Whether you accepted the bookkeeping and financial roles of your business with a smile or they were dumped on you, these tasks may seem daunting (or in some cases, even haunting!). Especially if you don’t have a background in accounting or finance. The good news is that you are not alone – many others have been cast into this same role. Your key to success in managing these areas of your business lies in having a plan - a plan that will help you avoid the mistakes so many other businesses routinely make. AVOID THESE CRITICAL MISTAKES If you are the one actually doing the hands-on bookkeeping and data entry for the business, you need to get it set up correctly from the start and take the time to get trained on proper use of the software. The classic example I see frequently is a business making the decision to use an accounting package like QuickBooks, but then stumble through the setup and day-to-day use of it. Really. Bad. Idea. Believe me when I say that many business owners lose the staring contest when engaged with QuickBooks – the blank screens of QuickBooks will stare right back at you until you add information to them. And the odds are stacked against you entering the RIGHT information, no matter how "easy" the QuickBooks commercial made it sound. Besides, did you know that the QuickBooks "Easy Step Interview" actually has over 40 questions in it? Doesn't sound too easy to me! The setup of your accounting software is absolutely critical to your business success. If done wrong, you will very likely be paying your tax person much, much more than you need to at the end of the year to “clean it up”. Even worse, you won’t have solid and reliable financial information to run your business each month. Garbage in = garbage out has never been more true. Don’t have time for the setup? Hire someone that is skilled in your accounting software to do it for you. It doesn’t have to blow the budget to get this done. Remember, you’ll be paying a LOT more later if you skimp here. Same goes with getting adequate training on your accounting software package – you will want to reserve time and funds to get this done early on. You may already be saying “I don’t want to do this” – if so, see my previous article on outsourcing your bookkeeping. You won’t regret it. THERE IS STILL TIME You may be saying that the ideas above would be useful if your business was brand new, but maybe it has been going for several years or more. That’s ok too… Enlist the help of someone skilled in your accounting software to come in and assess where you are, and what things you could or should be doing better to make you even better. I do this frequently in what I call my “over the shoulder reviews”. By watching what my clients are doing and asking them “dumb questions”, we normally discover a number of ways to improve upon what they are doing AND find solutions to potentially drastic mistakes. Normally, once your accounting system is fine-tuned and optimized for your needs, it can go into what I call “maintenance mode”. A review of things on a quarterly or semi-annual basis is usually all that is needed from that point. Naturally, if there are some unusual financial issues that pop up between reviews, those can be addressed as they happen. Next time, we’ll talk about how your financial team should be structured for the optimum management of your business finances…
Article Source: http://bizymoms.com/business
Scott Gregory has been providing QuickBooks training and accounting insight to businesses like yours for over twenty-five years. His specialty is helping businesses make the right decisions when it comes to using QuickBooks accounting software and improving their profits, cash flow and overall financial management. Even better, his clients appreciate that he doesn't talk "accountant-speak" to them!