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Keeping on top of your finances – and how that makes year-end a breeze!

It’s April and here we are again at the start of a new tax year. There’s a whole fresh new financial year laid out ahead, but is your business ready to keep on top of those all-important financials and to stay organised throughout the year?

By staying in control of your bookkeeping, invoice scanning and uploading of expense receipts, you not only improve your overview of your finances and reporting, you also make your year-end a far less stressful and hectic experience.

Here’s why keeping on top of your finances is key to a smooth year-end.

Using a Xero online accounting system

Here at Day Accountants we put Xero online accounting  at the centre of your financial management. It’s cloud-based accounting software that you access online wherever you happen to be working – and that’s key to keeping your books up to date.

Sending your customer invoices is all done quickly and simply online, and you can easily upload your purchase invoices and business expense receipts to Xero – either by scanning them in the office, or using the Xero mobile app to snap a pic of your paperwork.

Integrating with the best Xero apps and solutions

Xero isn’t just accounting software; it’s also an open architecture business platform that integrates with over 600 different Xero apps – and that means you can easily add the business tools, solutions and software you need to stay efficient.

  1. Receipt Bank is a key app to have in your armoury  when it comes to achieving effortless bookkeeping and a painless year-end. Using either the online browser version or the mobile app, you can quickly snap invoices/receipts and turn them into financial data. With data-entry automated, you save hours of keying in and keep your books current.
  2. GoCardless takes the pain out of payment  and reconciling your invoices. It uses Direct Debit to take payment as soon as your invoice due dates are reached, and also automatically reconciles these payments for you in Xero.
  3. Chaser makes sure you get paid on time  by managing your aged debts and automating the whole process of chasing up any late-paying customers. That reduces your late payment numbers, saves you hours of credit control time and boosts your cashflow.

Being organised and timely

The tech can pick up much of the heavy lifting  when it comes to keeping your bookkeeping and financial management up to date. But it’s still vital that you and your finance team stay organised and proactive when it comes to managing your accounts.

Having clear procedures for all your financial processes is a great starting point.

Try to systemise things like invoicing, credit control, accounts receivable and payable. And make sure everyone in the team knows how to deal with invoices for business overheads and receipts for personal expenses, and submits them as quickly as possible.

Having the Receipt Bank mobile app on staff phones, or using company payment cards from solutions like Pleo and Curve, makes it easy for employees to submit those expenses – which keeps your books up to date and quickly accounted for in Xero.

Working closely with your adviser throughout the year

Finally, one of the most important ways to keep on top of those finances is to work as closely as possible with your accountant and business advisers.

We’re big believers in keeping one-to-one meetings, catch-ups and phone calls as a frequent as possible with our clients. And that regular contact is a great way to help you iron out issues throughout the year – rather than leaving the sticking points until year-end rolls around again.

With our drilled down experience of running a tight financial system, we can easily help you resolve any problems and get things back on track.

Year-end needn’t be a headache

In a digital age where there are so many tools, aids and tech-savvy advisers to help you, there’s really no reason for your company’s year-end to be a massive headache.

To make year-end as stress-free as possible:

  1. Use Xero and Xero apps – and streamline your financial admin throughout the year.
  2. Be organised and timely – and get proactive about keeping your books up to date.
  3. Work closely with advisers – with regular catch-ups to keep on top of your finances.

If you want your next year-end to be a breeze, come and talk to us here at Day Accountants. We’ve got the tech, the advice and the regular support you need to keep your finances organised and ship-shape throughout the financial year.

Call us to find out more about Xero and year-round support