09/08/2014

How To Save Time Bookkeeping

Five Quick Tips To Save Time Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping can be time consuming for business owners. Here are five easy ways to save time bookkeeping.

1. Never record sales in a word processor. Though word processors may provide more options for invoice templates it creates a double up of work. If you are using accounting software it is definitely worth the time to setup an invoice template to record your sales. It saves you time because each time you create an invoice in the accounting software you record your sale as well. You may not be able to get the exact colour or layout of the invoice that you prefer but the time saved is definitely worth the trade off.

2. Integrate your point-of-sale system with your accounting software. This is a huge time saver for retail businesses. Each time your process a sale through your point-of-sale system it does the necessary entries into your accounting software. No need to enter in daily sales totals or movements of inventory. Accounting software like Xero is perfect for this as it has loads of add-ons including point-of-sale software.

3. Don’t use old school docket https://onhealthy.net/product-category/antifungals/ books. Handwritten invoices are out of date. Not only do they create double the work for processing sales, they just aren’t cool. If you need write out invoices on the go and you own a smart phone, why not use an invoicing app. These integrate with your accounting software. You simply draft your invoice and email it to your client. The invoice is automatically recorded in your accounting software as sale.

Save time bookkeeping

4. Make payments in batches. Set aside time each week for weekly bills or once a month for monthly accounts. Avoid paying bills one by one, as it is very time consuming. Instead create a batch payment file for your accounts payable. Simply upload it to your online banking and your bank will pay all your bills at once.

5. Use bank feeds. Some accounting software let you use bank feeds. These automatically upload your bank statements into your accounting software. This feature significantly speeds up bank reconciliations. No need to enter the bank statement data into your accounting software anymore.

If you would like more information on any of the topics covered, please feel free to contact us anytime.

Posted in: Bookkeeping, Xero
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08/08/2014

Manage Your Jobs With WorkflowMax

WorkflowMax is job, time and invoice management software. It is designed to remove the frustration from job management. WorkflowMax covers all aspects of a job, from lead management to quoting, time sheeting to invoicing and everything in between. If your business is job focused than WorkflowMax is perfect for you.

Timesheets In WorkflowMax

Timesheets in WorkflowMax are very flexible. They can be completed by individual staff using computers, tablets or smartphones. Use the stopwatch feature for exact minutes or update them daily or weekly. Timesheet hours are billed against jobs to see how many hours have been spent on each job and by whom. Save time by exporting your weekly payroll to leading payroll software such as Xero.

Job Tracking In WorkflowMax

WorkflowMax helps you track each of your jobs with ease. Know how you are tracking against deadlines or job estimate. Track your expect profit on each job. Know exactly who has been working on each job and for how long. Access all this information about your jobs in once central place.

Project Management With WorkflowMax

Set overall objectives and deadlines for projects. Break projects into tasks and allocate time and resources for each task. Notifications alert you to upcoming due dates and impending breaches in estimated times. Manage your jobs easily on the run using your smartphone or tablet.

Invoicing With WorkflowMax

Save time invoicing using WorkflowMax. No need to use a calculator, WorkflowMax will automate invoice calculation with a single click. Bill on staff rates or task rates. Brand your invoice template giving your own look and feel. Write off individual timesheets. Easily mark up materials used. Invoice multiple jobs on the same bill. Invoices can be easily integrated with Xero and other accounting systems.

Manage your jobs with WorkflowMax

For more information about WorkflowMax features, integration with Xero and account setup please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Posted in: Bookkeeping
07/08/2014

Simple Tips To Manage Your Stock More Effectively

Five Ways to Help You Manage Your Stock

Most business owners and bookkeepers are conscience to the possibility of cash going missing; few have the same attitude towards keeping stock safe. If you business carries stock that is easily sold for cash, then you will need some additional systems to manage your stock.

1. Split ordering roles from accepting deliveries.

The goal is that the person placing the order for inventory isn’t the same one accepting the delivery of inventory. So the employee in the electronic store doesn’t place an order for an iPad with the intent of taking it home, as the person accepting the delivery receives the iPad and records it into stock.

2. Match bills and delivery dockets.

Only approve bills for payment that have delivery dockets or stock receipts. This quickly highlights if inventory has been ordered but not entered into the inventory management software.

