Bookkeeping tips to avoid the pitfalls
More than likely, you might already have someone doing your bookkeeping tasks on a part-time or full-time basis. How do they seem to you? How do your books seem? If there are doubts or you are unsure that things are going smoothly it’s time to reach out for help. Your staff and/or part-time help may be desperate for it. Furthermore, you don’t want to find out the wrong way when state or federal filings are out-of-whack. We came up with some tips that we feel could point you in the right direction.
Do you find yourself making any of these mistakes?
- Not recording and posting transactions regularly leaves you with a mountain of bookkeeping to deal with. Plus, the time lag can act like a vacuum, where transactions disappear and never are recorded.
- Having the wrong legal structure for your taxation needs.
- Not keeping proper records: Are you not keeping receipts or conducting a lot of cash transactions with no back up?
- Not keeping records for time periods per IRS/State guidelines: A good rule of thumb … keep 9 years, or if it’s accounting/payroll … keep forever.
- Not tracking and filing sales tax or payroll taxes: Have you missed a filing date? Do you know important state and national dates?
- Not filing income tax on a timely basis.
- Not recognizing revenue appropriately: Cash basis vs accrual, deposits, progress billing and more.
- Not reconciling bank statements and mistaking cash for profits.
- Co-mingling personal spend with business expenses.
- Not hiring a payroll service: The minor cost of hiring out this task provides a huge benefit for your company. It can free up your time and help avoid the financial penalties that go along with late and incorrect filings.
It’s hard to find experienced help who will give you confidence in keeping your records. Give them the tools and help they need – it’s not an easy job and it is sometimes a thankless job and far too many bookkeeping advice sites out there promoting their services. More importantly, find solutions when you need them and reach out to groups, Tulsa bookkeeping associations, outsourcing firms, and local buiness professionals for guidance. It could save you a lot of money in the end to get your books in order before it’s too late. To get more helpful advice visit our blog where we discuss this and more on Tulsa bookkeeping.
