Kate's blog

Dealing with financial processes and regulations is not for everyone. In fact, if you’re like most business owners, you’d much prefer to spend your valuable and limited time working on the core facets of your business (what you know and are skilled in) than trying to figure out the intricacies of maintaining your books.

That’s where a good bookkeeper comes in.

A bookkeeper will do all the legwork of managing the financial aspects of your business, so that you don’t have to. It’s a time consuming and involved task, and one that needs to be done with complete accuracy and rigour. A good bookkeeper can save your business time and money by ensuring your books are up to date and accurate, and save you plenty of stress in the process of doing so.

However, they can’t do everything for you – there are some financial aspects to a business that only the business owner can carry out. But if you want to streamline your bookkeeping process and make it easier and more efficient, here are six simple steps you can take to keep your business finances on track.

Keep your business and personal bank accounts separate

Opening different bank accounts can seem like a hassle, but it’s vitally important for business efficiency. However, it’s something that too many business owners neglect – and this can create huge problems in the future. A combined bank account will mean you’ll have to waste countless time processing personal transactions within your business bookkeeping and separating these two different buckets of expenses. It’s can get complicated, confusing and very time-consuming. It’s far better to open a dedicated bank account for your business to enable you to keep accurate track of both your personal and business funds. This will save you a lot of time, energy and stress, and make your professional life much easier.

Invest in software to automate invoicing and accounting functions

Piles of paperwork are a thing of the past with automated cloud-based accounting software. There’s no need to track financial items by hand, when businesses have access to accounting software that will automatically track your incoming and outgoing expenses, send invoices to customers and generate financial reports.

There are many types of software available, and the one you choose will depend on your individual business requirements. Invoicing software will help you create and send invoices quickly and easily, get paid on time, manage payments and follow up on outstanding balances. Accounting software (such as Xero, MYOB or QuikBooks) can streamline bookkeeping tasks such as tracking expenses, invoicing and managing payroll, as well as helping you stay compliant with tax regulations. These are great tools for any business owner to help them stay organised and save time and money – and it allows them to get their focus back on running their business.

Keep your daily business expenses and income ledger up to date

Business owners need to record every dollar they spend and earn to provide an accurate picture of the overall state of their business finances. This task is vital, as it helps you track your expenses, identify trends or financial red flags, and uncover areas where you need to adjust your spending. Financial record-keeping can be done manually on paper, but it’s much easier to do it in a simple spreadsheet or ledger throughout your accounting software. Keeping a daily ledger is one of the most crucial bookkeeping tasks a business owner can do, and it needs to be kept as accurately as possible.

Understand the basics

You may use the services of an accountant and bookkeeper, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid learning about accounting and tax rules that apply to your business. It’s wise to be informed about your tax obligations and to have a basic understanding of what you need to do. This can save you from some serious penalties.

Have regular financial check-ups

It’s a great idea for business owners to perform regular financial check-ups and take an in-depth look at trends, big expenses or late payments. Evaluating the numbers will help you stay on top of your cash flow and ensure business longevity. Your accounting software should be able to generate reports for you and allow you to delve deep into the numbers on a regular basis. This gives you an accurate picture about the financial performance of your business, and allows you to adjust course before things go wrong.

Seek the help of a bookkeeper

While it’s important to take care of some of the basic bookkeeping tasks, the rest you can outsource to a professional bookkeeper. A bookkeeper will ensure your business books are always organised, up-to-date and accurate, will help you meet all your financial and tax obligations and will save you valuable time and money. For all that and more, get in touch with Alexilum Bookkeeping, who will take care of all your bookkeeping and compliance requi