Ever wondered what the background to bookkeeping is and how your business can benefit from the well-known accounting practice?
Coleman and Co are on hand to give you the ‘low down’ into bookkeeping and what the accounting practice really entails. Although the term bookkeeping can mean something different to various people and businesses, the bread and butter of it all are that it is a form of accounting that has been praised for being accurate, reliable and organised for businesses on all levels. So, what are you waiting for?
What Is Double Entry Bookkeeping?
A lot of accountants will talk about double-entry bookkeeping and to those not in the know, it isn’t one of the most interesting topics to discuss. Although it won’t be at the top of a business owner’s list, it really pays to understand what it actually means when our accountants discuss it with you.
Double Entry Bookkeeping allows you to gain a clear visual on just exactly where your money is going. With the ability to avoid mistakes, the chance to record transactions at least twice and the chance to filter out faulty entries, the double element of double entry bookkeeping means exactly that, double.
By entering the record twice, the accounting system will show you where the transaction took place and what the results were indefinitely.
Example – you are running a concrete firm and you just spent £300 on supplies. If you followed simple accounting practice, your cash would show a £300 loss but if you use double-entry bookkeeping you will also record that your inventory has been boosted by £300 on supplies.
Record Everything Because It All Matters
To get a clear picture of your business finances and current situation you need to record everything your business does. Whether you think it is minor and plays no part in the general running of the business or not, all data matters and every penny counts when it comes to running a successful business.
Coleman and Co always record all figures and facts when carrying out bookkeeping for our clients and also include:
- Money paid by customers
- Money owed to other businesses or customers
- Profit made from selling products and services
- Supplies for the business
- Wages, bills, other external costs
- Overall profits accumulated
Get Your Books Balanced
Balancing your books needs to be your main priority regardless of whatever business you are working with. Here at Coleman and Co we make it our main aim to get all of our business’ books balanced and stop at nothing to advise on money saving areas and great business decisions. As a hands-on accounting company, you can expect our team to be there through every profit or loss as we see your business success as our main aim.
The way we effectively balance books is by looking at where your expenditures comes back into the business. If you have spent £300 on concrete supplies but then created concrete slabs out of the materials and sold them for £600, you are actually £300+ on the books. For example:
Supplies: £300
Income: £600
Total: £300
Come to Coleman and Co to “start getting your books in order, using your preferred accounting software (or old-fashioned ledgers if you prefer)” and make sure you “keep all your receipts and order records in a well-ordered filing system, so that you can go back and verify anything you need to”, Andrew Blackman.
Preparing Financial Statements
Coleman and Co look into all key financial statements and create general reporting on the balance sheets, income statements and cash flow forecasting. With this information, you can easily see the direction in which your business is heading, how you can make changes to the structure and whether you need to make more money to be successful.
Taking account of expenses, revenue, costs and products used, you get a quick snapshot of your business with the credible guidance from our accountants. If there is any step you are unaware of, our team go through each element at your pace to make sure you understand all elements of bookkeeping with your business.
Get in Touch
Bookkeeping is a very complex area for any business to venture into but it is one that needs to be applied to all functioning business industries. Call Coleman and Co today on 028 9266 3599 to get more information about bookkeeping or to discuss accounting for your business with the professionals in Lisburn.