Ready to learn about the nity-grity of Public Mobile? Should you consider switching? Here's everything you need to know!
My Public Mobile Story:
Cellphones: a necessary evil. Do you ever look at your cellphone bill and wonder, “Why it is so high?” This blog post could be the most important thing you read this year.
So first, a little backstory.
I was on Telus and had been for years. They had me and my wife hooked on a “grandfathered” business-only plan that was no longer offered. We were paying about $287 per month! And that's with no data overages.
Even on that expensive Telus plan, we still had to be careful about data, as we sometimes went over the data limit. Telus, like all the major cell phone carriers, has harsh penalties for going over-limit on your data plan.
We were stuck on this plan because we had a “business” account and had an unlimited amount of US-calling. I run a marketing agency where we build funnels and run advertising for small businesses
Even though we were calling US numbers less and less (Hello Zoom!) we were afraid to leave the plan, because we could never get that US-long distance place back if we left.
Now, truth be told, it was a little annoying that I couldn’t call Public Mobile and ask a rep some specific questions about porting my number – which was important to me. But eventually the desire to save a lot of money each month prompted me to give it a go.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it took us about 4 months of hemming and hawing before actually making the switch.
The switch was painless and quick.
So what is Public Mobile?
Public Mobile is a low-cost SIM-only service provider.
In my opinion, Public Mobile is the best, lowest-cost self-serve cell phone platform in Canada.
Essentially, they are a discount prepaid-only carrier that runs on the Telus network. (Public Mobile was bought out by Telus in 2013; originally they had been an independent carrier.)
The Telus high-speed 4G-LTE network provides extensive coverage, but every cell phone plan from Public Mobile is limited to “3G speed” data, but honestly, I have not noticed a difference. Since all the plans are set to 3G speed, you can turn off LTE on your phone.
The nice thing about it being a pre-paid plan is that you won't have a surprise by going over your talk or data limit. This is also a good thing to keep in mind if you have a teenager or somebody who doesn't pay attention to the data limits on their plan.
My biggest hurdle had always been that I was skeptical about the quality of the service and the coverage. If it's so much less, there must be some sort of nasty catch, right?
But the truth is that Public Mobile, being a self-serve department of Telus, has exactly the same quality of coverage.
Public Mobile Network Coverage
Telus uses the Bell Towers across Canada, so the coverage is just as good as Bell or Telus. This is important, because I live in a slightly rural area, and I have a cottage that is well-hidden from the world on a very private lake without motorized boats. It's remote and beautiful.
And one of the main concerns was I wanted to verify that we had coverage there – which we should have because we had coverage with Telus. We have had visitors to our cottage who are on Rogers and they had really spotty coverage there. Anyway, we actually activated a test phone just to verify it worked and it did.
That gave up the go ahead to leave our plan at Telus after over a decade and switch to Public Mobile.
Is there an activation fee?
There is no activation fee with Public Mobile.
Notifications:
I get notifications when I get a referral, make a payment, or hit 75% of my data threshold. So that gives me plenty of time to adjust.
Here's what I see when I make a new referral to Public Mobile and reduce my bill:
IMPORTANT: Make note of this referral code when signing up to activate that bonus: WX60K0
You will need to enter it in step 4 (payment section) of the activation PublicMobile signup page to get your discount.
Can I Port/Use My Current Phone With Public Mobile?
Yes, you can just use your current number. There is no charge for using your current number, and the process is very simple.
In fact, you need to bring your own phone to Public Mobile. There are no contracts, so you can leave at any time. So use your current phone, and if you want an upgrade, buy a new phone straight out. Easy (and cheaper in the long run.)
You do need a new Public Mobile SIM card. These cost $10 at Walmart in the electronic department. You need to ask at the counter. They are one-size (3-in-1) SIM cards with a detachable part to fit all SIM card trays. (Sounds weird, but it's easy.)
If you have an unlocked phone already, getting started is as simple as buying a SIM, activating it, and inserting it into your phone. You will be prompted to do this as you complete the signup process.
If you don't have a SIM card tool, you can use a pin to pop out the SIM card tray. Everything else is done online and in the peace of your own home.
How To Sign Up For Public Mobile & Port Your Current Number From Another Cell Phone Company
I have a video demonstrating how this works:
Public Mobile Plans:
Every cell phone plan with Public Mobile includes nationwide long distance, unlimited texting internationally, voicemail and caller ID. They are charged on a 30-day billing cycle.
