Year-Round Bookkeeping Tasks for Your Business

To avoid penalties and last-minute scrambling at tax time, it’s wise to maintain a regular schedule for year-round bookkeeping tasks. This will save you valuable time,  whether you have an in-house corporate bookkeeping staff, outsource to a third-party service like TaxAssist Accountants, or keep your own books.

Waiting to post your financial records only once a year is akin to driving a car blindfolded. You have no idea where you’re going and won’t be able to identify bumps in the road, oncoming hazards, and openings in traffic. Even if you manage to take care of your bookkeeping tasks quarterly, you might miss important information that could affect your entire business strategy.

What Bookkeeping Tasks are Most Important?

Your bookkeeper may tell you that every report and financial transaction should be tracked regularly and meticulously. But certain bookkeeping tasks take precedence when you haven’t the resources to stay on top of daily tasks.

The most critical steps that require daily attention include:

• Sales
• Vendor payments and other bills
• Bank deposits

Your books should be easily accessible, especially those daily and weekly reports that may include:

• Payroll
• Accounts receivable
• Checking account reconciliations

Monthly bookkeeping tasks may require a bit more time and may include:

• Reviews of payables and receivables
• Credit card statement reviews
• Inventory checks

Quarterly tasks are essential to ensure success and include:

• Making estimated tax payments
• Reviewing profit and loss reports
• Checking progress against forecasts

Can Some Bookkeeping Tasks Wait?

When you have to dole out your time to cover all aspects of your small business, you may have to set financial priorities and pick and choose which things you can do regularly and which ones have to wait. There are acceptable annual tasks, such as:

• Paying taxes
• Sending out payroll T4A forms
• Preparing income statements to close out your year
• Meeting with advisors to set goals for the next year

When you keep up with the relevant bookkeeping tasks year-round, end-of-year reports and tax filings are a breeze because all the financial reports you need are readily accessible at your fingertips. When you have to scramble, you may miss out on valuable deductions and earned credits, not to mention time at the end of the year that you could be spending enjoying your family, friends, and other non-business-related events.

How Can I Keep Up with Year-Round Bookkeeping Tasks?

Bookkeeping firms like TaxAssist Accountants offer a range of service packages to suit your needs. It may be in your best interests to allow a third-party accounting team to take care of every financial detail of your business if you don’t have in-house staff.

On the other hand, you can use the services of a consulting firm to set you up with easy-to-use technology for the best do-it-yourself accounting system for your needs. Consider, for example, using:

• Cloud-based accounting services that you can access from anywhere to input financial data on the go every day or as needed
• Excel spreadsheets already set up into which you have to enter your sales numbers and harmonize sales tax figures daily
• Online QuickBooks accounting software that your remote accounting team can also access to check your input

Don’t wait until your company’s year-end to begin collecting the paperwork and financial reports that you’ll need to file your taxes. Everyday bookkeeping tasks involve so much more than simply paying your share to the government. Good financial records equate to peace of mind, fewer accidents and missed opportunities, and your ultimate business success. Improve your bookkeeping systems with a review from TaxAssist Accountants. Contact the team today for a consultation.

 

Date published May 31, 2022

This article contains general information only and should not be relied upon for accuracy or completeness. You should seek appropriate tax or accounting advice from a qualified accountant before you take, or refrain from taking, any steps based upon this article. This article should not be construed as tax, accounting or other professional advice and QX Franchise Limited (Master Franchisee for TaxAssist in Canada) disclaims liability for any loss, howsoever caused, arising directly or indirectly from reliance on the information in this article.