As the deadline for the self assessment tax reutrn looms ever closer, below are some of my top tips to help keep your business records in order. They may seem simple enough, but if you insist on sorting out your business’ financial records at the last minute these tips will help you keep on top of things.

Just remember that the information you are filing by the 31st January 2012 relates to transactions between 6th April 2010 and 5th April 2011. If you throw everything in a shoebox and expect to remember every detail, what can be up to 21 months later, you may forget some things. Follow these tips to keep on track:

 Buy 2 folders and some plastic wallets.

Label one folder ‘Invoices’ for the invoices you raise and the other one ‘Expenses’ for your business receipts. Put 12 plastic wallets in each one (one for each month) and put all the documents for the relevant month into the relevant folder. This helps to keep things in order.

Keep track of when you are paid.

When you have filed your invoices away, make sure to put a mark/stamp on them once you have been paid. That way you will know who to chase up for payments

Set aside time to get everything in order

If you do not want to employ someone to compile your business accounts, make sure that you set aside at least 1 or 2 hours a month to go through everything to make sure you have filed all your receipts and received all payments.

If you have a lot of transactions you may need to do this weekly – either way if it takes a large chuck of time away from running your business you should consider contacting a professional to do it for you. What takes 3 hours of your time may only take 1 hour of their time – can you afford to loose 3 hours pay just to get the books in order?

Keep a separate bank account

It’s very easy to think ‘I’ll remember that’ when paying cash into a personal account. To avoid any confusion consider opening a separate account just for your business transactions. Your payments and receipts can then be easily reconciled to your bank statement

Keep notes

If you have a transaction that is a little unusual for your business, make sure you put a note on the relevant paperwork to remind you about it. Things can be easily forgotten, but taking a few seconds to stick a note onto the receipt can save you a lot of head scratching later.

Regualarly check your cash-flow

It’s a great feeling if you are receiving lots of work and are constantly busy, but make sure you have enough money in the bank to pay for the bills. All businesses will have to pay insurances, membership fees to professional bodies, car tax etc… Use your phone, email, PC’s calendar to remind you well in advance so you can make sure that you have the money available to pay the bills

Ask!

If you are unsure about anything, ask someone who can help you. It’s easy to stick your head in the sand, but small problems can soon become big ones if they aren’t sorted quickly.

I hope these tips are of help to you, have you got any that you use to keep organised?