Try These Useful Tips…

To help minimise your time and your accountants time at year end, try these tips.

1. Keep your personal expenditure in your personal bank account and your business expenditure in your business bank account.
2. Diarise your tax dates and ensure you save money to pay taxes as they fall due – understand how to estimate the taxes due on the payment dates easily or save a % – work with your accountant on what that % will be each week/month
3. Categorising expenses – ensure you are consistent and pay attention when coding transaction in your accounting system
4. Stop thinking of Inland Revenue as the enemy – they are negotiable with discussion. If you cannot afford to pay any taxes we can organise an arrangement and minimise interest and penalties.
5. Reduce time shuffling paper, there are numerous ways to save things electronically now which saves hours
6. Getting behind in your bookkeeping, keep a regular time in your diary to do the paperwork – at least weekly if you are not doing it daily – 5 minutes a day can be all it takes
7. Not setting a budget – if you don’t have a financial plan how do you know if you have achieved it?
8. Talk to your accountant – in less than 10 minutes proactive accountant can give you practical tips on how to reduce the bookkeeping requirements for you.
9. If you have no interest in doing the bookkeeping outsource it – cheaper in many cases than employing someone
10. Learn to read your accounts – this will help you understand if things have been done incorrectly.

Book an appointment with Michelle – michelle@elevationaccountants.nz if any of these issues are a problem and we will give you a free consultation to work out a better way.