3 Tips for Reluctant Small Business Owners to do their Bookkeeping

For many small business owners, the stress and responsibility of running your own ship is enough to occupy your time, without you having to learn and apply a whole new set of skills in as little time as possible. This is why many business owners find themselves shrugging off the importance of bookkeeping which, from the outside, often looks to be a time-consuming, delicate art that requires significant expertise and large time commitments.

Unfortunately, bookkeeping is a very necessary part of any business, and you avoid it or delegate it at your own risk, as insights into your business’ cashflow can really give you, the business owner, strong overviews of your incomings and outgoings which in turn enable you to function as an informed decision maker.

Worry not, however, as here are three very simple tips that can make a world of difference to your bookkeeping management.

Consider training yourself

If you lack the confidence to approach bookkeeping head on, the best way to remedy the situation is to allocate some time and money to training yourself up. There are plenty of online and real-life resources that will require you to attend courses or seminars aimed at training novices to become their own experts in bookkeeping and accounts.

You may be reluctant to dedicate the time or money to such an investment, but it’ll be well worth it and leave you feeling ready for every eventuality.

Go online

Online accounting systems are perfect for small businesses, as they reduce the need for costly in-house infrastructure, and are designed to streamline all aspects of accounting such that they become intuitive and user-friendly.

As a result, many small business owners look to software solutions which automate invoicing, billing and payroll systems, leaving little room for error, and plenty of room for improved efficiency and reduced costs.

Stay organized

This may sound like simple common sense, but many small business owners go wrong by making use of several different systems across their accounting mechanisms. This means they fail to stay organized, and leave things “until later”.

Firstly, make sure you have an efficient, simple system that is consistent across all aspects of your bookkeeping. There are plenty of online resources that are free and can help you formalize this. Secondly, be sure to do things as and when they happen. This will prevent build up and reduce stress down the line.