Not sure if your books are being done right?

Get a confidential Bookkeeping Audit to review all of your books & records to ensure they are accurate and compliant.

Rest easy knowing your books are done right.

The post 3 Key Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Bookkeeper for Your Business first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

The end of the year is a busy time. Prepping for the holidays, making time for family, and planning our workload in hopes of a few days off over the holidays. 

As a small business owner, your list is even longer with financial statements, taxes, employee incentives, budgeting, and prepping for 2024. 

To help you with this process, we’ve created an accounting checklist highlighting some key areas to focus on as you wrap up the year. 

Year End Accounting Checklist

Review and Organize Receipts

Failure to stay on top of your receipts will lead to errors in your accounting records, stress you out at tax time, and may lead to overpaying taxes if you miss expenses. 

Tracking your receipts is easiest if you have a system in place to record and file them as you go. If you don’t have a system in place, use this time to set one up. Some tips:

• Organize by type of expense
• Organize your receipts using folders, tags, or even envelopes
• Record receipts at the time purchases are made
• Back up receipts digitally by scanning them or taking pictures

Pro Tip: Use a service like Hubdoc to easily capture and manage expenses and feed them directly into your accounting system. Read more about how to set thus up in our post, Streamline Your Business. 

Run Top 3 Financial Statements: Income Statement, Balance Sheet, & Cash Flow Statement

The “big three” financial statements are the best way to see, at a glance, where your business stands financially.

If your profits are lower than expected, you should make some changes as you head into the new year. If your profits are higher than expected, it might be a good time to make larger purchases for which you can record future depreciation.

Speak with a professional before making big purchases to ensure you have the cash on hand, and to understand depreciation rules. 

Analyze cash flow statements

It’s a good idea to review your cash flow statements quarterly. Here are some things to look at for expenses: 

• Review by category, for example, advertising
• Look for areas where you spent a lot of money
• Was it worth it?
• Did my advertising work? Did I go out to eat too much?.. Or have too many coffees?.. mmm coffee

Pro Tip: It’s easy to lose track of unused subscriptions, especially if you’ve set them up via auto-pay. Small recurring costs can add up quickly. Auditing these regularly will cut costs and keep your organization lean.

Reconcile accounts receivable

Run a report of unpaid invoices and make a plan to collect. Reconciling your AR will boost your cash flow and allow you to start the new year without outstanding invoices (and with cash in the bank).

Double-check payroll and benefits

Identify any issues or corrections to your payroll before the year’s end. Ensure easily forgotten benefits, such as educational reimbursement, health and life insurance, and company car, are accounted for.

Verify vendor & customer information

A lot can change in a year. December is a good time to verify your customers’ and vendors’ information. Check that phone numbers, email addresses, and contact names are accurate and up-to-date.

If time permits, evaluate your vendor relationship and look for opportunities to negotiate better deals in 2023. 

Take some time to do this now so you can be present and relaxed over the holidays, and give your business a running start in January.

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The post Year End Prep Checklist first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

The post Streamline Your Business first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

Need some postage stamps? Go to the petty cash. 

Stapler broken? Petty cash.

Reimbursing an interview candidate who needed to pay for parking? Petty cash. 

Pizza for the team working after-hours? Petty cash.

Petty cash funds are small but need to be adequately managed. You’ll want to ensure that the money isn’t mishandled, and you’ll want to make sure that those little expenses are accounted for when tax time rolls around. Here’s how to set up an effective, easy-to-manage petty cash system.

Setting Up Petty Cash Funds

You can set up your petty cash float – the maximum, fixed amount of on-hand cash – by cashing a check, usually ranging from $100 to $500. 

• Determine an amount sufficient to cover small expenses over a designated period, usually one month.
• Add a petty cash account to your chart of accounts.
• Place the petty cash in a designated container.
• Determine who will monitor, track, and record petty cash expenses.
• Establish clear and concise conditions for the use of petty cash funds.
• Start a petty cash book or spreadsheet and balance it regularly to ensure all transactions are accounted for. Include the date, transaction details, the cash in put, the amount distributed, and a running balance.

