How to schedule yourself to do your own Bookkeeping regularly

How do you schedule your own bookkeeping regularly when you are a small business and cannot justify paying a BAS Agent to do it for you?

If you are turning under $75,000 gross, gst registration is not required. As such, I will often encourage business owners when they first start out and not required to register for gst to do their own bookkeeping. My reasons for this might not be the one you expect.

How to schedule your own bookkeeping on a regular basis from Amanda Hoffmann on Vimeo.

Understanding Income vs Expense

There is much to learn all at once when you start your own business, registrations, trade marks, advertising / marketing / social media, building a customer base and developing your skills.

Taking off the employee mindset and replacing it with that of a business owner is not something you can do overnight, in a week or even a matter of months for many. It’s a process of learning to adapt from a team player and evolve into a leader. One that takes responsibility for your own success or failure, as their is no team leader of middle management to blame.

When you have to enter your own expenses, as you divide what you spend into various areas you will gain an insight to how you are spending your money verse what you are actually earning.

Cash flow takes on a whole new meaning and becomes a living breathing thing when you have to balance them in your accounting software.

If you are spending more than you earn, you don’t eat, pay rent or survive for very long.

Keeping up to date bookkeeping records is essential in growing your business and increasing your profits.

How do I keep on top of my bookkeeping?

You schedule it in, like you would a customer into your weekly diary with a no excuses clause.

This means setting a day / time each and every week that you commit to entering expenses, checking customer payments and ensuring the bank balance on your accounting software equals your online bank account balance.

Alternatively, if you are more technology savvy, you might opt to have an online accounting program like Xero, Myob or Quickbooks online and have your accountant or bookkeeper set it up for you. Throughout the week, using your phone app, you type up invoices and email them to your clients while on the fly. If you use Xero or Quickbooks, you can also take a photo using their phone apps of an expense straight after you spend it and update it there and then on my phone.

Whatever method you use, there is a process you can follow to make regular bookkeeping a easy habit.

Small Business Basic Bookkeeping Schedule

There are tasks you can do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis that will take the stress out of End of the Financial Year. What are they?

Daily Tasks

• Check your bank or credit card balance
• Check which of your clients have paid, and who has not
• Check to confirm when bills / expenses are due to be paid

Weekly Tasks

• Complete all your invoicing that you have missed through the week
• Record customer payments
• Check your inventory / stock levels
• Process your payroll
• Pay all your bills

Monthly Tasks

• Grab your end of the month bank statement and ensure that your software program’s bank balance matches the physical bank statement
• Review invoices due and remind late payers either with a phone call or email
• Check your inventory / stock
• Process your payroll, superannuation and/or tax obligations
• Compare your Profit and Loss report against your previous year’s (if in business longer than a year)
• Review your budget forecast – or you on track?

Quarterly Tasks

• Process your Business Activity Report (Australia)
• Process and pay your superannuation obligations
• Pay your quarterly tax obligations

These are some of the more common duties that need to be completed for most small businesses. If you discipline yourself to do bookkeeping regularly, not only will you gain valuable insight, you will also be able to plan ahead. Success is not given to us, it has to be worked for. Work toward your own business success by keeping up to date bookkeeping records.

Have more questions?

If you have any more questions, please feel welcome to contact Amanda on via the comments below, or like her business Facebook page and connect with her there!

Amanda Hoffmann

Amanda Hoffmann is a registered Tax Practitioner / BAS Agent No.18613005, Associate of Finance, Xero, Myob & Quickbooks Proadvisor / Trainer and a Consultant for the Australian Taxation Office.

She says she is more than just a bookkeeper with experience in real estate investing, social media, podcasting, blogging and recently recording monthly youtube episodes

Amanda loves to teach smart, easy online cloud solutions and fix messy bookkeeping. Follow her on social media and say “Hi”