Separate personal and business finances completely

That dinner you had wasn’t part of a meeting with client, yet you used your business card. Those computers that you bought were meant for work, but you ended up using your personal payment card. Yeah, you can pay yourself back from your business or pay back to your business from your personal account. But DON’T!

It’s that simple.

Personal and business finances should never ever be mixed together whatever the circumstances may be. Generally, when you spend on your business, you should record a transaction. If you don’t or if you combine personal and business finances, then things can become a pain pretty soon and it will be hell for you to track down all the expenses.

So, separate the two accounts right from the start and you’ll be saving yourself a good amount of time and pain in the future. And let’s not forget that this will be a huge help when you lodge your tax return.

Organise yourself!

For organising your finances that is. Spend around 15 to 30 minutes every week and the only thing that you should be doing during this time is to sort out your finances and make sure that they are in proper order.

And by the way, this little activity can even help you gain insights especially if you make good use of your accounting system.

Track salaries

Yes, there is a need to mention this separately. Whether you are the only one working or have a team of staff, track costs associated with salaries, benefits, leaves, overtime and other relevant expenses separately.  This will let you know if your labour costs are within the budget or outside it. Accordingly, you can decide if you should spend more on incentivising your team or if you need to cut down on some benefits.

Consult the professionals

We mentioned this at the start of our discussion, but let’s talk about it again for emphasis. Accountants are a vital part of any team.  They are an expert in maintaining accounting and finance systems and have done it for so many businesses just like yours. They know exactly what works, what doesn’t and which deductions you should utilise.

Agreed, you may want to refrain from hiring an accountant for anything other than tax and other compliance areas, but trust us, bring a professional accountant and trusted advisor on board and the improvements made will more than compensate for the investment!

So, there you have it - Separate, Track, Organise and Consult.  Then you will be well on your way to manging your finances effectively.

Higher Purpose Accounting can help you in setting up your accounting system and managing your finances. Visit our website or book in a call for more information.

The post Separate, Track, Organise and Consult appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

1. Invoice Each Day
It may seem that it is more efficient to invoice weekly, fortnightly or even monthly.  But remember once the service or product is provided you are entitled to be paid and cash flow will suffer the longer you take to get paid.

4. Paydown Debt
Debt can be helpful at times to help grow the business by financing assets or short-term needs.  This will benefit the business in the longer term.  But having debt like credit cards and overdrafts that don’t get paid off promptly or at all, are a recipe for disaster.  In the longer-term as the business becomes reliant on them for operations rather than growing the business.

6. Review and Systemise Your Processes
Every business is dynamic so what worked today may not be suitable for tomorrow.  Regularly reviewing your business and creating systems for repetitive tasks/processes is a must.  Otherwise, you run the risk of operating inefficiently and are unable to respond quickly to changes in your situation.

If you want more strategies, download My 7 Top Strategies to Improve Your Business Cash Flow in 7 Days. These strategies will help you get some structure around knowing and managing your cash flows in your business. And will save you time and give you peace of mind as well.

To download a copy and start implementing yourself, click this link:
https://www.higherpurposeaccounting.com.au/7Strats7Days

The post My Strategies to Improve Your Business Cash Flow appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

History shows many business owners delay working with professional accountants as much as they can.  They don’t see the value of investing in an accountant, only thinking of it as an expense.  But the monetary saving costs them many hours of their time and eventually thousands and thousands.

So, are you now convinced that you should work with an accountant? If your answer is still no, let us walk you through some situations in which professional accounting advice can be valuable.

Writing your business plan

Are you in the process of developing your business plan?  Bring in an accountant on board and they’ll help you improve the plan. Accountants can use advanced software to predict the financial position of your business a couple of years down the road and also prepare various reports that give you valuable insights, allowing you to make key decisions.

Hiring accountants earlier on lets you utilise their financial knowledge and experience right from the start, helping you save time and money. You will also learn some critical things as well!

When determining the legal structure of your business

Every business has a different legal structure depending on various factors. The most common types include limited liability partnerships, limited liability corporations, sole proprietor and so on.  An accountant can explain each type in detail, along with associated legal implications so that you can select the one that best fits your needs.

Helping with finances

Business management appears too complex during the start-up phase. If you feel that you, spending too much or losing control over your finances, then reach out to an accountant and they’ll help you optimise them. They’ll evaluate your current situation, identifying areas where you’re overspending or can generate revenue and put a system in place for you to achieve it.

