QuickBooks Self-Employed Overview for Freelancers and Gig Workers
Learn what QuickBooks Self-Employed offers freelancers, how it tracks income and expenses, and practical steps to get started with the service.
QuickBooks Self-Employed is Intuit’s product aimed at freelancers, gig workers, and independent contractors. It focuses on tracking income, expenses, and mileage while simplifying quarterly tax estimates. This article explains what the service includes and how you can begin using it.
Key Features of QuickBooks Self-Employed
The service offers automatic import of bank and credit card transactions. It separates business and personal expenses with simple swipe gestures. Users can snap photos of receipts to attach them to expense records. Mileage tracking uses GPS to log drives for business purposes.
Income and Expense Tracking in QuickBooks Self-Employed
When a transaction appears, you label it as business or personal. The app calculates profit and loss based on those labels. You can also create custom categories for specific types of income or expense. Reports show totals by month, quarter, or year.
Mileage Tracking and Reporting
The mobile app runs in the background to record trips. After each drive, you classify the trip as business or personal. The app computes distance and adds it to your mileage log. You can export the log for tax filing or client reimbursement.
Estimating Quarterly Taxes
Based on your profit, the service estimates federal and state tax owed each quarter. It shows the amount you should set aside and provides due date reminders. You can adjust the estimate if you expect changes in income or expenses. The tool does not file taxes for you; it only gives a projection.
Getting Started with the Service
Download the QuickBooks Self-Employed app from your device’s app store. Create an account using your email address and set a secure password. Link your bank and credit card accounts to enable automatic transaction imports. Start labeling transactions and tracking mileage right away.
Begin by importing your last month’s bank transactions into QuickBooks Self-Employed to see your cash flow and categorize expenses.