on my taxes above & beyond per diem:

newspapers & educational materials (investment materials, foreign language dictionaries & guides)
unreimbursed truck supplies (cleaning supplies, washer fluid, tire knocker, air gauge, torx set, air hose, etc)
Office supplies (paper, tape, pens, notebooks, dry erase markers, calculator, posse box, etc)
Living supplies (batteries, alarm clock, fan, bedding, etc)
laundry fees
cell phone & plan
cb equipment
.
.
.
and much more. Basically everything except food.

 

It is if you get audited!

Source: My girlfriends mother is a CPA and has been running her own tax from for more than 30 years. I think I'll trust her word over a truckers. No offense

 

This is exactly what I do. I have a personal account and an account for everything truck related. I get all my statements on line, and keep all in a separate file. I have email files for all my truck expenses which is anything like office supplies, electronics for the truck (anything with a plug that I use in the truck), scale tickets, tools, just anything. I keep all my pay settlement sheets in another email file so that I can reference. What I'm saying is that I track every red cent I spend in the course of my job. With everything on one debit card, you can look at everything on one single statement. I look at that, compare it to my settlement sheet to find out if I got paid, and track it down if I didn't. I'm not a complainer, but once I see it on paper, it better be correct or I'm going to find out why.

 

I always had one account for the road and one for home. Helped me limit my on the road expenses as I always put a set amount in and would allow myself one transfer midweek. I know myself well enough to know I need to force limits on myself. As stupid as that system sounds, it worked for me. Just remember to always keep a wad of cash with you as well. I never use cash unless absolutely needed and sometimes it is needed. I never had less than $800 cash on me. I went over a year without touching a single dollar of it but I ran into a situation that I was thankful for having it.