Using Your PC for Bookkeeping
You need to know if you are making a profit, breaking even or 'losing the shirt off your back' and you will need to have this information to comply with the requirements of the taxman. Good accounting software is available to help you with this. You can enter all your sales information as well as what you spend and the computer will print an easy to read summary of your financial situation ? with comparison to last week, last month, last year, percentage comparisons and the like.
If you allow credit, you need to keep track of what your customers have bought, what payments they have made and if any are outstanding. A computer system can quickly generate weekly, bi-weekly or monthly statements of account to be sent to all customers with money owing. Do not ignore customers who are slow payers. If a payment is not received, then your computer can generate reminder letters. Using your computer is an efficient and time saving way to manage this situation and ensure that you are not left with a large number of bad debts.
You should know exactly what you owe and when the bills need to be paid. Moreover, you need to make sure that you do not overpay a supplier, or pay them twice and you need to have an accurate knowledge of what money is in the bank so you can be sure that there is enough to cover what is owed. A computerized accounts payable (creditors) allows you to keep close track on payments, take advantage of customer discounts, and to produce management reports that show the current period purchases compared to previous period.
If you have employees, then it brings with it a number of obligations including recording wages paid, calculation of taxes to be withheld, and reporting to various government bodies. Computers with a good payroll program can make this task easier than you could imagine. Accurate pay slips can be produced for employees, direct banking of wages can be arranged, reports as required by government regulations are printed automatically from a computer system.
The rewards of good bookkeeping ? good management information, clear understanding of the condition of your business, and accurate data for your tax return ? make it one of the most important of your tasks. Computers are an excellent tool for the job.
If you have a problem that isn?t addressed above then please don?t hesitate to call us on 03 6424 7012 or email us at admin@ctsdevonport.com.au