NECPA in NEBRASKA Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 It looks like I am going to either find another job or move my business home to save money. My husband was denied disability the first time so we now have an attorney that says he qualifies, but that it could be awhile before we get the second approval or denial; then we have to wait for a hearing. Do you all have waiting rooms or how do you keep your clients from showing up when you already have a client there or just simply aren't open? I will be in our lower level, which is one big room at this time. I wish that I could afford to build on, but it's now possible right now. Do you have any recommendations for secure dropboxes? I would really like to have a safe way to leave finished work, but will probably try to use the mail more. I know that this is a stupid question, but if I don't reimburse the corporation for a home office, can I still deduct my office computers without keeping a log? I have two other personal computers upstairs. The only bathroom that we have downstairs is a large finished laundry room. Is that really tacky or do I send clients that are able to climb upstairs? My sister says that it is going to look totally unprofessional to have my desk and file cabinets downstairs when I have a big screen and sofas down there. I take very few new clients and I really don't think that my current clients will be upset, but I could be wrong. We are going to have to get rid of a bunch of furniture to make this work at all. I'm sure that I will have to put up a new shed for storage boxes and supplies. I'm pretty bummed out about it, because I love my office space and the people in my building, but it will save at between $6 and 7K a year. Thanks for any advice any of you have. Bonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneInAlabama Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 I started out in my home, then moved to an office in town. After a few years, I moved back to my home and used a spare bedroom for my office. Later I built an office next to my house (not attached). Working at home definately has its advantages, especially the commute, but it has its disadvantages too. You are too convenient when family members need something. Also, neighbors think that since you are home, you are available for visiting. I do not have a waiting room, therefore, I work by appointment only. Since most of my work is drop offs, I usally schedule only one appointment in the morning and one in the afternoon. That way there are no overlaps in clients coming in and I have plenty of work to do in between. If someone comes by to drop off their papers while I am with a client, I stop long enough to take the work and tell them that if I have any questions (which I usually do), I will call them. This works fine for me. As for a drop box, a mail slot in the front door works fine. Unless you have a very elite clientele, I don't think they will be concerned about your office being in your home or the furnishigs. A lot of professional people work from their homes. When I moved my office from town back to my home, I didn't tell some of my clients that I was trying to get rid of, but some of them found me anyway. Good luck with your new move. I think you will like working at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hi Bonnie -- I too work form my home. My "office" is a corner of the family room. My daughter's old desktop computer (re-purposed to a scanner station) is in the same room, still with the stuffed penguin on the tower. The coffee table is piled a foot deep in back issues of magazines, and the sofa has a pile of mending and several sewing projects in various stages out in plain sight. I use either my kitchen or dining room table as my meeting room/waiting room. I try really hard during tax season to keep extraneous junk off the tables - but it's still clear it's a house, not an office. I've had folks show up early, while I'm at the table with my sandwich and teacup. I've had folks show up _real_ early (during extension season), while I was out weeding and they walk up to me while I'm on my knees with my gardening hat and gloves on. The bathroom is always clean but I warn people about the teen girl "accessories" all over the counter. I use the front-door mail slot for a secure drop-box. A locking mailbox would work, too, if you don't have/don't want a slot in your front door. Yes, you can deduct your computers. I've never tried the office in home deduction, because while my area is _only_ for my business, it's only part of a room and family members put house-related stuff on my desk all the time (unsorted general mail, receipts, spare/dead batteries, and school permission slips in times past, as well). Not worth the bother to attempt that OIH! If you do good quality work, folks generally will NOT mind if your home looks like a home instead of an office. Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 The best thing I did was to put a mail slot in my front door. I also have drop-off points at my chiropractor who's upstairs from my old office in one neighboring town and my Curves in another town. People mail me things, FedEx, upload to FileShare on my web site, email, stuff through mail slot, etc. I meet by appointment only. I use a spare bedroom with furniture borrowed from all over the house and purchased on Craigslist. I paid my daughter and a girlfriend to move furniture to set up my office and relocate what had been the guestroom. The paint is still a bright peach, but I did replace the old curtains and shades with wood blinds and added four recessed lights. I hung (actually, it was my daughter's Christmas present to me to hang pictures) pictures rather high on the walls to draw the eye off my stacked floor, desk, file cabinets, etc. I have a separate telephone line. I love the commute. My husband loves that I can take time for him over dinner before returning to work. We both love that I'm not driving in snow and ice in the wee hours of the morning. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanmcq Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I have two upstairs bedrooms as my office. One is very small, and I meet clients there, and the other is the messy area I work in. those are the only two rooms upstairs, and the stairs are right by my front door. If someone can't do stairs or is allergic to cats or dogs, I meet them at a local Starbucks. I am by appointment only. If one runs late, and the next shows up, they can wait outside if it's nice weather, or in my always messy living room. If you do good work, your clients shouldn't care. Oh, and I have a locking mailbox for drop-offs. Since 2002, I have had only one couple who just couldn't 'deal' with the fact that I work from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I have had someone wait in my living room, but I space out appointments. Most are only drop offs or review/signing, so not a frequent problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NECPA in NEBRASKA Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for the great responses. I've thought about moving my son's computer room downstairs and using that bedroom for the office. