Although many entrepreneurs take pride in the ability to work from anywhere, it can be challenging to keep your finances on track when you travel. This is one area of your business where you don’t want to be caught off guard, so it’s important to take steps now to ensure that you can effectively manage your finances while on the road.
Tips to Keep Your Finances on Track
If you’re an entrepreneur that travels frequently, you will find it even more challenging to keep your finances on track. Here are some tips that will help you manage your finances while you’re away from home:
1. Simplify your banking and credit card use
As a traveling entrepreneur, you have a lot of things to keep track of. You need to make sure you have enough money in your bank account so that it doesn’t get frozen or closed down. You also need to make sure that your bills are paid on time to avoid fees and penalties.
The first step is to make sure that all your accounts are linked together. If you are using a separate account for each business, or if you have multiple personal accounts and one business account, then it’s time to consolidate them into one place. You’ll want to make sure that all of your transactions are going through the same bank so that you can easily see them all in one place and keep track of where they’re coming from.
The second step is to link up all of your credit cards so that they are automatically paid off each month. This will save you time, money, and stress by taking away the need for manual payments every month. Finally, set up automatic bill pay on all of these accounts so that everything gets paid automatically each month without any further action on your part,
2. Organize your receipts
Receipts are an important part of keeping your finances in order. They’re often the only evidence you have that you bought something, so they can be helpful when you need to return an item or file a tax return. You can also use your receipts to keep track of how much you spent on each item, which can be helpful when it comes time to make a budget.
To organize your receipts, you can use a file folder, a binder, or even just a pile on the counter. However you do it, make sure that your receipts don’t get buried in other papers or tossed out when they expire.
But if you’re looking for an easier way to organize your receipts while you’re on the go, try using a receipt-scanning app. These apps allow you to snap photos of your receipts when you get them so they’re saved in one place. By scanning your physical receipts, you won’t have to worry about losing them or you won’t need to carry them throughout your trip.
3. Track your expenses
If you want to keep your business going, you will need to keep track of your expenses and make sure they don’t get out of control. Keeping a record of all your expenses is the only way to ensure that you don’t spend more money than you have.
If you’re just starting out, consider keeping track of all your expenses in one place—even if it’s just an Excel spreadsheet. This will help you get a sense of how much money is coming in and going out. You can even categorize the expenses by week or month so that it’s easy to see how much each category costs over time.
But if your business is more established and you have a lot of expenses to keep track of, consider using accounting management software that can help you keep track of everything. It will also help you organize your finances so that they’re easy to access when tax season rolls around.
4. Stay on top of your cash flow
Cash flow is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs focus on sales and forget about cash flow. The truth is that if your business has no cash flow, you will not be able to pay your employees or buy other expenses that you need to keep the business running.
You may have a cash flow management system to help you better manage your business. One example is, cash flow projection, which shows how much money you expect to receive and how much money will be spent over the course of one year. This will help you see if there are any gaps in your income or expenses that need to be addressed.
5. Guard against fraud and identity theft
As a traveling entrepreneur, you need to be alert to the possibility of fraud and identity theft. If you don’t guard against these things, they can ruin your business or even your personal relationships.
You can protect yourself by taking steps like using strong passwords and limiting access to sensitive information on computers and smartphones, as well as keeping your personal and business accounts separate. Be sure to check your credit reports regularly to spot any suspicious activity.
You can also consider using accounting tools that offer a cloud-hosted solution. That way, if your computer is stolen or destroyed, you don’t lose all of your data. Cloud storage is also a good option for businesses that have multiple employees and need to share data. For example, if you have an accounting department that needs access to your financial records, a cloud-based accounting system can make it easy for them to work from anywhere with an internet connection, and all the data in the file will also be updated in real-time.
6. Avoid fees and excessive charges
Having a budget is important for any entrepreneur, but it’s even more important to know that when you’re traveling and you constantly move from place to place, there are often unexpected expenses such as fees and excessive charges that can throw off your budget in a big way
To avoid these unexpected expenses, you should be aware of any limits on what your credit card will cover while abroad. For example, if you have an international calling plan, call back home and make sure that it will still work in countries where there may be different types of phone lines or networks than what you’re used to at home (for example, pay phones vs cell phones).
7. Stay in touch with your accountant or financial advisor
Staying in touch with your accountant means more than just sending them emails when needed, it means checking in every few weeks or months to make sure your finances are where they need to be. If you’re worried about missing anything important, ask them if they have any tips for staying organized while traveling.
You can set up accounting software for you and your accountant to communicate through, which will make it easier to stay in touch while you’re traveling.
Financial advisors are also great resources for keeping tabs on your finances as a traveling entrepreneur. They can help you figure out what’s best for your financial situation and provide you with the advice and support that you need.