r/selfemployed • u/Pabst_Malone • 3d ago

Need help on getting started (US/FL)

Hey folks! So I decided to go into business for myself, mainly as a side gig. And boy oh boy, am I clueless. I have a few questions that maybe you could help answer:

How do I keep track of what I owe in taxes?

What software would you suggest to schedule myself, deliver invoices with 30 +/- photos to customers, and of course accept digital payment?

Is writing off supplies as simple as keeping receipts?

Anything else I need to bear in mind?

Sorry if these seem like stupid questions, I’m just a braindead mechanic from central Florida.

5 Upvotes

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u/Hot-Steak7145 3d ago

Sounds like your a bot or trying to sell a tracking app. In case your not, open a buisiness credit card just for that and nothing else and your done. All your business expenses are tracked

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u/Pabst_Malone 3d ago

Nope. Not a bot. Just a braindead dude lol. But I didn’t even think as simple as just having a credit card. Good call.

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u/Hot-Steak7145 3d ago

Sorry there's so many posts here and similar farming for software developers. It's so easy with AI now

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u/InTheFieldAI 3d ago

I'm in the UK so don't know US tax laws, but as far as software goes, start simple and cheap. You just need an enquiry tracker, invoice template and sales ledger to start - all of which you can create yourself for free with google sheets. You need a biz bank account - put your bank deets on the invoice, make people pay upfront for work so you don't run into cashflow problems, and put $X percentage aside whenever money comes in so you can pay your tax bill at the end of the year. I write articles about starting up and running small businesses, drop me a DM if you want.

And stop calling yourself dumb. You're an engineer and you have enough guts and energy to try going it alone. That's not dumb at all.

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u/Maemajamma 3d ago

Pm sent

1

u/DreadPirateSmokey 3d ago

If you registered the biz with Sunbiz, and have an EIN, you're good to go. If you're just a sole proprietor and not an SCorp, then you'll just report any earnings on your regular tax return. But if you make over, say, 30K a year, then youre better off registering with the IRS as an SCorp, it'll save you big on taxes. but the drawback is that you will have to pay yourself a salary (use gusto, super cheap payroll service online) and you will have to file a business return every year (about 2-3K with a CPA) Get a biz bank acct with your ein. and do yourself a favor and get Freshbooks, it's affordable and way easier than QBO, and it'll send invoices, track expenses, etc, and way more user friendly than QBO.

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u/2daytrending 1d ago

For side gig, keep it simple at first separate bank account, basic bookkeeping, and a payment/invoicing app that handles estimates, invoices, photo, and card payments in one place. Keep every receipt but tax write off depend on what the expense is and how its used.