Using Facebook ads is a popular way to market your business. Being relatively new to creating paid Facebook ads, I do find that a lot of my time and energy is spent on coming up with the marketing material and then navigating my way around Facebook Ads Manager (Arghh, so many decisions. So much time spent going around in circles).
How you feel when you’ve finally finished creating your Facebook ad campaign!
And then the fee gets deducted from your bank account. If you’re a Xero user, you’ll see the charge come up automatically in your bank feed the next day and know what you’ve been charged and when. So now you need to take care of the bookkeeping side of things as well.
As an Australian business owner we know that we need copies of receipts in order to keep the tax office (and therefore our bookkeeper) happy. We do know that, right? Oh good.
So here are the steps needed to download a receipt for your Facebook ad:
Go to your business Facebook page.
Click on the Ad Centre drop-down arrow on the left side-bar
Click on ALL ADS
Click on the blue ADS MANAGER in centre of screen
Click on 3 Bars under the Home icon
Click on BILLINGS (suggest you bookmark this page for easy access)
Change the date range in the top right corner, to include the date of the receipt that you’re looking for. Click Update
Under the “Action” heading, click on the Download button next to the receipt you want
Save to an appropriate folder in your computer.
Bonus points if you attach the PDF to your transaction within Xero.
OR, alternatively, if you’re more familiar with Business Suite:
Go to your business Facebook page.
Click on BUSINESS SUITE on the left-hand side
Select ALL TOOLS
Hover over the black sidebar to the left to view all the options
Click on MORE TOOLS
Under MANAGE select BILLING (suggest you bookmark this page for easy access)
Change the date range in the top right corner, to include the date of the receipt that you’re looking for. Click Update
Under the “Action” heading, click on the Download button next to the receipt you want
Save to an appropriate folder in your computer.
Bonus points if you attach the PDF to your transaction within Xero.
If you’re unsure whether you’ve provided Facebook with your ABN, look for it in the bottom right-hand corner of your Receipt.
Happy bookkeeping….
Sarina
Festival Bookkeeping are Xero bookkeeping specialists located in Adelaide, South Australia. We have happy clients Australia-wide that are succeeding and growing in business, while we take care of the books.
About the author.
Sarina Abbott is the owner of Festival Bookkeeping. She’s a registered BAS Agent and Xero adviser who has previously worked in the legal and conveyancing industry, as well as for a registered training organisation. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her husband and 2 sons.
You can find out more about Festival Bookkeeping here.
You lean over and turn off your computer after a full day of work. You feel relieved that another day is done. Your mind turns to what you’re going to have for tea and whether you’re going to need anything from the supermarket. Then out of the corner of your eye you spot a couple of receipts partly folded and starting to fade that are placed precariously on top of a pile of other papers. Sigh….you still haven’t done your bookkeeping. Another day has gone and you didn’t get around to it like you promised yourself you would. Again.
If you don’t run your own small business, this scenario might seem a little trivial. It’s just entering a few dates, names and numbers, right?
Well I’ve lost track of the number of small business owners that have confided in me how bad they feel about being behind in their bookkeeping and how much it’s affecting their personal life and business life.
This is what I hear a lot:
“My partner is getting frustrated with me because I don’t know my figures” “My tax return is overdue and I’m sure I’m going to get a big fine that I can’t afford” “I’m sure I will need to register for GST soon, but I don’t know what my income is. It’s really worrying me because I know I have to do something about it soon” “My business coach keeps asking for my figures – but I don’t know them”
Now you would think I’m going to tell you that you should outsource to a bookkeeper or buy this new, beaut software. But that’s not what this post is about. This post is to genuinely share methods that small business owners can use themselves, in order to gain the motivation to get their bookkeeping done. These methods are what I use myself when motivation is low, or overwhelm is high. They are not expensive or difficult and I’m sure that if you use even a couple of these methods, you will get your bookkeeping done or at the very least make great progress.
1. Use a timer
This can be an online timer, your watch, or even try an old-school method. Set the timer for a short period of time – 40 minutes is fine. Commit to 40 minutes of bookkeeping only. Smash it out and feel great about the progress you just made. Maybe that’s enough – you’ve achieved what you set out to do. Turn off your computer and forget about it for today. Now maybe the time went quickly for you and you feel you’ve got another 40 minutes in you. You’re on a roll. Go off and step out into the sunshine for 5 minutes or make a cup of coffee to reward yourself. Go back to your computer, set the timer for another 40 minutes and smash out another 40 minutes of bookkeeping.
