Bookkeeping for business doesn’t take a math genius to perform and shouldn’t scare you. If you have the basic skills learned in school added with a course specially designed for bookkeeping mastery, you can do it! Here are five facts we thought you should know about bookkeeping.
1. It’s Easier Than You Think
Did you know bookkeeping is as simple as doing general math involving mostly addition, subtraction, and division? You shouldn’t steer yourself from learning good bookkeeping skills just because it involves math and business. There is definitely a level of confidence needed to handle financial matters and studiousness to get the numbers right, but with the right courses, you can become a master at it!
2. Bookkeeping and Accounting Are Not The Same
It’s important to recognize the difference between bookkeeping and accounting. Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Accounting is being able to interpret, analyze, classify, report on and summarize financial information. To Keep business effectively up to speed and always ready for potential financial situations requiring the review of financial records, both are necessary to perform.
3. Pay Taxes On Time With Proper Bookkeeping
Simply put, the better organized your finances are, the easier it will be for you to file taxes in a timely manner. Businesses are required to file taxes pertinent to the deadlines for your business structure as listed by the IRS. If you don’t have the information you need completed by that time, it causes you to be rushed, make mistakes, or even have to file for an extension of time, which isn’t necessary if you keep up to date as you go.
4. It’s Important to Stay Consistent
Staying consistent in the organization and logging of financial transactions will make it easier for you to know your limits, spending habits, areas for improvement, filing taxes, or preparing audits. Set aside time on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis for reporting to ensure those involved with your business are up to speed on the financial situation your business is in.
5. You’ve Got Options
With technology becoming more advanced by the days, options for bookkeeping have opened up. You no longer have to only write everything down, though it’s still a good practice to be in the habit of doing. You can now rather input your financial information, transactions, and even create automated reporting to send out through applications such as the ever-popular Quickbooks. Allow yourself to stay up to date on the new technologies, applications and resources available to you for bookkeeping.
