4 must-know bookkeeping tips from our Melbourne bookkeepers

As Melbourne bookkeepers, It’s important to us that our clients have all the tools at their disposal to stay on top of their bookkeeping.

We get it: bookkeeping can be challenging, especially if you don’t have a brain for maths (nor the time!)

Luckily, you don’t need to be a maths-whiz to do your own bookkeeping anymore – if you follow these four tips from our Melbourne bookkeepers, you can make your bookkeeping considerably easier than before.

You don’t even need to make any drastic changes to your business, either – many of these tips only require a simple change in habits.

So, how can you make your bookkeeping easier? Our bookkeepers explain…

1) Use the right bookkeeping software

Honestly, you’d be surprised by the number of small business owners out there who don’t use a bookkeeping software.

It’s 2019 – so why are you still doing your bookkeeping manually?

Save some paper and get rid of those old, hard-copy bookkeeping methods!

There are so many pieces of bookkeeping software out there that will make your bookkeeping much easier.

Our bookkeepers in Melbourne get a lot of questions about bookkeeping software. But we also understand that some software is more suited to your business than another. So we’ll look at your type of business and the services it requires, first.

From there, we’ll look at each piece of software and recommend the one best suited to you and your needs. This happens on a case-by-case basis, so you know you’re getting the riht software for your business bookkeeping! 

Our three favourite cloud bookkeeping programs are: 

Xero

Xero bookkeeping is perfect for small businesses as it’s highly automated.

By integrating with your bank accounts, CRM, inventory software and more, Xero does all of the work for you so that you can focus on what’s most important – your business. 

Additionally, Xero comes with a wide range of add-ons and plugins that allow you to add even more functionality to your bookkeeping.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a powerful and popular cloud-based bookkeeping service.

What makes it so popular? There are a couple of reasons.

For starters, QuickBooks comes with support for e-commerce businesses out of the box – no need for add-ons or extra plugins here.

What’s more, QuickBooks also comes with advanced features, such as time-tracking software that automates pay sheets, as well as in-depth mileage tracking that use GPS to calculate petrol consumption.

Interested in getting set up? Our QuickBooks bookkeepers are ready to help you make the transition!

MYOB

MYOB is the “old veteran” of the cloud bookkeeping scene. Just because it’s old however, doesn’t mean that it’s been left behind by new entrants!

As one of the most established bookkeeping packages around, MYOB comes with a wealth of resources, as well as a dedicated support phone line.

Combined with MYOB’s new cloud bookkeeping functionality, and MYOB remains a solid choice for your business.

As a MYOB partner, our Melbourne bookkeepers have to meet rigorous criteria – take it from us, quality service is important to MYOB!

2) Track your receivables

Okay, so you’ve talked to your Melbourne bookkeepers and transitioned your bookkeeping to your brand new cloud software.

However, that isn’t the only thing you can do to improve your bookkeeping!

One of the most important parts of bookkeeping is keeping on top of your receivables – in particular:

• Who’s paying you? 
• Who’s late? 
• Who’s partially paid?

In our experience, many financial troubles are the result of business owners who fail to keep up with their receivables. This affects cash flow, which in turn can create difficulty paying staff and overheads.

A bookkeeping program like the ones we mentioned above will help you keep up with money coming in.

Even then however, we strongly suggest keeping a logbook or journal with all the money that’s owed to you, as well as due dates and contact details of debtors.

It’s a simple habit to get into – however, it’s one that can potentially save you a lot of strife!

3) Keep all of your receipts

We cannot stress this enough – you need to hang onto your receipts.

And we don’t just mean keep them, either – ideally, you’ll organise and categorise your receipts while you’re at it.

When it comes to tax time, you may not receive all the deductions you’re eligible to claim something if you don’t have your receipts to back it up.

Receipts are the proof that you purchased it – it’s why they’re given out in the first place!

We know it’s hard to keep track of all those receipts –  sometimes you end up storing them in five different places and you can never find them all.

On idea is to keep them all in a folder, with separate sheets categorised the type of purchase or value.

Another good idea is to make the switch to a digital bookkeeping app like Expensify. 

This app will help you keep track of all your expenses – digitally! 

Using Expensify, you can digitise your receipts so you never lose them. When you take a photo with Expensify, you aren’t just taking a photo – the app also reads and records data, which it uses to generate reports.

It’s the perfect solution to the receipt problem!

4) Hire our Melbourne bookkeepers to help out

Don’t have an aptitude for maths? Are your records and receipts disorganised and confusing?

Simply have too many things that need your attention? Is bookkeeping slipping to the bottom of your to-do list all too frequently?

Our team at Maximum Business Solutions are passionate about bookkeeping – what’s more, we’re also passionate about helping small business owners just like you keep on top of your bookkeeping obligations.

If you need somebody to solve your bookkeeping headaches, our Melbourne bookkeepers are the team to call.

We provide a range of services to our customers:

• Setting up employees
• Calculating cash flow
• Managing payroll and superannuation
• Calculating annual and long service leave
• Banking and credit cards
• Bank reconciliations
• Receipts and invoices
• Reporting

And if you’re keen to do your own bookkeeping, we can help out there as well.

Need help transitioning to cloud bookkeeping? Lucky for you, that’s our specialty at Maximum Business Solutions. Talk to us about getting set up with MYOB, Quickbooks or Xero. 

Contact our bookkeepers in Melbourne today – click here to leave a message, or give us a ring on (03) 9589 0128.

We’d love to organise an obligation-free chat over a coffee to find out more about you, your business, and its bookkeeping needs.