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't want people walking on the carpet through the house with their shoes on. He is very OCD about cleaning and since he does the cleaning now, I won't fight him. I will have a separate phone line since I will keep my office number and already have nice office furniture. I will have to change how I schedule appointments so that they don't come early. Maybe some will just drop off their info. It will be a huge change and I will really miss the interaction with the other tenants in my building. Maybe the landlord will feel really sorry for me and cut me a deal since there are so many vacancies. I won't have any excuse to buy new clothes now. Darn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I have old hardwood floors that have lost their finish, very porous. When people walk in with snow or rain on their shoes, you smell wet wood. So, after a couple of seasons I finally bought runners on sale at Kohl's to make a path from my front door, entry way, hallway, office to the clients' chairs. Vacuuming has kept them good for a couple of years now. A nice side effect is that people can find their way out by following the rugs around three turns instead of landing in my master bedroom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstaxes Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I work from home also. My office is a room off the kitchen. This room has book shelves with cookbooks, tax book, children's games, Easter egg baskets, and plain junk. The piles on the floor could be anything from grandkid's art work, games, tablecloths, personel files, and junk. I seem to have a lot of junk. My clients don't mind as long as I get the returns done and they are correct. Most cleints are drop off a few want to stay with their stuff. If more than I comes in (I work by appointments only) Then they sit in the family room and watch tv, that room looks like a tornado went through. Oh well, I am not in the interior decorating business. I have been thinking of a drop box for outside the back door. If I am not home they just throw their stuff in the back door. Never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcb39 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 My setup sounds pretty much like a lot of the others. We removed the carpet from the hallway and put down ceramic tile a few years ago. Wonderful! I also have the runners just as Lion does. I am in a bedroom which is too small. I spent a couple of months this spring considering an addition, but decided against spending an entire year's proceeds on something that I may not use much longer. My clients don't mind me working at home, nor do they mind the clutter on the floor, desktop, etc. I have a free-standing locked drop box outside the front door. Actually a mail box that can be purchased at any building store. They can drop things into a slot or I can leave items for them inside of a door with a large clip on it. There are certainly disadvantages to working from home, but IMO the good outweighs the bad by far. I have a separate phone line in my office, primarily for the fax machine. I do not have a waiting room. If they drop in and I am with someone, they are out of luck. I work by appointment and, truthfully, after so many years, much of my business is conducted by mail, e-mail, fax and phone. Most years there are several clients that I never see scattered over many states. Even local folks would rather mail than make the trip and that works out fine. Go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NECPA in NEBRASKA Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 My husband does want to rip up the carpet and put down ceramic from the garage door to the office area. He will also have to replace the railing outside that I backed into one winter. Most of my clients have been with me so long that I can't imaging that they will be too upset. I had to work from my dining room in the middle of March a few years ago when the idiot above my office set her beauty shop on fire. That alone is a good thing. There have been fires in two of the three buildings that I have been in since I went on my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 You might increase your fire insurance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 You might increase your fire insurance! Insurance!!!! Make sure your homeowner's insurance has a business general liability rider on it. Ours is only about $200/year. Your regular homeowner's insurance will NOT cover a client slipping on the stairs. Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneInAlabama Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Insurance!!!! Make sure your homeowner's insurance has a business general liability rider on it. Ours is only about $200/year. Your regular homeowner's insurance will NOT cover a client slipping on the stairs. Catherine I think Lion is referring to Murphy's Law. Fire seems to be following Bonnie around wherever she goes. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion EA Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 I was noting the string of fires following Bonnie! However, I'm glad Catherine brought up insurance. As she says, contact your home owners' insurance to discuss what you need with a home office. I ended up with a rider for electronics (still doesn't cover much, but more than the plain vanilla homeowners') as well as increasing our umbrella policy, and the homeowners' policy now states that I have a home office. I had an electrician put in a couple of dedicated outlets for my electronics and recessed lighting in my office (former bedroom). My office is on it's own circuit now, so someone with a faulty blow drier doesn't shut me down in the middle of something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneInAlabama Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 One other point. People who work at home are the envy of a lot of people. I have been trying to convince by wife that I need a golf cart to commute to work in but she has had no sympthy (it's at least 50 feet from my front door to the door of my office). Maybe now that she has retired from the hospital as a nurse, and is now working with me, she will be more willing to consider a golf cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NECPA in NEBRASKA Posted July 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 I already have it, just because a few clients have always come to my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.