Managing and Recording Petty Cash Funds

• Any money disbursed out of the petty cash fund must have a receipt. The receipt will show the amount spent and what was purchased.
• Ensure all change from funds disbursed is returned to petty cash.
• Enter the purchase amount in the expense column.
• Replenishes the fund when your running balance hits your replenishment amount. Write a check to return the petty cash total to the original funded amount.
• Cash top-ups and other additions to petty cash go in the credit column.

Reconcile Petty Cash Funds

• If petty cash is used infrequently, reconcile monthly. In the case of daily use, a weekly or bi-weekly reconciliation is more appropriate.
• Match your receipts with the amounts recorded in the petty cash book.
• Deduct your expenses and add your credits to the starting balance. The total is your ending balance; it should match your cash on hand.
• Once the account is reconciled, record your expenses in the general ledger.

Establishing Internal Controls for Petty Cash Funds

• You don’t want to use petty cash for high-priced expenses, so set a dollar limit, such as $25.00. Anything over that amount would be paid for or reimbursed using other means.
• No money may be loaned or borrowed from the fund for personal use. 
• The fund may not be used to cash personal checks.
• Mishandling of funds may result in dismissal and/or prosecution of involved employees.

Reassess the petty cash fund periodically

• If you find yourself going through petty cash rapidly, you can increase how much you keep on hand. 
• Take a few minutes to see what you’re spending petty cash on.

Petty cash is a useful tool for small and medium-sized businesses as it keeps money available for small expenses. Recording those expenses helps to budget for future ones, and even though those might be small, they add up. When all disbursements are recorded diligently, and the money is replenished regularly, using petty cash can be a real timesaver.

What Are the Challenges with Petty Cash Management?

Petty cash funds can be misused. Cash in a lock box creates unique challenges, demanding an effective management system.

• With petty cash on hand, there is an increased tendency to spend money freely without attention to detail, leading to a missing or inadequate paper trail and sometimes fraud or theft.
• Maintaining them, keeping records, and reconciling them regularly all involve extra work for someone.
  

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Petty cash is a nominal amount of money readily accessible for paying expenses too small to merit writing a check or using a debit or credit card.
• A petty cash fund can be used for office supplies, customer cards, flowers, paying for a catered lunch, or reimbursing employees for expenses.
• Petty cash’s main advantages are its quick, convenient, and easy-to-understand use.
• Disadvantages of petty cash funds include their vulnerability to theft and misuse and the need to monitor and balance them periodically.
  

We Can Help

Of course, overseeing a petty cash fund will still add another layer — albeit a small one — to your bookkeeping. Contact us if you need help establishing a petty cash fund and its conditions. 

Sometimes, you just need a little help from a pro –

Check out our Bookkeeping Services for Small Business

Although this blog offers business advice, this content is for general informational purposes only—it is not intended to replace the guidance of a licensed legal or financial professional. Information created by third parties that we may link out to or feature on our site is not endorsed by us and remains the responsibility of such third parties. The Rayne Firm assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the content.

The post Bookkeeping Tips – Petty Cash first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

You probably keep a lot of the financial details of your business in your head: which supplier needs to be paid, which customers are outstanding, and even the mileage to your last client meeting. It’s understandable to do it this way. You won’t need to learn new software, there is no danger of a system crash that loses all your data, and you can tweak your budget as often as you need without sitting at a desk.

When you don’t have a system and processes, unpleasant surprises can pop up, and you can miss goals and important paperwork. Getting a better handle on your books can help you to make and keep long-term goals, smooth out the seasonal ups and downs of your cash flow and even improve your profits. It can also help you avoid trouble with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Five Bookkeeping Tips for Your Small Business

1. Plan for Major Expenses. 

Be honest about the expenses coming up in the next one to five years. Is it likely that you will need to upgrade your vehicles? Is your equipment on its last legs?

It is essential to acknowledge the seasonal ups and downs and how they will affect your ability to spend during those times.

By ensuring that you have forecasted major upgrades or peak staffing costs, you will avoid taking money out of the company in good months and finding the business short in slow months.

