Simple Ways To Save Time Whilst Doing Your Business Accounting
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We all get into running our own business for different reasons, but some of the main drivers are financial freedom and independence. No one gets into it because they love doing admin and business accounting, not even accountants enjoy that!
We all accept business accounting however as one of those annoying, time consuming tasks that we have to complete to run a successful company. That doesn’t mean though that you have to spend hours upon hours doing your accounting work.
There are things that you can do to reduce the time it takes doing your business accounting and refocus that time on more exciting and engaging aspects of your business. Want to know how you can do just that? Read on to find out.
Create an efficient payment system
Paying your employees is not only important for staff morale, it’s important in making sure your business runs efficiently and smoothly. One way that you save time is by creating or purchasing an efficient payment system.
No matter how good you are at bookkeeping, there will be times when you make unintentional mistakes and end up having to explain them to angry staff at the end of the month. An efficient payment system which can be bought online will save you so much time and hassle.
Intuit offers laser-printed voucher checks that automatically capture payroll deductions and invoice payment details. This technological solution will reduce the time you spend doing payroll and it will keep your staff happy.
Outsource
If you’re spending 1 full day every month doing your business accounting, maybe it’s time to think about how you value your time. Do you value an hour of your time at $30, $40 or even higher? If you do, you should think about outsourcing.
You can get a decent accountant for around $25 an hour, perhaps even less if you’re prepared to haggle. What’s more, the task that takes you 8 hours will most likely take them 4 hours so you’ll be making quite a lot of savings.
You can then spend those saved 8 hours doing things that add value and profit to your business.
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(If you can afford to, pay a professional to take care of your business accounting.)
Think accounting 24/7
This is going to sound like the most tedious and drab advice ever, but think about your accounting processes 24/7. When you buy something, make sure you get an invoice and take 30 seconds to file it correctly in a place that you will be able to easily access later.
When you pay people, make a record of it somewhere along with the tax paid and the reason for the purchase. If you have software where you record your transactions, maybe spend 5 minutes at the end of every day updating it.
If you do all of this and think about accounting in every business process you’ll find that at the end of the month or the tax year, it is so much easier and simpler to do your accounts.
Separate business & personal
One of the most common mistakes that small business owners make is confusing their personal and business accounts. If you have a business credit card use it only to make business related purchases and vice versa.
When you have to fill in your tax returns you don’t want to be trawling through a string of McDonalds and Walmart transactions to find that one stationary purchase. Likewise, you don’t want a tax deductible expense to be lost because you made it on your personal credit card.
In Summary
Work smarter not harder when it comes to business accounting. 5 minutes at the end of every day can save you days and days of work at the end of the tax year.
If you have the resources though, it’s always worth thinking about outsourcing to a professional who will be able to save you time and money in the long run.
