4 Tips for Keeping Business Records Organized and Your Accountant Happy

4 Tips for Keeping Business Records Organized and Your Accountant Happy

4 Tips for Keeping Business Records Organized and Your Charlotte Business Accountant Happy!

Running a business creates financial paperwork and lots of it even in this day and age of technology. You spend money on equipment, supplies, parts, vehicles, and entertainment in pursuit of your business goals. In turn, you generate receipts and invoices that track your spending. And then you turn all of this in, to your Charlotte business accountant so your finances are kept straight and taxes are correct. If you find that you’re handing your accountant the proverbial shoebox of papers every quarter, you’re making it hard to keep track of the finances. Here are some tips to organize your business records and keep your accountant happy. Also, see more organization tips that we created.

Keep Records Separated and Stacked

Technology is supposed to make it easier to keep track of papers, but that requires going through the step of scanning, then filing them. If you’re a small operation and time is valuable, finding a moment to sort and scan may not be in the cards, so you put everything into a box. Before you put your papers into the box, do a quick sort and lay everything into their respective pile, then paperclip them together. Next time you have a receipt or invoice, you can slide it under the paperclip in the appropriate stack.  Your Charlotte business accountant can sort through the stacks quickly and get to entering the information right away because things are organized.

Scanning Your Papers

In the event you do have time to scan your papers, you’ll save your Charlotte business accountant a lot of time as long as you’ve organized correctly. When you scan, you want to avoid having a virtual shoebox of scans with names that don’t make sense. Start by making a simple naming hierarchy such as invoice01-01-2018 or receiptsupplies1-2018 (remember that files can’t be named with a slash so always use dashes) and put in any relevant details such as the place the receipt came from or who was paid. You can go one step further by creating a folder for scans, then putting each type of scan into subfolders. When you’re ready to send them the Charlotte business accountant, you can email the entire folder with subfolders or put them onto a USB thumb drive without disturbing the layout.

Use Your Smartphone Camera

Are you on the road a lot and not sure if you’ll be able to hang onto your papers? Take a picture with your smartphone and store it in a folder that’s separate from your personal pictures. Your photos are backed up to the cloud on iOS and Android which means you have proof even if you lose the receipt. Retrieval of an image is easy; simply download it onto your laptop or desktop, then print out a copy and keep it in a file folder. Make sure to label the file folder so you can find it later when you need to give the information to the accountant.

Get a Copy Emailed to You

Many businesses are capable of emailing an invoice or bill, but retail operations are catching up by offering emailed receipts at checkout. Always ask for both kinds of receipts if possible. If you’re concerned that you’ll accidentally delete a receipt, move it into a folder and out of the way of your inbox. The chances of you accidentally deleting an email in another folder is minimal because you don’t visit that folder frequently. But if you’re concerned that you’re going to delete the emails anyway, forward them to another email address that you only use for the purpose of tracking financial papers.

Keeping your records organized does take time, but it’s worth it in the long run. You can refer back to expenditures, check when payments were made, and keep track of where money is coming from and going to. Plus your Charlotte business accountant will thank you for having everything neatly organized and ready to go.