PPW Northwest District and Bellingham Photographers
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Social Time: 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Program: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Where: Moss Adams Accounting
2200 Rimland Drive Suite 300, Bellingham, WA 98226 (Same building as On Rice restaurant, take the elevator to the third floor)
Cost: PPW Members: Free
Non-members: $5
RSVP by noon on September 2 to Mark Turner <mark@turnerphotographics.com> 360-671-6851
Know Your (Financial) Numbers
Accountant and QuickBooks expert Diane Patterson from Moss Adams Accounting will help you understand the financial record-keeping and tax reporting part of running a successful photography business.
As photographers we deal with numbers and fractions every day: ISO 400, 1/250 second, f/5.6. But what about the very important numbers that measure how well our business is doing? Do you know the difference between gross income and net income? Do you run your numbers every month, creating an income statement and balance sheet? Can you make sense of them? Are you putting enough aside to cover your taxes? What about depreciation?
Diane will show how to set up your chart of accounts to maximize the information you get about how your business is doing so you’ll know what’s profitable, what’s not, and where your money is going. She’ll help you understand what to record where, and how to understand your income statement and balance sheet. She’ll relate your financial records to tax reporting, both on your Federal income tax and your Washington Combined Excise Tax return.
Bring your tax and accounting questions. Please answer a few questions ahead of time on this anonymous online survey: <http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KM663H9>.
Why is this important? Zach Arias, in an interview published on The Great Discontent, gave this advice for a photographer just starting out:
Stay out of debt. That’s number one. In the professional sense, hire an accountant on day one. You’ll say that you can’t afford to have one, but I’m here to tell you that you can’t afford not to have one. Find someone to help you with your books, accounting, and taxes from the very start. I didn’t do that in the beginning. I got behind on taxes and created a financial mess for myself because I’m disorganized and flighty, and I wasn’t dealing with my business correctly. So, on day one: buy a camera, then leave the camera store and immediately go hire an accountant. And maybe even hire an accountant and then go buy your camera (laughing).
