How to Keep Track Of My Cash Flow?

5 Bookkeeping Habits to Ensure Your Business Won’t Run Out of Funds

 

    Bookkeeping is about more than just complying with government regulations when tax season rolls around. A solid bookkeeping system provides you with essential information that you can use to improve your business and ensure financial success. According to a news article and research by the ONS (Office for National Statistics), Almost half of UK businesses are within six months of running out of cash, despite the lifeline provided by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

   So, we have created a list of bookkeeping habits to implement, especially now more than ever, to ensure that your business won’t run out of funds.

 

 

1. Monitor Your Transactions Closely 

Staying on top of your transactions is the cornerstone of a good bookkeeping system. Each day you should take time to ensure that your deposits and receipts match up. Take a look at whether or not:

 

• Cash is being deposited according to the proper schedule
• Your merchant services fees have changed at all 
• All funds for invoices due have been received
• All upcoming bills have been taken into account
• There are any unauthorised payments on your account

 

Making a habit of this daily review will keep your records up to date and allow you to rectify any mistakes quickly, rather than allowing them to compound. 

 

2. Track Every Single Expense 

There’s just no way around it. If you want to manage your bookkeeping well, then you need to track every single expense. Fortunately, this is fairly easy to do when you open a separate business bank account. Your business bank account or credit card will function as a basic accounting system and keep a record of all of your transactions in one easy-to-access place. 

 

Pay with a card, rather than cash, whenever possible to automatically create records. When you pay with cash it’s all too easy to forget to log the transaction, lose your receipt and then have to forgo the write-off when filing your tax return.

Check my ”Accounting & Business Q&A” video out for more details. 

 

3. Check Your Financial Data Monthly 

Checking your transactions daily isn’t enough. At the end of each month, set aside time to analyse financial data and identify trends that may affect your business, either positively or negatively. 

 

Tracking your income monthly allows you to see which areas of your business are growing and which are in need of improvement. This also allows you to look at which activities generate the highest return on investment and gather data that may inform a future course of action. This data is also incredibly useful in identifying and predicting seasonal trends.

 

Daily income tracking is important but going over your numbers each month will help you to see the bigger picture and understand how well your business is faring in the long term. 

 

4. Invest in the Right Accounting Software 

Cloud based accounting software is no replacement for the services of a Professional Accountant or Bookkeeper but it can certainly help take care of the grunt work. Accounting software will help streamline the management of your financial documents, making it faster and easier than ever to file and organise receipts. 

 

As well as this, accounting software can help automate a lot of your invoicing. You can create a dashboard that will instantly tell you which clients have outstanding payments so that you can take fast action and collect the balance more quickly. Furthermore, you can automate invoice reminders and automatically add late fees to incentivise customers to cough up. 

 

5. Hire a Professional

We’re not sure that this counts as a “habit” per se, but the sooner you outsource to a professional, the better. A professional will offer a keen insight into your current cash flow situation and be able to offer advice on how you can make significant improvements. 

 

Furthermore, the professional will be able to spot trends and alert you if anything looks amiss. Although forking out for an added expense may seem counterproductive when trying to improve cash flow management, a professional will save you a huge amount of time and money and protect your business from fines, fees, and cash flow problems. 

 

From My Business to Your Business

Cash is king in business, so implement the above habits as soon as possible in order to protect and improve the financial health of your company. It’s hard to plot steady growth when you are continually running into cash flow problems, so if you find yourself struggling to stay on top, don’t hesitate to invest in the services of a professional Accountant who can keep their finger on the pulse and the cash flowing in the right direction.  

 

You’re very welcome to get in touch with Grace Certified Accountants if you have any questions.  Book a Free Call directly into my diary HERE.

 

Speak Soon!

 

Dora Ngoma

 

Director & Managing Partner

Grace Certified Accountants

 

Please check out my other blogs for more advice on how to run your bookkeeping and accounts smoothly.  Also take a look at us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube Channel and Instagram for more valuable insights.