Basic Bookkeeping Essentials

Bookkeeping is the process of recording the financial transactions of a business or individual. This helps to keep the books balanced and to track the money flow. A thorough understanding of bookkeeping is an essential skill for every owner of a small business.

It is also an essential skill for freelancers, consultants, and anyone else who needs to manage their finances. Bookkeeping is a tool used to keep an accurate record of the financial transactions of a business or individual.

Bare bookkeeping essentials is a topic that many small business owners often overlook. However, those who take the time to learn bookkeeping basics and follow a few fundamental principles will save themselves from disaster.

Bookkeeping can be an overwhelming and frustrating task to learn, but with a few basic principles and a little practice, anyone can become a successful bookkeeper.

A business will inevitably have to complete transactions with cash, be it in the form of paper money or coins. The three types of cash transactions are payments, collections, and disbursements.

How Does A Company Record Inventory?

Record keeping is a vital aspect of any company’s success. If an inventory is not accounted for, it can lead to mismanagement and lost profits. Businesses must be able to keep track of their inventory and know exactly how much they have available.

To keep track of inventory, a company may record the amounts of items sold and received. The accounting department uses these amounts to calculate the stock’s current work at the end of each year.

Why is it Important To Keep Track Of Accounts Receivable?

It is essential to keep track of accounts receivable to ensure that all the money owed to the company is collected. If not, the company can lose money by paying for goods and services before they are paid for.

Bookkeeping is a crucial element to any business. It’s essential to keep track of accounts receivable and other accounting records to stay on top of your finances.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming to keep up with your bookkeeping practices for your company. This is the reason why you should seek professional help from Shoebox Books. Visit our website to find a bookkeeper near you.

What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping is a sensitive career as it involves dealing with financial records. Bookkeepers are relied upon by organisations and institutions in managing their financial records. Bookkeepers are also involved in generating financial reports for institutions and acting to reduce liabilities from non-compliance to financial obligations that an institution has in different avenues. The following are the qualification steps needed to become a bookkeeper in Australia.

Training

The journey of becoming a bookkeeper in Australia starts in a training institution probably a college or university depending on the level of study preferred. Nonetheless, the very basic requirement to become a bookkeeper in Australia is a certificate in booking or associated accounting options. The training institution should be registered and certified to offer bookkeeping studies with conformity to Australian regulations. Training in the uncertified institution and lead to your being rejected as a bookkeeper. This is therefore of great importance. Ensuring that GST and BAS units are covered in your training studies enables you to apply as a Business Activity Agent before receiving a license as a certified BAS.

Work Experience

To add on your skills and familiarise better with the outside classroom work environment, bookkeepers are required to complete 1400 hours of experience in a registered and certified BAS agent. This is to acclimate a trainee to the work environment and increase their capacity in the handling of bookkeeping tasks. You can serve as a volunteer, an entry-level bookkeeper, or even as an intern to such institutions to gain experience and complete your experience requirements hours.

Registration for BAS

With proof of your experience in the total hours taken for your internship or volunteer, you can now apply to the Tax Practitioners Board of Australia for a BAS agent. However, this step is not mandatory as a bookkeeper can opt to start their own BAS agent business or get some employment even without the BAS agent. However, applying for this agent certification increases your opportunities for employment. It also cements your being an approved bookkeeper professional.

Get Insurance Cover

In order to complete the journey to become a professional bookkeeper, you are required after completing all the other said steps to apply for a Professional Indemnity Insurance. This is a special insurance cover that cushions and secures bookkeepers from any losses incurred from false or negligence of clients in providing financial information. In order to be protected from responsibility to any of such losses, professional bookkeepers must obtain this type of insurance.

With the said steps, you can become a professional bookkeeper in Australia and covered by a code of conduct governing this career. You are also entitled to any benefits that are associated with the career including an opportunity to join a trade union.

You can choose from looking out for employment opportunities or starting your own consultant firms on bookkeeping. You can as well start a firm that can recruit other entry-level bookkeepers and make a business out of it.

Consultancy services on booing keeping are becoming popular in Australia which is raising the demand for this career. Bookkeeping career is bound to remain in the market because the bookkeeping services will always be needed as far as people and businesses remain.

Shoebox Books is a registered firm in Australia that offers bookkeeping services to individuals, corporates, and businesses. Shoebox Books serves bookkeeping service in professionalisms and high conformity to standards and code of conduct. Financial records are sensitive to every person and institution something that Shoebox Books well understands. For this reason, Shoebox Books offers services with great confidentiality to ensure that no leakages to what you are worth and your financial details. Shoebox Books is a certified and registered service meaning that it is covered under stringent bookkeeping rules in Australia. Shoebox bookkeepers can be reached through any of the stated contact methods in their site. Shoebox Books services can be received at any part of Australia.

