From A & J Accounting 

If you are just starting your small business, or have been in business for years, bookkeeping is a vital part of your success or failure. If you are keeping your own books and are struggling with how to maintain them properly, don’t fret, here are four bookkeeping tips for small business that will help right away.

Make Time for Bookkeeping

If you are like many small business owners time is your biggest obstacle when it comes to bookkeeping. By not doing your books regularly, you risk confusion and error. If you wait a month after making a transaction to enter it into your bookkeeping app, then you risk forgetting what the transaction was for in the first place. Then you may have to dig through your receipts (if you kept them) in order to determine why you needed a velvet painting of Elvis. To avoid this kind of unfortunate mistake, schedule a regular time to keep your books.  When you do your books can be monthly, weekly, or daily the frequency is up to you as long you are committed to adhering to your schedule. You will find a scheduled for bookkeeping will save you time in the long run because it won’t be spent searching for receipts and pondering for what a transaction was to be applied.

Keep a Close Watch on Transactions

If you have a business that has a high volume of cash like a convenience store or a laundromat, then you are most likely making daily transactions at your bank. You should be monitoring those to see if deposits match what you recorded them as so that you know if the bank is making errors or if your employee is skimming cash.

You should be just as vigilant with your cashless deposits to be aware of any discrepancy’s in what your merchant services show. Are they charging fees that are not obvious on a statement or increasing your fees without prior notice?

Keep a close eye on checks you have written to suppliers and services to make sure the check you wrote is going to the right payee and that it is the right amount. Make sure that the check matches the invoice it was for every day. In this way, you can catch any nefarious ACH payments that a dishonest party tries to sneak past you.

By closely monitoring your transactions, you will ensure that your sales work in your favor.

Be Smart About Your Accountant

A discount accountant may seem like an excellent way to save money, but it could be disastrous. It would be best if you had an accountant who is competent and experienced to avoid mistakes being made. If you choose to use someone with limited experience, make sure that the accountant can give clear and decisive reasons for the actions he or she takes. An accountant that teach you the tricks of the trade as they do your books is the best solution if you plan to do your books in the future.

Use Document Management

There are a number of useful document management apps that can help you keep track of receipts, checks and financially related papers. By organizing your documents, you can easily find what you need, which is especially helpful in circumstances such as an audit or legal dispute.

bookkeepingIf as a small business owner you need help with your bookkeeping or accounting

contact us at 239.829.0481 or 239.829.0492 or traci@aandjaccounting.net

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