Accountants keep tabs on key metrics like debtor days, cash flow timings, inventory turnover, gross profit margin and return on assets, and identify revenue and expense drivers, providing you a good picture of your business performance. Moreover, they use advanced accounting software and add-ons that automate many tasks at your end and help you improve collaboration within your team.  If the software is in the cloud, you enjoy greater accessibility and security.

Focusing on your business

Running your own businesses means handling many different operations that fall under different areas. When you start spending too much time on these critical issues, you lose track or your basic purpose while also wasting your resources, as you cannot be expected to be an expert in all these areas.

But when you outsource operations like financial accounting and financial management, you get peace of mind and more time on your hands to deal with the bigger and more important issues in your business.

So, hand over your accounting tasks to an award-winning business like Higher Purpose Accounting. We’ll quickly set up a proper system for your business and take of other steps crucial to business stability and growth.

The post When Should Small Businesses Turn to Accountants for Help? appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

If you are just starting out, you may be able to manage, but do consult a qualified accountant about the best structure to have, the internal financial and operational procedures for your business and how to comply with government obligations. You should also think about automating accounting with widely available software like Xero, QuickBooks, Reckon One or MYOB. Go through the features and the subscription pricing, and then decide the best software which serves your business needs and is within your budget.

So, let’s take a look at some of the most effective ways to sort out your small business finances.

Separate personal and business expenses right from the start
One of the biggest mistakes that new entrepreneurs make is mingling their personal and business finances. Never do this, even if it’s just the first day or your business. Keep your business and personal finances separate. Open a separate back account for your company and have a separate credit or debit card for your business.
Later on, when you sit down and reconcile your expenses, you’ll be extremely glad that you kept the two areas separate.

Track your expenses thoroughly
Label, and then categorise your expenses, keeping a critical check on your cash flows. Also try to use your business credit or debit cards for most of the purchases. Managing paper receipts is difficult but when you use payment cards, all transactions records are electronically. If you use accounting software, you can have a direct bank feed to the software or import all these records into the software, saving you and your accountant/bookkeeper time.

Plus, the more you use your credit cards, the greater rewards you earn. Many loyalty programs offer cash back, which can benefit savings.

Still there can be cases when cash would be your only option. Make sure that you take pictures of all paper receipts them and attach them to the transaction in your accounting software.

Take out time to update your books
As much as you feel like delaying bookkeeping, don’t do it. Take out time, every single, week and get all your records in order. Set aside a time for this, and then be sure to follow it. You may even get some help from a bookkeeper.

Look out for labour costs
Employee salaries are often the biggest expense of small businesses. So, ensure you record superannuation, PAYG Withholding, overtime and other details carefully. Using accounting software with a dedicated payroll module can help you here.

Look for help from the pros
The best piece of advice that we have to offer. Hiring a qualified accountant and/or bookkeeper may seem like and added expense, but it is actually worthwhile having them when they sort out and put your finances in order.

Get in touch with Higher Purpose Accounting to see how we can help you with these areas.

The post Accounting Tips for SMEs appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

Apps

So many helpful accounting apps are already available on the Android and iOS play store and there are many in the pipeline.  These apps will instantly notify you and give you valuable insights and alerts and are often being bundled with intuitive dashboards giving you a complete picture in just one glance.  You have instant access to your key financial indicators and other important data right there on your mobile smartphones.

Conversational Platforms

Accounting firms are expected to make use of conversational platforms and chat bots to answer their client queries, offering them valuable advice and provide them all the support that they need.  Developers are finding new ways to make these platforms more effective for businesses and their clients.

Automation

Accounting will soon be driven by Artificial Intelligence AI, which may well, completely transform the daily routine of an accountant in the future.  Repetitive tasks are already being automated, with more fully integrated accounting systems being launched, and new solutions developed that take into account the effect of regulations and compliance on business.   Consequently, a shift will be made from transaction processing by accountant and book keepers to more advisory roles like financial analysis and forward planning.

Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains

Cryptocurrency and the underlying technologies are expected to have significant effects on the accounting industry.  Currently, challenges do exist so it is predicted cryptocurrencies will not become mainstream any time soon.   But things are a little different for distributed ledgers and block chains. A distributed ledger is like a cooperative database, storing data for multiple computers together and in turn, promoting sharing and trust.  Block chains are a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, linked and secured using cryptography and is inherently resistant to modification of the data.  Many financial institutions in Australia are already developing solutions that will utilise these technologies, looking to launch them as commercial products over the next few years.

