13 Jul 2024
When you think about planning a holiday, you probably picture setting a budget, researching destinations, and making sure every detail is covered to ensure a smooth trip. The same principles apply to budgeting for your business. However, just as you might hire a travel agent to take care of the intricate details of your trip, hiring a bookkeeper can streamline your financial planning process, giving you the peace of mind to actually enjoy that much-needed holiday.
Set Your Destination
Every great journey starts with a destination in mind. For your business, this means setting clear financial goals. Whether you aim to expand your operations, invest in new equipment, or build a cash reserve, having a target helps you chart your course. A professional bookkeeper can assist in defining these goals based on your financial health, market conditions, and long-term vision.
Determine Your Budget.
Just as you wouldn’t embark on a holiday without knowing your budget, you shouldn’t run your business without a clear financial plan. A bookkeeper helps you determine your budget by analysing your income sources and allocating funds to different areas of your business. InterTax we ensure you cover all essentials whilst keeping some funds aside for unexpected expenses.
Research and Plan
In the same way you research hotels, flights, and activities for your holiday, a bookkeeper conducts thorough research to help you plan for business expenses. We will look into your business expenses and provide you with a detailed financial roadmap. We may even be able to help you save some money along the way!
Track Your Spending
On holiday, you keep track of your spending to avoid blowing your budget. Similarly, a bookkeeper monitors your business expenses, ensuring you stay on track. We provide regular financial reports, helping you understand where your money is going and making adjustments as necessary.
Review and adjust as needed
Just as you might adjust your holiday plans when new opportunities arise or costs change, your business budget needs to be flexible. A bookkeeper helps you adapt to these changes, reallocating funds based on actual performance and emerging opportunities, ensuring your business remains agile and responsive.
Enjoy the Journey
The ultimate goal of planning a holiday is to enjoy it. With a well-managed budget and the support of a bookkeeper, you can enjoy the journey of running your business. There will be no need for burying your head in the sand any longer when it comes to your business finances. Financial stability and accurate bookkeeping bring peace of mind, allowing you to focus on growth and innovation.
How Outsourcing Bookkeeping Frees Up Your Time.
Outsourcing your bookkeeping to InterTax not only ensures accuracy and compliance but also frees up valuable time. Time that you can use to plan your next business move or, even better, take a much-needed holiday without the constant worry of your business’s financial health. With a professional handling your books, you can relax, knowing that your financial affairs are in expert hands.
Budgeting is indeed like planning a holiday. It requires careful planning, tracking, and flexibility. By hiring a bookkeeper, you ensure that your business’s financial journey is as smooth and enjoyable as a well-planned trip. So, take the step to outsource your bookkeeping, gain true financial visibility, and most importantly, give yourself the freedom to enjoy that holiday you’ve been longing for. Your business and your well-being will thank you.
19 Feb 2024
As a small business owner, the likelihood is that bookkeeping isn’t your favourite task. It is, however, extremely important in order to establish a profitable and financially healthy business that will be around for years to come. Compiling accurate financial data allows you to make informed decisions about the future of your business, whether that’s scaling up, cutting costs or identifying potential problems before they do any real damage.
Bookkeeping may feel like a headache sometimes, but we’ve got five simple tips to make it easier and help you to stay on top of your financial information.
- Update Your Books Regularly
Do you look forward to balancing your books every week? Probably not. But it’s important to get into the habit of regularly updating your records. The little-and-often approach certainly beats dedicating your entire weekend to bookkeeping because you procrastinated for too long.
Furthermore, mistakes and problems compound over time; a small mistake in July could turn into a huge headache if you don’t notice it until December. Staying on top of your records allows you to solve problems quickly and efficiently, rather than trying to untangle a big web of errors.
Set aside a regular time slot each week for bookkeeping. If you know you’re likely to put it off, push it to the top of your to-do list and get it done first thing in the morning. Use this time to send invoices, look at your cash flow and track your costs. It’s much easier and more manageable this way.
- Separate Your Personal and Business Bank Accounts
It’s always smart to separate personal and business affairs, and your bank account is no exception. If you use the same bank account for personal and business transactions, it becomes incredibly difficult to separate the two and this may lead to expensive mistakes on your tax return.
Furthermore, mixing your personal and business finances can make it difficult to keep track of your spending and calculate your profits accurately. It also appears unprofessional to credit lenders and potential investors, and thus may impede your growth.
