5 Tips to Transition Your Bookkeeping into the 21st Century

I often say to my clients…

“Did you start your business so that you could do bank recs every month? Nope. But I did.”

Is this you every month when your bank statement is available? (I found it here.)

To be a successful small business owner, you need to make sure you’re managing your books correctly. Maybe you’re using an Excel file or the Quicken software that you also use for your personal finances. (Either way—yay! You’re tracking it in some way!)

But I’m here to tell you that it’s time to transition to the 21st century. Here are 5 tips on how:

1. Get the right system.

Bookkeeping packages have come a long way over the years. They have built-in reports, include accurate formulas, and even have the ability to automate your invoicing!

Once you’re set up, they’ll save you time and improve your accuracy.

(My nickname is the QBO Godmother, so I obviously have a preference for QuickBooks Online. They’re simple to use and affordable. )

2. Automate.

Ever hear that saying, there’s an app for that?

Well, there is! You can automate many time-consuming tasks by integrating apps with your online accounting system.

For example, I have a plumbing client with 40 employees who needed to track their time for payroll.

The old system was: people would call in their time to the office manager, and she would manually enter it into a spreadsheet—if she happened to be at her desk. Most of the time it was on her phone in the notes app.

Then, she’d have to compile all of the hours into a spreadsheet and send to the payroll company. There was no way to verify those hours, and she was spending about 2 hours each week just getting the hours ready to send to the payroll provider. Sigh.

By implementing T-Sheets, a mobile time tracking app that integrates into QuickBooks, she eliminated the hours she was spending doing calculations, and the company as whole benefited because the hours were drastically cut by eliminating time theft—both overt and inadvertent.

3. Systemize.

Set up a regular time to handle your books.

While bookkeeping can be very transactional—and require a bit of data entry—make sure you’re doing it the same way each and every time.

Create a list of tasks organized by daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even annual activities. Intuit has some ideas to help you in this handy list.

4. Go paperless.

The days of file cabinets are long gone. Instead, get a good scanner—or even a mediocre one.

Scanned financial files like invoices or receipts can be attached to transactions in Quickbooks Online. Or you might prefer to use Hubdoc or ReceiptBank.

The next one on the list is important if you feel like this. (I got it here.)

5. Get help!

While you didn’t start your business to do those bank recs, there are plenty of us out there who did.

We can figure out exactly what you need, recommend applications and systems that’ll make your life simpler, and make sure things are done right.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to hire a bookkeeper to do everything—but if the thought of setting up a QuickBooks file makes your hair stand on end, outsource it.

Read my article on how to find your bookkeeping soulmate.

***

Running a business takes a lot—you have to be salesperson, operations manager, minion and janitor, along with the strategic planner.

Having accurate books is a huge part of being a successful entrepreneur. Bookkeeping tracks your profitability and those pesky tax liabilities, and gives you vital information about the health of your business.

If you’re not in the 21st century, get there. STAT!

The post 5 Tips to Transition Your Bookkeeping into the 21st Century appeared first on Fundera Ledger.

from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/06/14/transition-bookkeeping-21st-century/