Data Security

Outsourced accounting has benefits for business, small and big. But when outsourcing, it is vital to understand the effects outsourcing may have on data.  Access, storage, data security should be considered, and questions around these each of these aspects, are expected to become need to be addressed.  When choosing an accounting firm, checking their privacy policies is essential.

E-Invoicing

As the name implies, e-invoicing delivers invoices electronically from the cloud-based accounting system. This is rapidly becoming a standard around the globe, with invoices being automatically generated for recurring items and when milestones are reached, greatly improving efficiency within a business.

Higher Purpose Accounting can help you in setting up your accounting system and related processes and with managing your finances.  Visit our website or give us a call on 0434 349 704 for more information.

The post Accounting Trends for Current Times appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

Keep personal and business finances completely separate

That dinner you had wasn’t part of a meeting with client, yet you used your business card. Those computers that you bought were meant for work, but you ended up using your personal payment card. Yeah, you can pay yourself back from your business or pay back to your business from your personal account. But DON’T!

It’s that simple.

Personal and business finances should never ever be mixed together whatever the circumstances may be. Generally, when you spend on your business, you should record a transaction. If you don’t or if you combine personal and business finances, then things can become a pain pretty soon and it will be hell for you to track down all the expenses.

So, separate the two accounts right from the start and you’ll be saving yourself a good amount of time and pain in the future. And let’s not forget that this will be a huge help when you lodge your tax return.

Set aside some time

For organising your finances that is. Spend around 15 to 30 minutes every week and the only thing that you should be doing during this time is to sort out your finances and make sure that they are in proper order.

And by the way, this little activity can even help you gain insights especially if you make good use of your accounting system.

Track salaries

Yes, there is a need to mention this separately. Whether you are the only one working or have a team of staff, track costs associated with salaries, benefits, leaves, overtime and other relevant expenses separately.  This will let you know if your labour costs are within the budget or outside it. Accordingly, you can decide if you should spend more on incentivising your team or if you need to cut down on some benefits.

Call the professionals

We mentioned this at the start of our discussion, but let’s talk about it again for emphasis. Accountants are a vital part of any team.  They are an expert in maintaining accounting and finance systems and have done it for so many businesses just like yours. They know exactly what works, what doesn’t and which deductions you should utilise.

Agreed, you may want to refrain from hiring an accountant for anything other than tax and other compliance areas, but trust us, bring a professional accountant and trusted advisor on board and the improvements made will more than compensate for their hiring costs.

Higher Purpose Accounting can help you in setting up your accounting system and managing your finances. Visit our website or give us a call on 0434 349 704 for more information.

The post Organise Your Small Business Finances appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

Firstly, identify what activities you will undertake and break these down into revenue earning or cost incurring ( or investment) and determine the time frames for each type.

Next, review each of these and make adjustments on a periodic basis  to measure the impact on the business.  Having a yearly budget together with a cash flow forecast, regular reviews and re-forecasts will give you a solid foundation towards financial success.

If you would like assistance with any or all of these areas, arrange a consultation with me now using the details below:
www.higherpurposeaccounting.com.au

The post Get the planning and monitoring right appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

A major factor to consider is the structure of your accounting system and how transaction information is captured.

Remember garbage in, results in garbage out. Know what it is you want to track and what are the drivers of revenue and costs.  Then set up your accounting ledger and client management system to capture this information on entry and in a categorised way.

This means the information will come out in a meaningful way when you run your reports and enable you to make useful decisions in a timely manner.

If you would like assistance with any or all of these areas, arrange a consultation with me now using the details below:
www.higherpurposeaccounting.com.au

The post Have good accounting information appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.

You need product and service goals, sales and marketing goals, financial and operational goals as well as self-development goals.

It may seem like there are a lot of things to do, but if you focus on one area at a time, after having taken a few steps, you will start to see positive results, that will in turn spur you on to achieving even more.

Remember though, if you neglect any of these areas, you run the risk of setting yourself up for failure.

If you would like assistance with any or all of these areas, arrange a consultation now using the details below:
www.higherpurposeaccounting.com.au

The post Link your vision to achievable goals appeared first on Higher Purpose Accounting.