Here are the current Public Mobile plans:
Public Mobile Plans
The plans are straightforward with no hidden gotchas. For example, even the lowest priced plan allows international texting and picture messages.
Voicemail, Call Display, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and Conference Calling are included in all Unlimited Talk plans from Public Mobile.
Incoming from anywhere on the planet (when you are in Canada, that is) does not use up your Plan Minutes.
The plans all feel fair, which is kinda weird for a cellphone company.
They do have some addons so you can customize your plan and still keep it as inexpensive as possible. Personally, I'm on the $50/mo plan because I call to the States semi-frequently.
Public Mobile Add Ons:
They have some good add on plans. You can add these international long distance plans.
We have several long distance options available for calling from Canada including:
1000 Minutes to the U.S. for $15;
1000 Minutes to the U.K. for $15;
750 Minutes to India and Pakistan for $15;
500 Minutes to China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan for $15;
100 Minutes to the Philippines for $15
300 International Minutes for $15
500 Canada-wide Minutes for $5
*Note: these minutes roll-over to the next month… and stay in your account as long as you have an active plan, even if you drop the addon package…which is awesome!
In addition, you can add data plans, and even US roaming plans if you plan to travel to the US.
Regrets About Switching To Public Mobile:
Regrets? My only regret is that I didn't switch earlier. I get the same coverage without the whopping bill from Telus each month. I save literally OVER $200 per month! That's $2400 per year in savings.
Who own Public Mobile?
Public Mobile is owned by Telus. You are basically getting the exact same service as Telus for a fraction of the cost.
What are the drawback of Public Mobile?
You can't speak to somebody on the phone. Because of this, it might not be the best for older people who don't have anyone to help them get set up… not that it's very difficult, mind you.
They do have an active support community, and you can get a quick answer to your specific question from them. I have used this forum and received a prompt, personalized response. They do reward customers who answer questions in the community for a phone bill.
They don't have overseas support. So if you plan on using your phone overseas, you'd need to look at getting a temporary phone for all your awesome travels.
Lastly, I was hesitant about 3G speed. But I have found not a single time I have been waiting for something to load. I use Google Maps, Taxbot to track (and write off) my mileage, and sometimes on the go, I might use Safari and FIFA Companion App.
I have watched YouTube and it works fine – but I try not to blow through data by watching video while I am on data.
I have not noticed a difference in any way.
How to the rewards work?
You get $2 off for setting up Autopay – paying your phone bill automatically with a credit card. This makes sense and it's one less bill to take up your time.
You also get $1 off for every customer you refer per month. If you refer 10 customers, and they remain active, you would get $10 off your phone bill. This is a way to further reduce a necessary recurring expense. You also get a one-time $10 bonus for referring a new customer that first month.
There is also a long-term Loyalty Bonus: you get $1 off every 30 days after your first year as a customer, $2 off after your second year, $3 after three years, etc.
Support Agent Bonus: You get up to $20 off every 30 days when you contribute to their online customer support community.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you already signed up and did not use a referral code, you can contact support and ask them to apply this to your account to claim your discount.
WX60K0 (Those 0's are Zeros by the way!)
What is the average speed of 4G and 3G data?
You can check coverage and network types in your area at the Public Mobile support page. The Telus network ranked second for download speeds in both the 4G and 3G network categories in Tutela's 2020 “Mobile Experience Report,” tests showed an average speed of 15.68Mbits/sec for 4G downloads and 5.30Mbits/sec for 3G downloads.
Public Mobile Cheapest Plan:
The cheapest Public Mobile plan is the $15/month 100 Minutes Canada-wide Talk Plan. This can be customized with some low-priced add-ons. With AutoPay, this is only $13/mo – plus you will get an extra 250MB of 3G data.
Why this plan rocks: As a base plan, this is everything most people need. You get 100 minutes of outgoing calls, unlimited incoming calls, no long distance charges within Canada and unlimited international text and picture messaging.
By the way, if you want to see just how much you pay for recurring charges each month is to download a cool app called Bobby.co.
The Public Mobile Plan I am on:
The best premium plan offered by Public Mobile is the $50 plan, which includes 8GB of 3G-speed data, nationwide unlimited calls, and free long-distance to the United States. This is great if you have relatives in the US. And the 8GB of data is plenty for streaming Spotify and doing whatever without worrying about hitting the limit. (I don't watch Netflix while on data.)
