Bookkeeping For Small Business Owners

If you have a small business and hate bookkeeping, you are not on your own. For most small business owners 'bookkeeping' is a major pain; a real chore. If you have to choose between selling your products and services or keeping your books in order - the books lose every time?
But it would be good to :

- know your cash position

- know the bank balance before the statement arrives
- Have reports and guidance on your profitability?
You want to be able to explain where your figures come from to the tax man if he should ask. Would you play football, cricket or golf and not bother to keep the score? Of course not, we all want to be in control of our businesses, but for the small business owner this has never been easy.
Give serious thought to 'outsourcing' your bookkeeping to an expert, either an online bookkeeping service or a traditional bookkeeper.

Isn't it best if my spouse does the bookkeeping?
In many small businesses the owners spouse will keep the books. Of course, they want to help each other, and to keep costs to a minimum. However, this can sometimes be a bad move.
If they are competent and enjoy doing it - then good. But remember your business is your livelihood, it is important that the books are written up on a timely and accurate basis.
If the job is done by someone competent
- Accounting costs should be minimised, good books = an easier job
- You should be provided with useful information throughout the year. Such as:

The balance on your current account, taking into account cheques you have written which the bank don't yet know about.
Your profit for the month, compared to the same month last year.
or Profit for the year to date, compared to the same period last year.
An aged debtors list.

The cost of paying someone competent to provide this information, perhaps just a few hours each month, can be a very rewarding investment.