Why You Start the New Year Off with a Bookkeeper

The New Year is here. It is the perfect time to make major strides to increase the effectiveness and organization of your business endeavours. If you are honest with yourself, you must admit that all the bookkeeping efforts you performed during the past year were at the very least time-consuming. The time you spent on bookkeeping took away from other aspects of your business of vital areas you must address. Is your business expanding or contracting? Are your marketing efforts efficient, effective and comprehensive? Will you have enough money to move your business forward during the new year? A professional bookkeeper can work wonders in helping your business succeed and thrive.

A professional bookkeeper can take the mundane and oftentimes time-consuming tasks off your hands. Transaction postings, payroll, credit card usage tracking and account reconciliation is best performed by a bookkeeper who performs these tasks daily. Bookkeeping is their only job and they have been professionally trained to collect, organize and perform all the necessary functions that you need.

Your first major benefit of hiring a bookkeeper is the time you will save in running your business. Move on to concentrate on sales and marketing. Perhaps you have mergers or joint endeavours to investigate. If you need to add staff, concentrate on bringing in the best personnel. You can expand your business with confidence that your bookkeeping is in order.

A bookkeeper will provide you with both organization and information. Your financials will be organized. You will know exactly where you are always at financially. Your financial information will be organized and available for you to review in a timely manner. What this will allow you to do is move forward with complete information where you are at financially at all times. You can make current decisions and solid projections for future purchases with confidence based on solid bookkeeping principles.

Shoebox Books is a bookkeeping business that aims to help small to medium businesses with their finances. If you have a business and are struggling with the New Year, then give us a call so we can help you out!

How to Identify Where you’re Spending Too Much So You Can Cut Back on Spending

Money is crucial in the world we live in. Without it, we can’t expect to live a happy life. Whether you own a small business or have a job, you will need to manage your finances and spend money carefully if you want to survive. For businesses, it is more crucial to identify where their cash is going. It can tell them a lot about the state of the business and whether it is going in the right direction or not. For instance, if the expenses are exceeding the revenue being generated then there is a cause of concern. You might not be able to sustain the business for too long. In such circumstances, you need to find out which expenses need to be cut back on to save money. Here is how you can do it.

Create a Business Track Spending Spreadsheet

A business track spending spreadsheet is a spreadsheet that tracks the areas where you are spending money. It can help you in pinpointing the aspects of your business that are eating up the most money. You can use this spreadsheet for identifying money leaks as well. Moreover, it can also discover any errors that you are making which are costing your business money. However, its most important use is to ascertain expenses that aren’t needed by your business. This information is crucial for saving money. It can tell you exactly which expenses you need to cut down upon to save your business.

How to Create a Business Track Spending Spreadsheet

Now that you know how a business track spending spreadsheet can be useful for your business, let’s learn how you can create it. Start by choosing any spreadsheet software program that you like. Google Sheets and Excel are two of the best spreadsheet programs you can use for this purpose. Your next step should be to gather financial statements of your businesses for up to a year. This information can help you in determining the expenses you need to track on your spreadsheet.

Now, list down all your fixed and variable expenses. Put in as much detail about each expense as you can. You will have to keep adding data into your spreadsheet to make it work. Now, to calculate the spending for each expense, you need to use the formulas section of the program you are using and sum up all the entries. You will see how much money was spent on each expense. This will give you a clear picture of where your money is being spent the most. You can then cut back on spending there and save your hard-earned money.

Shoebox Books is well-known all over Australia for its excellent online bookkeeping services. Get in touch with us immediately if you want to get your business’s finances in order.

What is a BAS?

Business companies here in Australia have to pay taxes just like everyone else. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is the regulatory body that oversees the collection of taxes from the businesses companies. It requires you to submit a record of all the business activities that your company has been doing. The submission of this record is compulsory and businesses that don’t submit it are charged by the ATO. So, if you want to avoid getting penalised then you need to ensure that you maintain a record of all your businesses activities throughout the year. This record is to be submitted in the form of a document which is given the name of BAS (Business Activity Statement).