The best way to keep your personal and business finances separate is to open a business bank account to keep your financial records as transparent as possible. This will save you from having to spend hours trying to remember whether a transaction was personal or business-related and thus greatly simplify your bookkeeping.
- Stay Organised
In addition to keeping accurate records, it’s important to stay organised so that you can locate your files quickly and easily when necessary. This will save you a huge amount of time when reviewing your records and help you to avoid mistakes and lost data. If you keep your records electronically, use cloud based software or make sure that you perform regular backups to avoid losing documents.
- Ask for Help
Business is not a DIY affair and if you’re struggling with your bookkeeping, it pays to ask for help sooner rather than later. For example, it can be difficult to know which categories to file certain costs under and what does and doesn’t count as a business cost. When doing your own bookkeeping, you’re also likely to make errors which lead to a lot of wasted time and even mistakes on your tax return. Needless to say, this is very bad news for your business as you could face penalties.
Outsourcing to a professional bookkeeper is the best way to save time and money for your business. It will not only ensure that your records are accurate, but also allow you to put your time to better use and focus on growing your business.
Summary
Bookkeeping is an important part of being a business owner, so don’t neglect your books or you’ll certainly pay for it later. Furthermore, it’s in your best interests to pay close attention to your books since this data empowers you to make smart financial decisions which will help your business to grow and thrive. If bookkeeping is causing you stress and anxiety, following the above advice will help you to simplify the process and get back to doing what you do best.
Book a free call with us by visiting our website here.
4 Jan 2024
Introduction
Running a small business can be tough – there are many challenges that small business owners face daily. However, maintaining accurate and consistent financial records doesn’t need to be one of them – and it’s a great way to help your business grow. Bookkeeping is the area of accounting that deals with recording financial transactions, and it can play a vital role in the success of your business. In this blog post, we will discuss five ways bookkeeping can help your small business grow.
Track your finances
One of the primary reasons to keep accurate financial records is to track your finances. With bookkeeping, you can see how much money is coming in and where it’s going. This will help you make informed decisions about your business’s future. You can look at your financial statements and easily identify trends, such as increasing expenses or declining profits. This information will enable you to adjust your business strategy accordingly.
Manage cash flow
Cash flow management is an essential aspect of running a successful business. Without sufficient cash flow, your business may not survive. Bookkeeping enables you to track your receivables, payables, and all other financial transactions. You can also forecast your cash flow based on your current financial position, helping you to avoid shortfalls in the future.
Make informed decisions
With accurate financial records in place, you can make informed decisions about your business. You can analyze your financial statements, identify areas that need improvement, and
implement changes that will help your business grow. For example, if you identify that your expenses are increasing, you can explore ways to cut costs. Alternatively, if you notice that your sales are declining, you can develop new marketing strategies to attract more customers.
Prepare for tax season
As a small business owner, preparing for tax season can be stressful. However, with bookkeeping, you can simplify the process. By keeping accurate and organized financial records, you can file your taxes quickly and accurately. This will save you time and reduce your stress levels. Additionally, you can take advantage of tax deductions and credits that you may be eligible for, reducing your tax liability.
Plan for growth
Finally, bookkeeping can help you plan for the growth of your business. By tracking your finances, you can identify areas that are performing well and invest in them further. Additionally, you can analyze your financial statements to identify areas of your business that need improvement. By doing so, you can make adjustments to your plans and strategies to ensure your business grows in a sustainable and profitable way.
Conclusion
In conclusion, bookkeeping is essential for small business owners who want to grow their businesses. By tracking your finances, managing cash flow, making informed decisions, preparing for tax season, and planning for growth, you can build a successful and profitable business. Accurate financial records can help you identify opportunities, avoid risks, and make strategic decisions that will benefit your business in the long run. If you haven’t already invested in bookkeeping, now is the time to do so. Your business’s success may depend on it.
Are you ready to take your bookkeeping to the next level? Book a free call with us by visiting our website here.
15 Aug 2023
If you’re a business owner, then you know that keeping your finances in order is of utmost importance. One important task in financial management is reconciling your bank statements. But what are bank reconciliations, and why do they matter? Let’s get into it.
What is Bank Reconciliation?
Bank reconciliation is the process of comparing your company’s bank statements with your own records of transactions. This is done to ensure that all transactions are accounted for, and to identify any discrepancies.
Why Does Bank Reconciliation Matter?
There are a few reasons why bank reconciliation matters:
- It helps you catch errors: If there are any errors in your transaction records, reconciling your bank statements will help you catch them.