2. Work somewhere different
If you’ve got a laptop, move it out of the office to the dining room table. Or move it from the dining room table to the bedroom. Personally I would have difficulty working outside, but if that works for you, then go for it. Go to the library (I get phenominal amounts of work done when I work from the library – however it’s usually business development work and not accounting, as I don’t want to risk others accessing my accounting information because I’m using a public internet connection). Go to your parent’s house. Book a once-off day to work from a co-working space. Just change up where you’re working from, because sometimes just the thought of sitting down at that same spot that you’ve already spent hours at can be depressing.
3. Treat yourself
Buy snacks for yourself that you wouldn’t normally buy – specifically for bookkeeping. Treat yourself with something nice, so that sitting down to do your bookkeeping is a positive experience.
4. Do smaller amounts often
Now you might not realise that this is one of the reasons you put off your bookkeeping. But if you’re only logging into your software or opening up your spreadsheet every few months (or even longer), then you’re probably forgetting how to do a lot of it. Decision fatigue is a thing! If you have to keep stopping and deciding what to do next, or are trying to remember how you did something last time, then you’re wearing yourself out without even realising it. By doing it more regularly, everything will stay fresh in your mind.
5. Eat the ugliest frog first
This has been one of my most helpful business mantras since I discovered it about 5 years ago. If I’ve lost you here, check out Brian Tracy. I’m thinking bookkeeping might be your Ugliest Frog. So eat it first!! Practise a bit of tough love on yourself and do your bookkeeping before you do anything else that day. You can even try getting up 40 minutes earlier, for the sole purpose of getting bookkeeping done. The rest of the day will feel SO good for you that the decision to then get up and do the same thing the next day will be even easier. Your day will flow a lot better and you’ll become much more productive in general. You can use this concept for anything in your personal or business life.
6. Listen to music
This seems a bit obvious, but how often do you actually make the effort to put on music while you work at your computer? Or if you are doing your bookkeeping first thing in the morning, have music on while you’re in the shower before you start. Similar to the special snacks you treat yourself with, you will start to look forward to doing your bookkeeping because you’ve made a fun ritual for yourself.
7. Start tracking your monthly income
This doesn’t need to be fancy. Start writing down your total sales each month. Each time you get another month’s bookkeeping done, record somewhere separately what that monthly sales were. Some months it may be less than the month before – that’s okay. You just motivated yourself to kick butt that bit more in the next 4 weeks. Some months it will be more than the month before – congratulations! Something you’re doing is working – the proof is in the numbers. It’s quite addictive once you start tracking your numbers – you will find yourself automatically motivated to get your bookkeeping done.
8. Just turn on the computer
In my early 30’s I used to run a lot. There’s a trick with runners to keep motivation up – they say just to “put on your sneakers”. It really works. Once those runners are on, it’s that much more easier to just step out the door and do your run. Do this trick with your computer. Get up and turn it on! Before you get dressed. Before you make your coffee. Before you check your phone. When I have a particularly overwhelming and large client job to do, this (oh so easy) tip works every time.
9. Positive mindset
I know it’s easy to get into the mindset that bookkeeping is boring. Bookkeeping is pointless. Bookkeeping is hard. Or thinking “numbers aren’t my thing”. Well I challenge that mindset. You’re not going to love everything in business – if it was easy, then everyone would be doing it and doing it successfully, right? Having a positive mindset helps in all areas of your business and personal life. You can choose to keep thinking bookkeeping is horrible – and continue to avoid doing it – and continue to beat yourself up over not doing it. Or you can choose to re-frame your thinking around it.
For example:
I can’t wait to get that 40 minutes of bookkeeping done, because then I’ll be on track to get my tax return done early this year. Gee that’s going to feel good.
I feel like my sales are up this month – I can’t wait to check my income spreadsheet to see if I hit $5,000 in sales finally.
Woo hoo – another month’s bookkeeping done. Time to hit the pub.
Okay – so these might seem a bit corny, but you see what I mean. Your bookkeeping is what you tell yourself it is. You get to choose your attitude.
