Swallow the Frog
Swallow the Frog
and get your books up to date!!
and get your books up to date!!
Doing what we love invigorates us and we find it easy. For many business owners sitting down to crunch the numbers can make us feel anxious, frustrated and even nauseous. If we put it off for a week or two the task becomes daunting and then overwhelming. So we just keep putting it off until the deadline for taxes forces us to quickly put together the numbers. Each year as we prepare the information for our tax preparer, we promise ourselves next year will be different, the accounts will be kept up to date.
If your books are not up to date, now is the time to SWALLOW THE FROG
Where to start
· Look at a cloud-based accounting system to streamline your bookkeeping process. For as little as $1 a day*, you can invest in an accounting system that will download transactions directly from your bank/credit card account, enable you to invoice clients and track outstanding invoices and be paid from your invoice, keep track of money you owe people, pay employees/yourself allow you to digitize and attach receipts. This saves time, improves cash flow, improves accuracy, provides real time information and allows everything to be stored securely in the one place
· Invest money in learning how to use your new accounting system properly – setting up your accounts correctly will enable you to be able to run reports that provide information that will help you make better decisions. Automate your invoicing, set up your account so you can be paid online which will make it easy for your customers to pay and improve your cash flow. You will easily be able to track what invoices are outstanding at the end of the month. Add bills so that you know what expenses are upcoming and pay them as close to the due date to help with cashflow. Set up your payroll so that you can ensure employees are paid correctly, all forms are lodged, and payroll taxes are paid on-time.
· Commit to keeping your books updated. Set aside a day and time each week to work on your books - schedule it first thing in the morning and SWALLOW THAT FROG. If you find you dread doing the books each week, think about hiring a bookkeeper. Hiring a bookkeeper can save you money, your relationship with your spouse and family or your health. That hour or two that you spend on your books could be spent generating more sales, working on your next revenue stream, additional marketing or it could be spending more time with your spouse and family or getting outside to exercise. You still need to know your numbers each week/month but if you dread sitting down each week or month to enter the information to update your books then why not free up that time, frustration and worry by giving that task to someone else (who loves that type of work) and spend that extra time generating more sales, creating a new income stream, spending time with your family or getting outside to exercise. If you do want to do the books yourself, still invest in hiring someone to customize your accounts and teach you the time saving features of the accounting system.
You have made the decision to get your books up to date and keep them updated so that in January 2021 everything is ready for your tax accountant. You have invested money in technology, in training and you have decided whether to do your books yourself or hire a bookkeeper. The final step is to COMMIT to keeping your books up to date. Make it a PRIORITY to either get the information to your bookkeeper or update your books once a week, set aside time first thing in the morning and SWALLOW THAT FROG.
*A subscription is usually less through your bookkeeper or accountant than online.