Making sure that you keep on top of your accounts is one area that you may have little experience in if you have never run a home business before. Although it is not the most exciting of topics it is one that you need to master if you are to have a successful career.
Obviously the most important area is keeping track of the amount of money that you have coming in and going out. Some will choose to use an accountant to keep their books in order; however this does depend upon the scale of your business. Others prefer to keep their own books so that they are always aware of what is going on with their finances but also because it can be expensive to use a professional.
1. Keeping your Books
Bookkeeping is essentially a way for you to keep track of your outgoings and the amount of money you have coming in so that you can decide if your home business is profitable. The idea is that you record all of this information either in a specially designated book or on a spreadsheet. Make sure that if you decide to keep yours on your computer that you either have it backed up somewhere or have paper records too. The last thing you want is your computer to die and for you to have lost all your accounts.
It is important that you keep an accurate list and that you make sure it is correct as it is one of the main ways you can tell if your business is viable. You will also know how much money you have available to you for things like marketing, networking and any materials required to run your home business.
2. Managing your Accounts
It is common for someone with their own home business to have one or more bank accounts set up primarily for work purposes. This is where managing your accounts comes into its own since it is incredibly important that you know exactly where your finances stand.
Having a filing system in place is the best way to keep track of your accounts. Within this keep all paper copies of your statements, bills and receipts so that you have them to hand. It is important to keep your books as up to date as possible so that everything tallies and you know that your accounts are all in order.
If you do find that you struggle to manage your accounts and books then you will find that there are a number of courses available that can help you.
Chris Jenkinson’s company Jenkinson & Associates Ltd is a marketing consultancy providing marketing expertise to companies looking to grow their sales and profits.