Why would a bookkeeper share these tips?
I don’t mind sharing these tips with small business owners. There will always be business owners that don’t want to outsource their bookkeeping. There will always a point in time when it makes sense for a small business owner to do their own bookkeeping. When it’s time to outsource – it’s time to outsource. The cons of doing it yourself will outweigh the pros and you will (probably with relief I’m thinking) hand it over to a professional bookkeeper.
In the meantime, I just know there’s a tip or 2 above that you can implement straight away. My wish for you is that you no longer feel bad about being behind in your bookkeeping and get to experience that feeling of relief that comes with being up to date very soon!
Happy bookkeeping….
Sarina
About the author.
Sarina Abbott is the owner of Festival Bookkeeping. She’s a registered BAS Agent and Xero adviser who has previously worked in the legal and conveyancing industry, as well as for registered training organisations. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her husband, 2 sons, a dog and a rabbit.
You can find out more about Festival Bookkeeping here.
My favourite thing about Flow is that it doesn’t mess around. No need for studying accounting books or endlessly Googling how to read your financial reports.
It’s a daily cash management tool for small business. It pulls your hidden, critical information out of your accounting software and brings it right out into the light of day.
It’s great if you’re feeling overwhelm and just need the simple facts so you can get stuck in.
From the Futrli website, some of the ways Flow can help the small business owner:
Quickly identifies hidden poor payers
Calculates the right time to pay bills
Helps you understand how to make the right decisions to keep more of your cash in your account
An example of how Flow communicates with you:
And this:
Once you connect Flow to Xero they sync on average every 12 hours – giving you up to date information to work with. Because your software is integrated, as you’re scrolling through your posts in Flow, you can click on those posts and you’ll be taken over to Xero to look at the actual Invoices and Bills that Flow is referring to (with the Pro version).
I recommend pinning posts in Flow so that you can go straight to the information that’s important to you if you are short on time.
Soon Flow will also integrate with Slack and Gmail.
Getting on top of your debtors and creditors is one of the easiest ways to improve cashflow. I think we tend to just accept things how they are though and honestly we don’t realise how much of a difference working on these key areas of our business can help turn our business around. Whether it’s in a time of urgent need to stay afloat (like a lot of small businesses are experiencing right now) or during those times when our business is looking strong and we’re wanting to spend some money and take it up a level.
Flow is very easy on the budget and easy to use. There’s a free version with the basics and the Pro version with some nice extra features that are worth the small monthly subscription.
Happy bookkeeping…
Sarina
Interested in more great software that integrates with Xero? Try reading:
I get that bookkeeping can be a bit of a hassle or (dare I say it) boring for some small business owners. Your focus is on doing a great job for your clients and being able to pay your bills. So with that in mind I’ve chosen 3 of my favourite bookkeeping tips to make life that little bit easier for the tradies out there.
1. Separate personal banking from business banking
Many business owners start out by using their personal bank account for business purposes. And if you’re a sole trader the Australian Taxation Office doesn’t have a problem with this. However, I still advise people to separate the two as soon as possible. Why? Well firstly getting your paperwork ready for tax time will take longer if you don’t (and ideally you want the process of getting ready for tax time to be as streamlined and pain-free as possible). Secondly, it makes it much more difficult to know how much money you have personally pumped into the business to get it off the ground and to know how much you have taken out for personal expenses.
2. Keep all receipts
There may be some tax deductions you aren’t aware of – and no-one expects you to know them all. For example, if you’re outdoors a lot as part of running your business the cost of purchasing sunglasses and sunblock may be a tax deduction. If you’re not sure, keep your receipt anyway and run it past your accountant before tax time. Storing your receipts electronically is a great way to go as well. There are also some great apps that can help you with storing receipts and reducing data entry time – be sure to check out Hubdoc and Receipt Bank.
