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Christopher Calkins Jr:
This is important, so pay attention. You too, Katie. Pay close attention. One of the biggest mistakes that I’ve seen notaries making is mixing their personal and business finances. It is so crucial, crucial to separate these two to keep a clear record and honestly peace of mind.
KAtie Tremulis:
Yes, 100 percent. So when I first started out, I didn’t realize the importance of making sure that you’re starting out on the right foot.
And it can be very, very confusing when you’re first starting a new business. If you have only done a nine to five where you got your regular tax forms, and you didn’t really have to deal with this but there are tools that are out there that I am slowly learning to make our life easier.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
Well, that’s a great point, too, because maybe now you’ve realized why your bosses were pulling their hair out. At those nine to five said, don’t mind my cat in the background. That’s missing me. But there are tools out there. Like you said, like QuickBooks Online, which I’m a certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor.
I have been since 2014 and those are, or that is rather. To me, it’s, I always call it the skeleton of the business. So you start with the skeleton and then you can build off of it. So not to go too crazy into it, but QuickBooks desktop way back in the day was, it was an application that did everything.
It’s like everything was inside the app and you download it on your computer. You got the software license and you activate it and all this stuff and everything had to go through QuickBooks desktop, QuickBooks Online change their modality, right? So they were like, okay. Okay. Bye, Mimi.
They changed their modality in the sense that we are going to be the skeleton and we’re going to add things onto this that will enhance the user’s experience and also provide them with much stronger reporting and line of sight over their finances and make things easier because not everyone can afford to hire a bookkeeper like me, like I, I’m not cheap and I, I don’t expect people to just be like, “Hey, I want to hire you today”.
But when you’re starting out, I still want my notaries to be able to start out on the right foot. You know what I mean? At the very least get a QuickBooks Online account. Now I know that QuickBooks offers an account set up thing that they do for so much, so much money, whatever. I think it’s like 50 some odd dollars.
I’d be more than happy to offer the viewers of this, a account setup fee of $75. I’m happy to do that. It’s a one time setup. We’re not doing anything more than that. So don’t try to. They call it scope creep. Don’t try to jump on that a little bit more, but I would be more than happy to do that for fellow notaries that are just looking to get their stuff organized and get their chart of accounts set up properly.
Okay. It’s just so important. With QuickBooks Online, you have the ability, and I don’t make money from QuickBooks Online. I used to, but I don’t actually make any referral dollars from QuickBooks Online. This is just a pure…
Katie Tremulis:
Not sponsored.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
Yeah, not sponsored. This is just a pure love. But like I see all these other like notary apps and things that are like, oh, mileage tracking and this, that, the other.
Well, just tonight, Katie. You know this ’cause I was just talking about this. I had a fellow notary from my other group, notary city, and she came over and needed help scanning ’cause she, her scanner broke or what have you. Mm-hmm. . So she popped by, I go, you realize that this trip that you took for one hour here took my house and the trip back that mileage is deductible.
Mm-hmm. I go, no, I’m not an accountant. I go, but girl, I will put that in. Yeah, and the Quickbooks Online app, as long as you have your location services on, we’ll ask you, is this personal? Is this business personal? This is, like,
Katie Tremulis:
Yeah, to make your life easier. Yeah, because running the business is hard enough and the less things that you have to think about the better.
Yeah, exactly. So, let’s talk about deductions a little bit because but…
Christopher Calkins Jr:
how do you log your miles?
Katie Tremulis:
Okay.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
Be honest. Be honest.
Katie Tremulis:
Let’s not talk about it.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
How would you log your miles?
Katie Tremulis:
I would usually just look up how long it took, like how many miles it took to get someplace. So if I’m going over to Miami, that’s how many miles I would put in and then you would just, I would just have to add them up myself.
I do know that other notaries sometimes do like a round guesstimate as well.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
Where do you put that? That was what I’m asking.
Katie Tremulis:
In a notebook, just, just, I know I can see the horror on your face
Christopher Calkins Jr:
And that’s okay, but that’s okay. And you know what? You know how many other people are out there that literally do the same exact thing that you do?
Katie Tremulis:
Yes, yes. So I’m not alone, I’m sure.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
You’re not alone, but I will publicly shame you right now because I know you’re going to,
KAtie Tremulis:
That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
But here’s the thing is that it’s so cool that you’re open and willing to do this because you’re helping other people. So by doing this, you’re opening your heart and life up to help other people.
So tell other people, hey, it’s not that crazy to do it this way. Yeah, yeah. And there’s definitely like that would be easier than writing it down because I know that there’s times that I forget to do stuff. Like as far as, I have to run to Staples to go get more paper, or I have to go. All the time, or I have to like yesterday, I had to run to the bank because I had to get something in person notarized, even though I offered to meet, even though I offered to meet you in a park.
It would have been quicker. It would have been quicker. Yeah, yeah, it would have been quicker. But anyway, that that trip to the bank to go get that notarized did not get logged. So, but again, though, that’s that’s those things that that’s an oversight and those are things that we shouldn’t again in the construction industry.
We call it leaving money on the table. Yeah. So now we’re taking money from our own pockets on purpose. Because we’re just being negligent for ourselves. We’re so detail oriented. We’re so focused on making sure that everything gets done perfectly that we end up screwing ourselves. Mm hmm.
Yeah. But let’s start, let’s start helping ourselves so that we can continue helping other people.
KAtie Tremulis:
Yeah. I think sometimes business owners and just in general, we’re like the last on the list of things to get.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
How do you think my books were for years and years and years? Yeah. Until I slapped myself in the face and said, “get your shit together, Calkins”.