Public Mobile: Should You Switch To Public Mobile?
Bottom line is that if you consider a cell phone a necessary expense, as I do, why not reduce that bill as much as possible so you can put that money towards something more productive?
My personal experience using GoPeer, a peer-to-peer lending platform for Canadian investors.
GoPeer Review
So what exactly is GoPeer? GoPeer is Canada's first consumer peer-to-peer lending platform for Canadians. They have been featured in the news here.
RELATED: if you want to understand more about what cryptocurrencies are and how they impact the future of banking, check out this free book.
What is Peer-To-Peer Lending?
Peer-to-Peer Lending is also known as Crowd-Lending or Alternative Lending. It is a unique way to earn credit card-type interest without putting up a lot of capital.
Normally, if you are looking to get a loan, you would have to apply for a line-of-credit through a bank or a credit card. However, peer-to-peer lending offers a unique alternative to traditional lenders.
GoPeer Review
GoPeer Vs Lending Loop?
GoPeer offers consumer loans to individuals. And they allow unaccredited private investors (like myself or any Canadian) to invest in consumer loans. Lending Loop offers business loans to businesses. And they allow private investors to invest in business loans.
So GoPeer offers Canadians peer-to-peer lending on the consumer side, while Lending Loop offers alternative lending for the business side.
You can earn credit card-type interest. Take a look at a screenshot from the marketplace and you can see how you can be earning between 11.7% and 25.4% interest on your money.
GoPeer Platform Dashboard
Is GoPeer Legit and Safe to Use?
GoPeer is registered in all provinces and territories and is headquartered in Toronto, ON.
GoPeer is not accredited by BBB, has been established for two years and does not have any reviews on the GoPeer BBB page. There are lots of Gopeer Reddit reviews that verify it is working for real Canadians.
They have 29 ratings on Google Reviews, with an average rating of 4.5 across all ratings. The negative reviews were mostly people complaining that they got denied for a loan.
GoPeer Reviews on Google
Yes, GoPeer is legit and safe to use. All investments can be risky, and because of the de-stabilizing nature of COVID, it would be prudent to only invest money you can afford to lose. I like the GoPeer model, however, because of how they vet their clients. You do need typically a 600+ credit score rating to be approved, and the credit score is shown in the marketplace as one criteria to evaluate which loans you will invest in.
Peer-to-peer lending is not correlated with the stock market, which makes this a good addition to any portfolio, in my opinion.
How does GoPeer Work?
GoPeer is a lending platform that allows you to invest in micro-loans to individuals. It is a peer-to-peer lending platforms that essentially is an intermediary between borrowers and private investors, allowing average folks to lend money directly to other individuals while earning a substantial return (interest rate) in exchange.
These P2P platforms leverage the power of the multitude to make capital available for businesses to operate and grow the economy. And for investors, they allow you to diversify into multiple loans, as low as $10 per loan, which reduces your overall risk.
How can I get a peer to peer loan?
You can apply to get a loan here from GoPeer using this link and get $30 back when you may your first payment. You should have a solid (600+) credit rating, as GoPeer has a proprietary method of evaluating who they will make loans to.
Reddit has become a source of due diligence these days, but there are not many reviews on Reddit about GoPeer.
Is P2P lending a good investment?
I like P2P lending because you can earn credit-card level interest rates of return. This is significantly higher than parking your money in bonds, money market accounts, or even a high-yield bank account.
One drawback of P2P lending is the time frame. You can't liquidate your investment early, so you will have some money locked in for the duration of the loan. Most loans on GoPeer range from 3-4 years in length, during which your capital illiquid. I should point out that each month when the loan is repaid, you do get a bit of principle and interest back.
How much does it cost to start peer to peer lending
To fund your account you need to make an initial deposit of $1000. It's important to invest the full $1000 in order to get your bonus. The minimum you can invest in any loan is $10. This low amount allows you to spread even a meager investment of $1000 over many different loans, which reduces your overall risk.
What's the average return with GoPeer?
It depends. On average, including defaulted loans, the average return is over 10% in 2021, which is 3 times HIGHER than the S&P High Yield Corporate Bond Index. (And if you want to diversify some of your stock portfolio especially considering the market is at a high at present, GoPeer is a good way to do that):
For my personal account, I am currently as of March 2022 at 12.9%, which I am happy about.
My personal GoPeer returns to date.
Which Loans Should I Invest In?
