Getting-paid guides · 10
A year of payments, and you can't tell where the money came fromBuild a simple, searchable record for your overseas payments: what to keep, how to keep it, ready for appeals and tax (not a substitute for tax advice).
Each payment is clear the moment it lands, but by year-end you look back and it's a tangle: which one came from which client, how much the fee took, what you actually kept, all of it down to memory. Then you need to reconcile, or appeal, or file taxes, and realize you kept no proof at all. You don't need complicated software. A simple ledger plus a habit of saving receipts as you go is enough to keep every payment clear. This guide shows you how to set it up.
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01Why keep records at all
Keeping records isn't about looking professional. It's for three things that can come up at any moment: reconciliation (how much you actually earned and how much was taken), appeals (when an account is restricted, you can show the money is legitimate and real), and tax preparation (when it's time to file, the numbers are ready and you're not scrambling).
02What to log for each payment
- Date, client, project or service.
- Quoted amount and currency.
- The channel used, and the actual take-home (after fees).
- The matching invoice number and transaction ID / TXID.
Log the actual take-home separately, because the gap between it and your quote is the cost of getting paid you carried all year (see guide 6).
03A record-keeping method that isn't a chore
The simpler it is, the more likely you stick with it. One table, a few columns, is enough:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date | The date the payment arrived |
| Client / project | Who, and what work |
| Quote / currency | The nominal amount |
| Channel | PayPal / Wise / Payoneer / USDT |
| Take-home | Net after fees, converted to the currency you keep books in |
| Proof | Invoice number, transaction ID, or where the screenshot is saved |
04Do it yourself: build the simplest ledger
- In any spreadsheet tool, set up the columns above and name it "Payment ledger".
- Agree on a fixed moment to log: fill a row as soon as each payment lands, don't let it pile up.
- Make a folder and file your proofs by month or by client (invoices, arrival screenshots, TXIDs).
05Which proofs to store on their own
- The invoices you issued.
- Proof of arrival (platform transaction records, bank statements, block explorer records).
- Key communication with the client about amount and delivery.
These matter most when an account is restricted and you have to appeal (see guide 2), because they show the money came from a clear source.
06On taxes: go by your local rules
Whether income must be declared, how to declare it, and on what basis vary widely by region, and the rules change. This site doesn't give tax advice and won't judge how much you owe. What this guide can do is help you keep records complete and your numbers tidy, so whatever the rules are where you live, you can produce clean books. For how to actually file, go by your local official rules in force, and consult a local professional if needed.
07A few claims people take at face value
The platform has the records, so I don't need to log anything myself.
Platform records may be scattered across several accounts and may be impossible to pull if an account has problems. A summary ledger of your own is the only copy that's truly in your hands.
Logging the quoted amount is enough.
There's a fee between the quote and the actual take-home. Log only the quote and you know neither your real income nor your cost of getting paid.
08FAQ
How long should I keep records?
It depends on your region's rules for retaining proof, and a few years is commonly suggested. When in doubt, keep more rather than less; storage costs almost nothing.
Do I need professional accounting software?
A spreadsheet is enough to start. Consider a tool once the volume grows. The point is to first build the habit of logging every payment and saving every proof.
09What to read next
Fees, rules and regional availability are whatever each official page shows in real time.