Start a Desktop Publishing Business - 10 wk: 8. Money Matters

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Start a Desktop Publishing Business - 10 wk 8. Money Matters From Jacci Howard Bear, your Guide to Desktop Publishing Once again we're digging into money matters. The tax lesson in this class is geared toward US and Canadian taxes for small businesses. For those of you in other countries, the material includes links to resources specific to other taxing authorities. Although some consider it the most difficult aspect of starting a desktop publishing business, the basic process involved in setting prices and estimating jobs is fairly straightforward. The assignments you've done so far in this course will provide you with some of the information you'll need in order to set your rates. Missed a class? Get it here: http://desktoppub.about.com/c/ec/101lost.htm Lessons The Tax Man Cometh Whether it's January 1 or December 31, it is never too late to do something about your taxes. Of course the earlier you start, the better. Even if the end of the year is approaching there are some last minute things you can do to lighten your tax burden. And if you are a new business, start planning for taxes before you ever take on a client. http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/freelance/a/taxes.htm Setting an Hourly Rate for Desktop Publishing Now, you may be saying to yourself "I don't want to charge by the hour. I need to know what to charge to design a brochure or do a newsletter." But before you can calculate how much to charge for specific projects you need to know how much your time is worth. That's your hourly rate. In Lesson Four we made some preliminary calculations to arrive at an hourly rate. Now we'll fine-tune those numbers and introduce profit into the equation. http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/freelance/a/pricing.htm Setting a Flat Fee and Estimating Projects While some designers will charge an hourly rate, most desktop publishing services are charged by the project. Clients generally prefer this method because they can more easily see how much a job will cost and what each part of a project costs. http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/freelance/a/pricing_2.htm Your Assignments Do Your Tax Planning After reviewing this lesson, draw up an initial tax plan for your business. This may include budgeting for and acquiring accounting and/or tax preparation software, setting up a filing system for receipts and other records, creating a car mileage log, and finding out what forms are necessary for filing taxes based on your form of business (sole proprietor, partnership, corporation) and where you live. Begin making a list of items you may want to depreciate, what you believe will be legitimate expenses, and start deciding about whether or not your home office will qualify for the home office deduction. Mark appropriate tax dates on your calendar (tax day, quarterly tax payments, sales tax payments, etc.). Make an appointment with a tax attorney, accountant, or other tax expert to get advice and guidance tailored to your specific personal and busi ness situation. Calculate Your Hourly Rate Using this lesson and the resources in the sidebar, calculate an hourly rate for your business based on your actual expenses, desired salary, and projected billable hours. Calculate Your Flat Fee or Project Estimate Use this lesson and the resources in the sidebar calculate a flat fee for some of the typical projects you expect to be doing in your desktop publishing business. Use the sidebar resources for additional, detailed advice on setting rates and determining if your hourly rates and project pricing is in keeping with what other freelance designers are charging. Discussion Talk About Starting a Business Come to the DTP Classroom to ask questions about any of the topics covered in this email course or other questions you have about learning desktop publishing or starting a freelance design business. http://forums.about.com/ab-desktoppub3/ This email is written by: Jacci Howard Bear Desktop Publishing Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Missing a lesson? Click here. About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'Start a Desktop Publishing Business - 10 wk' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   Advertisement