Bookkeeping For Beginners: UK Bookkeeping Basics

bookkeeping 101

If you use an accountant, send them all invoices the moment you issue them. This means you won’t have a massive list of unregistered invoices at the end of the financial year. And it also means that you will have reported all your income, thus avoiding being accused of tax evasion. They can be easy to forget and a nightmare when it’s bank reconciliation time.

This process is complex but prevents errors in recording transactions. Having an accountant can help you to keep your bookkeeping records accurate and save time. They’ll manage your bookkeeping for startups books, process the documentation for you and maintain accurate records. But by using accounting software, bank reconciliation tasks can be a lot easier—and less time consuming too.

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Bookkeeping might at first seem like a confusing world of tax codes, VAT returns, and accounting jargon. Thinking about starting a business or already putting your ideas into action? We’ve got the resources, expertise and software to help you achieve your goals. Certain legislation is in place (or will be in the future) that may affect how you keep financial records. Business accounting will certainly help in time, but your priority should be to get on top of your books first. Bookkeeping sits within the world of accounting, and it’s often seen as the first step of a bigger process.

bookkeeping 101

Bookkeeping is the process of tracking all your company’s financial transactions so that you can see exactly where your business is spending money. Using bookkeeping skill, you will be able to check the variation of revenue source you including which tax deduction you’ll be able to claim. Decide how often you require your small business bookkeeping and accounting records. It may be that you prefer to do little and often, maybe each day set aside some time to ensure that your records are up-to-date.

Finance and Money Management Mentors

Bookkeeping involves recording and organising your financial transactions. AAT’s beginner’s guide to bookkeeping will help you to balance your books, get your accounts in order and stay in control of your finances. While it may seem like a lot to think about, completing all these bookkeeping tasks need not take more than a few hours per month—especially if you use accounting software. If you’re a sole trader, you’ll need to register with HMRC to file your taxes. You should register as soon as possible (or by the 5 October deadline) once you’ve started your business to avoid fines.

bookkeeping 101

When you put money in your bank account then the bank owes you this money, so they call it a credit. From your own accounting point of view though, an increase in your bank balance is a debit. Your invoice reflects that something has left the business, but this is balanced by a resource coming back into the business. Usually, this is the money that your customer pays you for the sale. The money leaving the business is balanced against the resource that they provide.