As a business owner, managing your expenses is vital. But if you’re just starting out or you’re operating on a limited budget, you don’t always have the finances to outsource your account management.
When hiring an accountant or bookkeeper is not viable for your business, it can leave you in a tough situation. You need somebody to manage your finances but you don’t have the funds to hire a professional.
In these cases, you often have to do things by yourself. If you have limited experience in finance, this can be challenging. But after a while, you’ll find your feet and things will become easier.
To help you get started, here are some top tips on how to manage your finances without hiring an accountant or bookkeeper for your business.
Use a Software
There are lots of great software that makes managing your budget and expenses simple, even for complete beginners to finance.
You can track your budget in real-time and collate all of your financial data into a central accounting system. It’s one of the simplest, yet most effective ways to manage your revenue, expenses, and profits.
Accounting software can also be used to create accurate reports and project your future financial data. This data is exactly what you’ll need to ensure your business stays on track.
You can get highly specialized options for your business to meet your unique needs. For example, if you’re a construction business owner, you can get construction financial software that offers everything your specific business needs with regard to financial management.
Keep Your Personal and Business Accounts Separate
You may get swag with keeping your personal and business bank accounts combined at the start of your business. However, it’s essential that you open up a separate bank account for your business as you grow and expand.
This is not only important to prevent you from ripping into your business funds at the mall, but it will also make filing your taxes much simpler at the end of the tax year.
Separating your accounts keeps all of your business transactions in one area and avoids any confusion. This makes it easy to visualize how much you’ve spent and how much you’re earning in your business, which is one of the main tasks that your accountant would normally do.
Monitor All of Your Expenses
Keeping check of the money that goes out of your business account is vital to keeping track of your finances without an accountant.
This means everything single thing that you buy for your business, from the stationery to the staff wages to the cost of new equipment and software. Even the smaller things that seem insignificant on their own can add up to a lot of money in the long run.
Use your financial software or an online spreadsheet to keep track of these expenses. If you’re not happy with the numbers, consider which things are non-essential and could be filtered out of your business.
