Bookkeeping Archives | Page 3 of 3 | Flawless Figures Bookkeeping

October 16, 2019 Accounts, Bookkeeping

Keeping on Top of Overdue Accounts

How long do your customers take to pay you?

A Xero Small Business Insights report showed that late payments to small businesses are improving. But overall, payments often still arrive after due date.

Keeping on top of overdue accounts is vital for cashflow. There are some easy things you can put in place today to reduce the payment time-frame in your business.

Send your invoices straight away – give your customer the ability to pay you promptly.
Include all the details your customers need in order to make the payment – such as a customer purchase order to make their administration easier. Make sure you include your payment due date.
Consider a prompt payment discount – even if it is a small percentage, it can be a motivating factor.
Follow up straight away – if your invoice is overdue, send a friendly reminder straight away. You can set this up in your cloud accounting software, so it’s automatic. The longer you leave your follow up reminder, the easier it is for your invoice to drop down the priority list.
Make sure you are talking to the right person – if you creditor is a business, find out who is responsible for accounts and build a relationship with them.
Pick up the phone – If the invoice is overdue, a friendly chat may have more impact than another email in the inbox. After your phone call, follow up with an email to confirm what you agreed.
Be ready with a solution – to clear the debt, can you start with part payment? Does the next order get part paid up front?

Reducing the average time-frame on payments for your business will help with your overall business health. Start with a straight forward system, clear credit terms and good communication with creditors.

Not sure where to start, give us a call.

October 9, 2019 Accounts, Bookkeeping, End of Financial Year, Uncategorized

Get Strategy at the Heart of your Successful Business

Businesses that have clear objectives or goals, robust accountability and a shared sense of purpose should always outperform those that just show up and go through the motions.

Strategy lies at the heart of most successful businesses. To achieve this you need to resource and execute with purpose. Few businesses have a strategic plan or a robust planning process. Changing this situation should be a top priority! Here are two top tips for business owners.

1. Process Creates the Plan

Getting strategy at the heart of your success will require you to carve out some time, get a process started and shake things up. There’s no better time to review and tweak your business model, future-proof compelling services and to get your strategic building blocks in place.

Just as every good strategy has key elements, every good plan needs a step-by-step process. In fact, the process is often just as important as the plan itself. A strategic planning retreat with your core team is a great way to start the process – find a spot offsite to get the creative juices flowing such as a beach, a park, or vineyard and set an agenda.

2. Key elements of an effective strategy

The key elements in a good strategy normally incorporate:

Vision – this is a statement that identifies what a company would like to achieve or accomplish.
Values – these are the fundamental beliefs upon which your business and its behaviour are based. They are the guiding principles that your business uses to manage its internal affairs as well as its relationship with customers.
Objectives – short term, long term. These should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound)
KPIs – stands for Key Performance Indicators. These are measurable values that demonstrate how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives.
Actions – what needs to be done to meet the objectives? Make this simple and clear.
Owners – delegating tasks to specific owners to ensure follow through and accountability.
Deadlines – when your actions will be complete to ensure you make progress.

It doesn’t need to be much more complicated than that, but do invest the time and effort in doing this right. A proactive, value-add strategic model will need fresh thinking, debate, research and open conversations. Enjoy and embrace the process and you should end up with a good outcome.

Great planning requires a guide, facilitator and/or professional expertise to be as robust as possible. We can help your business and guide you through the steps.

Putting strategy at the heart of your business activity should not only give your business greater direction and focus but lead to stimulating, profitable opportunities too. It’s time to get started!

September 12, 2019 Accounts, Bookkeeping

Choosing a new business bank account?

A business bank account is an essential requirement for any business. But with so many banking providers out there, how do you know which business account to choose?

The key is to know what you require from a bank account and to choose a bank that understands the banking, financial and funding needs of your business.

Choosing an account that fits your business needs

Whether you’re a new sole trader or an established limited company, it’s advisable to maintain a clear divide between your personal and business money. So, it’s vital to open a business bank account, giving you a separate account to handle your business transactions.

The choice of available accounts can be baffling, with the big corporate banks and high-street providers offering a range of accounts and new digital challenger banks also adding to the available options for business owners.

