Money has to be managed. From the time you write out an invoice to the time that you are paid and the money bank, you need to manage your money.
A business needs things, from a pencil to a delivery vehicle and these have to bought and paid for. So now you also need to track what you are spending your money on.
Add the Tax man into the mix, and he is going to insist that you keep proper records.And to make it even more difficult, customers could abscond without paying and just as bad, may have to refunded.
You could employ someone to do this or do it yourself, quickly and easily. You need a Bank Account and a Spread Sheet. A printer and a scanner are also handy but not essential.
All South African Banks offer a variety of accounts. Look at costs, what you get and can you use electronic and phone banking. They also have special offers for Small Business, for example FNB gives it clients a first class account package free!
Capitec offer an non business savings account that will cost you R5.00 a month and includes 5 separate accounts, lets you use a Debit Card free of charge to make purchases. Ideal if you are a sole trader.
I prefer to use a Spread Sheet and here is another free solution - almost everybody has a Gmail account - Google also offer Google Docs through their Google Drive, which also include up to 15 GB free on-line storage.
Bank
- Check your balance once a day
- Ask the Bank to e Mail your statements
- or, go on-line to download them
Income & Purchases
Set up columns in order to differentiate
- List invoices issued for the month
- Mark them as outstanding or paid (use colours)
- List Income and cross reference to the Invoice
- List Expenses (use cash slips & receipts
Once you have listed your nonsenses, either file the receipts or scan them
Reconcile your bank statement against your spread sheet. Here you will find that printing out the statement and spreadsheet makes reconsiling easier thet do it on your PC and having to switch screens.
Whilst you are still small, this is the quickest and easiest way but when you start to grow you will need to get a business manage or an account.
