Talent Agency Director Estimates $1500 Monthly Value with Shoeboxed

Dimitri Fostinis is an American entrepreneur with many businesses that he operates out of Los Angeles. Among his many business initiatives, he is the Director of The Voyagers Talent Agency, a talent recruitment and management firm where he fosters aspiring live streamers, helping them earn income on their own time and grow their skills.

The challenge: handling 700+ receipts per year

Before launching his talent management agency, Dimitri paid little attention to the receipts he received. Yet, as his business income grew, his bookkeeper recommended he use Shoeboxed so he could claim deductions.

Dimitri frequently travels as part of his work, which he can deduct as a business expense—if documented. Along those lines, he can expense meals with clients and items he purchases on the way to client meetings if he keeps receipts.

But the number of receipts he was collecting was significant—approximately 700+ per year—and not something Dimitri desired to handle himself.

“Within the space of one hour, I got two receipts. I’m getting multiple receipts every single day for everything that I do.”

—Dimitri Fostinis, Director

To claim business deductions, he would need a way to log receipts and preserve them in case of audits.

The solution: consolidating and conserving receipts with Shoeboxed

When his bookkeeper recommended he use Shoeboxed, Dimitri says he felt hesitant.

“I was like, I don’t think I need this, and then [my bookkeeper] said, ‘Listen, it’s always good to have extra documentation if you ever get questions about your costs and you need to show proof.’ So I said I’d do it. And it was definitely a good choice.”

Dimitri recalls that before saving his receipts for business expense deductions, he would wonder why people kept boxes and boxes of receipts.

With an expanding business, he now understands why: “Otherwise [business expense claims] could just be all smoke and mirrors. But I have the proof. I got pictures. I have a document. I have Shoeboxed. And it has been awesome. It’s 100% worth it.”

The document Dimitri refers to is Shoeboxed’s expense report. In describing it to us, he said, “I have a bookkeeper, but he isn’t gonna take a picture of all my stuff and put it all on one document. His report might be one page long versus Shoeboxed, which gave me a 763-page PDF for 2021 that lists all my receipts and then has my stats, too. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I literally love it.”

Presently, Dimitri says he saves receipts for everything. “In my wallet right now I have crumpled up receipts that I get out, and I put in a little box. And then when my box fills, I shove it into the Shoeboxed envelope and ship it out.”

Shoeboxed's Magic Envelope

This service is an envelope (with pre-paid postage within the US) that users fill with physical receipts and mail to Shoeboxed's office. The receipts are then scanned, human-verified, logged into users' accounts, and safely stored.

The results: $1000 to $1500 of value add per month

When asked if he could put a monetary amount to the value he gets from Shoeboxed, Dimitri said, “I would probably pay $1000 to $1500 a month to categorize all the stuff that I do. I think that’s the value add for me.”

Closing out our interview with Dimitri, we asked if he had a favorite Shoeboxed feature.

“You know, it’s funny. I actually just found out this feature: You get 10% off when you bring someone on. So if you bring 10 people on then you get 100% of free service. So I thought that was pretty cool.”

“Shipping out all your receipts, then getting it back all categorized… It’s just convenient, easy, and satisfying.”

—Dimitri Fostinis, Director

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