Shoeboxed Review: Simplify Your Receipts
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As entrepreneurs, we all know that we should be saving all of our business receipts. In fact, the IRS REQUIRES us to keep copies of every receipt. But, it’s just such a pain to file each receipt from every single expenditure for an entire year. On top of that, the IRS also expects us to keep all of our receipts for at least the last three years. That adds up to a lot of paper, a lot of storage space and, more likely than not, a lot of mess. Luckily, one service has made dealing with those mountains of paper a thing of the past.
Shoeboxed makes it easy to keep track of all of those business receipts. The idea is simple: you send Shoeboxed the receipt, and it takes care of filing a copy of the receipt and extracting all of the important data from it. Shoeboxed even makes it easy to send it your receipts by providing pre-paid envelopes to mail in your paper receipts. Or, you can import digital copies of receipts via the web interface, by sending images via email or by using the handy iPhone app. I even have an email filter set up to automatically forward receipts to Shoeboxed.
Most entrepreneurs spend countless hours killing themselves at tax time to dig up as many receipts as they can to deliver to their trusty CPA. Even if you keep a file with all of your receipts, finding a specific purchase to answer a question for your CPA is a nightmare. Shoeboxed makes all of that hassle a thing of the past. Simply log into your account and you can search for a specific receipt, run a report of expenses for a certain category or even download a copy of every receipt for the entire year.
What about entering those expenses in Quickbooks? Shoeboxed makes that easy with with an online connector designed to make sure your expenses make it into Quickbooks. Or, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of setting up the connector, downloading a report of expenses for your bookkeeper to enter is a snap.
You may also be wondering about what the IRS thinks about digital receipts. The short answer is that digital receipts are as acceptable as a paper copy. According to Rev. Proc. 97-22, the IRS allows taxpayers to save electronic images of documents and destroy the original hard copy. That means you can shred that receipt once Shoeboxed has automatically archived it for you and you’ll be left to simply bask in the joy of paperless nirvana.
Shoeboxed isn’t just for receipts, though. It can digitize and archive business cards and important documents, too.
Shoeboxed Pricing Plans
Shoeboxed offers several plans to fit every budget:
- Business: $49.95/month – or 2 months free with annual plan.
- Classic: $29.95/month – or 2 months free with annual plan.
- Lite: $9.95/month – or 2 months free with annual plan.
- DIY: Free – Scan all your own receipts, only 5 free iphone credits
My Experience Working With Shoeboxed
I have been a Shoeboxed user for years now. I can’t tell you how incredibly liberating it is to archive a business receipt within seconds of receiving it and to toss the piece of paper in the trash before even leaving the building. By combining Shoeboxed and Quickbooks, I know that all my business expenses are captured and updated year-round and ready for tax time or if Uncle Same pops in to take a peek at my books.