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Bookkeeping – She was let down by bookkeeper & accountant – and her Xero desperately needed to be up to date and accurate!
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Published on Thursday, 23 September 2021 15:57
Her disappointment was clear when she told me how let down she felt with the promises by an accountant to have the books and year-end tax return all handled, but the accounts were months behind! Then she appointed a bookkeeper who was a little new to the Xero software, but the bookkeeper still had the main Bank and Merchant payments with unreconciled transactions, dating back 8 months to July!!! And communication with both was frustrating!
She needed help and a plan of action!
(There are 5 easy steps to planning anything – start where you are at, decide what outcome/state you want to have, what that state/position will cost in money (budget to maintain), what you need to outlay set-up and get to that state, then what action we need to take now to get there.)
WHERE it was at –
She had set up the bank feed, and started to learn how to do the entries in the Xero accounts. But it was slow learning this new software and she wasn’t sure if she was entering the transaction correctly. The expenses she paid personally were entered, but they came out of the business bank account – was that correct? The customer payments were simple. To keep up to date with who had paid she entered them also but some paid by direct transfer, others by EFT and she didn’t realise only the TOTAL for the day settled to the business bank account.
When we reviewed the company file, the bank had half the transactions with notes “What is this for?” since back in - July 8 months ago!!! The customer payments to the bank didn’t match many deposits, as the Square Credit Card Merchant takes its % fee out before on-sending the balance - so the software can’t match them! There was a family loan to the business to assist with taking on a new shared office with another professional. Most of all, like many small business owners, she didn’t know how much the books can help her improve the business, nor how powerful a One-Page Business Plan and quarterly checklist for the accounts can be!
WANT to have –
She was sure the books could be up to date every month. And communication could be responsive and helpful – YES!
COST to have that state –
A monthly cost would need to be paid, as she was not enjoying the books and wanted to do what she knew best – her service and products! She wanted to know if it could be done for $100 based on her current small business
NEED to spend how much to get there –
Getting it back on track was the key – what would it cost, and what would need to be done?
NOW what action to take –
After meeting Paul Humphreys, Account Keeping Plus, at a local council event 6 months ago (fortunately she had kept his card - it stood out because it came with a chocolate attached!) she told him he was easy to talk to and helpful and decided to give him a call and see what he was like.
After several tips on ways to promote business and market online, he explained how monitoring a few key indicators is so important to know where the business is going and if it’s achieving the goals set. He explained how the different payments arrived in the bank and the need for clearing accounts and loan accounts.
We arranged to meet and she was given a complimentary Business Score – and later was emailed the results that gave me a Business Plan On a Page – it really got me focused on the weak points!
"Paul is now getting me up to date – finally! What a relief!
Need help? Not sure?
Call for FREE 30min advice / strategy session today! 0407 361 596 Aust– no obligation!
You also get FREE 30 min to assess the setup of your company in the software
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