The post in which I mention bookkeeping & fun in the same sentence

Okay, so I may have a warped sense of what constitutes fun – but hear me out on this one.  If you find bookkeeping a pain in the butt and a necessary evil in order to keep the taxman happy, then take 5 minutes to read my:

6 ways to make bookkeeping fun!

1. Get creative! Jazz up your accounts files with some nice labels or replace your folders with colour co-ordinated ones.  There are some really nice colours out there now, and you can colour co-ordinate your whole office.
2. Every time you finish your bookkeeping tasks for the week, reward yourself with a little of something that puts a smile on your face. (Did somebody say chocolate?)
3. Take time out to meet other business owners and attend a bookkeeping workshop. As well as picking up some hints and getting you enthused about getting back to your bookkeeping you’ll probably get a morning or afternoon tea thrown in as well.  There are workshops that cover debt collection, payroll, tax, software, cloud computing and lots more.
4. Have your favourite music playing quietly in the background, grab a glass of wine (or maybe just half in my case or else my accounts would be a shambles) and enjoy the time to yourself.
5. Get organised. Have a spring clean of your accounts documents and files and feel good about how organised you are.  I’ll be writing more on accounts organisation a little down the track (try this post here).
6. Follow a blog that motivates you in your quest for business or career success.  A couple of goods ones are:
   http://under30ceo.com
   http://flyingsolo.com.au

If none of these ideas really appeal to you, you could always pay someone else to do it while you go out and have your kind of fun!

Some other bookkeeping posts you might like:

• The Festival Bookkeeping story
• 5 reasons using Excel may be holding your business back

How do you keep motivated to do your essential bookkeeping tasks? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy bookkeeping…

 

New Employee Checklist

A good checklist from the ATO website if you are small business owner thinking of hiring a new worker.

Takes you through all the things you need to establish upfront, for example “Is your new worker an employee or a contractor” (a hot topic with the ATO at the moment) and “What are your record-keeping requirements”.

 

Link to ATO website:  Hiring new staff

 

Other suggested blog posts:

• Thinking of hiring an employee
• Save Time & Remove Doubt with your Bookkeeping
• Payslips – 10 things that must be included

Find me on Instagram:  Festival Bookkeeping

Find me on Facebook: Festival Bookkeeping

 

Happy bookkeeping…

 

Figures & thoughts – registered charities

Have been looking over the latest figures provided by the ACNC in relation to registered charities in Australia.

•  1,045,676 employed staff
• 1,806,495 estimated volunteers
• Total income $101.9 billion

Our small charities in Australia rely more on donations and bequests, receiving 32% of their income from those sources, compared to the largest charities which receive only 2% of their income from donations and bequests. That’s a big difference.

Smaller charities are receiving 2% of their income from government grants, compared to 44% for the largest charities.

What I also thought was interesting was that the smaller charities are spending 10% of their funds on employee expenses, compared to the largest charities spending 57% on employee expenses.

What do you think of these latest figures? Do you work or volunteer for a registered charity? Do these figures surprise you?

Love to hear your thoughts.

4 common bookkeeping mistakes (re-visited)

I was reading back over my previous blog posts and thought this particular one may be helpful to the small business owners and non-profits that follow my blog. It covers some key bookkeeping concepts that can easily be overlooked and can cause some real headaches if not picked up.

Hope you can find something useful in it…

4 common bookkeeping mistakes

 

How a Business Plan Can Help You Run Your Business

Source: How a Business Plan Can Help You Run Your Business

I came across this great post from Katiesfavors. It gives a good overview of business plans and how they can be utilised by different types of organisations – including not-for-profits.

Hope you enjoy.

 

3 ways a budget can help your business

Maybe you are a small business owner or freelancer and you feel that you don’t really have control over your finances. You are just focusing on doing your thing and money is coming in and going out.

It could be that you are aware that big businesses use budgets, however you are unsure if it’s something you should be doing in your business.

Here are some reasons I think budgets could help your business.

Goal setting
We are all aware of the benefits of setting and working towards goals in our personal life.We set goals so that we don’t float aimlessly through life, so that we can stay focused and for the increased confidence and motivation that comes from achieving our goals. Think of budgets as an integral part of the goal setting process of your business.

Stay in control of expenditure
Preparing a budget makes you stop and look at where your money has gone in the past and enables you to prioritise where your hard earned money goes in the future.

Obtain finance
Show the banks that you take your finances seriously. Having a budget to present to potential lenders or investors demonstrates that you are planning for business success and that you are in control of your finances.

Budgeting can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. I do the bookkeeping for a not-for-profit organisation that has many cost centres, and the budget was a bit daunting to deal with in the beginning.  The more exposure you have to budgeting though, the easier it gets.