Yeah, I know. It’s like putting together new furniture in your house, like you don’t want to do it, and then as soon as you do it… Whatever do you mean, Katie?
KAtie Tremulis:
I’ve been putting together furniture for the past two hours.
Christopher Calkins Jr:
Guys, she’s, guys, she’s been putting together furniture for the last, I’ve been getting these messages.
I don’t know when we can do our video because I can’t, I, you know what, let’s move on to deduction. Anyway okay, so yes.
KAtie Tremulis:
Talk to me about deductions.
All right. So there are so many deductions available, but you have to be smart about it. So QuickBooks Online is going to help you. But again, I want to, say you don’t want to pay me.
I can probably get something together, some sort of resource to just get a basic general chart of accounts that people can use for their business. If they don’t want to pay me for something, but that’s fine. Just something they can have as a baseline. Mm hmm. But again, I know it says Quickbooks, but it’s not easy books.
It’s not the quickest of books. It’s, you can’t do it on your own. You can, but you have to have some sort of bookkeeping background. Do what you do. Like a reference. Yeah. Yeah, like, come on, people. Like, calm it down. Like, let’s, let’s make sure. The money that you’ll save by investing into a bookkeeper.
Mm hmm. It honestly will benefit you, not only in… tax preparation fees, but it will also help you when you actually go to your tax preparer and you’re coming up with your tax strategy of whether you want to buy a house in a few years, whether you’re looking to get a loan for a vehicle or what have you.
It’s, it’s all about utilizing your resources the best way possible and understanding why, it’s not an expense, it’s an investment, yeah, another way. Yeah, go ahead.
KAtie Tremulis:
Another way to look at it is opportunity cost. If I paid you however much your price is, and then you saved me twice what I would pay you, that makes sense.
Christopher Calkins Jr.
Return on investment, ROI. Return on investment, yep. Yeah, absolutely. But, so yeah, so we have the home office expenses. So, how big is your office right now at your house, give or take?
I don’t know. So let’s just pretend, let’s say it’s 10 by 10. So you have, so you have 100 square feet of office space. So now that part of your rent or, or mortgage, whatever, then that would be your home office deduction. Now, then let’s go to your utilities. So, your utilities, are you primarily using them for your work?
Because you’re a remote online notary, aren’t you?
KAtie Tremulis:
That’s true. Yes.
Christopher Calkins Jr.
And that electricity that you’re using. Those lights in the back, those, those lights in the background, they don’t light themselves. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I mean? The paper all those things. Oh, and what did I tell you earlier?
Remember about the notary that came over today? Yeah, the training about the,
KAtie Tremulis:
yeah, because that, everything that you put into the job, even, even down to clothes or like tops or things that you buy.
Christopher Calkins Jr.
You’re right. No, no, you’re right. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t stop yourself. You’re right.
KAtie Tremulis:
Well, I was going to say……
but the accountant put it to me the best way. This is a beautiful accountant and he’s so smart and he goes, anything that has a part of generating your income for your business is part of your write offs that you can including your business expenses. And now I’m not an accountant.
So I’m not saying that this is like, talk to your accountant, talk to your tax preparer. It’s, it’s up to you and them, but at the same time. That seemed very logical to me. Yeah. If it’s contributing to you making money, then that is a logical business expense. Yes.
KAtie Tremulis:
Yeah. And when I went to the NNA, they kept talking about it, but if you are going to these networking events, if you are going to conferences, if you are spending money on advertising, on marketing, on your business cards, on anything to do with your business, you…
I’m also not a tax consultant or anything, but you can write that off and, look into it.
Christopher Calkins Jr
And if you can’t, put it in to be written off and then have your taxpayer review it. And if they’re not willing to review it properly, then find a new person, go on the QuickBooks ProAdvisor website and search it.
Like you’re right.
KAtie Tremulis:
It’s, down to even like, your nails because, or if you get your hair done because that’s your appearance, you’re on, you’re on screen.
Christopher Calkins jr
What did I say? But even for in person notaries, yeah, they ask you to wear a certain type of dress and they ask, or, or, not dress, but like outfit, whether it’s a tie or a suit or slacks or that costs money.
Mm hmm. You know what I mean? Dry cleaning costs money. All these things, the gas to get to and from, the car wash so you don’t show up with a car that looks like you just drove through a mud pile. Yeah. These are things that you can discuss. I’m not saying being shady, but I’m saying being smart.
KAtie Tremulis:
Yeah, smart with your money. You want to, eggs cost like $5. You want to make sure that you’re saving as much money as you can.
Christopher Calkins Jr.
So, especially. Right now, gosh, I know, but honestly, so with software like QBO and with people like myself, there are many of me, but not any like,
KAtie Tremulis:
There’s no one like you,
Christopher Calkins Jr.
I know, thank you, I was waiting for that, I was just fishing, just fishing but, but honestly, prioritize your financial health, honestly, and yeah, that’s really the most I can say about it.
KAtie Tremulis:
Yeah, and and I’m the 1st 1 to be on the fence about it, because it’s just not something fun for me to talk about. Like, when we were talking about different topics, I was like, let’s talk about literally anything else, but it is important, for you to have that peace of mind so that it’s not something that’s looming over you all the time where you have to do, like, extensions on your taxes because you have no idea and then you’re scrambling.
So don’t do that. Just get your affairs in order as soon as you can and set yourself up for success so that you’re not worrying about it. Like, I sometimes do.
Christopher Calkins Jr.
And wink, wink, work with a professional. Yes