That depends on your risk profile. Best practice is obviously to spread your money amongst the maximum amount of loans. I tend to favour loans that are C+ or better. Here is the criteria you will see that will allow you to make an informed decision about whether or not to invest in a particular loan.
Sample GoPeer Loan
I look at the credit score, the reason for the loan, the debt to income ratio, and the annual salary as a starting point.
You will earn $30 when you invest in your first loan as an investor, or when you make your first payment if you apply for a loan from GoPeer.
If I was older, or less risk averse, I would have more of my portfolio in GoPeer. Currently, I have a large portion of my investments in crypto. I am using BlockFi to earn some interest on my crypto that you may be interested in learning more about here:
The internet is entirely visual. As the interest speeds increase and the cost of hardware and hosting comes down, graphics, and video are obviously going to become more and more important.
Snagit 2021 is a tool that does just about everything you can think of in terms of image and video editing.
It's a tool I am very familiar with, as I have been using it regularly since Snagit 2013, nearly a decade ago.
Are you ready to learn about Snagit 2021? Read on…
So who is Snagit 2021 for?
Snagit is for anybody that is in charge of marketing for a brand.
If you participate on social media, and you might not want to after watching the documentary, the Social Dilemma, which I highly recommend watching on Netflix…but that's another story.
You need to manipulate screenshots.
If you run your own business, or are in charge of the marketing for your own brand or business, you need a simple, versatile tool like Snagit.
Snagit is made by Techsmith, which also has created the popular cross-platform softwares like Camtasia, Jing and the streaming software, Relay. Techsmith also runs the image and video hosting service, Screencast. The fact that they own screencast.com should show you how early they were to the party. They are based out of Michigan and have a high standard of quality. I actually used Camtasia extensively back when I used a Windows machine before converting to becoming a MAC guy.
And it's important to point out that Snagit is a cross-platform program. So whether you use Windows or Mac, you can use Snagit or any of the Techsmith products.
Snagit is a great entry point for moving beyond just taking screenshots.
And I think that's the point.
Any browser extension like Awesome Screenshot can take and share a screenshot. Snagit is about moving to the next level. It's about doing a little bit more with your screenshots and images (and videos) and still being very simple to use – but ultimately professional.
Before I started using Snagit, I was using a bunch of sometimes reliable, sometimes not chrome extensions. And I would end up being frustrated. If I wanted to capture an entire webpage, past the fold, for example, the extension didn't do a good job of that. I found that relying on browser extensions would be a bit more cluttered – I could never locate the screenshot I took a few days ago and now wanted to use it again. Little annoyances like that.
By the way, I use Brave, which runs ALL the Chrome extensions and earns me free crypto while I browse. Download Brave here.
And while you can do the basics of taking a screenshot and sharing it, with a screenshot browser extension, it's limited and a bit fragmented.
Once you want to do a little but more, you need to graduate to a program like Snagit 2021.
Some of the problems you may run into using a free browser addon include:
taking scrolling screenshots or hard to take screenshots of a very long page.
Or even of taking screenshots of a drop down menu.
Snagit has multiple ways to do those things and more.
So if you want to get into blurring, or combining some images into a step by step checklist, for example, you need something a little more robust.
Delegating Tasks to VAs Using Snagit
I find it essential to delegate tasks to my VAs either by recording a video or creating a polished little instructional document that doesn’t take long.
Recording Your iOS Device (Easy Method)
One of the nice features is integration with iOS. You can record your iOS device with Techsmith Capture – with or without voice narration – and then you can easily have it magically ported to your computer inside Snagit.
The annoyance of getting video files from your iOS device over to your computer has been solved. And that's probably the #1 reason you're not doing as many iOS screen recordings, am I right? It was for me. So that, in and of itself is worth it!
This makes it easy for non-techies to get really great iOS recordings to show gameplay or tutorials on how to use a certain app for example.
These often grab thousands of free views and subscribers for your YouTube channel.
So let's get into the Pros and Cons on Snagit.
Snagit Features:
So I created a YouTube video where I explain HOW to use most of the features in Snagit 2021. It's a little but long, but I edited it down to be as concise as possible. Check it out if you want to know what Snagit can do, or if you already have Snagit and want to learn some of the different features and tools that are inside.
