Best Business Practices for Photographers [90]
We have a set fee per amount of supplies used, regardless of what was actually paid for them. This is done for several reasons: 1) We keep film on file to meet last-minute and unusual requests, therefore we sometimes discard film that does not meet our technical expectations or that has been through several passes of an X-ray machine, and this cost must be split across the cost of actual film shot; 2) time is taken to investigate new films and test films before they are used in shoots, and due to the time taken to go to the various suppliers we use and to maintain the stock necessary, the cost for this time, billed by staff, must be spread across the cost per roll.
By way of example, publishing houses do not request receipts from printing plants for the cost of ink and paper, nor receipts for the wholesale prices paid on the repair of copiers, nor gasoline receipts from the delivery service who delivers the copies of the magazine.
Please discuss with us any issues you have with this policy beforehand."
And our updated version on our website now is:
"We have a set fee for delivery services regardless of what was actually paid for it. Examples may include delivery—sometimes delivery services must make second attempts, and we cannot know of these additional expenses until 30+ days beyond an assignment, which must have been billed before we receive the actual bill, or other surcharges may apply. We stipulate delivery charges to avoid this paperwork. Post-production: We allocate our post-production vendor's services over set periods of time, based upon image counts, and outline that expense to you. We pay a set figure to them for each day's work, and that workload is not delineated by the job where hours are allocated to each job.
Further, we may work with our vendor to investigate new production techniques, from plug-ins that produce superior raw-to-jpeg conversions, or other services that benefit you, the end client. The cost for this time, billed by staff, must be spread across our assigned fees per assignment.
By way of example, publishing houses do not request receipts from printing plants for the cost of ink and paper, nor receipts for the wholesale prices paid on the repair of a copier, nor gasoline receipts from the delivery service who delivers the copies of the magazine.
Please discuss with us any issues you have with this policy beforehand."
One of the issues is that the IRS wants me to keep the receipts—the originals. Photocopies make the IRS think that maybe you and another business used the same receipt. The following information is from the IRS website:
The following are some of the types of records you should keep:
Gross receipts are the income you receive from your business. You should keep supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of your gross receipts. Documents for gross receipts include the following:
Cash register tapes
Bank deposit slips {bank statements and copies of the deposit slips}
Receipt books
Invoices
Credit card charge slips
Forms 1099-MISC
Purchases are the items you buy and resell to customers. If you are a manufacturer or producer, this includes the cost of all raw materials or parts purchased for manufacture into finished products. Your supporting documents should show the amount paid and that the amount was for purchases. Documents for purchases include the following:
Canceled checks {the IRS accepts photocopies of checks from the bank, instead of the actual check, as proof of payment}
Cash register tape receipts
Credit card sales slips
Invoices
Expenses are the costs you incur (other than purchases) to carry on your business. Your supporting documents should show the amount paid and that the amount was for a business expense. Documents for expenses include the following:
Canceled checks
Cash register tapes
Account statements
Credit card