What’s included in BAS

BAS is a comprehensive form which includes a lot of details related to a company’s tax obligations. For instance, companies who are registered entities need to pay GST. The BAS requires you to provide details on the GST you paid along with reports for other tax obligations like pay as you go withholding (PAYGW), fringe benefits tax (FBT), pay as you go instalments (PAYGI), luxury car tax (LCT), and wine equalisation tax (WET). Reporting these tax obligations won’t be an issue for you if you haven’t been slacking on the bookkeeping front. The BAS form is provided to the business companies by the ATO at the end of the financial year. Some of the fields within the BAS are pre-filled while the rest need to be filled in by you.

Who is Responsible for Filling BAS?

The BAS is a very technical document which needs to be filled very carefully without making any mistakes. This document needs to be filled by a qualified and registered accountant that specialises in BAS’s.  Most of the big business entities have BAS agents who do this job for them. An agent of BAS is a registered bookkeeper or accountant who has the knowledge and experience in filing a BAS form. Smaller companies can employ regular bookkeepers and accountant for this purpose also. However, this leaves open the chances of mistakes being made due to lack of experience or human error of filing the BAS. When information is not accurate/incorrect, the business owner is likely to face heavy penalties and would result in court proceedings. It’s important that you contact a reputable and registered tax agent who services BAS forms.

 If you are seeking help with your BAS form, contact our BAS specialists on how we can help you with all of your business needs. Since 2007, Shoebox Bookkeeping continues to strive and deliver the best service by “Empowering business owners to realise their business dreams”. It’s a small business accounting service with heart.

What is Xero Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping has evolved over the years. It no longer is just about recording business transactions and keeping track of your finances. There are various financial aspects that come under the umbrella of bookkeeping nowadays. From payroll to invoicing to reconciling bank accounts, bookkeeping covers a lot of ground. Managing it can be difficult even for an experienced bookkeeper. This is where the need for bookkeeping or accounting software arises. Xero is an accounting software program that has taken over older accounting platforms like MYOB. In a very short span of time, this accounting software has established itself as the best in the business when it comes to providing bookkeeping services for small businesses.

Features of Xero Bookkeeping

Xero is well-known for its easy-to-understand interface and amazing array of features. It makes doing bookkeeping an easier proposition for everyone. Much of the work that Xero does is automated. You just have to give the software access to your bank accounts and it is going to reconcile them automatically. In addition to its bookkeeping services, Xero offers various additional features like payroll, invoicing and managing the accounts receivables and payables. These extra features are available as add-ons. However, you would have to pay extra for them.

Advantages of Xero Bookkeeping

Xero is a cloud-based accounting platform. So, you can access it from anywhere in the world on any device. You just need to have an internet connection and you can access your Xero account without encountering any difficulty. Xero creates detailed financial reports which can give you an idea of where your money is going. You can use the financial reports it offers to make key decisions regarding your company’s future. In spite of being so advantageous, Xero isn’t that expensive. The subscription packages of this software are designed to cater to the needs of different types of businesses.

Shoebox Bookkeeping is a trusted name in the Australian online bookkeeping industry. Give us a call if you want to know more about Xero bookkeeping.

What Services do Bookkeepers Provide?

If financial affairs are not your cup of tea and you often get overwhelmed with tax processes, you might be considering getting a bookkeeper to help you out. Bookkeepers can be very helpful assets to businesses who want to focus more on the front-of-house procedures rather than back-of-house operations. The back-of-house routine is undoubtedly the most tedious and fickle; however, it is undeniably an important aspect of a business. Making errors and misjudgements in your business’ finances may lead to an expensive process trying to correct records. It is important tax lodgements are completed accurately to avoid being caught out in an audit. If this is a great concern to you, then hiring a bookkeeper might be worthwhile. While you’re considering this, you might be wondering, what exactly do bookkeepers do? What exactly does ‘bookkeeping’ involve? Fortunately for you, we’ve got a run-down of the services bookkeepers can provide.

Financial Record Keeping

Financial record-keeping is the primary role of a bookkeeper. If you lack the time or the know-how, a bookkeeper can help you stay on top of this aspect of your business. A bookkeeper will enter transactions into your accounting software regularly and accurately, making sure to allocate funds into the correct accounts. They will also produce weekly or monthly reports that provide important information to your business. Bookkeepers will also manage invoices and receipts. They should ensure invoices are sent properly, receipts are recorded, late payments are followed up on, and any cash coming in is in the system. To help you identify excess expenditure, bookkeepers are also helpful in tracking expenses and reconciling accounts.

Managing Payroll

Managing payroll can be a handful of a task. You need to know how to read a timesheet, calculate pay scales, commission earnt, superannuation, tax and others. With multiple employees, this can become a bit of a handful. All of these payments need to be correctly processed through accounting software and the bank. Hiring a bookkeeper can mean paying employees accurately and on time is one less thing to worry about.