3. Protect stock from being stolen.

Take control of the physical access to your warehouse by employees and suppliers. Only https://diazepamhome.com provide keys to full-time employees, restrict hours of access to the warehouse, and change the alarm passwords when employees resign. Use back to base alarm monitoring so that warehouse is covered 24 hours a day.

Manage your stock

4. Identify what inventory items are more likely to be stolen.

For example, if you’re a surf wear retailer you will probably need to be more vigilant about protecting expensive sunglasses and watches than you would about protecting shirts and board shorts. Small expensive items are big targets for thieves.

5. Complete stocktakes regularly and report back to your staff.

Complete stocktakes in regular intervals as these give comprehensive details of the state of your stock. Most stocktakes have discrepancies. Report these discrepancies back to warehouse staff and have the staff involved in tracking down the reasons for the discrepancies.

If your stock is out of control or you want to improve the way your stock is handled, please contact us today and find out how we can help.

Posted in: Bookkeeping
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05/08/2014

Paperless Bookkeeping For Small Businesses

Clear your desk and simplify your life with paperless bookkeeping. Imagine not having the stress of paperwork in your small business. Wouldn’t it just make your life easier? It may sound far-fetched but paperless bookkeeping can actually be a way of life.

Paperless bookkeeping

Paperless Bookkeeping With Bank Feeds.

The introduction to cloud-based accounting software was the starting point to this life. Cloud-based accounting software uses automatic bank feeds. Bank feeds automatically import all of your bank account transactions. No need to print off statements or have them mailed to you. No need to manually enter bank data. Xero is one of more popular cloud-based accounting software products available. It has access to hundreds of banks, credit card facilities, PayPal and over 160 foreign currencies. Not only do bank-feed reduce the time you spend on your books. They eliminate your need of paper bank statements and start you on the journey to complete paperless bookkeeping.

Paperless Bookkeeping With Shoeboxed.

Shoeboxed is a Sydney-based company that scans and organises your receipts, invoices and other documents securely online. Simply send (post or email) all your paperwork into Shoeboxed. Shoeboxed will then https://xanaxcost.com/anxiety-medication-xanax/ extract the data (date, vendor, amount, GST, payment type) from the documents. They then upload and store them in your secure online account. You simply check that they have been allocated to the right account type with the correct GST codes and import them into your accounting software. They can either send all your documents back to you or you can request that they shred them. They will store all your electronic copies online where you will always access them. Shoeboxed will even help you if you ever get audited by providing the Australian Taxation Office with access to your documents.

Cloud-based accounting and Shoxboxed will give you a strong start on your journey to paperless bookkeeping. They will help you simplify your bookkeeping and reduce your stress levels. If you would like to find out even more ways your small business can do paperless bookkeeping, please contact us. At Prestige Bookkeeping Solutions, we pride ourselves on providing bookkeeping innovation and efficiency for all our clients. Check out our bookkeeping services for more detail on how we can solve your bookkeeping needs.

04/08/2014

How To Easily Manage Petty Cash In Xero

Dealing with petty cash in Xero is simple. There are plenty of different ways to deal with petty cash in your small business. Firstly, it must be clear when it comes to petty cash there are general rules and outcomes that never change:

  • Purchases have to be related to your small business.
  • If someone takes money from the tin and promises to bring back a receipt, they probably won’t.
  • When someone puts an IOU in the petty cash tin. It means they won’t pay you back.
  • No matter how strict you are, petty cash will never balance.

There are two main ways to manage petty cash in xero, depending on whether you have employees or are an owner operator.

Petty Cash in Xero with Employees

Setup your petty cash system using these five steps:

  1. Buy a petty cash box with a lock and key.
  2. Assign a gatekeeper for the petty cash tin.
  3. Set an amount to be used as a float.
  4. Have your gatekeeper keep your employees accountable to return receipts and change.
  5. When the petty cash tin is low on funds. Sort the receipts and go to the bank and top it up to original float amount.

