As a freelancer you have many obligations, one of them is to properly keep the accounting books . The law indicates that ” every entrepreneur must keep an orderly accounting, appropriate to the activity of his company and that allows a chronological monitoring of all its operations, as well as the periodic preparation of balance sheets and inventories .” If you do not keep the accounting well, you could not only expose yourself to a financial sanction, but you will not be able to have a true image of the operation of your business, which can lead you to make bad decisions.
What are the accounting books?
The accounting books are the files where the economic information of the activity carried out by companies or self-employed professionals is compiled . They allow you to follow up on all commercial operations, analyze the evolution of the business and carry out quarterly and annual balance sheets.
How are the accounting books kept?
Accounting books must be kept with extreme clarity. They must follow a chronological order structured by periods of time , either monthly or weekly, if you want to keep a more exhaustive control. You cannot alter the order of the operations referred to or tear off sheets or change their order.
You also cannot leave blank spaces or perform strikethroughs . If you make a mistake, you can correct it by adding clarifying notes to the margin that indicate the mistake or by making a new registration. And do not use abbreviations or symbols that are not contemplated by commercial practice.
According to tax regulations, the self-employed accounting books must be kept for at least 4 years, even if you have stopped working on your own. However, article 30 of the Commercial Code extends the term: ” businessmen will keep the books, correspondence, documentation and supporting documents concerning their business, duly ordered, for six years , from the last entry made in the books .”
What accounting books should you keep as a freelancer?
The self-employed accounting and their obligations depend on the tax regime through which they pay:
Direct normal estimation
Diary book.
In this accounting book you must record all the daily economic operations of your business . Transactions are accounted for through accounting entries as they occur, not allowing periods of time greater than one month to pass. In this book you must indicate the date of each transaction, a brief explanation of it, its amount and the accounts of the operation.
Inventories and Annual Accounts.
This accounting book opens with the detailed initial balance of the economic activity , which reflects the closing of the previous year . It also contains the trial balance of sums and balances, which must be reflected at least quarterly. Finally, it must include the closing inventory of the economic activity and the annual accounts.
Simplified direct estimation
Sales and income book.
In this ledger you must reflect all the invoices that you issue to your clients , following a strict chronological order. There can be no jumps in numbering or dates.
Purchases and expenses .
In this book you must write down all the expenses you have incurred or the purchases made for the exercise of your professional activity . It is not necessary to have a strict order in the dates, you can even include an expense in the next quarter if you forgot to write it down at the time.
Investment property book .
This ledger includes purchases related to your business classified as “long-lived goods” . They are all those assets that you will amortize over time, such as computer equipment.
The self-employed who pay by modules , under an objective estimation regime, do not have the obligation to keep accounting books , although you must keep all the invoices, both those that you issue and those of expenses since the Treasury could ask you for them. If you are going to deduct amortizations, you need to keep a record book of Investment Property .
