Here at TenKey, we understand first-hand how hard it can be to keep your small business running. It’s hard enough to stay current on all the responsibilities that you fully understand, let alone the ones that you might not enjoy so much. Bookkeeping is our specialty, so let us help you understand what you need to do to keep your books in proper order!
We serve small businesses in the Portland, OR, area and are happy to help you with your accounting and bookkeeping needs!
1. Automate everything you can
You probably already know that more automation means less that you have to handle manually. This is a big deal! Luckily, there are a ton of accounting software applications that can help you to simplify the process of bookkeeping.
Software suites help to track daily, weekly, and monthly transactions and financial decisions. We encourage our clients to use certain software suites so that they are able to be as thorough as possible when tracking their finances, which enables us to save them time and money when it comes to compiling and digging into their books
Make sure to do your homework before purchasing your accounting software to make sure it can solve all of your needs. If you need help picking a bookkeeping software suite, just call us at 971-220-6416.
2. Keep detailed records
Keeping copies of receipts, invoices, expenses, and debt either physically or digitally is crucial to the success of your business. The financial condition of your business relies on you being able to quickly and easily sort and recall financial records.
Having a way to sort and organize these records is essential. While many choose to keep these records digitally, there are still plenty of businesses that store physical copies of financial records.
3. Keep business finances separate from personal finances
Setting up a business bank account is often one of the first steps in getting your business finances together. This protects your finances and prevents things from getting mixed up or forgotten.
Please don’t forget this step!
4. Perform regular audits
Regularly performing audits on things like purchase orders, estimates, and invoices can help you to stay organized month-to-month. It will help you in the short term, but the evidence of these audits will also help you tremendously in the long term when it comes time to do taxes.
5. Set reminders for deadlines
This is good general advice, but especially for small business owners, setting reminders for deadlines like tax season, end-of-the-month billing cycles, and invoice collection is crucial.
Remember the last time you forgot to charge a client or group of clients? Hopefully not! Setting reminders and partying attention to them is easy with personal, digital calendar systems, so you have no excuse!.
6. Make keeping your books your number one priority
Whether you keep the books yourself or pay a contractor like us to do it, bookkeeping should be at the top of your list. It’s really easy to put off doing your books because of how tedious and frustrating it can be, but that annoyance will decrease over time as it becomes second nature.
Really, it’s so important to keep your books in good order that you can’t afford to let them slip, so making them a priority should be at the top of your goals list.
7. Track business expenses
Keeping track of your expenses can help you understand and anticipate your business needs in the future. Being able to see what you spend and when can open a window into your habits and business needs.
This might look like keeping a record of supplies, insurance, utilities, and inventory.
8. Prepare for unforeseen expenses
By tracking your expenses, you have half the battle won, but the other half is the unknown. It can sound scary to consider the unknown expenses you might incur, but if you prep for it, it might not end up being nearly so painful.
Set aside some liquid assets in a business savings account titled “Emergency”. When something unforeseen occurs, and you have no idea how to pay for it, you have the emergency savings account to cover that expense. Anytime you have to dip into the emergency account, prepare to refill the account to a level that makes you comfortable for the next time you need something unforeseen.
9. Pay yourself a salary
Depending on the type of small business you have set up, you will want to pay yourself a reasonable salary. Taking a monthly salary can mean the difference between your business succeeding and you burning out.
If your business is scraping by, but you are personally barely solvent, how much of a chance does your business have? It’s better for you to find a decent balance between work and personal life than to have your business dip into the red during a downturn.
10. Track and reimburse business mileage
Any mileage incurred for business means in your personal vehicle can be claimed as a write-off. It’s important to track the date, miles, and purpose of each trip and use that info to submit for reimbursement.
Most bookkeeping software has mileage tracking functionalities that you can take advantage of.
11. Consider outsourcing payroll
If you have employees, you know how much work can be to track hours, withhold taxes, and file payroll tax returns. It’s important to get this aspect of your business precisely correct so that your employees feel taken care of, which is why it’s a good idea to outsource your payroll.
There are some things you should trust professionals to do because they can do it faster and more efficiently than you - payroll is one of those things!
12. Consider outsourcing your bookkeeping
For the same reason that you should consider hiring a pro to do your payroll, you should consider a pro to keep your books. Here at TenKey, we can keep track of your books at a lower cost to you than you can because it’s our business!
We are trusted by businesses around the Portland metro area and beyond to keep their books in tip-top shape. Consider giving us a call at 971-220-6416, and we will do our best to simplify one of the most painful aspects of keeping your business running!