2. Track Your Expenses. 

Expenses can be hard to track, which means that you may be missing tax write-offs from which you could have benefited.

Business credit cards are a handy tool to keep all expenses together and tracked. Keep up to date with your payments, and don’t add late charges to your costs!

It’s also helpful to make notes on your receipts – if you met a client or the purchase was for a particular project. This will help substantiate your expenses for your tax records should you be audited.

Converting your printed receipts and documents into digital files, which are CRA compliant, can keep you proactive and productive. And when you are organized, you can save time, stress and even money in the long run.

One of our clients lost all their paperwork stored in their basement during a flood. Thankfully, we had everything entered and backed up in their QBO account.

That goes for car mileage too. When driving long distances to meetings, make sure you either keep track of your mileage or calculate with Google Maps to log how far you travelled and the associated costs.

3. Record Deposits Correctly.

You may make various types of deposits in your account throughout the year, from loans to sales revenue, to cash infusions from your personal savings. If you cannot account for where each of the deposits came from, you’re leaving the business open to paying taxes on money that isn’t income.

Any money earned by the company must be deposited into its bank account before it can be spent – even on company items. Using cash to buy supplies is enticing, but this may quickly throw your accounting system off.

4. Set Aside Money for Taxes. 

You know that you will have to pay taxes, and you know when. So systematically put money aside for it. Unpaid taxes can incur penalties and interest from the CRA, so make sure the money is there when needed.

Putting money aside each month or each time a contract is paid will be less of a sting when taxes are due.

5. Keep an Eye on Your Invoices. 

Late and unpaid invoices can hurt your cash flow. Make a plan for if clients are 30, 60 and 90 days late and put a process in place to collect overdue invoices. Remember, every late payment is an interest-free loan that hurts your cash flow.

Our 6th tip is to consider bringing a bookkeeper in as part of your business team.

Trusting the financial details of your business with anyone can be a big step. Opening up your finances to someone is like letting them see you naked (Jenn) you need to have TRUST!! Trusting a bookkeeper for your growing business makes good business sense. Bookkeepers aren’t there to judge how many Starbucks coffees you buy, they are just there to deal with the numbers, help you understand them, and how you can make the money work for you. Spend your time doing what you do best, and your bookkeeper will do the same! Bookkeepers love what they do, and you should be doing what you love, too. Be a business owner. Do what business owners do. Lead your company to bigger and better profits, and your bookkeeper will record your success.

Although this blog offers business advice, this content is for general informational purposes only—it is not intended to replace the guidance of a licensed legal or financial professional. Information created by third parties that we may link out to or feature on our site is not endorsed by us and remains the responsibility of such third parties. Bookminders Services Inc. assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the content.

The post 5 Bookkeeping Tips for Your Small Business first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

It is becoming an unavoidable instrument in business and accounting management. Intuit, a California-based corporation, deserves credit for developing this fantastic solution to automate time-consuming accounting processes.

Custom reports in QuickBooks may be produced based on the needs of your business. It also helps to create an accurate profit and loss statement, which demonstrates whether or not the organization is profitable at any particular time.

The flexibility to create custom reports is QuickBooks’ most popular feature. It enables firms to continue with their specific business management requirements. As a result, they may enjoy improved inventory management and the preparation of profit and loss statements.

QuickBooks’ features do not stop there. You may also utilize this incredible solution to gain deep insight into what clients genuinely want, where they are, and what big goods they are interested in. In a word, QuickBooks makes it extremely simple for you to compute all taxes and prevent complications while employing smart tax-paying tactics. As a result, every small and medium-sized firm should think about integrating credit cards and bank accounts with QuickBooks. In this way, all the transactions and payment processes can be automated.

Benefits of WooCommerce QuickBooks Integration

Keep in mind that many accounting firms already use QuickBooks accounting plugins. They integrate Good Books with WooCommerce websites because it makes managing all of the accounts a breeze.

If you haven’t previously done so, your company may fall behind. Regardless of the number of orders you receive, you must proceed with QuickBooks integration to your WooCommerce Store. It is without a doubt the most critical accounting solution for all organizations of any size.

