Build a Schedule C from your side-business transactions
Turn a year of business transactions into a Schedule C-ready P&L, with category mapping that follows IRS line numbers. Won't replace your CPA, but will save them (and you) hours.
If you have a side business — consulting, an Etsy shop, freelance work, a small rental — Schedule C is the IRS form that turns your business activity into taxable income on your 1040. Most people deal with it by frantically pulling bank statements in March. This walks through how to use GlidePath all year so that by the time tax season hits, your Schedule C is essentially already done.
What you’ll learn
- How to keep business transactions separate from personal
- How to map your spending categories to IRS Schedule C line numbers
- How to handle the awkward cases: mileage, home office, the personal card you used for a business expense
- How to produce a Schedule C export your CPA can drop straight into TurboTax or Drake
Before you start
You’ll need:
- A business account added on /Accounts as a Business Checking, Business Savings, or Business Card type
- At least a few months of business transactions imported or entered
- A rough idea of which IRS Schedule C category each of your spending categories should map to (don’t worry, the defaults are reasonable and you can tune later)
What this isn’t for
This is for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs filing Schedule C. If you have a multi-member LLC (Form 1065) or an S-corp (Form 1120-S), the categorization still works but the export format won’t match the form you’re filing. GlidePath ships Schedule C support today; partnership and S-corp tax pack are on the roadmap.
Also: this is bookkeeping, not tax advice. The output is a P&L that follows IRS line numbers. Whether to take the home-office deduction, how to handle a vehicle, what counts as “ordinary and necessary” — that’s between you and a CPA.
Step 1 — Add a business account (2 min)
If you don’t already have one, set up a separate bank account or card for business use. Even an extra checking account at the same bank you use personally. The reason: come tax time, every business transaction in one place beats trying to sift business from personal in a comingled account.
Add it on /Accounts with type Business Checking (or Business Card). Mark the owner as your business name, not your personal name.
[Screenshot: /Accounts page with the Acme demo’s “Acme Consulting Checking” row visible]
Try it: Open /Accounts ↗
Step 2 — Import or enter the year’s transactions (varies)
Same flow as personal — drop a CSV on /Import, or use the email inbox, or enter manually. Filter the import view to your business account only and confirm everything imported correctly.
[Screenshot: /Transactions filtered to the Acme Consulting account showing a quarter of transactions]
This is the moment where good hygiene during the year pays off. If you’ve been using the business account consistently, this step is fast. If you’ve been mixing, expect an hour of “this was business, that was personal” sorting.
Step 3 — Map your categories to Schedule C lines (5 min)
Open Business from the left nav. There’s a panel called Schedule C category mapping. GlidePath ships with defaults for the most common spending categories:
| Your category | Schedule C line | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Office Supplies | Line 18 | Office expense |
| Software & SaaS | Line 22 | Supplies |
| Professional Fees | Line 17 | Legal and professional services |
| Advertising | Line 8 | Advertising |
| Travel | Line 24a | Travel |
| Meals | Line 24b | Deductible meals (50%) |
| Insurance | Line 15 | Insurance (other than health) |
Review and adjust. If you have business-specific categories (you sell prints, so you have “Print Lab Fees”), map them to the appropriate line. Click Save mapping.
[Screenshot: /Business Schedule C category mapping panel with the table visible]
The mapping is stored in schedule-c-mapping.csv. You only need to do it once per year — next year, the mapping persists.
Step 4 — Handle the special cases (3 min)
A few categories on Schedule C have rules that don’t reduce to “sum the transactions in a category.”
Vehicle expenses (Line 9). You have two options: actual expenses or standard mileage. If you used the IRS standard mileage rate, you need a mileage log — open Business → Mileage Log and add each trip (date, miles, purpose). GlidePath multiplies by the IRS rate for the year. Don’t double-dip; pick one method and stick with it.
Home office (Line 30). Optional. If you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business, you can take the deduction. GlidePath supports the simplified method ($5/sq ft, up to 300 sq ft, max $1,500). Enter your office square footage in Business → Settings. The actual-expenses method is more work and usually for a CPA to handle.
Personal card used for business. It happens. On /Transactions, find the charge, edit it, and set “Reimbursable from business” = yes. GlidePath tracks it as a business expense even though the card is personal, and shows you a running “owe-yourself” total so you can transfer the money later.
[Screenshot: edit-transaction dialog with the “Reimbursable from business” checkbox highlighted]
Step 5 — Run the year-end report (1 min)
Open Business → Schedule C Report. Pick the tax year. GlidePath generates a one-page report with:
- Gross receipts (Line 1) — sum of all business income transactions
- Returns and allowances (Line 2) — sum of refunds
- Cost of goods sold (Line 4) — if you have any COGS categories mapped
- Expenses, line by line (Lines 8-27a) — using your category mapping
- Net profit (Line 31) — the number that flows to your 1040 Schedule 1
[Screenshot: Schedule C report for the Acme Consulting demo with line-by-line totals]
There’s an Export to CSV button. The CSV format matches what TurboTax Self-Employed, FreeTaxUSA, and Drake import. Your CPA can drop it in directly — no retyping numbers from a PDF.
What just happened
You went from “I’ll figure out taxes in March” to “my Schedule C is essentially done on December 31.” The mapping took 5 minutes; everything else was bookkeeping you’d be doing anyway.
The big leverage is the categorization-once-then-roll-up pattern. Once your mapping is set, every new transaction you categorize during the year automatically feeds the right Schedule C line. By November, the report is just a button click. By April, you’re not pulling bank statements at midnight.
Where to next
- Quarterly tax estimates — coming soon — pay estimated taxes during the year so April isn’t a surprise
- Track business expenses without thinking about it — coming soon — patterns for staying on top during the year
- Mileage log — coming soon — the standard-mileage flow in detail
Ask Glide about this
Try: “What’s the difference between Schedule C and Schedule E?” — a common confusion for people with rental property or royalties. Or: “When does the IRS expect quarterly estimated payments?”
Common pitfalls
- The home-office deduction has eligibility rules. “Regular and exclusive use” means the room can’t double as your guest bedroom. Read IRS Pub 587 or ask your CPA before claiming it.
- Meals are 50% deductible (except for the temporary 100% rule that expired). GlidePath halves them automatically on the Schedule C line. Don’t enter them at half-value yourself.
- The mileage method is “all in or all out.” You can’t take standard mileage for some trips and actual expenses for others on the same vehicle in the same year.
- The CSV export is a starting point, not a filing. Your CPA still reviews. The export saves them 90% of the data-entry time, not 100% of the judgment time.
- Side-business losses can be limited. If you lose money 3 years out of 5, the IRS may reclassify your business as a hobby (no losses deductible). Profitability matters; your CPA will flag this if it’s a risk.