A good idea is to start simple and add to it as you gain confidence. The important thing is to do it in the first place and to keep doing it on a regular basis.

Do you prepare budgets for your business or in your workplace? Has the above list inspired you to look into preparing a budget for your business? Love to hear from you.

What does a Treasurer do?

So maybe you are thinking of taking on the role of Treasurer at a not-for-profit organisation. But you want to know what you are getting yourself in for first? Read on for some of the more common tasks of a Treasurer.

It is the Treasurer’s job to keep the finances of an organisation healthy – so the organisation can achieve its mission. It’s an important role and, depending on the size of the organisation, it could involve an hour every month or several hours a week.

You don’t need to have an accounting background to be a good Treasurer. An eye for detail certainly helps, together with a basic knowledge of how the organisation works and knowledge of how money flows in and out of an organisation. If you do have an accounting background, you may like to read my previous post Not-for-profits – 6 ways your bookkeeping differs from other organisations.

You will need good communication skills as you will need to attend meetings and explain financial reports to committee members who may or may not share your enthusiasm or knowledge of financial matters.

Financial Reporting
This includes recording all financial transactions of the organisation and preparing financial statements at regular intervals. It also includes budget preparation and keeping an eye on whether groups are spending within their budgets.

Larger organisations may employ a staff member to record transactions, however the Treasurer will need to keep an overall eye on the finances.

Some organisations may use computer software to record transactions & prepare financial reports, however small organisations may use spreadsheets.

Procedures
Written financial procedures need to be reviewed and updated regularly. Anyone else should be able to walk into the role and pick up where you left off. It is also provides a degree of protection for the organisation and its people.

Correct authorisation of transactions is a key issue, as well as having strong internal control procedures in place to prevent theft or fraud. You may need to assist with audits.

Fundraising
You may be asked to prepare funding proposals for grants, with the assistance of other board members.

Risk minimisation
Part of keeping an eye on the finances of the organisation is alerting board members to potential risks such as low funds or future, large expenses.

Taxes and Industry Specific Legislation
The Treasurer should educate themselves on the main legislation that applies to the particular organisation. For example in Australia this could include GST, PAYG withholding and ACNC requirements.

So that is the basics of what you may be asked to do as a Treasurer. Depending on your work background it may be quite a large learning curve for you, however don’t underestimate the satisfaction you can get from devoting your time to a worthwhile cause. It is also a great opportunity to get together with people who share your interests and passions. Don’t forget to add it to your resume and make use of the networking opportunities that being on a committee can bring.

Have you been a Treasurer before? Was it a positive experience for you – please add your comments below.

Are you a small business with employees?

The ATO has recently made some changes that might affect you.

Have you hired a new employee recently?

You’ll need to complete a Tax File Number Declaration form and send it in to the ATO within 14 days of the employee’s start date. If you are manually completing the form and posting it to the ATO, don’t forget to keep a copy for your own records and write the date posted on it, as the latest version of this form doesn’t include a copy for employers to keep. From September this year you won’t be able to get these forms from newsagencies anymore – the ATO is very much moving away from paper-based forms and encouraging business to embrace their online services.

There are benefits to lodging forms online, so don’t be afraid to look into the ATO’s Business Portal or Standard Business Reporting (SBR).

Happy bookkeeping.

Credit Applications in 5 Steps

Surely no one enjoys chasing customers that are late in paying their bills?

Don’t extend credit to your customers until you have done a background check – follow these steps and watch your cashflow improve, whilst spending less time chasing customers for payment.

1. Type up a Credit Application template for customers to complete & return.

Include spaces for:

• Customer Business Name
• ABN / ACN
• Directors/Owners Names
• How long trading?
• Preferred invoice & statement method: Email / Fax / Post.
• Preferred contact name & email address for invoices & statements.
• 3 x Trade References – Business name, email, phone number.

You may wish to include:
“By submitting this application, you authorise (insert your business name) to make inquiries into the business/trade references that you have supplied.”

Lastly, a place for their name, signature, position and date.

2. Once Credit Application completed and returned, contact all referees and ask:

• How long have they been trading with you?
• Do they pay you on time?
• What are your payment terms?
• What is their monthly spend?

3. If you are comfortable with the response from all 3 referees, go ahead and extend credit to your customer. If the customer has not been in business long consider cash on delivery terms, a low credit limit or 7 days terms until a solid relationship has been established.

4. Inform your customer in writing whether their Credit Application has been accepted, clearly outlining your payment terms.

5. Update your accounting records and file Credit Application away.

If you would like to read further tips on dealing with slow paying customers, refer to my previous post Keeping on top of customer payments. For other tips on improving cashflow, click on the link to 14 Cashflow Tips for Small Business.

Do you do use Credit Applications in your business or workplace? Is it something you can see yourself incorporating into your business procedures?