Starting a new business is exciting, but keeping an eye on the basics of spending is of paramount importance. Failing to keep a record of this will double your workload because you'll have to remember the date of every receipt, invoice and cheque, and what they were for. The biggest rookie error I've seen start ups make is the reluctance to track transactions in the first flush of business. However there are classic mistakes both start ups and seasoned businesses are susceptible to if they are not vigilant and organised with their accounts. Of course part of the accountant's job is to manage the books, but their responsibility extends much wider, creating reports from the recorded financial transactions, filing reports with government agencies and completing audit processes.īasic bookkeeping can be simple once you get your head around it. Perhaps part of the myth that bookkeeping is more complex than it needs to be is to do with the fact that accounting and bookkeeping are interchangeable. It is the evidence which makes up your legal requirement to produce accounts for tax. Bookkeeping is the practise of simply keeping a record of all your receipts and invoices for the purpose of statutory accounts, VAT claiming and corporation tax.

Bookkeeping for dummies