Keeping your admin up to date

It can be difficult to find the motivation to keep everything up to date and in order, especially for those who aren’t particularly fond of finance and administration.

Many clients use my services as a discipine.  They like having another brain working alongside them, helping to make sure they complete their returns on time, and keep their bookkeeping up to date.

Here are a few tips from my experience of helping out.

#1 – TRY TO START EACH YEAR WITH A BUDGET

A good budget acts as a statement of what you reasonably expect your results to be in the coming year.  It’s a good planning tool, and you can then compare your actual results, as they happen, with the budget you set for yourself.  The budget doesn’t have to be a perfect prediction – it’s more of a realistic plan.

#2 – DIARISE YOUR DUE DATES

When running a business, there are a lot of dates to keep on top of.  Payroll, VAT, income tax, corporation tax, filing of accounts, and annual returns all have to happen by a due date, and it’s easy to forget, or be so busy you don’t allocate the time to prepare.  Diarise enough time, well before the deadline, to review and complete these items.

#3 – ALWAYS BE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS

It’s easy to procrastinate, to keep doing exactly the same thing month after month, even if it’s inefficient.  Be prepared to check what you could be doing better.  Whenever you spot something, keep a note, and then aim to make the improvement at year end, which is usually the best time to make a change.

Typical improvements include:

• improving customer booking, invoicing and debt collection
• improving how you use your financial software.
• finding better and cheaper banking and transaction systems
• upgrading your backup system for greater security
• sourcing better resources, suppliers and products
• better marketing and social media use

The key thing is to be thinking ahead.  It avoids everything being a last minute rush.

Some clients find that a regular Zoom meeting with me, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly, helps them to stay accountable and on top of their administrative duties.

If you want to be more in control of your financial admin, feel free to get in touch.