There really is something about the arrival of sunny spring weather that makes you feel energised to clean out the cobwebs. Hopefully the craziness of EOFY has passed, and it might have brought with it some good reminders about keeping your house in order, right? Which makes now a great time to look at steps you can take to make your business admin and bookkeeping more manageable...and less overwhelming.
We have done a round up among the Dream Team to bring you the best tips and actionable advice to help you clean up your admin and bookkeeping.
Book it in
It is really easy for business accounting tasks to get pushed to the bottom of the to-do list each week. If you find yourself regularly falling behind on your bookkeeping then try booking time in your diary each week specifically for these tasks. Treat it like a customer job or client meeting and stick to it!
“Set up a convenient schedule for yourself by picking a specific day of the week and time that you can dedicate to your business accounting”
Rachel Kalozi, Administration Assistant
Small actions, more often
One of the big challenges with bookkeeping is that there is a crazy flurry of activity at month, quarter or year end when your bookkeeper or accountant is chasing you for receipts and documents. The key is to get your invoices and expenses processed in smaller batches on a more regular basis - like every week. Getting into this practice also allows your bookkeeper or accountant to stay on top of your current finances and help you manage any issues sooner.
“Send through invoices and receipts to your bookkeeper each day or month. This helps keep the flow of reconciling expenses in real time. It also helps to produce reports on time, so you can use them to make more informed decisions”
Jasmin Nunn, Accounts Assistant
Meet with your BAS Agent (and listen to their advice!)
BAS Agents are there to take away the stress and overwhelm associated with your tax obligations. You don’t have to struggle through it on your own! A good BAS agent wants to see your business thrive without getting into trouble with the ATO. They have spent years working with the ATO and small businesses like yours, so take their advice on board.
“Tax compliance is a big challenge and worry for small business owners. It can feel very complicated and overwhelming, especially with all of the COVID support programs. We know the ATO are going to be focusing in on compliance for the next few years. So make the time to speak with your BAS agent, get their advice on managing your cashflow and trust them to build a positive relationship with the ATO on your behalf if you run into any compliance issues.”
Tennille Skelly, Managing Director
Automate, automate, automate!
“Set up automatic transactions for recurring expenses, overall this could save you hours of paying bills and give you more time to do the things you enjoy. And make sure to keep all business and personal purchases separate, as this helps to keep receipts clean and tidy and much easier to keep on top of your spending”
Georgia Simmons, Receptionist
Lots of admin and bookkeeping tasks are repetitive, and lend themselves really well to setting up automations. Software platforms are using advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to get better and better at recognising, categorising and sorting data automatically. This not only saves time but also reduces errors in data entry - freeing you and your staff to focus on more value-add activities. If you also look at how you can integrate multiple systems together to streamline your data processing there are huge benefits!
“Use your accounting package to help keep track of what bills you owe and when they are due for payment.”
Jasmin Nunn, Accounts Assistant
“Set up your accounting system to collect customer and supplier contact information. Many business owners forget to record customer phone numbers or email addresses, and this makes it hard to follow up on unpaid bills. Even better, use your accounting system to track payments and automatically follow up on unpaid bills”
Michelle Adam-Folland, Administration Assistant
Plan for the future
“Stop and think of what you want to achieve first.”
Janine Hedley, Assistant Accountant - BAS Agent
It can be easy to fall into a cycle of reacting to payroll and accounting tasks when they become issues, but with a few small changes you can get proactive in managing these parts of your business and enjoy less stress and overwhelm. Taking action today that is aligned with where you want your business to be in 12 months time is a critical part of business growth.
“Seek feedback from your staff and customers to guide your decisions – hold a planning meeting with staff or send a survey to customers to help identify areas for improvement and growth.”
Lana Young, Administration Assistant
“Create a separate bank account where you can regularly set aside money for your tax bill. If you get stuck with a big tax bill it is better to have already put money aside than to have to negotiate a payment plan with the ATO and have that money taken out in the future.”
Cherie Romer, Client Relationship Manager
So there you have it. Spring is the perfect season for taking a few moments to clean up your bookkeeping and here we have pulled together our best tips and tricks to get you started.
Oh, and last but not least, you can’t go wrong with a good office clean up 😊
“Clean and/or rearrange your office space - they say change is as good as a holiday right? Change up your office space to help inspire fresh ideas and focus”
Lana Young
If you need help getting on top of your bookkeeping, then let the Dream Team come to the rescue! Book in for a free, no obligation chat with our Managing Director Tennille Skelly to chat about what we can do to help you today.