Snagit Pros and Cons:
Snagit Pros:
very reliable
Can handle recording screens for webinar for multi-hour events
Can do a bunch of little things
A plethora of image editing tools to make your vision come to life
Super-easy to record an iOS video on your iPad or iPhone and get it on your computer
Keeps your video and images organized and easily accessible
Replaces the need for multiple tools
Cons:
it is a paid tool
Video editing is limited
Can't rename images inside the editor
So Do You Need Snagit?
Great question. That all depends. If all you ever do is take an occasional screenshot and share it on social media – and never do anything to it, you probably don’t need Snagit.
However, if you want to have all of our digital assets in one place and learn how to do things in a more polished way, then I think you’ll love it.
So if you want to start creating a more polished look about the images you screenshot, share and edit online, then you should take a look at Snagit.
One thing I don’t love is you can’t rename the images from the editor. You have to toggle into the library to do that.
Another thing some might not like is that it is a paid tool – and there is a new major release every year. While it’s not expensive, it’s not free – and let’s face it if you want to use multiple tools you can use something like Loom to record videos (which is not as high resolution) and Awesome Screenshot to capture screen captures.
Snagit 2021 Bottom Line
So I really like Snagit. It’s one of the first 2 or 3 softwares I install on a brand new computer. I use it not daily, but certainly multiple times per week at minimum.
It handles all my screenshots and screen recordings and the editor make it really easy find the stuff I’ve been working on recently.
I love that it stores all the files in a separate directory, as it makes it easy to backup.
If you buy through my link, I’ll give you a free class on image editing that you will love. Just let me know you've purchased or taken the free trial and I'll send it to you right away.
This post is an in-depth review of the Taxbot Review product. I have personally used this product for over 3 years.
What Is Taxbot?
Taxes can be a polarizing subject. And some people are deathly afraid of them.
NOTE: Taxbot was aquired by Hurdlr. Hurdlr is an improvement on the Taxbot app. Download Hurdlr here.
Taxbot has focused on their tax training programs for entrepreneurs. I'm a big fan of what I have learned from them, and I think as an entrepreneur, you need to be educated and not rely exclusively on your accountant. My former accountant cost me tens of thousands of dollars…but that's another story.
If you want to educated yourself on how to maximize tax deductions, check out Midas IQ (from the Taxbot folks.). Confused about how to calculate crypto taxes? Try this.
How Much Can Taxbot Actually Save You?
It totally depends on your business. But for me, Taxbot saved me $45,106.11 in deductions I would have missed otherwise in 2018:
Yup, this is what Taxbot saved me in 2018!
Now keep in mind that if I were in a 50% tax bracket, this would have saved me about $20,100 in real money. Obviously, tax brackets are a complicated subject, so this is would vary based on your individual financial circumstances.
I know taxes are not everyone's favourite subject… but like death, it's something everyone has to deal with. So anything that can make you tax time easier is worth learning a little more about, don't you agree?
Many people have “fear” around audits and the IRS/tax regulations. I'll explain how Taxbot will give you peace of mind (as it did for me) about your taxes a little later in this blog post.
But it's your legal right to be able to deduct your taxes as much as possible as long as the deductions are real and valid. Taxbot helps you record and capture deductions that otherwise would be missed. And that will save you money.
Note: Taxbot works in the US, but it also works for any country. For myself, as a Canadian taxpayer, I have used it to get many more deductions than I would have without using it. This post will show you how.
Taxbot was created by Sandy Botkin and Jake Randall. I'll get into who they are a little later in this post.
So how does Taxbot accomplish the goal of helping you pay significantly less in taxes?
Well, there are 2 main parts to the Taxbot product.
There is the mileage/deductions portion, which focuses on claiming business trips and expenses as legitimate business expenses, and there is the accounting portion where you can create year-end books for your accountant in a matter of minutes.
Additionally, there are some optional videos which legal tax expert and Taxbot co-founder Sandy Botkin teaches some strategy on how to reduce taxes for entrepreneur and business owners. I've been through the videos and learned quite a bit, but you don't need them to use Taxbot and have Taxbot start reducing your tax burden immediately. Sandy Botkin, who actually worked for the IRS, has also written some books on tax strategies.
Let's talk about mileage deductions first.
What I Wish Somebody Told Me About Mileage Deductions Before I Started My Own Business
For many small business owners and entrepreneurs (and this includes just about anybody in Network Marketing or even just doing a side-hustle), which could be mowing lawns, managing rental properties, or doing some sporadic graphic design work on Fiverr, or managing somebody's Pinterest Marketing account – or whatever! Literally anything you bill for with your online invoicing software.
