Unfortunately, financial mismanagement is the number one reason that small businesses fail today. Many companies start out small, and with a very limited budget; owners hope their big dreams will one day become a reality. Some do, but there are numerous bookkeeping mistakes that if avoided, could actually save your company from becoming yet another statistic.
As trusted Atlanta bookkeepers, we want to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes. Here are a few of the biggest:
Mixing business and personal finances. This is extremely common, but a huge mistake. One rule of a successful business is to keep your business and personal accounts separate. Having only one account makes it almost impossible to reconcile your accounts. Consider an account specifically for business receipts, and one for disbursement. Reconciling your accounts will be so much simpler.
Procrastinating when it comes to reconciling your bank account. More than half of small businesses have only one to four employees; if you’re the only one, you may find yourself wearing many hats in an effort to take care of your company. When you have more on your plate than you can take care of yourself, it’s easy to say “I’ll do it later.” Reconciling your bank account is something that must not be put off, particularly if you’re one of those who is guilty of mixing personal with business. Keep every deposit slip and receipt, putting them in date order to make things as simple as possible.
Playing “bookkeeper” without any real knowledge. Not many small business owners graduate from college with an accounting or business degree, which means you know just enough about bookkeeping to be dangerous. Take a course and learn, or hire an Atlanta bookkeeping service to handle payroll, accounts payable, receivables, etc.
Lack of internal controls. Do you have a reliable system in place to ensure that once an invoice is placed into accounts payable for payment, that same invoice cannot be duplicated and mistakenly paid again? Little things like this can add up to huge problems for small business owners. Make sure your accounting software has strong internal controls – and that no one else in the office has access to logins and passwords other than those who will actually enter the information.
Are you making any of these top accounting mistakes? At Sound Business Services, Inc., we’re the Atlanta bookkeeping company that helps you experience peace of mind. Give us a call today for any or all of your accounting needs!