01 — Structure
Choose your legal setup.
Start as a sole proprietor or form a single-member LLC if that fits your plan. A sole proprietorship is often the simplest start, but local registration, permits, and tax rules can still apply.
How-To • Bookkeeper
Turn side projects into cleaner books and more defensible deductions.
If you are a hobbyist, tinkerer, artist, or builder starting to earn money, this roadmap helps you move from mixed personal spending to a cleaner business process: separate accounts, consistent records, and year-end outputs your CPA can actually use.
Educational information only. This page is not tax, accounting, or legal advice.
Confirm structure, deductions, and filing strategy with a qualified professional.
What you get from this guide
A short, practical sequence that works for most early-stage solo businesses and side hustles.
- How to separate business activity from personal life.
- How to use dedicated banking to simplify bookkeeping.
- How tvrBookkeeper helps capture, review, and reconcile records.
- How to stay ready for tax prep instead of scrambling in April.
High-level roadmap
Five practical steps to run your project like a real business.
You do not need perfect systems on day one. You need clear separation, consistent capture, and regular cleanup.
02 — Identity
Set up business identity basics.
Claim your business name, get an EIN when needed, and set your business contact details so invoices, payments, and receipts all flow to one place.
03 — Banking
Open a dedicated business bank account.
This is the highest-leverage move. Keeping business transactions out of personal accounts makes deduction tracking, reconciliation, and audits far simpler.
04 — Capture
Track expenses and income continuously.
Record transactions as they happen. Save receipts, invoices, and supporting notes while context is fresh instead of trying to reconstruct history later.
05 — Close
Reconcile monthly and export for tax prep.
Match bank activity to ledger records, resolve exceptions, and keep a clean export package ready for your CPA or filing workflow.
Banking recommendation
Business banking first: why we recommend Mercury.
Mercury is a strong fit for builders and solo operators who want clean account separation and straightforward digital workflows.
Why this helps your tax workflow
- Cleaner separation between personal and business spending.
- Faster monthly reconciliation and fewer mixed transactions.
- Stronger paper trail when documenting business-use expenses.
Mercury + Bookkeeper together
- Direct Mercury connection inside Bookkeeper settings.
- Connection test + one-click sync of bank transactions.
- Match imported transactions to expenses or income.
- Track unresolved items and review exceptions quickly.
Referral link: https://mercury.com/r/vanroojen
Built-in app benefits
How tvrBookkeeper reduces bookkeeping drag.
The app is built to help you keep records current without turning bookkeeping into a second full-time job.
Document inbox + AI intake
Upload receipts, invoices, and statements. AI processing handles intake and retries, with support for evidence previews.
Email ingestion controls
Generate inbound addresses and approve senders or domains so emailed documents can be ingested safely.
Expense + income ledgers
Create, edit, and categorize expense and income records with status tracking so nothing disappears at year end.
Mercury transaction workflow
Import Mercury transactions, filter by source/account, run reconciliation, and open linked entries directly in the Mercury dashboard.
Review queue for exceptions
Only uncertain records get surfaced for quick human decisions, keeping routine processing lightweight.
Reports + exports
Track statement totals and download structured exports (including ledger data and supporting records) for tax prep and archival.
Starter checklist
A clean 30-day setup plan.
If you want momentum, focus on separation and consistency first.
Week 1
- Confirm your business structure with a professional.
- Open your business bank account.
- Route project income and expenses to that account only.
Weeks 2–4
- Set up Bookkeeper and connect Mercury.
- Import existing records and upload receipts.
- Run your first reconcile cycle and clear review items.
- Export a snapshot and store it monthly.