Does your business need a bookkeeping check-up?

Meticulous bookkeeping is the linchpin to ensuring you have clarity on the financial performance of your business. There are many reasons why the value of efficient bookkeeping shouldn’t be underestimated so it’s wise to make sure that, no matter what is going on in the world, you give your business bookkeeping a regular once over. However, during these unstable and challenging times you might be thinking about the best ways to invest your time and energy so that your business stays on track. Here we discuss some of the finer details of bookkeeping and why keeping them up to date is more important than ever.

Should I use a bookkeeper for my payroll?

business bookkeeping  - calculator and stethoscope on paper with list of numbers

Your staff are important to ensuring your business runs smoothly so paying them correctly and on time is imperative to keeping the cogs turning. Maintaining your payroll accurately will enable you to have a clear vision of your overall salary outgoings, including any PAYE owed and pension contributions.

Payroll also serves as a highly important record should you need to place any member of your team on furlough or unpaid leave. For example, if you have applied to claim for employees’ wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, or you want to recoup an employee’s Statutory Sick Pay, you will need to provide accurate records of the employees you intend to claim for. Payroll can be an extremely time consuming and highly detailed process so having support from a professional bookkeeper is always worthwhile.

Are your tax payments up to date?

For companies that pay VAT or individuals who complete a Tax Self-Assessment, good bookkeeping is imperative to making sure that underpayments, or indeed overpayments, don’t get made. If your company is part of the Making Tax Digital for VAT scheme then you will already be required to keep and send your VAT returns using approved software.

However, this is not the same as filing your tax returns online and requires more regular updates of tax information. If your business has been affected by coronavirus, and you have VAT payments due between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020, you can defer your VAT payment to a later date. Likewise, for those who are due to make a second payment on account for their Self-Assessment, you can delay this until 31 January 2021.

Is your cash flow operating effectively?

Knowing what is coming in and going out of your business is essential. If you need to make decisions about finances it is crucial you are fully informed of your expenditure so you can choose where to cut back if necessary.

It is also important in the event you want to verify the viability of your business should you require a business loan in the future. This includes the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which helps small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus to access finance of up to £5 million. To be eligible, businesses will need to provide a borrowing proposal which the lender would consider viable. Therefore, up to date and accurate books are highly valuable to successfully obtaining this.

Here at AMR we are experts at helping businesses of all sizes with their bookkeeping and payroll requirements, including managing payroll, VAT and Self-Assessment. If you have any questions or need professional bookkeeping advice, our friendly team will be happy to assist you. Get in touch and find out how our specialisations can help you and your business.

More articles you might like

Why choose AMR Bookkeeping Solutions?

Professionalism

We combine the highest level of professionalism with a friendly, clear approach for all of our clients.

Trust

Our approach is tailored to the needs of each individual client, and we build personal relationships to make sure that our clients can have complete trust in what we do.

AAT Qualified

All of our services are provided by our team of Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualified bookkeepers, highly experienced bookkeeping experts and certified accountants.

CPD Trained

Each member of the team undergoes Continuing Professional Development (CPD) which keeps them right up to date with changing tax legislation.

Accredited Experts

All our bookkeepers are accredited in leading accountancy software Sage, Xero and QuickBooks.

AAT logo
Xero Gold Partner
Sage logo
Intuit Quickbooks ProAdvisor Gold
Freeagent logo

Get in touch for a free, no obligation consultation

Find out how AMR Bookkeeping Solutions can provide the right support for your business, send us your details and one of our experts will get in touch with you without delay.

Alternatively, you are welcome to contact us by phone on 01892 559480

You can also pop into our offices in Tonbridge.