Tips for Organizing Small Business Finances
By Sarah Andreina
Running a small business keeps you on your toes. After all, small business owners are ultimately responsible for every aspect of the business, including financial oversight. This aspect of oversight can be overwhelming, yet it is of the utmost importance. These simple tips for organizing your small business finances might just help you keep your sanity.
Keep Business and Personal Finances Separate
When you start a small business, especially if you are a sole proprietor, it might seem easy or convenient to co-mingle your personal finances with those of the business. However, that will cause you numerous headaches down the road and can even get you into trouble with the IRS. It is wiser to just keep completely separate accounts from the beginning and throughout the life of your business.
Take Advantage of Financial Experts, Tools, and Software
For many entrepreneurs, taking care of the finances is a necessary task, but may not be what they are best at or what they most enjoy. Fortunately, these days there are many resources to help. Don’t be afraid to hire an expert to help with financials or even just to get a system set up. In addition to people, there are a myriad of tax and financial software programs and online apps. Always remember that you don’t have to do it all yourself.
Implement a Working Filing System
Part of having your finances organized is being able to locate the papers, documents, or electronic files when you need them. In order to best do that, it’s important to have a filing system (both digital and paper) that works for you. Equally important is discipling yourself to actually use the filing system you implement.
Schedule Time to Maintain Small Business Finances
Financial organization, like organization of anything, depends on regular maintenance. It is so easy to fall behind in tasks such as recording expenses or filing receipts. Scheduling a regular time to attend to these matters will help you avoid that pitfall. Whether you set aside time on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, having that regular appointment will help you stay on top of your finances.
Think About the Future
Much of financial organization is documenting what happened in the past, but an important yet often overlooked aspect is to plan for the future. During your regularly scheduled maintenance time, you should always take some time to think about future expenses or investments you might want to make in your business as well as evaluate how you might be able to operate your finances more efficient.
Federated Bank is also a great resource for small businesses. Not only do we offer a range of commercial financing options, but we also can assist businesses with helpful merchant services such as credit card processing, merchant capture, check cashing, and direct deposit for employees. Call your local Federated Bank office anytime during normal business hours to find out more.
