Rocking the role of a woman leader means wearing a multitude of different hats to keep your business afloat, let alone empower it to thrive and flourish. What that means is that juggling several roles for small business owners can be tricky simply because you might not have the experience, qualifications, or the knowledge to run each and every vital segment of your company independently – just yet.
Getting to know the heartbeat of your business as you build it one day at a time also means that you should find ways to improve your operations a little every day. That includes your money management, too.
Whether you’re completely new at the role or you’ve done it a fair number of years, 2020 brings with it a slew of monetary changes for small businesses. Let’s look at them as opportunities, instead. That way, you can see which ones apply to your industry, and how you can put them to work and use them to grow your small business with careful, smart accounting decisions for months to come.
Take an Online Course
If this is not your forte, fear not, you’re definitely not alone, and there are so many options out there that can help you become better at managing your finances. For starters, you can look into various free accounting courses online that will walk you through those fundamentals of bookkeeping, tracking expenses, and filing all the right reports. Add to that, if you can afford them, there are different paid workshops and seminars you can attend.
Even though official certification is not something you’re probably after, since you’re not looking for a job in accounting but you want to be able to manage your business more easily, these can come in handy. The knowledge included in such courses is always something you can put to use when you’re after compliance in business, no matter the industry you come from.
Automate and Digitize Your Payroll
One major shift in accounting in 2020 will refer to automating various processes in your business, so as to allocate more of your time towards different, more hands-on tasks that require your attention and problem-solving. With that in mind, more small businesses use personalize employee income cards to automate payroll payments, eliminate delays and waiting times, and cut down on transaction fees, effectively putting more money into the employees’ pockets.
Setting up such a system and getting used to it might take some time, but the perks far outweigh the need for adjustment. In fact, automating salaries frees up your schedule significantly and grants you more time to handle other accounting tasks that might be more complex.
Keep Your Wallets Separate
When you’re just kick-starting your own business, you might be tempted to use your personal finances here and there to spend more on marketing campaigns, or hire an external consultant. Alternatively, many business owners are so eager to start running their business that they link their company transactions to their personal bank account, instantly causing every accountant’s worst nightmare.
This is all preventable if you open up a business account and link it to your company from day one. It lets you keep your records neat, simplifies tracking your business-related expenses and transactions, and eliminates the need to tap into your personal funds altogether.
Plan Ahead for Covering Taxes
When it’s time to pay your due diligence in the form of taxes, you should make this process as easy as it can be for you and your books. That simply means that you can actually prevent so many issues with your records if you plan ahead for paying taxes instead of being surprised by the sum when it’s time to pay up.
First of all, by planning ahead, looking at your tax obligations early, and keeping track of all your transactions, you can find simple ways to reduce your tax bill. Plus, you will already have a set-aside sum for covering your tax obligations and you won’t need to worry about your profits and your employees’ income, or your cash flow stability.
Track Your Expenses and Keep Your Receipts
Whether you’re a one-woman show, or you’re expanding to include more people to work under your wing, the one key habit you should embrace in order to simplify your operations is to start tracking your expenses. By that, we mean business expenses, since they can be tax-deductible and they allow you to keep a clean record of your business transactions outside of all those invoices and billing.
Start defining what you treat like a business expense. Do you pay for rent in a coworking space, do you buy stationery, work with consultants? Do you organize client lunches instead of regular Skype meetings? All of these expenses can be considered business-related, which can greatly help you in managing your finances with ease – so remember to keep and file those receipts.
Smaller companies come with major challenges, hence the need to treat them like a great responsibility that they are. In essence, accounting in 2020 will be affected by streamlined processes thanks to automation and technology, but you’ll also be able to use various apps to help keep track of your business finances. Make sure to keep up with the latest trends so as to ensure that your business has everything it needs to greet upcoming years at the forefront of your chosen market!
About the Author
Lauren Wiseman is a marketing specialist and contributor to bizzmarkblog.com. She helps clients grow their personal and professional brands in the fast-changing and demanding market, strongly believing in a holistic approach to a business. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
