How Do I Set Up Bookkeeping for My Small Business?

So, you’ve finally added traction to your business idea and would like to offer your services. Congratulations! There’s a sense of excitement in the beginning as you plan and prepare goods and services that your potential clientele would consider. Because your business is small, it’s easy to overlook the essential details. Even for your small business there is a considerable amount of responsibility attached to it. Having bookkeeping when you’re first starting out will ensure your business never misses a step, even if you do. You should consider getting bookkeeping and accounting services for your small business, which will take the pressure off of keeping up with those fine, easily overlooked details. 

Setting Up for Success

Your small business is going to be more successful than you imagine, and having the right financial tools can not only save you money, but give you more than you put in. So, before you hire a professional or download the latest bookkeeping or accounting software, let’s take a look at what’s needed. 

1. Know the basics of accounting and bookkeeping. You don’t need to know everything, but it’s helpful to get familiar with technical terms. Having an understanding of what a sale, asset, revenue, expense, and liability are will go a long way!
2. Track all of your business expenses. Yes, everything that is used for your business must be accounted for!
3. Save important documents such as bills, receipts, credit card statements, customer invoices and payments, canceled checks, tax returns, and more. 
4. Create financial sheets such as balance sheets, cash flow, and profit and loss statements. You‘ll need to report all financial records on these sheets. The balance sheet reports where the finances are going/coming from. The profit and loss or income statements help keep track of what’s accruing the most money for your business and what’s not. This helps you make necessary changes for better business. Lasly, the cash flow statement shows you where the positive and negative cash flows balance at any point. 
5. Prepare yourself for major business expenses with an emergency fund. 
6. Always keep personal and business accounts separate! Set up a business bank account and make all business transactions from this account only. 

Remember, take your time as you ease into understanding the crux of your business and its details. Don’t overwhelm yourself too much with technical jargon, and always seek the guidance of a professional in bookkeeping and accounting services for small businesses. 

Why Bookkeeping and Accounting Apps Don’t Work

It’s easy – and maybe reasonably priced – to download an app or the latest software to perform your own bookkeeping. However, you may not know what you’re getting yourself into. Software and apps may offer helpful tips and walk-throughs as you go through the process, but it takes time to calculate costs and revenues, crunch numbers, etc. Apps require a certain amount of information to keep an accurate account of your business’s assets. Are you going to have enough time – and energy – to keep up with it all? An app or software will only help you with the information it receives. It’s imperative and timely to hire a real person to do the bookkeeping and accounting for your small business, so the job is done correctly. 

Accounting and bookkeeping are an essential part of the growth of your business. To determine which of the two your business requires, contact a professional in bookkeeping and accounting services for small businesses. The experts at Aqtoro do it all when it comes to bookkeeping, taxes, payroll and more. Contact one of the team members on how to get started today.