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What to do when your contractor bookkeeping is a mess
Speak to any seasoned accountant and they’ll tell you that good bookkeeping is essential, keeping track of your financial transactions key to the accounting process. Lose grip of what’s going on day-to-day and you could anger HMRC, penalties a prospect if dodgy books mean your self-assessment is shoddy.
Broadly speaking, your contractor bookkeeping will involve the following three things:
• Recording your financial transactions
• Producing invoices
• Maintaining and keeping your books tidy
Needless to say, like with all things financial this isn’t always easy – especially if you’re a contracting or accountancy rookie. Things can soon spiral out of control and you can be left with a bookkeeping black hole… so what can you do when your contractor bookkeeping becomes a mess?
Speak to a professional
When things are looking really chaotic, it’s generally best to bring in an expert. Whilst some accountants might break the bank, the bulk of us are pretty reasonable, and we’ll be able to get your books back into working order.
We’ll be on hand to collect all records that are available to us, and with our knack for number crunching we’ll have the skills to reorganise and rebuild your accounts. Try to tackle the mess yourself you’ll likely just make the problem worse. In contrast, a (good) accountant will get your books back on track – and spare you cash in the long run.
Put some software in place
Gone are the days when good bookkeeping was reliant on reams of paper and Casio calculators. Nowadays slick software can take the strain and simplify the process. As such, it’s probably wise to embrace techy bookkeeping if you’ve got yourself in a mess.
Typical features of this software include:
• Comprehensive dashboards that can keep track of everything from your earnings to your current tax liabilities
• Customisable invoicing technology that lets you set up recurring invoices and reminds you when they’re late
• Features that allow you take pictures of expense receipts, upload them and store all the details
…And that’s just scratching the surface. At Bright Ideas we work with FreeAgent, as we think they’re the best bookkeeping software provider, and you’ll get a subscription to their service as part of all our packages.
Don’t make the same mistakes
Once you’ve finished tidying your books it’ll be a good time to take stock. Think on how you got yourself into a mess, and make sure you don’t make the same errors.
Was it too complex? Did you get too disorganised? Did you simply not have enough time? Whatever left your books in disarray take steps to stop it happening again. You don’t want spend your days worrying about the taxman… that’s for us accountants to do.
Contractor struggling with your bookkeeping? We’re on hand to help on 0161 669 4221 or info@biaaccountancy.com