3. Invoice promptly
If you have time after completing a job can you invoice whilst there or straight after? Using mobile software is ideal because you can log in anytime, get your invoice prepared and emailed through then and there. Lack of cashflow is one of the main reasons small businesses don’t survive. So the faster and more regularly you can get that cash coming in, the more likely you are to have money to cover your bills when they become due (and the less reliant you will be on expensive loans and credit cards). Rather than let your invoicing build up into a big job that you dread doing, doing little bits more often means less stress and better cashflow. If you’re having trouble with clients paying you on time, I prepared this infographic: Top 6 Tips – Keeping on Top of Customer Payments
If you’re looking for easy to use accounting software, Xero is popular with tradies and you can try a free 30 day trial here. It works well with the above 2 mentioned receipt apps Receipt Bank and Hub Doc as well.
I’m always on the lookout for ways small business owners can increase their profits or remove stress. It doesn’t have to be ground-breaking – big or small it all adds up. As Gary Vaynerchuk says “1 is greater than 0”. I love that saying by the way…. when you feel like what you’re doing isn’t enough or your business isn’t where you want it to be, it gives you reassurance to keep going.
So here are my 3 money tips for salon owners.
Gift certificates
Do you track the gift certificates you give out? Not tracking them leaves you open to fraud. Tracking them gives you an opportunity to help your clients out if they lose a voucher – you can easily confirm the date, amount and client name.
You can manually track them by giving each one a unique number and noting the number and details in a notebook or spreadsheet. Even better, track them in your salon software. Using your software makes it easy to find valuable information – such as which services are most commonly purchased using gift vouchers.
Discounts
If you give discounts, do you know how much they’re costing your salon? Do you have guidelines for yourself and your staff as to how much is acceptable or is it dependant on how generous you’re feeling that day? You might think you’re only missing out on a couple of hundred dollars a year, but in reality it could be a lot more. If you do your usual amazing job with these clients, do you think they would mind if you stopped giving discounts? Start keeping track for a set period of time – say 3 months. Times this figure by 4 to see how much you could be out of pocket over the course of a year. Could this money be better spent on marketing to bring new clients in the door or on training a staff member up in a new service offering?
Online bookings
Let clients make their own bookings using online scheduling software, so that you and your staff spend less time running back and forth to the phone. A common way to manage online bookings is to have your calendar linked to a booking button on your website or business Facebook page. I interviewed salon owner Silvana of Silvana’s Beauty Salon recently – she uses Timely appointment scheduling software. Using this software for her online bookings has resulted in an increase in business. It’s a win-win situation for both her and her clients. Businesses that aren’t embracing automation risk being left behind and are missing out on opportunities to save time and money. You can read the interview here: Timely Software – A Salon Owner’s Perspective
One of my favourite business books is called The Naked Salon by Lisa Conway. Salon owners – if you have a chance to get your hands on a copy, you won’t regret it – whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years.
For more information on Timely online appointment scheduling software, you can find their website here. The website also has a great blog with salon owner interviews, tips and industry news.
Well I certainly had some ups and downs in 2017 and I thought now would be a great time to look back and reflect on the year that was. Mainly business-related but a little bit personal too.
The Ups
Business contacts – I made some amazing business contacts and became more comfortable with being put on the spot and talking about my business. Although I’m used to standing in front of a room full of students, having to promote your business in front of other business owners takes a bit of getting used to.
Out of my comfort zone – I tried some new activities with family this past year that were so much fun and I’m glad I did them. I’m not a spontaneous person, but I’m not afraid to try new things either. Age is just a number right?
Business growth – December 2017 was my best month income-wise since I started Festival Bookkeeping in September 2015.
Business coaching – I signed up with a great business coach who gets as excited about my business as I do! Her network of business owners has also been invaluable in the growth of my business.
Collaborations – local and overseas. In 2017 I had the chance to work on projects with business owners locally. I also had the Head of Marketing at a New Zealand software company contact me personally about a blog post I did. Exciting to see what new projects will come about in 2018. Technology and collaboration will be 2 focuses for me in 2018.
New working space – My hubby made me a beautiful built-in desk which has been fundamental in keeping a clear work-space (and head-space) to while away the working hours.
Xero – Towards the end of the year I received the good news that I’d achieved bronze level partner status. This came from a year of focusing my time and energy on marketing the Xero side of my bookkeeping business, as well as going the extra mile for my existing bookkeeping clients.
Bookkeeping blog award – Also later in the year, Feedspot.com featured me as one of their “Top 40 Bookkeeping Blogs” on the internet. My blog was up there with some popular bookkeeping blogs that I’d been reading over the years, so this was pretty exciting.
