January is the month to create new habits that will transform your business and your life for the better.
We’ve rounded up some accounting new year’s resolutions that will make 2019 run a little more smoothly.
Create a bookkeeping system.
A proactive approach to your books and accounts opens up a number of possibilities for your business. Not only will you feel on top of everything – which is a brilliant feeling – you will learn more about your finances and be able to drive your business forward.
We’ve written a whole blog post on how to create a successful bookkeeping system. Our top tips are to set aside time in your schedule, design a process and stick to it!
Remember the deadlines.
Deadlines creep up on all of us. Be sure to keep these pesky dates highlighted in your diary, on your calendar and have notifications set up on your phone. We’d advise you to have multiple reminders a few days and even a couple of weeks before each payment or submission deadline.
Here are some important dates for you to write down:
- 30 December 2018 – deadline for online submission of self-assessment tax returns for the year ending on 5 April 2017 for HMRC to collect tax through PAYE tax codes where they owe less than £3,000.
- 31 January 2019 (midnight) – deadline for online self-assessment tax returns for the 2017/18 tax year.
- 31 January 2019 (midnight) – deadline for paying tax bill for the tax year ending on April 5 2017/2018.
- 5 April 2019 – end of tax year 2018/19.
Keep your receipts.
This definitely ties in with our first ‘better bookkeeping’ resolution, however, we thought we’d highlight keeping receipts as it’s usually around this time of year that business owners start frantically searching for old, tatty bits of paper and tickets.
A great way to preserve your receipts is to digitize them. So many accounting apps allow you to snap a photo of a receipt as you purchase an item or a ticket.
We’d recommend having a section in your wallet where you keep receipts whilst out and about and then – as part of your new-fangled bookkeeping system – regularly filing them away.
Go digital.
Speaking of accounting software, one of the best ways you can remove the headache of taxes is by going digital.
Applications, such as FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero and Sage, allow you to keep everything in one place and cut down on the paper and spreadsheets.
And, of course, if you’re VAT registered, you will have to use digital accounting software from Monday 1 April 2019 as part of the UK Government’s Making Tax Digital Scheme.
Outsource.
One way to truly make your accounting a breeze in 2019 is to hand over the reins to a professional. Hiring an accountant or bookkeeper means that you can focus on what you do best – run your business.
In the meantime, you can also have peace of mind that you’re going to hit those payment deadlines and submit correct, complete information.
If you would like any advice on how to up your accounting game in the new year, please do get in touch with us.