Still, perplexed? You should look through these three reasons why QuickBooks integration with your WooCommerce Store may help you with company and accounting administration.

The most crucial argument for QuickBooks’s usefulness is its compatibility with WooCommerce.

1. Provides Relevant Data Reports

We presume you currently use WooCommerce to run your online business and need an accounting and inventory management solution. This is where QuickBooks for WooCommerce comes into play. It is an excellent financial analysis, reporting, accounting, and tax management program.

We are all aware that E-Commerce business owners do not have enough time to deal with tax adjustments and inventory management issues. They are already required to process orders and give outstanding customer service. As a result, they frequently do not have extra time to monitor client billing and tax administration.

QuickBooks for WooCommerce provides a safe refuge at this point. It offers extensive financial management support so that nothing as a shop owner confuses you.

2. Effortless Management of Inventory

When a consumer buys something from your WooCommerce store, QuickBooks Online adjusts the inventory levels. When you make changes to your stock levels in QuickBooks Online, WooCommerce automatically updates them.

Whether you’re a marketing professional, an online company owner, or simply someone who loves to keep track of stock, the QuickBooks for WooCommerce plugin is an effective way to do it. It will allow you to manage your inventory and customer demands in one place rather than jumping between two separate applications or platforms.

You’ll be able to see how many goods are currently available as well as what customers have requested.

3. Automatically Manages Financial Processes

Ecommerce shop entrepreneurs are already overworked. There isn’t much time left over for financial responsibilities like billing customers or reconciling bank accounts between delivering exceptional customer service, maintaining inventory, and marketing the firm.

QuickBooks for WooCommerce is a fantastic solution that can automate all of their accounting responsibilities, allowing them to focus on what matters most.

The post How Quickbooks Can Benefit Your Online Businesses? first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

What Is It?

The Pure Bookkeeping system is a set of templates, guides, reports and processes which has transformed the bookkeeping industry.

Created in 2001, the Pure Bookkeeping method has been continually refined and improved. With its high-level processes and detailed systems, business owners can rely on consistently accurate and timely financial information that reflects the true position of your business.

Why We Use It

There is a surprising amount of variation between the ways people do their bookkeeping. The problem a lot of businesses (and bookkeeping companies) face is that, without guidance or a system to follow, people end up doing books “their own way”.

This leads to a host of different problems. It is harder to find information when you need it, things get lost or missed, and it can be a challenge to replace existing staff when they retire or move on.

At Bookminders, we adopted the Pure Bookkeeping system so that everyone on our highly skilled team follows the same processes, uses the same reports, and records information the same way. In the case of illness or turnover, you won’t notice any change in the quality of work.

In addition, this system makes it easy for us to vet staff thoroughly to ensure they are qualified. Using standardized testing and baseline criteria for certification and experience, we hire the best in the industry so we can offer the highest quality results.

Never Hunt for Information Again

This same continuity ensures that you know where to find the information you need, when you need it.

Everything from simple quarterly financial reports to sophisticated revenue forecasts are available to you on easy-to-navigate dashboards. This ensures that you know exactly what is happening in your books and never have to hunt for data.

Sound Good?

Pure Bookkeeping is a proven, widely-used system that guarantees compliance, consistency, and quality in your business finances. Paired with the Profit First method that we bring to all of our clients, working with us will help you build the financial foundation you need for a profitable and sustainable business.

To find out more, schedule a free consultation here.

The post The Pure Bookkeeping System first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

The truth is that keeping track of your accounts, maintaining in charge of your money, and ensuring that your company is legal are all essential for long-term survival.

So, before you waste another long night going over spreadsheets, here are the crucial bookkeeping recommendations that every business owner should be aware of.

Make a simple record-keeping system for yourself

Every activity that your company does should be documented and managed in a manner that makes it simple for you to stay abreast of and manage your income stream. Regular monitoring of all company documents, such as bills, reimbursements, and costs, will assist you in determining potential business prospects and ensure corporate taxation in the event of an audit.

While there are simple solutions to convert paper records if you choose to maintain paper documents, keep them in a closed and safe cabinet and arrange them into a simple system. It’s also a good idea to have a copy of your documents in case something goes lost.

