Bookkeeping and financial management are essential business growth techniques. The job of recording every financial transaction of a firm and maintaining the books of account is bookkeeping.
It is necessary to trace cash movement in and out of the company. Furthermore, fast and precise bookkeeping enables you to pay your taxes on time. Thus, avoiding penalties and late fees. We agree that it gets tiresome at times. And yes, it necessitates a keen eye for detail.
However, doing it yourself isn't always the best option. Outsourcing bookkeeping to a professional service provider is gaining popularity worldwide.
Bookkeeping is the foundation of accounting. So, you must complete all bookkeeping obligations daily. To keep your business on track, you need some basic daily bookkeeping principles.
Why is it necessary to have a bookkeeping checklist?
- A bookkeeping checklist is helpful for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the reasons for it:
- It helps you maintain track of the company's money.
- Daily, there are many things to keep track of for the firm to run well. A checklist guarantees that nothing is forgotten and that all jobs are completed on time.
- A checklist assists in delegating or sharing bookkeeping responsibilities.
To expand your business, add these essential bookkeeping duties to your daily routine:
#1 Make a new bank account
It isn't easy to sift through a mountain of documents to uncover one crucial piece of it. This is frequently the case if you haven't separated your personal and corporate cash.
Keep your funds and professional operations distinct by creating a bank account. So, when it's time to complete your books, you'll have no trouble locating the financial data you want.
#2 Accounts management
A bookkeeper can align an organisation's resources by tracking sales and purchase transactions daily. Bookkeepers must enter business transactions into the accounting software without fail to know accurate cash flow.
#3 Managing Mails/Emails
If you're still using paper, your bookkeeper should go through your daily emails to organise them. These include customer checks, bank and credit card statements, and purchase invoices. If your business operations have been digitised, you must keep checking clients' emails, issuing digital invoices, and paying bills.
#4 Record management
Filling and archiving essential files and folders is a necessary bookkeeping operation, both digitally and physically.
#5 Management of Invoices
Bookkeeping includes depositing checks and cash receivables in the bank and writing off against the appropriate invoices. Bookkeepers must handle all your business bills regularly.
#6 Preparing for Tax Season
Before the start of tax season, your bookkeeper must make a list of all tax dates and prepare accounting books. They should also be accessible to give the necessary information to accountants, auditors, and other tax specialists. The taxes that must be paid vary based on the organisation. In the UK, Corporation Tax, VAT, and PAYE are payable by a limited company.
#7 Organise your bank accounts
The bank feeds of your corporation can be readily handled by entering onto a mobile app. So, this helps bookkeepers monitor bank statements in real-time and reconcile bank accounts.
#8 Update accounting software
Accounting processes are now completely automated. Thus, accounting software must be up to date to protect accounting data from internet risks.
#9 Keep track of sales and inventories
Keep an eye on your sales to your sales targets. Look at your sales data regularly to see if you need to make changes to reach your sales targets. If your organisation also controls product inventory, having an inventory system in place will also help you.
#10 Hold a meeting with your accounting staff once a month
Bring the accounting team together every month to discuss and conclude those reconciliations. Review the budget, the state of the company's cash flow, any progress on sales targets, and any upcoming tax or financial deadlines.
#11 Management of accounts receivable
Ensure preparing and sending invoices using accounting software, maintaining the payment cycle, reminding customers about payments. Also, depositing checks and bill receivables are essential tasks of bookkeeping.
#12 Management of accounts payable
Bookkeepers are in charge of entering accounts payable entries into the accounting software. They are also responsible for processing payments on time, reconciling accounts payable, and ageing analysis.
#13 Prepare and submit reports
Profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and other company reports are a part of the day to day bookkeeping. These reports bring management up to date on the company's financial situation.
Conclusion
Bookkeeping is a vital component of being an entrepreneur. As a competent business owner, you must know whether your company is profitable. If it's losing money, you can think of strategies to increase sales or cut costs. If it's already profitable, you can think of expanding and developing your company.
If you don't have the resources to manage bookkeeping in-house, you must outsource bookkeeping services. This will help you operate your business smoothly!
Take action now to avoid later colliding with the icebergs of taxes or debt!
