No matter which sector you work in, you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the finance specialists at your office who work hard to make sure you get paid the proper amounts, receive necessary tax documents, and so on. Those people don’t have the simplest jobs, but there are things you can do to make their lives easier.
Keep Track of Receipts and Submit Them Promptly
Traveling for business isn’t always fun but it’s definitely advantageous to have things like your hotel room, meals, and taxi fares paid for by your employer. Tracking down receipts that people have accumulated during their travels can cause major headaches for the finance professionals at your office. More than likely, a lot of those all-important financial records get submitted to the finance department crinkled up, stained with coffee, or late.
Keep all your business receipts in one place and in good condition by using one of the many tracking and organization methods people commonly use. You might compile everything in a specific accordion folder that gets added to daily, adopt the habit of submitting all relevant receipts one week or less after you’ve finished traveling, or depend on a purposeful app that helps you manage receipts in the digital realm.
Don’t Delay When Alerting People About Payment Discrepancies
If something looks strange about your paycheck, speak up about that right away by approaching your boss as a first step. Always maintain a calm attitude and choose your words carefully so you’ll come across as clearly as possible. Your boss probably won’t have dealt with your paycheck directly, so there’s a good chance he or she will either tell you to talk to the finance department or do so on your behalf.
No matter what, don’t take too long to let your superiors know something is amiss. Some people don’t even look at their paystubs and won’t realize problems unless there are major discrepancies. Instead of taking that approach, it’s best to know the exact amount you should be receiving on a given paycheck or at least an average figure. Also, look at your paystub data as soon as you receive it so you’ll know immediately if something’s not right.
Fill Out Tax Documents Accurately
When you begin working for an employer, you’ll be given tax documents that specify the amount you want to be withheld from each paycheck to reduce the chances you’ll have to pay taxes at the end of the year. As you fill out the forms, strive for accuracy, especially when writing down portions that you know by heart, such as your address.
Seemingly small mistakes can make big differences and compromise overall accuracy. Consider what would happen if you were interested in earning your Master of Science in Accounting from Maryville University and misspelled the institution’s name by typing “Maryville Universiy” while entering the main part of the address into your browser.
If you typed that keyword into Google or another well-known search engine, you’d probably still reach the right place. On the other hand, if you tried to go to the website directly and spelled the address incorrectly, you’d reach a “Page not found” placeholder or something similar.
Misspelling your physical address on your tax documents may not cause huge issues but it might lead to confusion at the IRS. It could also make any refund checks you’re owed at the end of the tax year take longer to reach you, especially if the related misunderstanding also extends to the postal service.
The tips above prove it’s not as difficult as you may have thought to make things less stressful for the financial professionals at your office. Even if you rarely interact with them, they’ll appreciate the little but meaningful things you do to help them excel in their tasks.
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