As a small business owner, there’s no need to feel intimidated by your bookkeeping efforts. We’ve put together a short list of tips to get you started in the right direction.
1) Plan Ahead for Expenses
Month to month, or day to day—the more specific you refine your plan for surprise expenses the better off you’ll be.
Surprises happen all the time. The best part about preparing for large, unexpected expenses is that they usually don’t occur. That extra money builds up and makes the process of preparing easier every single time. Eventually you can reinvest your funds into the future success of your business.
2) Record EVERY Transaction
The key to successful bookkeeping is—actually keeping your books.
This may seem obvious, but that’s not necessarily the case when it comes down to every single transaction. That’s why it’s worth mentioning.
It doesn’t matter what kind of transaction it is. You may have unexpected cash trickling in, or maybe you’re donating small percentages to a charity or for your brother-in-law’s best friend to redesign your logo. Be it hardcopy or digital, you still need hard records of these transactions.
Why?
Because good bookkeeping is about being able to 
account for how your money is spent, and good bookkeeping keeps your business safe and secures its future success.
Receipts, receipts, receipts. Let’s say that once more for good measure… RECEIPTS. And don’t you dare forget about those invoices either.
3) Hire a Professional for Your Taxes
There’s no question about it. If you don’t feel 100% comfortable filing your own taxes—not having much experience filing them should put you in this position—then it’s absolutely not worth the risk.
Possible consequences:
• Losing out on deductions
• Accidentally underpaying
• Paying surprise fees
• Facing an audit crisis
Making mistakes costs you money! There’s your bottom line.
The cost of making these errors on your taxes can easily get out of hand, costing you time, energy and serious financial penalties. These expenses will put a major hurt on your wallet. On the other hand, using an experienced professional helps protect your business’s financial security.
If you feel strongly that you’re paying a professional too much, it doesn’t mean you should immediately start doing it yourself either. Instead, put in a little research and find someone who offers more reasonable rates for their services.
You will save money as a result.
4) Use a Computer
There are already so many valuable resources here in this very blog about why applications like QuickBooks™ are an essential tool for bookkeeping.
With a lot less effort, you’ll find yourself saving time and money by streamlining basic bookkeeping efforts. Don’t waste another minute sifting through piles of paperwork.
Did you Know: we offer QuickBooks® training classes?
Call or visit us online here to sign up! You’ll be glad you did!
Did you know: our experts can handle any and all of your tax concerns?
For bookkeeping services or a FREE accounting consultation, call today! (631) 921-6894
Have a question or certain topic you’d like to see addressed in our next blog post?
Just leave a comment, or e-mail us at info@beatonaccounting.com