Lodging Your BAS

If your business is registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) then you need to lodge a Business Activity Statement (BAS) to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This record is to help you calculate and pay your GST, Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding tax, as well as other taxes. A bookkeeper not only ensures this document is submitted on time, but they make sure all details are accurate. It is important to check whether your bookkeeper is a registered BAS agent, as only registered agents may complete this record.

Clearly, there are many advantages to having a bookkeeper with you to support your business. Hiring a bookkeeper provides peace of mind that background tasks are being completed with utmost care and accuracy, giving you less to worry about as a business manager.

Shoebox Books helps businesses manage their finances by providing bookkeeping services small to medium businesses across Australia. To see how we can support your business, get in touch with our team today.

What Does Bookkeeping Entail?

Bookkeeping is an essential component of doing business these days. Without it, you would find it hard to avoid penalties come tax season. So, if you want to ensure that your business prospers and doesn’t get into trouble with the tax department then you should hire a bookkeeper as soon as possible. There are various tasks that fall under the umbrella of Bookkeeping services. Let’s take a brief look at them.

Recording of Financial Transactions

Bookkeepers deal with the recording and maintenance of all the financial transactions made by the business. This includes preserving receipts for sales and purchases made during a set period of time. It is the job of the bookkeeper to track down all the receipts and record them in a systematic manner. This data collection done by the bookkeeper is going to help in the development of financial statements later on. Moreover, aside from the receipts, there are other transactions that need to be recorded as well. For instance, payments made to vendors, loan repayments, bills and other operational expenses all need to be recorded by the bookkeeper.

Balancing the Books

Balancing the books is another important aspect of bookkeeping. It requires the bookkeeper ensuring that the assets of the company always come out to be equal to the liabilities and the business’s equity. In order to balance the books, the bookkeeper generally has to check and recheck all of the financial transactions multiple times over. They also need to keep an eye on the different cash accounts of the business and make sure that the accounts don’t show any kind of discrepancy.

Creating Financial Statements

Bookkeeping also involves the creation of financial statements. These are created by entering all of the data that has been collected by recording different financial transactions. These financial statements are needed by the accountant for creating financial reports for business management. Each financial statement focuses on a specific aspect of the business’s finances. For instance, there would be separate financial statements for revenue earned, cash flow and expenses. Some bookkeepers use the help of computer software for the preparation of these financial statements.

Shoebox Bookkeeping is a provider of online bookkeeping services in Sydney businesses. If you are looking for a trust-worthy bookkeeping service then we can help you out.

Bookkeeping 101

The financial aspect of a business is hugely important for its success. You can have a nice business idea but without the proper financial know-how of doing business, it won’t amount to anything. Similarly, if you don’t stay on top of your finances, you would run your business into the ground pretty soon. This is why it is essential that you take the financial side of your business seriously. You need to make sure that all your books are balanced and a record of all the business transactions is meticulously maintained. All of this comes under the umbrella of bookkeeping. Without it, you won’t be able to run your business for long.

What Does Bookkeeping Entail?

Bookkeeping is mainly concerned with the recording of data. It calls for keeping a record of all the business transactions no matter how small or big they are. You have to make sure that the data is documented in a proper manner so that it can be presented whenever needed. Moreover, it also includes storing tabs on the payments that you have to receive from other clients as well as those that you have to make to others. Bookkeeping also encompasses the creation of simplistic financial reports too. These reports include information regarding the current balance in your different accounts and details of all the expenses and income that the business is making. MYOB, XERO and QuickBooks Online are common accounting softwares utilised by small and medium businesses.

Why is Bookkeeping Important?

There are severe financial consequences for not paying attention to bookkeeping. For instance, when it comes time for you to file your tax returns, you would need to have a record of all the transactions available to you. If you haven’t done it throughout the year, you would end up having to do it in a hurry,making lots of mistakes along the way. This could result in penalties and you might end up losing out on tax refunds that you are eligible for. Moreover, you need bookkeeping to know about the current financial standing of your business and whether or not it’s headed in the right direction.

Is Hiring a Bookkeeper Necessary?

Most business owners don’t have the time or the expertise to do their books themselves. Therefore, it is best that you hire an expert that can do this job for you. There are bookkeeping services available that can help you in balancing your books for a small fee. You can also hire a full-time bookkeeper to handle your finances too.

Shoebox Bookkeeping provides quality bookkeeping services to businesses all over Australia. Feel free to contact us if you need help in balancing your books.