The #1 biggest missed deduction for small entrepreneurs is automobile expenses.
The reason why is that it's a huge pain in the ass to document your mileage and calculate how much of your automobile car payments, gas, and repairs and maintenance can be counted towards your deductions.
This is not going to be a problem for you anymore, because of Taxbot.
So what the Taxbot app does, is once you allow it permissions to do so, it tracks when you start moving in a car (based on the speed it can tell if you are in a car.) I find it has been very accurate. It drops a geolocation pin from your starting point (which is often your home) and when you stop for more than 5 minutes, it drops an end of trip pin.
So it measures the actual miles (or kilometers in Canada) you have driven.
You simply swipe left if the trip is personal. And swipe right if the trip is business. And instantly, it tracks what percentage of your travel is tax-deductible for your business.
So you don't need to record starting and ending mileage. You just need to track your year-beginning Odometer reading.
SIDE NOTE: I started in June 2017, so for my first year, I recorded my beginning mileage on July 1st, recorded the mileage for the rest of the year, and had my accountant double it to account for the months Jan-June that I was not using the app. This is perfectly fine. You can track as little as a 3-month span in the year and extrapolate your yearly mileage deductions based on that number.
Why I like Taxbot Recording My Trips
First, it's automatic.
Second, it gets me oriented to thinking about how I can make a trip tax-deductible.
Third. I would never do this with consistency is I was using a pen and paper notepad instead of using Taxbot.
Some Taxbot Tips From A Pro User
Now the nice thing is that you can merge trips together, which I often do for the sake of clarity and brevity.
So, for example, if I am driving to the bank to do deposit a business check, for example, but I stop into the grocery store on the way back home, I'll merge the whole trip back into just one trip – from bank to home.
My main business purpose was to go to the bank, so I would have had to driven home anyhow. But my grocery trip now becomes tax-deductible because it was on the same route as a business trip.
So now my entire tripe becomes a legitimate, audit-proof, tax-deductible business expense.
That saves me real money…every time I leave the house.
How Taxbot Guide You
Taxbot prompts you to record the necessary pieces of information the tax people would want to know. And in the case of meals and/or entertainment expenses, it will ask you WHO you were meeting at the meal and WHAT the purpose of the meal is about.
(Asked for referral) is the default answer, which is a valid answer provided you generate some business from some of these meetings during the calendar year.
What I love about it, and I've been personally using Taxbot for over 3 years now is that it tracks all of my trips, so I can just easily categorize these when I'm home and in my downtime.
Honestly, I always knew I could write off a portion of my automobile and gas expenses as a small business owner, but it was too burdensome to manually record the odometer after every stop. I never could remember to record that no matter how hard I tried.
Now, I get to maximize all of my business-related trips, so I can easily give a report to my accountant that documents the total mileage for each calendar month and the km (or miles) traveled for business and for personal in each of those time periods.
From that, my accountant can calculate the percentage of deductions. Done and dusted.
But I want to stress that it's good to plan your trips around business trips – even if it's just picking up batteries for my apple headphones at the mall. (Yes, that is a valid business deduction as I use my phone to make business calls.)
Keep in mind you're not just writing off a portion of your gas. you also write off a portion of your car insurance, a portion of your repairs and maintenance, your tires, and your car/lease payment.
so you can see it can quickly become highly beneficial to identify trips as business travel.
Now the rule for the IRS is as long as it's reasonable and properly documented, they are not going to give you a problem. They are not looking for perfection. They are looking for crooks.
I have been audited in a field audit before by the Canada Revenue Agency (the Canadian equivalent of the IRS) – not for my mileage, but I know how the audit process works. As long as you can justify any expense, you shouldn't have a problem deducting it. There may be certain cases where they might disallow certain deduction you feel are related to your business but these should be negligible – especially if your records are well documented.
The key to peace of mind with your taxes is keeping it all up to date and organized… and Taxbot helps you do that. Also, the fact that your records are well-documented – and Taxbot is the best at that. This means that tax time becomes less stressful and certainly less time-consuming.
Even if you didn't save money, Taxbot would be worth it for that alone. (But trust me, you'll save a very significant sum.)
Having your taxes documented like Taxbot prepares them for you, will give you great confidence in dealing with any financial situation that may arise.
Taxbot and Bank Feeds
Taxbot can also connect to your bank feeds and pull all the income and expenses into Taxbot and then you can categorize it in Taxbot according to per-determined IRS-approved categories.
