Business finance is not every owner’s cup of tea. Even though almost every one of them values the importance of tracking the financial trajectories, only a few are able to do it on their own. Especially during the tax season, the situation is really nasty because of deadlines, recent regulations changes, etc.
Accountant, bookkeepers, and other accounting professionals are usual solutions that you opt for. However, there are some more (affordable and convenient) options that can help you with the business finance.
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Here are the top 4 tips to help you with better organization and management of business finance:
1. Pick Technologies That Suit your Business
Almost every business industry has felt the influences of technology and so is the case of the accounting department. A number of interdependent technologies, such as – accounting application, tax software, cloud hosting, electronic payment, etc. are available to serve your needs. As most of these technologies integrate with each other, they can automate the financial reporting and tracking for you.
Not only the financial reports are prepared in real-time, they can also be viewed and analyzed from anywhere, anytime over different devices and by any number of users. Another important criterion is which technologies your business requires.
Even if you can pick a general accounting software like QuickBooks, you will need add-ons that serve the precise needs of your business. This will enable better accessibility and control of the accounting data to empower you to make better decisions with the business.
2. Don’t Leave It for Late
For the business that does not have finance as their core service, it is easy to ignore the financial tasks unless they are inevitable. Irregular maintenance of accounting details scares when the tax season arrives. Tax filing immediately starts giving the feel of a monster. The demand for immediate actions causes inaccuracies with statements and errors in filing to invite penalties.
On the hand, if you are regular with the accounting, such issues will never arise and ‘being regular’ does not mean leaving all other business aspect and focusing just on the accounting.
Set small timely reminders (weekly or fortnightly) and keep a strict watch on the targets achieved. Maintain the statements and bills so that when tax season arrives there is not much left for you to do.
3. Dial For the Expert
Mistakes with the accounting can land your business in the soup of troubles – legally as well as with the overall business control. With smaller businesses, the owner tries to manage accounting operations on their own or go with the novice trainees. Such things can sometimes be troublesome and when you know that it is that time, you should not shy away from calling an expert professional.
Accountants and bookkeepers, with years of experience in their backing, are expected to deliver under pressure. Hiring them might be expensive, but during the tax season, it can prove to be a worthy spent.
4. Personal Finance Must be Separate
Keeping the personal finances separate from business finance not only help with the tax filing but also in business management. Most business owners know this but struggle in maintaining the separations. The most reliable option is opening separate bank accounts and credit cards.
As the online payment and wallets usage are on the rise, opting for different accounts is a smart way keep the business accounting details convenient.
Initially, it might look complicated process, but once you get used to it, the convenience that your accounting management will gain will be immense. It will simplify the expenses in the statement automatically and hence, you tracking with business finance will remain the right track.
Comments (1)
Choosing technology for any business department, not just finance, is a continuous process. It keep improving and to keep the efficiency growing, adopting the newer tech becomes essential.
New businesses do not go with the professional accountants unless it is too late, which is wrong practice. Accountant will charge more and chances of errors are also higher. You know your accounting and finance skills well. So, decision on the accountant should be quick.
Most co-owned businesses maintain the personal and business finance separately. The problem remains with the single owner companies. Being a sole owner, they do not realize such things at the start of business.
I believe discipline is the key. With finance records. If they are in the right order – print or digital form – you will not be struggling with the business finance.
Eventually you are going to need an expert to remain fit with the regulations. So, working without CPA is not a smart option according to me. Starting early means you give him more chances of reducing your tax bill.