We have asked our brilliant bookkeepers at 2 Sisters Accounting for their top bookkeeping tips for small businesses to make your life easier. They specialise in small business bookkeeping and working with small businesses so are in the prime position to suggest some help for the common problems they see all the time.
Why Keeping Receipts Is Essential
You have to keep receipts, and we get that it is annoying and feels like a lot of work. However, HMRC requires you to keep proof for 7 years for small business bookkeeping, so how can you make it easier?
Software!
We use Hubdoc, but there are alternatives like Dext. These are specialist software that will capture all your receipts and invoices and send the information with the receipt attached over to your accounting software – an easy way to manage receipts for bookkeeping!
At Hubdoc you can upload your receipts to the software or you can email things directly from your inbox.
Top tip – save your Hubdoc address in your email contacts. When a document your accountant needs appears in your email, simply forward it on and forget about it. If it’s a paper document, take a photo and email it from your phone straight away then forget about it.
Of course, don’t forget about paying those invoices while you are feeling so smug about getting the admin done!
Automate Invoicing for Easier Payment Tracking
To make invoicing and chasing payments easier, create your invoices within Xero (or other software). This will enable you to automate a lot of the process and complete it quicker than if you are still doing invoices in word or similar.
The software can automatically send invoice reminders, so if someone is late paying they will chase without you having to do anything.
Having all your invoices on software also enables you to send out customer statements when requested and you can keep a better eye on your aged debtors (who owes you money).
See here for more you can do in Xero to bring in those funds from your clients with less input from yourself:
https://central.xero.com/s/guide/a5B3m000000UU3vEAG/get-your-invoices-paid-faster
Learn Bookkeeping Software with Free Training
As one of our key bookkeeping tips for small businesses, it’s a great idea to invest some time in getting a better understanding of the software that you’re using. Most of the accounting software you will find online have a lot of free courses and bookkeeping software tips you can complete to tell you how to make the most of the software. This can be a valuable way to spend some time, finding out how to use the software properly and automate invoices can save you a huge amount of time and stress down the line.
The Benefits of Professional Bookkeeping Services
Obviously one thing you can do to make bookkeeping easier is to make someone else do it, and we are very happy to fill that role for you if you would like to go down that route.
However, if you are paying someone to do your bookkeeping then let them do it. Stop touching things in your software! Trust that the person you are paying to complete the work knows what they are doing and has a process.
You will also still need to stay on top of sending receipts through to your bookkeeping or Hubdoc so that they can complete the work for you. Getting into the routine of sending on the receipts as soon as you have them will save everyone time as there will be no chasing or searching anymore.
Staying on Top of Bookkeeping Admin
If you can’t find the time to answer those back office queries from your bookkeeper, try changing the usual time that you would do this. Maybe after breakfast and before you start your usual work, set aside a half hour or so and don’t look at those distracting pesky emails while doing so.
If you need more reminders or information, just ask your bookkeeper well in advance of any deadlines and they should provide the information you need! If you are paying someone for a service make sure it works for you!
If you are doing your bookkeeping yourself it is really important to stay on top of it, do not leave it all for when a VAT return is due or it is your quarter end. Block out time each week to get everything up to date so you do not forget everything. This also means you will only need to spend max an hour on it at a time rather than facing a day of panic when there is a deadline approaching! As always we are very happy to help you with your bookkeeping if you would like us to so get in touch to discuss how we can help!