When looking for a business account consider:

Bank charges – some banks offer free banking, others will charge you a monthly fee. And most accounts will charge you for things like cash withdrawals, payments in foreign currencies and going into (or over) your agreed overdraft limit.
Earning interest – look at the interest rate paid on the balance in your account. The higher the interest percentage, the more money you’ll earn on the cash in your account. The rate is unlikely to be high, but it’s still worth assessing the potential for a return.
Overdraft facilities – cashflow can ebb and flow in any business, so an agreed overdraft facility can often be a lifesaver when cash becomes tight. Look at what overdraft is available and what you’ll pay in penalties if you exceed the agreed limit.
Access to finance – if working capital gets exceptionally low then you may need to borrow a lump sum of money. If the bank has attractive options for bank loans, invoice financing or asset financing, that gives you and your business more flexibility.
Mobile apps and technology – digital is changing the banking sector at an incredible pace, so look at the quality and functionality of the banks internet banking, mobile banking apps and online financial management tools. Many of the emerging challenger banks are digital-only and offer a great online experience for business users.
Support and relationship management – the big banks have cut back their bricks and mortar presence on the high street in recent years. Look at whether you’d have access to a business banking adviser, or whether support is all online or done over the phone. A good relationship with your bank is invaluable when cashflow is tight.

Talk to us about selecting your ideal bank account

If you’re in the market for a new business bank account, come and talk to us. We’ll help you understand the key requirements you need from your account.

August 28, 2019 Bookkeeping, Uncategorized

Automation can ease your business workload

Small and medium-sized businesses are spending on average 120 hours a year on admin tasks, according to recent research into productivity at UK SMBs.

If your people are spending 120 hours wading through tedious and unproductive admin, that’s bad for the business and for your overall efficiency. Fortunately, technology and software automation can go a long way towards automating the low-level admin tasks.

Better productivity through automation

Automation is an important way to ease your business workload, with a host of different business apps and cloud solutions offering ways to automate your admin.

With ‘smart business tools’ increasing in number and choice, software is utilising automation algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cognitive solutions to help remove the mundane admin tasks from your workflows.

Core processes that will benefit from automation include:

Automated bookkeeping – Just take a photo of your receipts, expenses and invoices and ‘optical character recognition’ (OCR) technology will digitise the output and pull it through into your accounts software. No data entry, no human error and no lost receipts! We can do the rest to ensure your records are accurate.
Automated credit control – chasing up debts and late-paying customers takes time. Automated credit control apps track your debtor numbers and automatically sends out customised chaser emails as soon as an invoice is late. This reduces your credit control time, speeds up cash collection and cuts your aged debtor figure.
Automated payment collection – the easier it is to pay you, the faster your customers will pay. Automated card payments and cloud-based Direct Debit solutions allow you to automatically take payment from a customer as soon as an invoice is due. Some solutions will even automate the invoice matching and bank reconciliation process.
Automated reporting and forecasting – the better your reporting and business intelligence, the easier it is to make informed decisions about your company strategy. Accounting platforms and fintech (ie. financial technology) tools now offer automatic, real-time reporting and forecasting, giving you access to the important numbers and metrics, fast.
Automated digital marketing – digital marketing is key to raising your brand’s profile. Marketing platforms offer important time-saving ways to schedule and post social media content, or email automation that sends a pre-programmed cadence of emails to specific target audiences within your wider customer base.

Talk to us about embracing the power of automation

If your admin is starting to hold you back, come and talk to us about how automation can pick up some of the heavy lifting as well as giving you the metrics you need for decision making. We can review you business processes and identify the automation opportunities, helping you choose the best apps to drive your business efficiently.

August 28, 2019 BAS, Bookkeeping

Cash vs Accrual Accounting – It’s All About Timing

What are the two methods?

Understanding cash and accrual accounting comes down to timing.

In a cash-based accounting system you recognise income and expenses when they happen, that is, when the money arrives into or leaves your bank.
In an accrual-based accounting system, income is recognised at the date the customer is invoiced and expenses are recognised at the date of any bills received. The timing of income and expense reporting is independent of when the money hits or leaves your bank.

Let’s have a closer look.

Cash accounting – this method does not recognise accounts receivable or accounts payable. Each Business Activity Statement (BAS) is prepared on money received and spent within that BAS period. Whilst you still have to manage cashflow and planning, the financial activity is more aligned with the business activity.

This simple system makes sense to many small business owners as they are generally operating on a short lead time for bills and invoices. This means you get an immediate snapshot of the money you have in your bank accounts, although you still need to be aware of upcoming liabilities. Remember – Not all the money in your bank is profit! Cash-based accounting is available to businesses with less than $10 million turnover.

