A 5-Step Bookkeeping Guide for Beginners

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A 5-Step Bookkeeping Guide for Beginners
Bookkeeping is one of the most tiresome tasks in
business operations. No matter how much you try
to avoid it, you will need to address it on time.
Otherwise, ignoring accounting and bookkeeping
could lead you into legal and financial
trouble. Are you a new business owner and have
no idea what bookkeeping is? Dont worry here
we give you a 6-step bookkeeping guide that will
tell you all you need to know about it and how
to take care of your books in the best way
possible. What is bookkeeping? Bookkeeping means
keeping records of all your business
transactions, such as accounts
payable/receivable, bank transactions, account
ledgers, balance sheets, etc. Bookkeeping
ultimately tells you how your business is
performing in terms of profit/loss. Many new
business owners make the mistake of taking their
bookkeeping for granted. They think that there
are very few business transactions to look after.
Hence they can do it themselves or let their
back office admin handle the job.
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• However, accounting and bookkeeping is very
  complex. In the wrong hands, it could lead to a
  business backlash. Hence, it must only be done by
  professionals. Doing it yourself or letting your
  back office admin do it may cost you more in the
  form of your time and resources.
• Having the right sets of hands taking care of
  your books would ensure accurate records of your
  business and give you insights on how to grow
  your business to its maximum potential.
• However, there are still some things that you
  should know about bookkeeping as a business
  owner. Here we give you a 6-step bookkeeping
  guide to get you started
• The 5-Step Bookkeeping Guide
• The beginning
• Bookkeeping is relatively straightforward in the
  beginning. You need to keep accurate records of
  all your business transactions. Keep these types
  of transactions in mind if you dont know what
  youre supposed to do sales records, purchase
  records, accounts payable, accounts receivable,
  bank records, cash transaction records, payroll,
  etc.
• To make processes easier, you can utilize the
  following
• Accounting Book The accounting book is precisely
  what it sounds like. Writing down your business
  transactions in accounting books is something
  that we rarely see nowadays. But even though
  its not a great choice, you could utilize it if
  your business has very few transactions.
• Spreadsheets Spreadsheets are a great way to
  organize your business transactions with
  conditional formatting. Some of its filters can
  help you a great deal with calculations, etc.
• Accounting Software Automation tools like
  bookkeeping software can simplify your
  bookkeeping process a great deal. It can make
  processes like sales invoices, purchase
  invoices, and receipts much simpler and easier.
• Bookkeeping vs. Accounting

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• Accounting Accounting, in general, is to take
  care of your businesss accounts and make sure
  your business complies with the law. Accounting
  also includes taking care of taxes.
• Branches of Bookkeeping
• Now that weve understood what bookkeeping is,
  its time to understand what it consists of. As
  we mentioned, bookkeeping means to keep records
  of all your business
• transactions. Now, lets dive deeper and talk
  about what types of financial records it
  includes
• Cash transactions One of the basics of running
  your business is to keep track of how much money
  youre making and how much youre spending.
  Bookkeeping includes maintaining records of all
  your cash transactions.
• Accounts payable/receivable Speaking of cash
  transactions, businesses need to maintain cash
  flow, which will only be possible if they keep
  their accounts payable and receivable up-to-date
  and accurate.
• Stock inventory In the case of product-based
  businesses, keeping your stock records aligned
  with the physical stock present is also a part of
  bookkeeping.
• Loans payable Businesses arent just about
  profits and assets you also need to keep
  records of your liabilities, such as loans
  payable, when theyre due, etc.
• Sales records Keeping sales records, such as
  invoices, product specifications, etc., is one
  of the fundamentals of bookkeeping. Its a highly
  crucial part of bookkeeping.
• Purchase records Along with keeping accurate
  sales records, its also essential to keep
  up-to-date purchase records, which helps with
  stock inventory and accounts payable.
• Payroll Paying your employees their
  salaries/wages is also a part of bookkeeping.
  Things like making sure youre not under or
  overpaying them and timely payroll are very
  crucial.
• Invaluable bookkeeping tips
• Bookkeeping, in the beginning, seems like a
  fairly simple process. But, as you go further
  inside it, it starts to seem like chaos. Hence,
  were giving you some pointers thatll help you
  keep your head on your shoulders

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Dont let business and personal finances mingle
Dont make the rookie mistake of not keeping
your business and personal finances separate,
even if your business is new and has fewer
transactions. Keep them separate. 5. Try
outsourced accounting If you think that hiring
an accountant is expensive, think again. What if
we told you you could get a virtual bookkeeper
for as cheap as 9/hour? Its worth a try. You
can use outsourced accounting services for your
tiniest tasks and pay only for those little
tasks. Tell you what let us give you a free
5-hour trial! Key Carrier Accounting has one of
the most experienced staff in accounting
bookkeeping services. Get in touch with us if
that interests you.