Blog growth – My blog “The Savvy Bookkeeping Blog” had 2,762 views. Wow! I had readers from 66 countries reading my posts – from Iceland to Argentina and everywhere in between.
The Downs
Burglary – Our house was broken into and it hit our family pretty hard. It took a lot of time and effort to get back to where we were with missing items and the injustice of people taking things they hadn’t earned. Things they hadn’t been gifted by loved ones. We tried not to dwell on it and to not let our kids dwell on it too much either. As a result we’ve changed the way we think about security. You can read more about it, from a business owner’s perspective, here.
Pricing – One of my goals slipped by the wayside last year (although to be fair I hadn’t started working on it until later in the year). Talking with another bookkeeper and with my business coach has been invaluable in the progress I’ve made so far. (Tip for other small business owners – don’t be afraid to reach out to others that you trust in your industry when it comes to pricing advice). I’m determined to tick this goal off my list early in 2018. No excuses.
Distractions – I have too many ideas for my business and the past year I think I could have focused a little better. Too many directions I want to move in and things I want to accomplish. I’m sure I’m not the only business owner who suffers from this though. I think it’s part of the reason we start businesses, because we want to get our ideas out there and create businesses we really love and can be proud of.
Friends and family – Unfortunately I felt that I lost contact with some friends and family in 2017. It’s easy to use working on your business as an excuse not to make the effort to see people. Deep down I’m not a “hustle at all costs” type of person, so I’m determined to do better in 2018.
A Down that turned out to be an Up
Part-time employment – My part-time bookkeeping work ended halfway through 2017 which at the time I saw as a “down” but really turned out to be an “up”. Maybe it’s a coincidence that I got new clients not long after my employment ended – maybe those extra free days in my calendar gave me the motivation to work harder and put myself out there a bit more.
So that’s it. Probably a little more personal that my usual blog posts, but it’s been a great exercise to look back over the past year and to clarify my goals for the year ahead.
With only a week to go until Christmas many small business owners are desperately trying to keep everything together and make it through this busy time of year. It’s not just running a business, it’s also end of school functions, sport functions, work functions, organising pets and holidays, organising food and getting the present shopping done.
If you have employees then you can also throw payroll issues into the mix as well. The Christmas period brings with it a few extra challenges to face as an employer, so I’ve prepared these 5 tips to help you through so you’ve still got some wind left in your sails to enjoy the silly season. These tips apply to Australian readers, but will give other readers some ideas as to what they need to look out for as well.
1. Christmas bonuses and super
Bonuses are considered Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) and must therefore be included in your calculation of the super guarantee for your employees. More info on bonuses here.
2. Asking employees to take Annual leave
This is really interesting and can be a bit of a touchy topic for employers and employees. When I was an employed bookkeeper I was asked to use up some of my annual leave – not just over the Christmas break but when I had a bit accumulated during the year. An employer can only direct an employee to use up their annual leave in some situations. There is often an amount of notice you must give your employees as well. You need to check the relevant Award or Registered Agreement to see under what circumstances you’re allowed to direct your staff to take annual leave.
2. Rest breaks
Many businesses are busy this time of year, however there is a maximum amount of hours you can make your employees work without a break. Check the Award or registered agreement that your employees come under. For example, the Clerks Private Sector Award 2010 stipulates (at the time of writing) that employees who work for 5 hours or more must get at least 1 meal break. More info on Awards and break entitlements here.
4. Casual vs part-time vs fixed term
There are differences between casual employees, part-time employees and fixed term employees – and yes, the onus is on the employer to ensure they have categorised the employee correctly and have given them the appropriate entitlements. You may hire someone on a casual basis over the Christmas break but the actual working conditions may change over time and their entitlements should be reviewed accordingly.
5. Christmas parties
Ahhh … Christmas parties. What to claim and what not to claim? There are rules around when you can claim a tax deduction, when you can claim GST credits and what you need to pay fringe benefits tax on. First you need to determine if the food and drink you’re providing is considered “entertainment” in the eyes of the ATO. You need to look at why the food and drink is being provided, what type, when it’s being provided and where (on or off business premises). You can find the ATO’s rules regarding providing entertainment and the associated taxes here. There are some helpful scenarios that walk you through the process of deciding what to claim.