- It helps you to detect fraud: By reconciling your statements, you can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity in your account.
- It allows you to stay organised: Reconciling your statements on a regular basis will help you stay on top of your finances and keep everything organised.
How to Do Bank Reconciliation
Step one: get your bank records. You could do this via your accounting software or by accessing your online statements.
Step two: pull up your business transaction records. This is your ledger of all the money that has entered and left your business over a certain period of time. It could take the form of a spreadsheet, a logbook or your accounting software.
Step three: choose a starting point. This is usually the point at which you performed your last bank reconciliation.
Step four: run through your bank deposits and ensure that they match up with your records. Each deposit should appear as income on your ledger.
Step five: do the same with withdrawals and expenses. If there are discrepancies, remember that some payments may not yet have been taken or check to see whether you paid using a different account.
Step six: check your end balance. The final step is to make sure that your ending balance on your bank statement matches up with the balance on your records. If it doesn’t, then there’s an error somewhere that needs to be fixed.
Problems and Inconsistencies
Every now and then you will come across discrepancies and mystery transactions when you perform bank reconciliations. There’s no need to panic – this is totally normal! This is exactly why it’s important to perform bank reconciliations regularly.
Common cause of problems when performing bank reconciliations include:
- Timing: Transactions can sometimes take a few days to process, so they might not appear on your records right away.
- Fees: Make sure to check for any fees that might have been charged by the bank. These can sometimes be small and easy to miss.
- Multiple accounts and credit cards: If you have multiple accounts or credit cards, it can be easy to mix up transactions.
- Different currencies: If you do business in different currencies, then exchange rates can cause discrepancies.
- Mistakes: keystroke errors, misread numbers and other human errors can all lead to discrepancies in your records.
The important thing is to not get discouraged – bank reconciliations are an important part of financial management, and the more you do them, the easier they’ll become. And if you ever come across a problem that you can’t solve, don’t hesitate to ask your accountant, bookkeeper, or financial advisor for help.
Bank Reconciliation Software
If you want to make bank reconciliation easier, there’s a range of software available that can automate the process. This type of software can be particularly useful for businesses with a large number of transactions. Some of the best ones include:
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- FreshBook
- Wave
- Sage
Final Thoughts
Doing bank reconciliations on a regular basis is an important task for any business owner. It helps you catch errors, prevent fraud and stay organised. And while it might seem like a daunting task, it’s easy when you know how – especially if you use the right software.
Happy reconciling!
If you’d like to speak to us about how we can help you manage your finances, book a free consultation here.
9 Aug 2023
School holidays can be tough on small business owners. Balancing work and holidays can be tricky, especially when you and your team want to take some time off with family. You want to be able to keep the business running smoothly while getting some time out.
That’s where hiring a bookkeeper comes in. As a small business owner, you might think that you can’t afford to outsource bookkeeping tasks, but a bookkeeper can save you time, money, and stress. Here’s how.
A good bookkeeper helps you stay on track with your finances
Regular bookkeeping is important, even if you think of yourself as just a small business. Your bookkeeping is the foundation for monitoring your sales, expenses and profits, but also your cash flow and your progress against your goals.
Hiring a bookkeeper during the holidays means you can keep track of your finances while you’re gone. A professional bookkeeper can record and reconcile transactions, process invoices and payments and handle payroll for you. They can also identify potential bottlenecks in cash flow and spending patterns to help you adjust your budget accordingly. Additionally, a bookkeeper can also help you prepare financial statements and tax returns, saving you from returning to work knowing you have to quickly turn around a VAT return.
A good bookkeeper provides valuable business advice
Your bookkeeper is also a business owner, and a great confidant for discussing your business goals and challenges. A good bookkeeper can help you identify areas where you can save money and make suggestions for increasing sales. They can also help you identify potential problems in your cash flow. It’s hard to delegate when you want to know everything about your business, but imagine the peace of mind of having a finance expert’s eyes on your business while you’re taking a holiday.
A good bookkeeper helps you prioritise your workload
During the holidays, there’s always a temptation to either do nothing or keep working and not spend time with your family. You didn’t start your business so you could become a bookkeeper, and engaging a bookkeeper to handle your financial tasks can help you prioritise your workload so you can just do what you need to do, and enjoy time with your family.
