Find a Professional Online Bookkeeper
We can help with the following:
- Finding Experienced Bookkeepers
- Track Your Cashflow
- Compliance and Business Benefits
- Unbiased, Independent Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the process of recording your business accounts and transactions, making a note of all of the costs you have incurred.
To be more precise, any transaction which falls under assets, liabilities, equities, revenue, expenses, gains or losses for your business should be taken note of.
If you keep the correct note of all of these expenses, it should make filing tax returns a lot easier. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can fine a company if inadequate recording was in place which resulted in incorrect tax returns being filed. This stands at around £3,000, which is a huge amount of money for any business to part with.
There is no set format of how these accounts should be documented, but including the right information based on your business can not only help you deal with HMRC but also improve the success of your business. You will know what is owed by who, how profitable the business is and how much cash flow is available.
Cloud-based accounting and bookkeeping software is now widely available and used by all online accountants. This helps to automatically break down transactions and allowed expenses and calculate profits and losses. Most are also in line with the Making Tax Digital service introduced by HMRC.
How Can We Help With Online Bookkeeping?
Don’t be wondering where to even start with your company records. If you outsource and appoint us to monitor your finances on your behalf, we can help with:
- Software: Choosing the best package and system for your company’s needs. This will keep everything clear and concise, so it can be checked when you need it the most. For example, the perfect level of accounting for a large food manufacturing business may not be best for a small-scale florist shop. Accountants can pick the best for you
- Balancing Accounts: Processes such as double-entry bookkeeping can be undertaken if appropriate. Online accountants will use software which automatically calculates profits and losses for real-time data
- Tax Returns: If the accountant also deals with your tax returns and the legal side of things, having an online record of everything which they can simply and easily analyse will make things quicker and easier for everyone involved. Even if you do your own returns, they will be able to tell you what qualifies in case you miss anything
- Precise: You could also have added peace of mind knowing that everything will be correctly noted down and categorised, so if HMRC would like to randomly check your accounts, they will find no discrepancies in the filing
- Advice: Made a data entry into the online software but things not adding up? Accountants are there as and when you need them, so can cast an eye over things
How Does The Process Work?
Your accountant will need a copy of all formal receipts, invoices and charges so an official note can be made. This can be electronically or by hard copy.
It will have to be done periodically, so ensure you keep everything safe in the meantime. For example, the accountant may provide you with a monthly account update if you have a high turnover so you will need to send everything monthly. If they also take care of your tax returns, it may be quarterly, or annual copies may be enough.
Any details will be put into the online filing system, and they can then be checked at any time. Most online accountants now provide their customers with access to cloud-based software which they can access at any time to make adding expenditure quicker and more accessible, and the accountant will then just check over these every so often in case there are any issues.
Are There Any Benefits To Doing Bookkeeping Myself?
Thanks to online software, you can now file your documents daily or on-the-go, which helps to keep on top of things. You therefore don’t necessarily need someone to meticulously update your accounts with the past three months of transactions.
If you are just starting out or own a small business, doing it yourself could help you cut down on outsourcing costs and monitor the areas of your spending, so you know where to make savings if needed.
However, for the majority of businesses, having a dedicated accountant available to help at any time will save a huge amount of time which could otherwise be put into your business, and will also save you a headache if anything goes wrong in the build-up to your tax returns.
Most offer access to their chosen software for free with the purchase of a service, and they will be able to check your data at any time which gives you peace of mind. You will also have unlimited access to their help, which is worth the cost alone.
