Your Finances Organized, Why Important?
Blog Post #102
Your Finances Organized, Why Important?
“Organization is Key”
Sounds pretty cliché right?
And although it might, truth is, organization is one of the key foundations for success in your business.
Having an effective, organized financial system ensures the money operations of your business run efficiently and smoothly on a consistent basis. This includes your bookkeeping processes, how you manage your financial activity and even how you store your data.
As you read through the list below of ways you can implement more organization into your business life, you will see it goes a little deeper than picking out colorful file folders for storing paperwork.
Now, if you’re a natural tidy person, this may come easy for you, but for those that need a little assistance in the “neatness” of things, no worries, I’ve kept them simple.
Use Accounting Software.
This is how you keep everything in one place. You can easily track revenue and expenses from all your business accounts without needing to search through different spreadsheets, or multiple documents.
Separate Business and Personal Finances.
Keeping your business from your personal is a lifesaver. You find it best for keeping your business activity organized, easy to manage, and accurate for tax prep reporting. You should have separate banking, credit cards, merchant accounts, etc., if you can get a business account for it, do it!!
Create a Tracking System.
You need an organized way of how you will manage important documents like receipts and invoices, and a detailed process for collecting payments from customers, and paying vendors and expenses.
When it comes to your filing system, in my opinion, digital is best, but whatever way you choose for your liking, you just want to make sure you organize things in a systematic way. Use categories and groups for different types of documents and any records you need to keep record of.
Make and Stick to a Schedule.
Take the time create a weekly schedule and STICK to it! This is the time you will dedicate to managing your tracking system. If Friday is when you want to pay your Vendors, only pay your vendors on Friday. Having a schedule not only keeps you organized as the owner but also sets a level of expectation for your customers, vendors, employees, etc.
You also want to set a dedicate a day monthly to reconciling accounts, reviewing reports and financial statements.
Maintain a Budget.
Your budget organizes your expected revenue and costs. This is important in helping you manage cash flow, which is a vital. Having a budget helps you organize how much you need to allocate to each area of your business and when to expect changes in your normal flow of spending and profits.
It’s important to remember that organization is part of your foundation. It helps create stability which can lead to ongoing success. And if it’s something you just can’t find the time to make a priority, make sure you get the expert help you need to do so!! It’s an investment (either from your time or money) that you won’t regret.
Best & Savviness Always,
Bria G
5 Simple Bookkeeping Strategies for Business Owners
Blog post #101
Five simple bookkeeping strategies for business owners.
As a business owner, especially when operating as a solopreneur, keeping good financial records is a must.
It is not only an IRS requirement, but it’s the only way to guarantee you are making the best decisions for your business.
Staying on top of your bookkeeping is the best solution to this, and although yes, I know, it can be a menacing task, having the right strategy to execute will help it become seamless.
In this post I’m giving you 5 simple, yet effective strategies to ensure your bookkeeping processes run smoothly, efficiently and allow you to properly manage your business performance now and for the future.
Set a weekly date for your bookkeeping tasks. Choose a day each week when you will record transactions, review banking activity, send out invoices (and review any outstanding ones), and track expenses.
Make sure it’s the same day of the week though. Consistency is key for it becoming a habit. This way it’s no longer a chore for you, but a part of your business operations.
You should also implement an end of month process. This ensures all financial transactions have been accounted for, help you plan for the month ahead, and stay prepared for quarterly and year end tax filings.
Reconcile your accounts each month. This will ensure accuracy of your accounts, financials, and reporting. You will also have better insight into your business patterns and what you need to do to keep your finances in order.
This should be a part of your month end process.
Review reporting regularly. Analyzing your reports helps you uncover any issues as they happen, provide information needed to make informed decisions like cutting costs and increasing revenue. It also keeps you on track for reaching goals.
You should set time for monthly and quarterly reviews, to ensure that your finances are always accurate, current, and organized. This should also be a part of your month end process.
Keep watch of your cash flow. Consistent tracking of your revenue and spending gives you clarity of your money trends. This allows you to better manage your money for savings, tax obligations, operating expenses, budgets and the most important of course…PAYING YOURSELF!!
Hire a bookkeeping professional. It’s no secret that finances usually get pushed to the back burner when you’re busy operating & growing your business. And if your business isn't bookkeeping, it's just not something you usually want to do.
Hiring a professional is the best way to keep you on top of all the strategies mentioned above and even more.
Managing your finances is, if not THE most, one of the most important parts of running your business successfully. Having well-structured bookkeeping strategies and processes is key in keeping track of and continually improving it’s overall performance.
Best & Savviness Always,
Bria G