BOOKKEEPING TIPS
Make doing your books easier
Find a few bookkeeping tips below that should be of assistance to you and at the same time lead to a reduced bill from your accountants.
Be organized as it saves a lot of time. There are many good books on the market that can help you in this regard.
Have a proper filing system in place and take a few minutes each day to do the filing.
When using your own accounting software set it up correctly from the start. Ask yourself what information you want from you accounts and set it up in a way that will give you this information. The type of expense categories etc. you setup will largely depend on the type of industry you operate in. Motor vehicle tyres may be classified as a separate and meaningful expense item in a transport company, but will fall under motor vehicle expenses in most other businesses.
Record cash payments and cash receipts immediately. As a business owner there is always the temptation to use the funds. It is also easy to forget to record cash payments and receipts, as there is no reminder as is the case with bank transfers and cheques that act as your reminder.
Open a separate bank account for your business. You immediately eliminate a lot of unnecessary work by not having to record personal expenses to a loan or capital account.
Keep business and personal expenses separate. Use your business account for business expenses and your personal account for personal expenses.
Know your deadlines and when the different returns are due. Put some time aside well in advance to attend to the work.
Ensure all supplier invoices are in the name of the business - not in the name of the member or the owner.
Taxpayers registered for Vat need to ensure that invoices from their suppliers contain the correct information. The invoice must say Tax Invoice and contain the supplier's name, vat number as well as your name and Vat number. Obtain original documents from suppliers and do not accept faxed copies. Develop a habit whereby you only pay suppliers when they have provided you with valid tax invoices.
Maintain daily records of all transactions. The longer you leave it the more difficult and time consuming it will become.
Sales invoices must be in numerical order. Do not skip numbers and also file the invoices in this order.
File all expenses paid by the business owner in a separate file.
Be consistent and post similar expenses to the same expense account every month.
File paid invoices separate from unpaid invoices.
Make copies of till slips, as the ink fades easily and make the invoice unreadable -attach the original to the copy.
Keep a proper petty cash system whereby a set amount is in petty cash and each time money is taken out a petty cash slip is filled out. When the petty cash is running low a cheque can be issued to the value of all invoices paid. The petty cash on hand should equal the original amount.
If you are not a trained bookkeeper get a qualified accountant to check your accounts on a regular basis to ensure that you are doing things correctly. The accountant has a trained eye and will quickly pick up errors that you may not see.
Please visit our bookkeeping page to see what records you need to keep.
If you require any help in this regard please email or give us a call and we will set up a proper system for your specific business.