Accounting is one the most commonly outsourced competencies in small business. Busy entrepreneurs either don’t want to spend the time or aren’t confident in handling the books and decide it is easier to have an in-house bookkeeper or professional accountant in charge. It is also very common for these same entrepreneurs to pay dearly for that decision.
Accounting is the function that records the financial history of the business. Managed correctly, it provides an accurate record of money in and money out, such that it is easy to identify many internal problems through the financial reports produced by these records. Managed incorrectly, it is a waste of time, a misleading mess of false information, and potentially the difference between the ultimate success or failure of the organization.
Like any other profession, there are certainly tricks of the accounting trade that are best managed by, well, the professionals. But the fundamentals of accounting should be familiar to every entrepreneur. The way your books are set up and the accounts that are used to track income and expenses should be well known to the business owner, such that you could take over the tasks if necessary (or at least train a new bookkeeper).
The position of bookkeeper in a small business is the number one opportunity for don’t assume that just because your bookkeeper is “like family” that they won’t rip you off. It happens all the time. There are a million reasons that people skim cash from their workplace, and not all of those folks are hardened criminals. The best way to avoid any potential of employees or contractors stealing from you is to understand what is going on with your accounting system. Embezzlement is far easier for an employee or outsource professional who holds all the ‘t let someone else set up and manage your books on their own. At an absolute minimum, sit side-by-side with your bookkeeper or accountant while the accounts are established and make sure you absolutely understand every line.
In addition, accounting must be completely accurate to be useful. In many cases, business owners rely on periodic financial reports from the bookkeeper to assess the health of the venture. However, if the books are not kept correctly (all entries correctly assigned to appropriate categories, entries checked for accuracy), the reports are completely useless. And, should you need to secure second round financing, you could spend up to thousands of dollars to hire an accountant to clean up the books before a bank will even talk to you.
There are all kinds of horror stories that start with the business owner relinquishing all responsibility for their own accounting system. Embezzlement is a common one, as are tax problems and employee issues. One business owner in Chicago learned the hard way not to trust others with every detail of his accounting system. After 13 years in business, his home theater installation venture was growing at a steady pace. When the recession hit, the owner reviewed his financial statements …
Starting a business is an invigorating experience. Taking a new idea and converting it into viable business proposition is exciting as well as demanding. Working out a marketing strategy and selling to the first potential customers contains enough highs and lows to fill your experience bank for a decade. If it wasn’t exciting and challenging we wouldn’t be doing it would we? And especially in the early days when we’re often working long hours for next to nothing.
Probably the only thought we give to money at first is the amount we hope to make! Yet it’s that lack of attention to the detail of the business finances that trips up so many entrepreneurs. If money isn’t controlled, measured and accounted for accurately then even – maybe especially – growing businesses hit the cash flow buffers long before they reach the point of being profitable. So, if you don’t take care over the boring financials and find a good accountant to help you, then your dreams may end up accounting (pun intended) for nothing.
So make sure you think about how to keep your financial records before you start. Ask for advice and set up a system that works in your business, both to enable the VAT returns and annual accounts to be prepared as well as to ensure you can keep a check on the numbers – who owes you money, who needs paying and how much profit you are making. It’s almost always a mistake to leave this until the business has been trading for a while. We are talking about ensuring that crucial information is regularly available so why not have it from the start, particularly as it will cost you more to sort out the mess later on.
If the business is small and likely to remain so then you may be able to run it on a spreadsheet. But beware of just creating one yourself. Any accountant will tell you horror stories of spreadsheets that have been deeply flawed and often dangerously so. If you are going to use a spreadsheet then make sure it has been thoroughly tested and accurate in what it reports. If it’s just a list of entries with no categorization then it will be of limited or no value.
Accounting packages come in all sizes and cost but they all tend to do the same thing. In the end they have to be easy to use (or you won’t) and easily readable by whoever is completing your accounts. Make sure you test it properly before you purchase and get a professional viewpoint on its suitability for your business. There are plenty of good online packages too which are worth checking out.
Good, professional tax and accounting advice at the start of the business ought to be able to save you money initially and set you on the right course with effective systems to provide you with the information you need to know exactly where your business is and to plan …
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