So this is a subject that I feel strongly about. Something I’ve had the misfortune of experiencing recently.
I have a couple of questions worth thinking about.
If your laptop was stolen, what would be the impact on your clients? What would be the impact on you personally and your business?
Would you lose all your marketing materials, invoices, expensive promotional photos, business plans, written procedures, client testimonials, eBooks, training materials?
Would your client’s confidential information be released out into the big wide world? What would your client’s reaction be? Would your business even recover from that?
Would you lose personal photos that you never got around to printing?
If your laptop gets stolen you don’t, unfortunately, get to choose the day it’s going to happen. You don’t get to say “well I think my laptop might disappear into the hands of strangers tomorrow so tonight I’ll run a backup”.
Backing-up data daily has been a part of my routine from day 1 of working for a hire company here in Adelaide many years ago. They ran a tight ship and I’m glad for that great foundation right from the beginning.
Things to do today:
Buy a couple of USB’s. Label them. Make a copy of everything on your laptop regularly. Put the USB’s somewhere safe (taking a copy off-site means you still have a copy if you get fire or water damage in your office).
Consider backing up to the cloud as well.
Run a search in File Explorer for “password”. Have you got documents that contain passwords for you or your clients? Change the word “password” to something else.
It goes without saying you shouldn’t have a document actually called “passwords’!
Log into all your websites that require a password. So emails, accounting software, online banking etc. Ensure that none of the passwords are stored. I know it’s a right pain having to remember every different password (but I still hope you’re not using one password for everything, right?).
Set up a password for initial access to your iPad and laptop, so that it’s difficult to even get past that first login screen.
Lock-up filing cabinets and paper shredders are a must if you have confidential client information in your office.
If you’re like me you may be security conscious when going away for the weekend and you probably also make sure you don’t leave technology in the car when you run into the shops, but what I didn’t realise was just how common home and office break-ins are during broad daylight. School pick-up time is a common one! Not a nice experience for anyone.
Please back-up, lock-up and password protect.
Happy bookkeeping…
Sarina
P.S. I often share small business tips on Facebook and Instagram – just search for Festival Bookkeeping. Look forward to seeing you there.
You don’t have to spend hours learning something new in order to make the most of technology. In this video I’m sharing 10 really easy ways that you can take advantage of technology (with the minimum of time investment). These tips will reduce hours spent on admin and take your professionalism up a notch.
This is a great question! The answer depends on your individual circumstances.
If you can relate to one or more of these scenarios it may be time to consider hiring a bookkeeper:
Your business is growing and you’re at the point where you simply can’t do it all yourself. Your health and/or personal relationships are starting to suffer.
You’re making mistakes with your figures (due to rushing, lack of training or simply getting numbers the wrong way around). You’re finding that the stress and time taken to find mistakes and correct them is not worth it anymore.
You find it stressful keeping up with tax office obligations and deadlines
You want to focus on the income-producing activities of your business, such as producing your products or services and generating new leads
You’re happy to do the ongoing bookkeeping but need a hand getting started or when doing something new for the first time
You’re behind in your bookkeeping and need your books up to date for the end of financial year or BAS lodgement time
These are all common indicators that it may be time for you to find yourself a good bookkeeper.
Where should you look for a new bookkeeper? Either use someone that you have personally met and who you feel has your business’ best interests at heart, or you can talk to your accountant and other business owners for their recommendations. Find out what education and experience they have. In Australia, they must be a registered BAS Agent in order to charge you a fee for BAS related services.
The 3 main advantages to engaging the services of a professional contract bookkeeper as opposed to hiring an in-house bookkeeper are:
No need to pay superannuation, holiday pay, sick pay, holiday leave loading or WorkCover.
No need to provide extra desk space and equipment or to be tied to the office waiting for them to finish their work – many bookkeepers will do your bookkeeping off-site.
They are business owners like you – they know the ups and downs and how the small business world works.
Collaborations – local and overseas. In 2017 I had the chance to work on projects with business owners locally. I also had the Head of Marketing at a New Zealand software company contact me personally about a blog post I did. Exciting to see what new projects will come about in 2018. Technology and collaboration will be 2 focuses for me in 2018.
The savvy bookkeeping blog 