Setting up petty cash in Xero:

  1. Setup a bank account that will represent the transactions in the petty cash tin. You do this by clicking the ‘add bank account’ button in the chart of accounts settings. Enter your petty cash tin balance into Xero in the conversion balance settings. Whenever you restock the petty cash tin.
  2. Click the ‘Manage Account’ button in Xero of the appropriate bank account (as shown in picture below). Click the  ‘Transfer Money ‘ button to account for the transfer of money into your petty cash tin.
  3. To record transaction that occur in your petty cash tin, use the ‘Manage Account’ drop down box again. Select ‘Spend Money’ or ‘Receive Money’ and enter in the appropriate details.
  4. When you want to reconcile the account, use the ‘Manage Account’ drop down box and select ‘Reconcile Account’. Since there is no bank feed attached to this account, simply tick all items entered and select ‘Mark as Reconciled’ which will update your actual bank balance figure.

Managing petty cash in Xero

Petty Cash in Xero for Owner Operator.

For owner operators, tracking petty cash in xero is even easier:

  1. Download the Xero app for your smart phone, iPhone or Android.
  2. Each time you make a purchase with personal cash or electronic funds ask for a tax receipt.
  3. Enter in the purchase in the Xero app as an expense claim. The app allows you to take a photo of the receipt and allocate the expense to the appropriate account in Xero.
  4. You can now discard the receipt as Xero will save its photo with the transaction online.
  5. When it’s time to reimburse yourself. Log into Xero and approve and pay all the expense reimbursements you have entered. If you want to leave the money in the business just allocate the reimbursement to “Owners Funds Introduced’. This will keep track of how much personal money you have used in the business and allow you to claim the GST credits for those purchases.

It’s that simple, no more annoying receipts and headaches.

Please feel free to contact us if you would you like more information on our bookkeeping services or Xero bookkeeping.

Posted in: Bookkeeping, Xero
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03/08/2014

How To Make Retail Bookkeeping Easier & Cheaper

With the advance of cloud-based software, retail bookkeeping has never been simpler.

Traditionally, each point-of-sale would need software installed and updated, or connected to an expensive computer server. Your customer databases from each shop would always need to be merged. Sales figures exported and then imported into an accounting program. Stock movements in your shop wouldn’t be reflected in your online store. These are just some of the hassles and frustrations of retail bookkeeping.

Cloud-based Retail Bookkeeping

Thankfully, there is a better way. Cloud-based point-of-sale software such as Vend or Retail Express, are run on a secure web-based server. This means that your computers, tablets or smartphones only need an internet connection to access the point-of-sale software. When the software in the ‘cloud’ is updated, you automatically get access to the updated version. All your point-of-sales are connected to the one centralised program, allowing your customer databases to be merged. This can help improve your customer loyalty programs and marketing.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mj7bOx660zc%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded

Cloud-based point-of-sale software can be easily integrated into accounting software such as Xero. Sales totals get pushed into Xero for reconciliation with your bank account. Account statements and invoices sent from Vend or Retail Express automatically appear in Xero for reconciliation. Purchase orders enter into your point-of-sale software are forwarded into Xero. You can even merge your customer and supplier databases in both Xero and your point-of-sale software easily.

Retail bookkeeping with Vend POS

Add Shopify to the mix for your e-commerce solution to take your retail bookkeeping to a new level. Shopify allows you to sync your products, prices and inventory with your point-of-sale software. This will ensure you never sell a product online that you don’t have in stock. If you decide edit your product prices or descriptions in your point-of-sale software, Shopify will automatically update your online products to match.

If you would like to find a retail bookkeeping solution for your small business please contact us for a free retail bookkeeping consultation. If you would like to know more about the services we offer, check out our bookkeeping services page.

Posted in: Bookkeeping
02/08/2014

End Of Year Payroll Guide For Xero

Completing your end of year payroll obligations has never been easier in Xero. You just need to follow these four simple steps

Step 1: Complete all pay runs up to 30 June and ensure they reconcile with the general ledger. Post or cancel any uncompleted pay runs (as shown in the picture below).End of Year Payroll with Xero

  • Once you have completed the final pay run for June, check that your total earnings, superannuation and PAYG reconcile to your accounts. To do this go to ‘Reports’ and select the ‘Payroll Activity Summary’ report. Change the date range to ‘This Financial Year’.
  • Take note of your end of year payroll accounts (earnings, tax & super). Compare these figures with the ‘General Ledger’ report for the same date range.
  • If you have been using more than one wage account you will need to add these up to see if they match the ‘Payroll Activity Summary’ report.
  • When comparing the tax we want to only look at the credit column as this represents the total liability for the year excluding the payments we have already made.
  • If you have discrepancies with any of your end of year payroll amounts, you will need review your payroll and correct these differences before you proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Check that each employee’s specific pay components have been recorded correctly in payroll.

