When you open up a small business, you are essentially trying to establish your brand in a sea of competitive products and services.
It can be quite a risk to start a business, especially if this is your first time doing so. However, if you are smart with your brand, and use your time wisely to grow your business, you will find that the return you make on it can be worth it.
It’s okay to feel a little intimidated about keeping your business accounts stable. But don’t worry too much! Here are some accountancy tips to get you started.
- Don’t mix personal and business finances
In an effort to keep your finances simple, you may decide to try and mix your personal and business finances together into one account. Please do not do this. Instead, open separate accounts to ensure you can distinguish the costs and income of your business compared to what is in your personal bank account.
By mixing the two together, you may find that you have to go through all of your transactions to figure out what has been paid for and what needs to be paid for in the future. Try and keep the process simple by opening two separate bank accounts.
- Always hit tax deadlines
As a small business, you will have to pay tax. Failure to do so could incur fines or late fees. The last thing you need is to waste money. Smaller businesses must endeavour to save as much money as possible to ensure they can spend it appropriately in the future.
So, if a tax deadline is coming up soon, make sure to make a reminder for it. You should start as early as possible. That way, you will be able to pay HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on time and receive an accurate image of how your accounts are doing, and what will need to be paid in terms of tax in the future. This will help you maintain a good standing and show that you are a professional business.
- Hire the right people
Whether you are looking for the best small business accountants Ipswich has to offer or you are willing to hire a management accountant to help you, it’s important that you hire the right staff to help you with your finances.
You are more than welcome to do your own accounting; however, accountants have been trained to help business owners save money and spend it appropriately. They can look after your accounts and advise you on how you can save money that you can then use in the future on a variety of campaigns or products.
When you are looking for an accountant, you should make sure to take note of their credentials and previous clients. This can give you a good indication of whether they are the right accountant to help you with your small business.
- Automation software
In some cases, there are going to be smaller financial transactions that need to be undertaken on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. This includes paying wages or third-party accounts. If you decide to undertake this manually, you may find that you waste time that you could spend on a different area of your business.
To be more efficient with financial transactions, you can purchase automation software to handle smaller tasks. That way, your accountants will be able to focus on more complicated matters that require their attention.
- Accountancy software
If we are going to talk about specific areas of software, you may also want to ask your accountant to use dedicated accountancy software.
This type of software can help you and your accountants keep organised books and spreadsheets. It is extremely useful for financial incomes and outgoings, as well as taxes. So, make sure to offer this type of software to your staff. It will help them become more efficient.
- Keep your receipts
Ultimately, you should endeavour to keep a very well-organised set of accounts both digitally and in a filing cabinet. This will enable you to see what your income is and what your money is being spent on.
During times when your spreadsheets do not seem to add up properly, you will need your receipts to see the precise figures of your spending. So, make sure to keep all of your receipts filed away.
You can organise them based on what you spent your money on, which client it was in each case, and how often the payment needs to be made. The more organised your receipts are, the easier it will be to keep your accounts balanced.
Could our team of Ipswich accountants and bookkeeping Ipswich experts at ST Accountancy help lessen your burden as a business owner through our specialist expertise? Or could we perhaps provide your Suffolk business with advice? If you feel the answers to those question could be “yes”, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
