Deciding where to store your receipts and other source documents can be confusing and necessary in case of an audit. Let’t take a look at a few options.
One option is to simply scan your source documents and attach the copy to your bookkeeping software transaction. This solution works if you are using QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online (#QBO) and many other bookkeeping software solutions available on the market. The issue I have with this solution is that if you decide to change software or cancel a subscription for an online version, you wouldn’t have the supporting documents readily available in case of a government review or audit.
LedgerDocs is a simple solution that allows you to file in the cloud, similarly to how you file source documents in your office. You can upload scanned documents, use their app to take a picture and post the transaction, or simply forward electronic receipts directly to your personal LedgerDocs account – this can then post to your online software solution — in my case QuickBooks Online. This solution is cost effective (around $10/month (CDN)) and if you decided to cancel your online bookkeeping software solution you would still have an online version of your supporting documents.
Hubdocs is my preferred solution for online document capture and storage. The simplicity of this app makes capturing pics of receipts a breeze. Another benefit of Hubdocs is the ability to automate processes seamlessly with QuickBooks Online. After the initial set-up you can program Hubdocs to post receipts without intervention — serious time saver if you have lots of little receipts. Another benefit is that it automatically downloads bank and credit statements and also downloads the banks .csv file along with the supporting documents for e-transfers and bill payments. This solution is a little pricier at $25/month (CDN); however, the time savings will pay for itself.
Finally you can use any of the other online cloud document storage solutions on the market. Some include google docs, microsoft 365, dropbox, sugarsync, along with many more. Some of these solutions work perfectly for simple document storage; however, if you are looking for a document storage solution specifically for bookkeeping than I suggest LedgerDocs or my personal favorite – Hubdocs. It should be noted that both LedgerDocs and Hubdocs can be backed up to some of the other solutions like dropbox and google docs.
With your online document file solution in place you need to choose which cloud bookkeeping solution works best for your company. In a future post I will review several including QuickBooks Online, Wave Accounting, and Freshbooks. Also there is always keeping the desktop version of your current software.