So, you’re not quite in rescue mode yet. But you’re teetering on the edge of needing a bailout if you let your books go too much longer. Catching up on bookkeeping is one of the most stressful things for any small business owner. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, but it’s time to make a choice now to catch up, before your books need a full resuscitation.
Where do you start?
Handling catch-up bookkeeping is no mean feat. It’s a good idea to call someone who knows their stuff. Good thing for you, we know a thing or two about keeping books in order. Here’s how we can help.
First, we’ll meet and discuss your bookkeeping needs and assess your accounts, identifying how far behind you’ve fallen. From there, we’ll chat about your areas of concern and then we’ll look at your current processes and procedures. Here’s a quick summary of what we may do to get your books in order:
- Select an online software solution like Xero to manage your accounting
- Customise your accounts list, reviewing the structure and removing duplicate and redundant accounts for best future reporting
- Review and reconcile your accounts payable (Creditors) and accounts receivable (Debtors) to ensure all entries are ‘real’
- Catch up on forgotten data including entering bills, receiving payments, credit card purchases, and business expenses paid for personally
- Review all payroll information, including gross wages, PAYG and Superannuation
- Reconcile all balance sheet accounts – you can’t miss this step!
- Prepare and provide detailed financial reports for review to ensure all the necessary information has been captured
Want to get a head start in the meantime?
If you’d like to take charge for yourself here’s a few things you can do to get started.
Money for the business
The first thing you need to get in control of is your invoicing and accounts receivable. Without cash coming through the door, your business could be in real trouble. We don’t like trouble.
To do item:
You’ll need to review all of your accounts receivable records to make sure that you’ve sent out invoices to all of your clients.
If you have good customers that are a little bit slow at paying, it’s okay to give them a call to ask – it may have just slipped their mind. If you have any long-term outstanding invoices, it’s time to do a bad debt write-off.
We highly recommend coming up with a cashflow management strategy. Something Bespoke Bookkeeping can coach you on or setup for you
Pay your bills
The next thing you’ll need to do is review your accounts payable to make sure you’re aware how much you owe your suppliers.
You know that feeling when customers owe you money?
That’s how your suppliers are feeling about you right now. You may even be receiving a few phone calls of your own.
If you have invoices you have received but have not yet paid for, make sure they’re logged into your accounting system to give you an accurate listing of all accounts payable.
It sometimes can be mind boggling to get through collecting the data. Having an expert in the room can ease the tension and also assist in guiding you through. So don’t hesitate to also contact us, if you have any questions.
What’s next?
Following those two critical steps, you’ll want to start managing your receipts with an online document solution such as Hubdoc and reconcile your bank and credit cards to rebuild your bookkeeping system.
Bespoke can make the process easier, and less stressful. Get in touch, Get a Quote, and find out if we can help get you back on track.
Special offer – free book reviewIf you’d like your books to be in order within two weeks, why not take advantage of our introductory offer. In 45 minutes, we will share with you how to regain control again. This includes an action plan, timeframe, quote, and maintenance plan for on-going support. We’re here for you. |