Create an audit trail

Even if you keep your records meticulously, you may still face a financial review. You need to establish a paper trail that proves what you’ve bought and everything your clients have purchased for.

An audit trail is a collection of papers that demonstrate that the activities documented in your accounts are accurate. If you have any difficulties with tax discrepancies, source papers, or lost activities, your audit trail can assist you to backtrack your activities.

Automate your accounting processes using cloud-based accounting software

We’re fortunate to exist in a world where cloud-based bookkeeping platforms allow you, as the business person, to retrieve your financial data whenever you need it. Every month, technologies allow you to go through heaps of papers, verify charts, and make laborious computations. Most of the heavy work is now done for you by cloud-based technology.

Accounting software can deliver bills to customers at the right time, manage your input and output costs, and provide the working capital form.

Regularly Produce Reports

A sound bookkeeping technique is important for more than simply tax considerations. It’s much easier to undertake frequent financial checks when you keep track of your arriving and departing cash. You can guarantee that all of your clients pay their bills on time and eliminate any reporting gaps by using the correct accounting software.

While monthly audits are important, you should also review your accounting and bookkeeping records at the conclusion of each quarter, paying special attention to patterns such as dropping or increasing revenues, significant spending, or indications of late-paying clients.

Keep track of your cash payments

Any money earned by the company must be deposited into the company’s checking account before it can be spent – even on company items. It’s enticing to use the money right away to buy supplies, but this may quickly throw your accounting system off.

Remember to identify which client pays when documenting money transfers so you don’t have to follow them down later. If you’re not aware of how to handle the specifics of a tax rebate in your payroll system, go to a bookkeeper who can assist you in setting it up and using it properly.

Whether you do most of your bookkeeping yourself or employ a third party to do it for you, having the correct bookkeeping approach is essential. If you use the suggestions above, you’ll have a good handle on your financial statement, fewer tax concerns, and more opportunities to expand.

The post 5 Must-Know Bookkeeping Tips For Businesses first appeared on The Rayne Firm.

What is a bookkeeper?

A bookkeeper is a crucial member of a company or organization whose primary function is financial management and record keeping. This is not a new function for companies; it dates back to 2600 BC when bookkeepers were engaged to maintain records of different documents by presenting them on ceramic planks. As a result, we can claim that this is one of the founders of the field in recorded existence, and its significance continues to grow in the twenty-first century.

What are the skills required to become a bookkeeper?

The roles of bookkeepers have changed in this current wave of digital innovation. They are now primarily responsible for entering pertinent data and generating invoices. In addition, he is in charge of keeping records of cash operations. He’s also required to enter all of the information into the payroll system after receiving it on the internet.

Unlike the old definition of accounting, which entails entering information into the database, bookkeeping has evolved into a much more complicated process that requires knowledge of the law as well as the capacity to conduct evaluations and audits of bank documents.

If you wish to work as a bookkeeper, you should be able to handle the following financial statements.

• The capacity to develop income statements that show all of the earnings and losses that have happened inside the firm at a given moment.
• The capacity to prepare a statement of retained profits in which you must include all buffers and assets, as well as any changes that may have happened during the fiscal quarter.

The technique by which all cash transactions, as well as marketable securities entering or leaving your firm, are checked and analyzed out requires a thorough understanding of financial position development.

• The capacity to continue with data input and the compilation of a balance sheet that determines the bookkeeper’s financial status.

Do you want to hire a bookkeeper? Here is what you should know!

Because a bookkeeper is in charge of planning, it’s critical to understand the many books that may assist with income tax returns, sales, and other tasks. You should also be able to comprehend the company’s process and important factors that influence profits and revenues.

At, Bookminder Services, you can enjoy full-time bookkeeping services. We can help you with more than simply building or trades manuals. We assist you in establishing the solid financial platform you need to succeed–in any condition. You can relax knowing that we’re on top of all your financial and employment deadlines, ensuring that you stay compliant and never have to worry about an audit.

The post What does a bookkeeper do? first appeared on The Rayne Firm.