10 Bookkeeping Tips For Singapore SMEs

Keep Personal Accounts and Business Accounts Separate

The trick to making sure that your accounting is accurate is to keep everything in its place. Separate your personal accounts from your business accounts, and make sure that the money you have for yourself does not mix with the company’s. Knowing exactly how much your business has in terms of budget helps you make better fiscal decisions, and it means that your personal assets are protected as well.

Create A Budget Plan

Having a ready budget plan you can reference every time you need to make a big purchase helps in making sure that you’re well within your financial capability. Budget plans give you a financial roadmap, which keeps you from being distracted with expenditures that don’t grow your company.

Use Cashless Payments

Cashless payments are godsent, especially in the post-pandemic world. It eliminates the need for you to handle physical money that can be carriers of the virus, and it automatically logs your transactions, making it easier for you to encode them in your bookkeeping software.

Install And Use Helpful Apps

Make full use of the technology available to you and make your bookkeeping life easier. Google Drive and OneDrive can store and file your transaction receipts, help you create spreadsheets that you can access via your phone or laptop, or even allow you and your team to collaborate on documents. There are also paid apps for bookkeeping and tracking transactions — you can find one that works well with your management style.

Do It Regularly

Cramming financial reports is a recipe for hair-pulling hysteria, so avoid it by doing your books even for a little every day. It’s as simple as jotting down your assets and expenditures right before you close shop for the day. Aside from keeping your books organized, it also helps to keep you abreast of your financial situation.

Religiously Keep Your Documents

While not every document needs a physical copy, make sure that you still have your receipts and transaction records photographed and filed properly. This will become your lifeline when you need to cross-check transactions or when filing for your taxes. It’s even better if your files are digital: you help save the planet by going paperless, and you can easily find a document through your computer or phone’s search function.

Classify Your Transactions

So you have your records and your receipts in one place, but the really important part is to make them make sense. Without the transaction details, it’s easy to confuse entries in your bookkeeping. Label your entries as expenses, revenues, assets, or liabilities so you can easily see an overview of your finances.

Keep Your Eyes On Account Receivables

Many SMEs are too focused on balancing their accounts between assets and expenses that they forget that they should have money coming in. This is particularly rampant when your business has more flexible payment terms with your customers. Remember to follow up collections with your sales agents and keep your cash flow coming.

Be On Top of Government Procedures and Due Dates

When you’re doing the bookkeeping yourself, you need to make sure that you do not miss any important payment deadlines and government filing. A missed deadline can be financially painful in penalties, and mistakes in procedures, filled out forms and other requirements can incur more cost.

Get Professional Help

When accounting becomes too demanding or your time is best used for other aspects of your business, you can always just outsource your bookkeeping to professionals instead. Cost-wise, it actually saves you more money in the long run, and when it comes to compliance, it helps to make sure that the person doing your books actually knows what they are doing.

For reliable, professional, and exceptional bookkeeping services that can keep your company compliant and competitive, contact us today!

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