You can also make your own categories.
I, personally, don't use the Taxbot feature because I am Canadian and my business is mostly in USD, which is a bit more complicated – so I do my full accounting on Wave Accounting, which is built for non-accountants.
Now, it's not that I don't like syncing banks with a central online portal. I do think this gives you a good overview of your finances. I use Mint.com to get a quick overview of all my bank accounts across multiple banks and investment houses.
I do like using Wealth Simple, and Wealthica, both of which are available for Canadians. You can see my video review of Wealth Simple on YouTube.
Cloud-Based Bookkeeping Systems
Sidenote: If you want a great free accounting system, I recommend Wave. Moving to cloud-based books is awesome. I have a bookkeeper in the Philippines, so I don't need to bother my accountant for unimportant things. And I have a local Canadian accountant who does the final accounting stuff for me.
I first moved to Xero, which was cloud-based, but is very accountant-speak. I found Wave much easier for the entrepreneur who does not have a formal accounting background. I also tried Zoho Books, which was not as intuitive as Wave, but easier to grasp for non-accountants than Xero.
if I had a simple business or a one currency business, I would do my entire books in Taxbot – because it's so easy. You can generate profit and loss reports directly from the TaxBot back office.
From the web-based back office, you can also add any trip data that is missing – like let's say you had your phone turned off – just add it the starting and ending locations by address and it will calculate the mileage for you!
You can also take one trip and toggle a button to make it a “round trip” which would double the trip and calculate the return leg. sometimes I prefer to do this if I had many stops on the way home – or if I went out of my way on a personal detour.
Adding Business Expenses In Taxbot Manually
Instead of having Taxbot sync with my bank, I take a picture of business receipts and Taxbot prompts me to add the relevant details, and it also stores a photo of the receipt so I don't need to keep the paper one.
Of course, you can also do this from the back office, and upload receipts as pictures or PDFs.
This is really nice because it saves space and sanity at tax time.
Tracking Multiple Businesses With Taxbot
Taxbot allows me to track multiple automobiles and multiple businesses.
Now I only have one care, because neither my wife nor myself work outside the house. So we don't really need a second car.
But being able to track multiple businesses, but keep them isolated is exactly what the tax people want to see. Nothing irks the tax people more than co-mingling finances.
For example, I have a rental property. So I have a separate business set up as a rental property. So any travel I do related to this business, I assign that trip to the rental property business. Any expenses I incur as a result of this business, I add to Taxbot under that business as well.
So if I have to pick up some supplies at the hardware store, I keep the receipt, snap a picture, and Taxbot tracks all of my expenses for that business. (It also tracks the income for you if you add that. Income does not require a receipt to add it into Taxbot.
Taxbot As An Estate Tracker Tool
Taxbot is also an incredible estate tool. I wish iI knew about it when I first become an executor.
You can easily track your time, your mileage, and any expenses directly through the app and keep it separate and easily prepare a report for the courts or your lawyers.
Remember, executors often rely on this at the end – even if you have started being an executor without Taxbot, I would encourage you to start tracking everything about your executor “job” from day one so you can prove what you did later if it ever comes to that. (Believe me, these things that start out where everyone agrees often end with everyone fighting and disputing things you never thought you would be disputing, That's the nature of estates.
Taxbot Reviews
Taxbot has some strong reviews in the App Store. Keep in mind that a high rating like this is good, particularly for a free app that has a paid subscription model. Most of the 1 Star reviews are people complaining that they actually have to pay for continued functionality with the app. But trust me, it's worth it!
How much does Taxbot cost?
Taxbot, when I bought it cost me 9.95/mo. I pay for a year at a time for about $100 for the year.
Also.. that $100 is tax-deductible. but it saves me so much more in missed deductions and lost receipts – it easily saves me several tens of thousands of dollars each year.
Honestly, I don't know why anybody would not use it. it just makes sense.
So that's my Taxbot review. I hope you learned a few things from it that will save you money on your next tax return.
If you don't see how this can save you thousands of dollars each and every year, you need to read this post again. 😉 Or you can sign up for my webinar where I show you how I use Taxbot personally.
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Previously I was using TeuxDeux, which has a completely different spin on the To Do list. It's just a little weak on projects, but it's very unique and works well if you have a simple business.
What is your favorite To Do app?
Let me know what you're using by commenting below.