A good bookkeeper saves you time and money
It’s hard to think that hiring an additional person into your team is going to save you money, but bear with me. Engaging with a bookkeeper to handle tasks that aren’t your specialist area will save you time and money, and here’s how. Not doing these tasks yourself will free you up for the work you’re really meant to do in your business – where there’s a much better return on your time investment. Compare hiring a bookkeeper for £500 per month with meeting clients for your new projects generating £5000 per month. Are you better off to forgo the £5000 and spend your time bookkeeping, or to earn an extra £4500 in your business this month?
How about if you took half of that time you would have been doing the bookkeeping off as holiday instead? You’d still be £2000 better off this month – just by hiring a bookkeeper. This is maths that makes sense.
Add to this how a bookkeeper can usually save you costly mistakes in your bookkeeping and you’ll never question the value of a bookkeeper again.A good bookkeeper gives you peace of mind
Knowing that a professional bookkeeper is managing your finances not just while you’re away but every day of your business gives you limitless peace of mind. You can always be confident that your business finances are up to date and in good hands, so you can get on with running your business armed with the information you need to make good, timely decisions.
Conclusion
Hiring a bookkeeper isn’t just a good move for the summer holidays, it’s a great move for the life of your business. It allows you to focus on what you really need to do as a business owner and take a break while everything financial happens smoothly behind the scenes. You don’t have to worry about falling behind in your financial tasks, and you can trust that a professional is managing your finances. By leveraging the expertise of a bookkeeper, you can focus on spending quality time with your family and return to your business recharged and ready to tackle new challenges.
If you’d like to speak to us about how we can support your small business, book a free consultation here.
3 Jul 2023
Every business needs a bookkeeper, but there may be something that yours isn’t telling you. We’ve compiled a list of the most common secrets your bookkeeper most likely wishes that you knew to help you save time and money in your business and get the most out of the services that you shell out for.
1. Don’t Ignore Audits
Of course, no business owner really wants to be audited but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Fortunately, hiring a bookkeeper reduces the chance that you will need to be audited and help you to prepare if you do have to face one.
Don’t slack off and forget about your audit trails until you actually have to face one. Be sure to adopt a bill payment solution that automatically creates these trails for you by tracking every action in the system so that your records are as transparent as possible. That way if you do face an audit, you’re far less likely to receive a fine or lose your hair due to stress.
2. Use the Cloud
You’d be surprised at just how many business owners are resistant to adopting cloud-based accounting or bookkeeping software. Cloud-based technology can be used to centralise your financial information and make it accessible from anywhere, at any time. This is a huge time-saver and means that you won’t have to waste time and energy rifling through a crammed filing cabinet to double-check an old invoice.
Furthermore, the cloud offers a range of security benefits. For one thing, permissions-based access gives you full control over which employees have access to certain information. Cloud data is also encrypted and heavily protected, which means that physical damage such as flooding or fire won’t destroy all of your records.
3. Remote Working is the Way Forward
Your bookkeeper no longer needs to do house calls. Virtual bookkeeping services mean that accountants and bookkeepers can do the bulk of their work without setting foot anywhere near your office. Cloud-based software means that your bookkeeper can handle all of their duties quickly and efficiently off-site, increasing flexibility and saving time for both parties.
4. Separate Your Duties
As a small business owner, there’s such a thing as being too trusting. Of course, no-one wants to believe that their employees would steal from them but internal theft is very common. In fact, research by the California Restaurant Association found that 95% of businesses have suffered from some form of employee theft.
In order to prevent this, consider separating duties to limit fraudulent activities within your business. For example, the employee who handles financial transactions should not be in charge of recording them, as this makes it easier for them to misappropriate funds and cover up their fraudulent actions.
5. Avoid Double Data Entry
Double data entry means entering data from one system into another. Not only is this a waste of time, it also increases the likelihood that your records will contain inaccuracies, which could compound and create a big problem later on. Instead, integrate your technologies so that all of your records automatically stay accurate and up-to-date. Speak to your bookkeeper about how to connect your cloud accounting software to your expense management so that your records stay impeccable and you can put your time to better use.
Summary
By implementing the above simple bookkeeping secrets, you can save both time and money in your business. Be sure to take advantage of the power of cloud-based technology so that you don’t waste time on tasks that would be far better automated, or on commuting when you could be working remotely. Finally, remember to separate out duties to protect your business against employee theft and remember to keep your audit trails accurate and up-to-date.
Did you know we’ve also got a free downloadable eBook dedicated to the most common profit draining mistakes made by small businesses. Check it out here.
Book a free consultation here, to learn how we can help you make better use of technology in your business.
