When starting to run your own business or just do some extra self employed work, it can be difficult to know what “best practice” is for your finances and can be difficult to know what to keep or what not to keep, so here are a few tips to help.
Tip 1 – Finances - always keep personal and business finances separate. This will help both you and your accountant to see what is actually happening with your finances, it will enable you to easily identify income and expenses related to your business without you having to trawl through lots of transactions to try to identify what is personal and what is business.
Tip 2 – Paperwork - always keep any paperwork (if not physical copies, then electronic at least). There are various accounting software out there (for example Quickbooks) which will scan your receipt and capture the information for you, saving you time.
Tip 3 – Organisation – when it comes to your business, you must be organised, if not it can have consequences. You need to keep on top of paperwork and finances so you don’t lose track and it will make both small and large scale tasks a lot easier.
Tip 4 – Software – you can keep track of it all on a spreadsheet, but its not the easiest or most efficient way, especially if you decide to use an accountant. It's better for you to invest a little in some online accounting/bookkeeping software, as these can automate a lot of the work and give you time to focus on your business. They are also useful if you have an accountant as it’s a secure way for them to see your business transactions, rather than sending files or taking time out of your day just to visit an accountant to hand them the information. Our recommendation is Quickbooks, and a good accountant will help set it all up for you, so that you can focus on you business.
Tip 5 - Deadlines – finally make sure you are fully aware of what you need to file and the filing deadlines, mark them on your calendar and set reminders as you don’t want to be paying fines. What you need to file will be different depending on what type of company you are. If you are unsure feel free to contact us.