Your business is expanding, you’re taking people on, you’re constantly in meetings and you realise you’re just not managing to keep on top of the essentials. You think you might need a bookkeeper, but what exactly do they do, and will it really help you? Read on to find out about some of the things a good bookkeeper can do to save you time, give you peace of mind and keep your business on the road to success.
Payroll
As you take more people on, payroll issues become increasingly time-consuming. No sooner have you finished one month, then it’s time to start the next. HMRC regulations are complex and change frequently, and there are numerous deadlines to meet; get it wrong and you could end up paying heavy fines and losing the trust of your employees.
Outsourcing your payroll frees you from pay calculations and deductions, production of payslips, BACS payments, end of year P60s and RTI returns, and auto-enrolment obligations.
Keeping track of income and outgoings
You can’t sign off your company accounts without detailed expenses and proofs of purchase. It’s easy to lose track of them and even easier to lose receipts! A bookkeeper will track invoices and payments, and keep your records up to date and HMRC compliant so that everything is in order when you’re ready to submit your annual accounts.
Credit Control
Chasing customers for overdue payment is the part of running a business which most people dread and therefore it tends to be put off or done rather haphazardly. However, unmethodical credit control affects your cash flow and, as a result, your budgeting and forward planning. A good bookkeeper will help you to establish a practical reminder process, and implement it courteously but firmly, leaving you to concentrate on building your relationships with customers.
Budget and cash flow planning
You may have a brilliant and innovative business idea, but if the money isn’t coming in to support its development then it won’t get anywhere. Planning ahead is vital, especially in the current uncertain economic climate, and a bookkeeper can work with you to set budgets and produce cash flow forecasts which will make your ideas more attractive to prospective investors, as well as give you a more accurate assessment of future costs.
Management accounts
Management accounts provide the vital financial and statistical information you need to make ongoing day-to-day decisions. These can include:
- Calculating production costs to enable crucial alerts of increases in suppliers’ prices
- Identifying cost inefficiencies
- Estimating future expenses and revenues
- Conducting risk assessments
These are just some of the things you need to cope with while running your business. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work involved in keeping your company’s books up to date, call our friendly and helpful team at AMR Bookkeeping Solutions. Whatever your issue, you can be assured that we’ve dealt with it successfully before, because our business is to help your business run smoothly.
