Many micro-businesses are totally overwhelmed by the burdens of tax and their accountancy obligations.

Also over 600,000 micro business owners are missing tax deadlines. If that’s you, do not panic. There is always help available.

The key factors that will lead you to be in this position are:

Poor organisation

Inadequate systems

An inability to get your hands on your financial data – fast.

You will find your business life is far simpler if you bite the bullet and invest in good cloud accounting software. It does usually, mean a monthly fee, but it will save you time, worry and effort and pay back fast. Even the smallest business with few sales needs to keep good, accurate records of costs. The research found that 17% of those surveyed did not have immediate access to their accounting data. Stress and anxiety about your accounts are a key indicator that you need to get conventional systems in place – fast.

Organisation is key here, and no amount of paper lists and excel spreadsheets are going to serve you well. The more difficult your accounting system is for an accountant to handle – the more it’s likely to cost you to get it put right and turned into your annual accounts.

Nowadays there are several accounting software packages at affordable prices and they link to your business bank account. This is now mainstream for micros and small businesses – with creatives and start-ups leading the way. Although good, easy software with bank statement uploads can work for some – although this may become too slow for you, as your operation grows.

When it comes to tax returns, many business owners feel anxious. If your records are up to date, and on an accounting system, you can do a Self-Assessment Tax Return or even a Corporation Tax Return yourself – but most business owners will, at some point ask an accountant. There’s always the added concern that you may be missing out on tax relief, or you may not have claimed all that you can. Getting a HMRC fine for late filing can often add to the anxiety of not having your business accounts in order.

If you use software like Free Agent (aimed at the contractor or micro entity) or Xero (aimed at the micro/small & medium business) your accountant or bookkeeper can see and manage your data for you – making it far less painful to file your taxes and your annual accounts.

Many micro businesses are benefiting from the sheer power and joy of using accounting software and seeing their business on a dashboard – this is no longer the domain of the big players only. Affordable, accessible and free to trial – bring on the game changers and get control of your business – fast.

You can contact us or follow us on Twitter

or e-mail info@shaperaccountants.co.ukaccountants.co.uk for advice.

Bookkeeping is something every business owner has to do – in some form.

Whether you are self-employed or a limited company you have to keep business records. It may drive you mad, you may lose receipts, you have to raise sales invoices and pay your business bills on time.

Of course you can choose to pile up the paper in a box or file until your accountant has to complete your tax return or file your Ltd company accounts. That’s called a “Bag and Box Client”! If this is your preferred approach you probably keep some sort of paper or Excel spreadsheet as well so you really aren’t running your business blind – and you’ll rely on looking at your bank statements too.

There is another way

Running a business is easier if you can start as you mean to go on, in terms of record keeping.

You can key your purchase bills into a spreadsheet, and accept the limitations of this method – or you can buy accounting software that helps you record invoices, expenses and receipts, as well as issue sales invoices to your customers. There are many brands of accounting software on the market – most is now cloud based. That means the software is accessed via the internet so you don’t have it on your hard drive of your laptop or desktop computer.

Prices vary enormously, so does personal preference. Hopefully, you’ll agree it’s a case of horses-for-courses, meaning you should pick the software you like best – the one that meets your needs. You can get advice from Accountants and Bookkeepers for free, on this. The most popular small business accounting software in the UK is a complex picture because it’s a best fit issue for most businesses.

In Norwich QuickBooks, Kashflow and Xero feature strongly with many Bookkeepers able to discount or give subscriptions for free to new clients. Often you’ll find your Accountant or Bookkeeper, and go with their advice. If you’re switching Accountants or Bookkeepers you may stick with what you’ve got until they can show you the advantages of something else. One size doesn’t fit all so you’ll want to get the cloud accounting software that brings you the most benefits at the best price.

It’s worth pointing out that, nowadays, it is easy to switch systems. It’s rarely as bad as you might expect, with new businesses emerging onto the market now, who specialise in doing just that!

With Bookkeeping, some of the key questions, are: How efficiently can you get you business expenses and bills into your accounting system? And do you know what to pay, when? It’s the first stage of getting your books in order.

There are several app developer companies now, who make it much easier for you.

There’s Receipt Bank and Datamolino to name just two.

These smart phone apps take a photo, and then the processing begins – whilst you do something else. They convert bills, invoices & receipts into data you, that your can then use – or your cloud Bookkeeper can then use. It’s a handy way of keeping a record and having the image accessible by others that you choose to give access to your records. This modern method is acceptable by HMRC for tax records. The products are a subscription service, but often that is within the flat fee a Bookkeeper charges you. This process reduces the time it takes to undertake bookkeeping chores. It gives Bookkeepers much more time to do the accounting work, the VAT returns, reconciliations and prepare monthly accounts & analysis for you.

With all game changers there are little creases that could be ironed out over time, and how a data processing tool integrates with your accounting software is one of them. You probably expect most things done quicker, and with maximum ease, when it’s to do with technology – and as your volumes of paper/on-line invoices increase you’ll probably find yourself checking out the latest tech to help you. These Apps that go hand in hand with your accounting software are definitely here to stay, more will enter the market giving you greater choice, and Cloud Bookkeeping will give you your time back and peace of mind that efficiency is being maximised.

For advice on how to deal with your Bookkeeping and or Accounts get in touch today.

You can follow us on Twitter @ShaperAccounts

Call us on 01603 516 304

Cloud accounting and Xero experts

Call 01603 516304 or get in touch here

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Tag: accounting software

Are you an overwhelmed Micro Business?

Many micro-businesses are totally overwhelmed by the burdens of tax and their accountancy obligations.