  • To do this go to ‘Reports’ and select the ‘Payroll Activities Details’ report. Change the date range to ‘This Financial Year’.
  • Review the information for each employee. If any of their end of year payroll amounts are incorrect or are in this wrong area, you will need to correct them. Go to the Xero Help Centre to learn how to correct these errors.

Step 3: Run the end of year payroll payment summaries.

  • To do this go to ‘Payroll’, ‘Employees’ and select ‘Payment Summaries’.
  • Check that your organisation name, ABN and postal address are correct. If they are wrong, go to ‘Organisation Settings’ to update them.
  • Enter the Signatory (Usually the business owner or payroll administrator). This name will be printed out on the payment summaries as the authoriser.
  • Provide a phone number that the ATO can contact you on if they need to get any more information from you.
  • When finished, select ‘Confirm and Continue’.
  • Check the financial year is correct and record any reportable fringe benefit or lump sum amounts.
  • Reportable fringe benefit amounts can be found on your reportable fringe benefits tax return.
  • If you paid employees lump sum amounts during the year, you should have created a pay item for these. You can find these in the ‘Transaction Listing Details’ report under ‘Reports’.
  • Once finished, select all the employees and ‘Publish’. Publishing locks the end of year payroll accounts down and publishes payments summaries to the employee portal so that your employees will have access to them.
  • If you prefer to print or email the payment summaries to your employees, select ‘Send to Employee’

Step 4: Send end of year payroll information to the ATO.

  •  On the same screen, select ‘Create EMPDUPE’
  • If you are preparing the end of year payroll information on behalf of another business, select ‘Yes’ to supply contact details to the ATO. If you don’t need to supply contact details, then select ‘No’.
  • Once the EMPDUPE file is created, you need send it to the ATO.
  • You can either, upload it to the ATO online portal, submit it via ATO ECL software or submit it on a storage device (e.g. USB stick or CD).

Your finished until next year! Should you have any questions about our bookkeeping services or end of year payroll in Xero please do not hesitate to contact us.

01/08/2014

Year End Bookkeeping

The start of the new financial year has come and gone, so its time to complete your year-end bookkeeping. If you are like most small businesses, you have work to do to get your books ready for your accountant. Having your year-end bookkeeping as accurate as possible aids in the speed of the preparation of your return. This means not only faster turn around for your tax return but cheaper too.

Tax time end of year

Five Keys for Accurate Year End Bookkeeping.

Here are five key items to check in your year-end bookkeeping prior to having your tax completed.

  1. Check that all your accounts have been reconciled up to 30 June.  This includes business bank accounts, credit cards, petty cash accounts and loan accounts. Check that your balance for each bank account as at close of business 30 June matches the closing balance in your accounting software.
  2. Check your chart of accounts and ensure that each account’s GST code is correct. GST isn’t on all income and expenses. Common errors include ASIC payments, bank fees, interest expense, superannuation payments and insurance. Insurance is a tricky item as the stamp duty portion is GST free. To thoroughly examine your income and expenses for GST pull a GST Audit Report (name varies depending on your accounting software). This will help you review any transactions that may have been coded incorrectly.
  3. Review your accounts receivable report. This report should reflect the amounts your clients owe you as at the date of the report. Take a closer look at any negative figures, to see if there are errors. If any of the amounts are bad debts, make note of them and tell your accountant. If you are using Xero and you want to write them off yourself, follow these steps.
  4. Review your accounts payable report. This report should reflect the amounts you owe your suppliers as at the date of the report. If you have items on this report that were paid personally or with cash, ensure these are closed off to the appropriate account. For example, a sole trader using the Xero chart of accounts should use the account ‘881 Owner A Funds Introduced’.
  5. Lastly, go back to your bank reconciliations and check for any outstanding deposits or outstanding cheques.  An outstanding deposit may reveal a cheque that has been forgotten to be banked.

If you need any more help getting your year-end bookkeeping complete, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Posted in: Bookkeeping