Cash accounting requires a good understanding of financial reports to get a true picture of the business financial position. There are many small businesses that have their activity statements prepared on a cash basis, while their tax returns are prepared on an accrual basis.

Accrual accounting – this method does recognise accounts receivable and payable and is a more complex system suited to larger businesses. Reports are prepared taking into account GST on invoices issued and bills received, regardless of payment.

This method requires a greater understanding of the balance sheet accounts and cashflow planning. The bookkeeping processes and accounting can be more involved, requiring movements to be made to allocate funds to the relevant accounting period. This method is better suited to businesses that allow for longer payment terms, contracts that are paid over time and have large accounts with suppliers.

Accrual accounting actually shows your true financial position when your accounts receivable and payable and other liabilities are kept up-to-date and accurate. This means you know what people owe you and what you owe others, so you can make well-informed business decisions and plan longer-term.

Here’s an example:

Ace Accounting issues a bill to you for services dated 15 June and due to be paid by 15 July.
If your business is on a cash BAS and you pay the bill on 15 July, this bill is included in the July BAS (or September quarterly BAS), even if you entered it into your accounts dated 15 June.
If your business is on an accrual BAS, this bill is included in the June BAS, regardless of when you pay the bill.

What’s best for your business?

Micro and small businesses are better off with the simpler cash BAS system. However, as a business evolves into a larger more complex entity, even if it has not yet reached the compulsory accrual threshold of $10 million, it can be beneficial to swap to accrual accounting for both BAS and tax returns.

Not sure? We can help you decide whether accrual BAS reporting is right for you, please call the friendly team at Flawless Figures Bookkeeping.

October 11, 2018 Bookkeeping

How Bookkeeping Business Services Help The Entrepreneurs!

Start business with a Bang! Whether you have a large financial budget or less than desired, the results all entrepreneurs want are the same; more money and fame in their industry.

People often kick start their business with great enthusiasm, aiming for extensive business growth, however they soon run into problems when they are unwilling to do extremely important tasks of tracking expenses, registering a business, financial health checkups, complying and utilising tax rules and much more.

Now, the question faced by new and experienced entrepreneurs alike is “how do we fix, or better yet, avoid, these problems”?

Well, considering the modern scenario, if you want to perfectly keep up with the financial health of your business, you need an accountant or a bookkeeper that can help you out with the various financial aspects.

Having a personal accounting team with absolute expertise and providing them with appropriate accounting environment including expensive accounting software and the system can bring the huge load on your budget which is not as prominent as the affordable bookkeeping services available in the market.

What Are Bookkeeping Business Services?

Bookkeeping is a well-structured way of tracking the day-to-day base report of financial transactions and information pertaining to a business. The bookkeeping business services offered by certified bookkeepers help you to avoid daunting and time-consuming tasks such as records of the individual financial transactions, taking care of legal authorities, up-to-date & comprehensive taxation and much more.

Here Are Some Promising Reasons To Hire A Certified Bookkeeper –

Legal Registration Of Business – Any startup business needs to go through numerous legal registration processes that can consume lots of time. Bookkeeper have certain reporting criteria to face all steps such as –

1.Registering a business

2.Apply for an ABN

3.Online GST registration and much more.

To Focus On Main Objective Of Business –

As a startup needs the huge attention of its founder to achieve the desired outcome of their unique business idea. Where the other additional but essential tasks can disturb your aim, the bookkeepers help you to have an assured & legal track of your every business transaction. This helps an entrepreneur to devote its time in strategy, marketing, funding, and other key areas.
Maintain payroll – The employees are the main strength of every business, thus paying them on time is very crucial to keep them happy and motivated. The bookkeepers provide an easy maintenance of your cash flow system which is reliable not only for paying employees, but also for analyzing the outstanding payments to/from your client base.

Ensure Correct Taxation – Every business goes through some legal taxation filters – quarterly or annual bases tax filings – depending on the business. Bookkeeping services assign an agent to have an absolute track of every legal taxation required in an appropriate way to avoid all future financial brawls.

The above mentioned key points describe broadly the legal financial needs – absolutely crucial for the business. It is also clear – how bookkeeping services are beneficial to entrepreneurs – making them able to save the money on all day-to-day financial needs and to prepare a proper financial report at the end of the year.

Go for excellent bookkeeping team at Flawless Figures – prominent to transform your complex account keeping processes into easily manageable way with extensive services. We offer services such as accounts receivable/payable, business setup, staff training, taxation & payroll management, and much more at affordable bookkeeping service prices.

Search Site

Category: Bookkeeping