Although more businesses are starting to get back on their feet as the lifting of lockdown approaches. The past year has been extremely difficult for thousands of businesses across the country, especially small businesses. In this economy, cash flow is top priority to protect for any sized business as the future is always unpredictable. For small businesses, the prime focus is cutting down costs and saving time and money.
With the current changes in legislation, it is no shock that managers and directors have found managing accounts and bookkeeping challenging. Many business managers have felt helpless but to manage accounts themselves in order to save money, without realising it soon becomes a pain to managing accounts whilst simultaneously running a business. This is usually when things start falling out of place and managers rush into hiring accounts without weighing up all the options, they have available.
- Go Paperless
Online data storage can help in locating documents easier and faster. Storing paper documents can be a hassle when needing to find a document quickly. Tax documents must be stored for 7 years which now builds a bulk of paper documents, and takes up a heap of space if the office is small. Online data can be kept in files for easier organisation and multiple copies can be made so an accidental data wipe/loss of data is not to be feared.
- Bill by the hour
It is not required that you have a dedicated department for accountants. Departments dedicated for accounts in small businesses would simply be too costly and will build up overtime as there is multiple costs you will need to pay a full time employee. Therefore, hiring an accountant on an hourly basis will save money as the accountant can manage the accounts in a short amount of time, rather than having to multitask.
Here at JD Accounting, we have a team of experts with over 15 years’ experience. Clients can email or phone us for any worries with PAYE payments or for more knowledge on current legislation.
- Separate business and personal expenses
It is principle to separate your business and personal expenses. Mixing the two accounts will make it very difficult for the bookkeeper to analyse transactions. It is important to create separate business and personal accounts, to avoid entangling the financial tracking and potentially being taxed higher.
- Outsourcing for accuracy
Accounting and bookkeeping requires accuracy and it is very important to get it right, any mistake can cause big problems for all of the data processing. This is why outsourcing can be helpful in ensuring data is accurate at all times and to save time management for in house accounting.
Numerous small businesses find outsourcing less stressful and reliable, knowing their accounts are at the hands of professional accountants with the correct expertise. It also saves time rather than having to train and manage an employee hired solely for accounting and bookkeeping purposes.
Here at JD accounting, we offer lower prices than typical high street accountants. We have no hidden fees, taking away from your stress, decreasing your time spent on admin duties and lowering your costs.
- Keeping receipts secure
Receipts need to be kept tabs on and in a safe, secure place. If receipts are not kept safe, there will be no proof of transactions shown in the company books and accounts, which can be difficult to track finances. Additionally, if a foreign transaction were to occur or an incorrectly booked expense receipts can be used to double check bookkeeping mistakes.
It is important to invest in a document management system that can keep track of all receipts securely, saving space in the office and time looking and organising paper receipts.
Each month hundreds of thousands of businesses lose money due to payments and transactions that went unnoticed. Keeping receipts also eliminates financial waste, by analysing and recording all transitions that were made. This can save your businesses finances by identifying unnecessary transactions and helps to control the amount of money your business is spending.
Written by Abi Raji
For more information on our accounting and bookkeeping services, speak to an expert here