Do you have a business license? If you are doing any business in a state, even just $5, you need to have a license or you can get in trouble. (If you are doing a Direct Sales business where the company remits the tax, you are exempt).
This morning I woke up to an email from a States Sales Tax director. I had done an event in that state, and though I did not sell anything, he wanted his money. Now, I had a customer buy off the company provided website where no sales tax is charged, and let him know that. He still wanted his money even though money had not traded hands.
Money, numbers, accounting are all a blur to me. I know how to spend money, but that’s about it. However, now I know how to apply for a business license.
It’s actually pretty easy, and it did not cost me anything. All I did was go to a link he gave me, fill out the form and submit. It is pretty self explanatory. So if you are doing business, I recommend having a license. If you don’t do a lot of business, you only need to remit your sales tax quarterly.
If you are unsure where to go, visit your state’s website. To find it, type in http://www.state.XX.us/ — except where the XX is put your state’s postal code. For example http://www.state.fl.us/. This will forward you to the website you need. Then look for the business or sales tax information.
Now, to keeping track of your sales! There are a few things you can do to make it easier.
One is a receipt book with carbon copies. Every time you make a sale, be sure to give out a receipt. Then you know what transactions have been made. It’s a good idea to give receipts anyway.
Another way to keep track is in an excel database. Keep track of the date, to whom, amount, and tax that will need to be remitted. You can also use this to add their phone number, address and email address.