# The freelancer’s 20-minute monthly money routine

Use a repeatable monthly checklist to reconcile income, review expenses, organize evidence, and refresh your tax reserve.



## Minutes 0–5: reconcile income

Open the month’s bank and payment-platform records. Match deposits to invoices or sales records and distinguish gross receipts, fees, refunds, and transfers. A transfer from your savings account is not another client payment.

Resolve obvious duplicates before importing. Keep platform reports alongside bank records so a net deposit does not hide the transaction’s components.

## Minutes 5–10: review expenses and receipts

Review new expense entries, separate personal items, and attach receipts or supporting records. Record the business purpose while you remember it. A receipt establishes a transaction, not automatically its deductibility.

Flag ambiguous items for review instead of guessing a tax category. If you import both a card export and a bank payment to that card, avoid counting the same expense twice.

## Minutes 10–15: mileage and open questions

Update business-trip records using actual dates, destinations, distance, and purpose. Do not reconstruct a precise log from invented trips. Identify missing documentation and make a short follow-up list.

This routine does not supply mileage rates or decide whether a trip is deductible. Use the dated guidance and method appropriate to your circumstances.

## Minutes 15–20: refresh the reserve

Review year-to-date profit and your updated annual tax estimate, then compare the reserve balance with upcoming obligations. Money moved to a reserve account remains your money; it is not a tax payment.

Record the next review date and any real payment confirmation. The 20 minutes is a suggested timebox, not a promise: a backlog or complex month can take longer.

Monthly close note	Write down
Period	Month and tax year reviewed.
Income reconciliation	Unmatched deposits or platform differences.
Expense review	Missing receipts and unresolved categories.
Tax reserve	Balance, estimate date, and next action.
Payments	Date, tax year, amount, and confirmation.

## Checklist

[ ] Reconcile deposits to income records.
[ ] Remove duplicate expenses and transfers.
[ ] Record business purpose and supporting evidence.
[ ] Update the estimate before moving reserve money.
[ ] Keep payment confirmations separate from reserve transfers.

Notes:


IRS: recordkeeping: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/recordkeeping