Your bookkeeping doesn’t need to be a headache
By Debbie Ross and Ben Cobussen
Bookkeeping is an essential part of any business, and here at Lincolns we know how easy it is to spend far more time than intended doing what was originally supposed to be a quick job. In today’s age of apps and efficiency, bookkeeping doesn’t have to be a headache!
Our bookkeeping team has years of experience and has seen it all – we know what works, and what potholes people have fallen into.
Fortunately, most accounting software packages have a variety of tools and options that can save you a lot of time and money. But often they go unnoticed. And that is before you explore all the Apps that can feed into your program to streamline your processing. Taking the time to explore and learn your accounting program can save you hours of work each week.
We’ve put together a list of quick 9 questions to ask yourself to make sure you are getting the most out of your software and achieving maximum results with minimum effort.
1) Do you have your bank feeds set up and running?
Most accounting software have the ability to automatically import bank account transactions each day.
2) Are you using bank rules to automatically reconcile / allocate / code standard transactions?
Save yourself the need to repeat entry of common transactions. Be careful with the suggest previous transactions tick box at the bottom of Xero’s reconcile screen.
3) Did you know that you can email copies of your creditor’s invoices straight into your data file and then create a bill to be paid straight from the information that has been read in?
OCR software and scanners and even the camera on your mobile phone are all getting smarter. Why not use them to save time?
4) Have you set up your software to create a payments file to be exported to your internet banking?
Saves double handling payments.
5) Do you pay wages?
Is your STP reporting setup?
Are you using your software’s automated superannuation function?
Are your employee leave accruals setup correctly?
Do you need an App to automate your timesheet function?
6) Do you have a proper back up procedure in place?
Most people don’t realise that this isn’t in place, or isn’t working (because they didn’t ever test it) until they really need it.
7) Do you use the Lock function in your software to stop transactions being altered after your BAS is complete?
Saves a lot of searching to find the changes that have been made inadvertently.
8) Are you aware of the Apps that may be available to reduce double handling of your information?
We can help you navigate the many apps available that might work for you.
9) Have you found Xero’s find and recode function?
Every Bookkeeper’s friend.
Does this all sound too hard?
Do you need some one-off training to get the most from your software?
Have you called Lincolns Bookkeepers yet?
Call us now on 9841 1200
A coffee with …
This month Rob and Tom both tentatively put on boxing gloves and jumped in the ring with Rob Lovett from Lovett Muay Thai.
They discovered how a teenage boy with plenty of energy to burn, initially fell in love with martial arts movies and later became the owner of a successful Muay Thai gym right here in Albany.
Tell us what you think
Over the last 12 months we have introduced electronic delivery and signing of a number of Lincolns documents. These include: tax returns and financials; ATO correspondence; Corporate documents such as annual returns and other ASIC compliance documentation and Lincolns invoices.
These changes have been introduced as part of our commitment to find innovative ways to improve the way we do business. The implementation of these systems have ensured that we can get documents to and from you much faster, our systems and the way work stay up-to-date. They also mean we are able to continue to provide a seamless service in the future should there be any restrictions on our office in light of COVID-19.
We understand that adapting to change isn't easy for everyone, it's taken us some getting used to as well.
As we are now 12 months in, we would love your feedback. Go to our short survey, it should take less than 3 minutes to complete.
