A clever way to keep track of your freelancing cash effortlessly… and for free!

A couple of weeks ago we updated SimpleTax with the 2014-15 tax year, empowering freelancers to track their income and expenses while the tax year is underway. From conversations with our users, we’ve been collecting tips that really surprise us and that we’d like to share with you.

Ditch your Excel spreadsheet, by Rachel

Using SimpleTax to manage client payments and project-related expenses wasn’t something we were expecting to discover but that’s exactly how Rachel is using the 2014-15 tax year update.

In the true spirit of “keep it simple” for invoicing she uses a Word template. To keep track of payments received and project related expenses though, Rachel uses an Excel spreadsheet downloaded off the internet a few years ago. While we can’t replace the Word template for invoicing, Rachel found a really clever way to keep track of payments and expenses by simply using tags on item descriptions, like #ProjectX below, replacing the spreadsheet and reducing the work involved in managing the business.

Rachel pointed out two major benefits to this process:

1. gone is the spreadsheet as her expenses and income can even be managed from her iPad, and
2. when the time comes, filing a tax return is one single click away, as work that she did with the spreadsheet is now done directly on SimpleTax. Less work, woohoo!

Really clever! In case you’re wondering, you can do this for free as signing up for SimpleTax costs nothing.

Know what expenses will help you lower your tax bill and keep all your records online, safe & sound. Ready to file with one click! Free means free. No hidden costs.

View our Guide to Self Assessment Tax Returns

Blog content is for information purposes and over time may become outdated, although we do strive to keep it current. It's written to help you understand your Tax's and is not to be relied upon as professional accounting, tax and legal advice due to differences in everyone's circumstances. For additional help please contact our support team or HMRC.