You don't want to get to the point where you are chasing old receipts, flicking through old notes and frantically wondering what that purchase was for and how to explain it to your Accountant. What you want is a systematic approach to keep things in order so that when the time comes to send off your business records you can do so with a click of the mouse. So here is 3 tips on how to make sure this dreaded process is as smooth as possible.
Before we unleash our secret tips - it's important for you to understand why you need to keep good records and how it benefits you. Records help you:
- Work more efficiently
- enable you to meet legal obligations applicable to your work
- protect the interests of the government and of your agency
- protect your rights as an employee and citizen
- demonstrate the cost and impact of your business
- enable review of processes and decisions
- retain the corporate memory of your agency and its narrative history
- help research and development activities
- enable consistency and continuity in your business
So let's get started.
Know what records you need
This sounds pretty straight forward - but some people get a little overwhelmed about what they need to keep and what they don't need to keep. Your two records that are imperative for your businesses functioning and reporting processes are Invoices and Receipts. You need to explain everything you spend and everything you receive - so be sure to keep them in a safe place. We recommend photocopying them and digitising them into hard copies.
Get Tech Savvy
If you haven't realised already - technology is the future and it is also your friend - so use it to your advantage and make it help you do things better. There are a mountain of applications out there that can help you keep good records and save time. Two Apps to get you started are Method:CRM and Quickbooks. Start there and see how you go - there are hundreds of apps - you just have to find the one that you find easiest to use so that it helps you not hinders you.
Seperate your Business from Personal
This is a good one to get right from the beginning. Open up a Bank Account for your business, it will also help you to streamline business expenses and incoming funds. You will thank yourself when it come to BAS time.
Once you realise how easy it is to keep good records you will save a lot of wasted time trying to sort through disorganised records. So now you are armed with record keeping tips - go out there and get productive !
