How to Get Organized with your Bookkeeping for Small Business Australia!

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AREA:

Many Micro Business Owners work from home, if this is the case you need to set aside an area from which to operate your business. Another benefit of setting aside a designated area for your business is that you can claim a percentage of your household expenses to run your Home Office.

Once you have allocated yourself some space within your home you need to organize your paperwork. A few In Trays are all you need to keep paperwork in order.

You could use labels on your In Trays as follows:

• Unpaid Expenses
• To Be Entered
• Bank Statements
• Correspondence

Don't file paperwork away until it has been dealt with, for example don't file away an expense invoice until it has been paid and entered in your accounting software program, the bank statement until it is reconciled, or your sales invoices until they are entered. If you receive expenses via email I recommend printing them as it makes it easier to enter and you can write notes on them as to when you paid the invoice and by what payment method.

Sales invoices can be produced in your accounting software program, in which case they can be printed and filed straight away (or you can keep an electronic copy rather than printing a file copy). Most Accounting Software Programs have the ability to print to PDF files. This is a great way to keep copies of your Customer Invoices electronically.

If you work on the road and create invoices away from your office keep the invoices in your To Be Entered In Tray until you have entered in your Accounting Software program and then file. Other items that would be kept in the To Be Entered In Tray are Expense invoices that have been paid but the payment has not been entered into the Accounting Software Program as yet.

You should purchase a few stationery items such as In Trays, Files and "Paid" and "Entered" stamps to set up your work area. It will be well worth it in the long run. Stamp paperwork as "Entered" once you have recorded in your Accounting Software Program and Expense Invoices as "Paid" once you have paid them. It is also a good idea to write on the supplier invoice the date paid and by which method, for example cheque, credit card or electronic transfer.

WHAT ABOUT A FILING SYSTEM?

A Filing system can be as simple as a lever arch file including the following tabs:

• Income
• Expenses
• Bank Statements
• BAS
• Financial Reports

This is what I use for my own Bookkeeping business. Throughout the year I file all my paperwork under the relevant tab, then at the end of each financial year I simply start a new file for the next year. I find this very convenient as all the paperwork for one year is in one place and I know exactly where to find a particular document if needed.

This system is also useful as you have a complete record of all your business transactions for each year that you can forward to your Accountant at year end.

If you have too much paperwork in 12 months for a lever arch file, just use a filing cabinet with hanging files for the above categories. You can then sort the Income by customer (alphabetically) and the expenses by supplier (alphabetically) and have separate files for each of your Bank Accounts, BAS & Financial Reports.

Solo and Micro Business owners are passionate about their business, but also want to make money! Getting yourself organized is an essential step in achieving this, and can be instrumental in allowing your business to expand.  For more great bookkeeping tips and information go to http://www.beyourownbookkeeper.com/

Warmly

Robyn Howard