Does your record-keeping look like this? So you've just started your own business - congratulations!
This is such an exciting time, and it also can be incredibly daunting. Your friends and family have probably passed on lots of well-meaning advice already, and you might be at a loss where to begin! Here, we will give you a few pointers on one of the less glamorous (but most important) parts of owning your own business...record keeping.
What do I need to do to begin?
Most simply, you will need to keep track of all your documents to maximise your business potential. You can do this by taking some time to setup a system as soon as you can. Putting a bit of time into this early is best practice, and it's the best approach to minimise your tax bill.
Here's a list of simple and cost-effective ways you can get your record keeping up to scratch:
Open a separate email that you use just for business. Ask all of your business correspondents to send your mail to this address. You'll benefit by:
2. Open a business bank account
We cannot recommend this enough. Having your business transactions flowing through one account will save hours and headaches down the track. Best of all, most banks offer additional online accounts for free. Should you want to avoid charges for using an EFTPOS card, use your personal card and transfer money from your business account to your personal account. The transaction will be recorded in your business bank account.
3. Book-keeping
For best-practice book-keeping, you will need to classify the business transactions that run through your business bank account. There are a number of ways you can do this:
With those 3 easy steps you have a sound system for capturing your business records. Keep an eye out for Part Two, where we will share some tips on safely storing your records. For further advice on best practice record-keeping, get in touch.
This is such an exciting time, and it also can be incredibly daunting. Your friends and family have probably passed on lots of well-meaning advice already, and you might be at a loss where to begin! Here, we will give you a few pointers on one of the less glamorous (but most important) parts of owning your own business...record keeping.
What do I need to do to begin?
Most simply, you will need to keep track of all your documents to maximise your business potential. You can do this by taking some time to setup a system as soon as you can. Putting a bit of time into this early is best practice, and it's the best approach to minimise your tax bill.
Here's a list of simple and cost-effective ways you can get your record keeping up to scratch:
- Get a business email
Open a separate email that you use just for business. Ask all of your business correspondents to send your mail to this address. You'll benefit by:
- Looking professional - your clients will take your business mail more seriously than if you use your personal email.
- Improving your business focus - temptation for spending your precious business time on personal matters is reduced.
- Locating emails - when your business is booming, you are going to want to locate old emails and documents as quickly and efficiently as possible!
2. Open a business bank account
We cannot recommend this enough. Having your business transactions flowing through one account will save hours and headaches down the track. Best of all, most banks offer additional online accounts for free. Should you want to avoid charges for using an EFTPOS card, use your personal card and transfer money from your business account to your personal account. The transaction will be recorded in your business bank account.
3. Book-keeping
For best-practice book-keeping, you will need to classify the business transactions that run through your business bank account. There are a number of ways you can do this:
- Xero. Xero is a cloud based accounting tool packed with loads of handy time saving features. We found the best to be “Bank Feeds” - Xero imports transactions from your bank account into Xero, that you can then classify. Robinson & Son are Xero Certified advisors, and are happy to help you get set up.
- Microsoft Excel. The next best way after accounting software. Suitable for those with some experience in excel. You’ll have to manually export the data from your business bank account. Setup a sheet in excel with your account types as headers (i.e. sales, purchases, insurance etc.). Classify each bank transaction.
- Hand written journals. Popular with those not fond of IT. Purchase a journal from a stationery store, and classify each transaction of the business bank account appropriately.
With those 3 easy steps you have a sound system for capturing your business records. Keep an eye out for Part Two, where we will share some tips on safely storing your records. For further advice on best practice record-keeping, get in touch.
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