Being self-employed or running a small business, you’ll know precisely how important and stressful proper bookkeeping truly is. Everyone has their own methods of keeping records for their businesses, but there’s also no shame in seeking some help with your bookkeeping, even if it is just to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Professional accountants are able to offer you some simple but effective advice and some more in-depth services to help ensure that you can streamline your piles of paper and ensure things get done.
We all accept that some things should be a given, but experience has taught us that nothing should be taken for granted. As such, it is amazing how many people don’t follow some of this basic advice.
Let’s start with a few “do’s”:
- Digitise everything, paper is easily misplaced, and move all records to cloud storage
- Set aside the correct percentage of money for taxes from every transaction
- Keep track of your invoices to make sure they’re being paid and if they’re not, take action
- Update your records at least daily
- Reconcile your accounts every month without fail
Now let’s look at a few “don’ts”:
- Mix personal money with business money
- Keep all of your records in a single place – and make sure you have a backup
- Leave receipts in a big box – along them at once
- Even if they seem essential, never assume major expenses are manageable – plan ahead
- Ensure you have a logical audit trail that you follow
If you want more detailed advice on your bookkeeping, then seeking out a business accountant is definitely something worth considering. They can help you with most aspects of your finances from daily advice to assistance with your end-of-year accounts. This advice will not always be free, but it will defiantly be invaluable to your business. Removing this stress and helping you streamline your finances will have benefits for you and your business. Investing in an accountant that can provide reliable business accounting services will help you have more time to invest in developing your business. The mountain of daily tasks that quickly build-up can be handled more efficiently with the extra time you no longer have to devote to your bookkeeping.
A professional and knowledgeable accountant will know the industry inside out and know exactly how much tax your business should be paying and where you might be able to find tax reductions and exceptions to utilise. This means that an accountant could help you reduce your tax bills and save you money – and with any business, but especially small ones, every cent counts.
There is no downside to investigating the benefits an accountant’s services could provide for your business, so don’t let anything stop you reaching out and asking a few questions. Even if you decide that the options they offer you aren’t right for your business at the moment, at least you will have an increased awareness of their services.
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