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Bookkeeping for Investors

The Ten Commandments of Great Bookkeeping

I have a secret to share. Do you know what is the single most powerful way to save on taxes? I'll tell you: get your records in order! Nothing is more foolish than paying for some business-related item and then forgetting to take a tax deduction. In fact, you pay twice! Read how to handle bookkeeping with minimal effort and maximum results.

NEW: Minimum Requirements for Real Estate Bookkeeping

Why "minimum"? Because more detailed description would be too long and would not be free (unless, of course, you are my client). In fact, I did publish more detailed guides for those of you who want to learn more. In this compact article, you will get the "bare bones" requirements that you simply cannot ignore. My assumption here is that you want to know what is the least amount of work to satisfy the IRS.

Bookkeeping for Investors: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In one word, what do most investors do with bookkeeping? "Love" is hardly the right answer. My answer (to put it politely) is "ignore." The result of this carelessness is messy records, huge headache at tax time, increased audit risk, and - most importantly - wasted money. I am often asked to speak about bookkeeping practices. Here is a report from one of such presentations.