If you are running a business, there are few things as important as a well-oiled accounting system. Sure, you need to make sales and have great products and services, but you aren’t going to get far if your finances are not under control. Only when you know exactly what money is going out, and exactly what money is coming in, you can truly make the hard decisions that will help your business grow.
With this short article, we’d like to provide a few tips on how you can improve your accounting and finance systems. Obviously, the use of these tips will depend on the type of business you run, as well as the system you already have in place. So, read through this list and think about how each tip may be applicable to your operation.
Put a System in Place
Hopefully, you have already done this first one. The world of accounting is not a creative field – rather, it is one which is all about details and efficiency. You need to have a detailed system in place which has everything mapped out from top to bottom. For instance, if you are using fix and flip loans to invest in real estate, you need to have your books completely in order. The employees working in your finance department should not be trying to make things up as they go along – they should simply be executing on the system that you have in place.
Work in Batches
This is a great tip for many workers, even those outside of the accounting office. As it relates to accounting specifically, working in batches makes a lot of sense. For instance, when one bill comes into the office, it probably isn’t necessary to stop everything else in order to pay that bill. Instead, it should be filed appropriately and paid at a specific time with other bills. By working through all the bills in one batch, your team can be more efficient.
Look Outside for Help
Depending on the size of your business, it may make sense to outsource certain functions rather than hiring a full- or part-time employee to do the work. This is often the case when it comes to using a Certified Public Accountant. For small businesses, it probably isn’t necessary to hire a CPA as an employee but outsourcing to one for certain tasks is a nice solution.
Don’t let poor financial controls be the undoing of your otherwise promising business. Make sure your accounting department is functioning properly, so you can focus your time and effort on serving your customers with the best possible products and services.