Working Smarter in 2021: 6 Simple Solutions for Brilliant Bookkeeping
2020 hasn’ t exactly been anyone’ s favourite year on record, and the team at Natural Numbers in Chippenham are looking forward to helping local business owners have a much less stressful 2021 with these top tips for successful bookkeeping.
1. Keeping track of debtors and creditors is often considered part of managing your business’ s cashflow, but it also helps to protect your reputation. By staying on top of invoice payments and receipts, you are not only looking after your finances, but you are showing the people you work with that you are reliable and organised.
2. Tracking sales regularly means that you will keep an eye on whether you need to register or deregister for VAT in“ real time”, avoiding any surprises and helping you stay in control.
3. Regular bank reconciliation is important, not only to stay on top of your cashflow but also to give you the opportunity to identify any suspicious or erroneous payments. By building this into your bookkeeping on a regular basis you will be protecting your finances at the same time as keeping your paperwork tidy.
4. Do not fall into the trap that so many business owners fall into and leave your paperwork until the middle of the night or the end of a busy day. Paperwork is seen by many business owners as a necessary evil and is always the last job to be done but looking after your bookkeeping when you are tired makes it much more likely you will make mistakes.
5. Keep your source documents tidy – no one knows how good their filing is until they need to find something! By keeping your source documents well organised you’ re less likely to miss things and much more likely to be able to locate any paperwork you might need further down the line.
Recognise if bookkeeping is not your strong point and think about whether outsourcing would be a better business or personal decision for you. Business owners are prone to trying to do everything themselves but remember that your expertise is in your chosen industry; you don’ t have to be an expert in every aspect of running a business. Outsourcing something like bookkeeping can take a weight off your shoulders, give you back some precious free time and put your business’ s paperwork in the hands of a specialist without costing the earth.
For more information Visit Natural Numbers online at: www. naturalnumbers. co. uk Contact our friendly team on 01249 445445 or via email: office @ naturalnumbers. co. uk to discuss your needs today.
GET FIT FOR BUSINESS IN 2021
Does your business need a workout to get in shape for the year ahead? SETsquared which is ranked the Global No 1 Business Incubator is providing a fully funded support programme to businesses in the Swindon & Wiltshire area.
The Innovation Workout, which takes place online, incorporates group exercises alongside one-to-one sessions with expert mentors. The events are designed to encourage businesses to identify areas of growth, develop products and consider different financial models.
Following the Workout, participants may be invited to join SETsquared’ s Scale-Up Programme, giving access to expertise in growing businesses and dedicated support to help raise public and private investment.
Two local firms, Tasting Colours and Beam Connectivity recently took part in the programme.
Tasting Colours is a social enterprise bridging the gap between wellbeing theory and everyday practice to ensure everyone has the tools and knowledge to assess, build, maintain and sustain their own wellbeing.
Claire Armagan, Director, Tasting Colours, said,“ Tasting Colours is used to supporting individuals to think differently, challenge perspectives and innovate themselves but when it came to organisational innovation, we felt less prepared.
“ We were invited on the innovation workshop and we jumped at the chance. Over the course of a few days, we were taught to think differently about every part of our business to find efficiencies, explore existing markets and explore new opportunities.
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“ The programme gave us the skills to continuously challenge ourselves and stretch every opportunity – it has created the resilience in our organisation that’ ll ensure we’ re always thriving and never just coping.
“ We’ d recommend the workshop to anyone that’ s struggling to plot a new course – you have the answers, you may just need some poking to find them!”
This Autumn, Beam Connectivity also took part in the Innovation Workout. This start-up builds connected vehicle systems, particularly in the electric vehicle space using the Internet of Things( IOT).
Thomas Sors, CEO, Beam Connectivity, said,“ The programme gave an opportunity for our team to step away from our day-to-day technical development activities, focus on developing some of our new product ideas, articulate these, and to work with the SETsquared team to improve our direction.
“ During the programme, we learned about the Business Model Canvas and several other related techniques for business model review. The input from the experienced SETsquared team was valuable. Looking back now, the single most enduring help has been a way to present our business model and a set of structured questions we can keep returning to check our direction.
As a start-up with only a few team members, we have to pick the areas which we focus on carefully. We continue to use the tools from the programme, for example using these in our recent quarterly shareholders meeting. Specifically, we use the Business Model Canvas to present our new product ideas, and other tools from the programme to help prepare for conversations with partners.
“ I can recommend the course to other businesses, particularly those looking to refine and develop new business models.”
The Innovation Workout is open to registered businesses in digital, health, sustainable or advanced engineering sectors with several years of growth.
To find out more go to: www. SETsquared. co. uk / workout