5 Ways To Save Bookkeeping Time

While hundreds of thousands of new businesses applications are filed each month, only about half of new businesses actually make it to the five-year mark. Poor financial management is often the root cause, and it can take on various forms.

Some typical financial problems that can undermine the success of a new business include failing to:

·      Accurately estimate startup and overhead costs

·      Make or adhere to a workable budget

·      Manage cash flow

·      Track expenses

·      Spend appropriately on marketing

·      Create an emergency fund for unforeseen costs

·      Correctly assess market need and/or competition

While accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll management may be time-consuming and laborious, they are vital to good financial management and business success. Bookkeeping for small businesses can now be completed in less time than in the past, thanks largely to online and cloud-based software services that automate a lot of routine administrative recording and payment-generating tasks. If the bookkeeping is taking a lot more time and effort than anticipated—and taking a busy owner away from profit-generating work—consider some ways to reduce the time and effort needed without compromising accuracy:

1. Set aside designated time

Scheduling the bookkeeping provides structure and discipline, which can save time in the long run; weekly scheduled bookkeeping can help reduce the number of errors that result from working in haste at the last minute, as well as reduce the money wasted on late fees for overdue or neglected bills. Setting aside a time each week or month, depending on your volume and bookkeeping needs, creates greater efficiency and a more streamlined system for issuing, receiving, and recording payments.

2. Use automating services

Cloud-based software, especially services that integrate with one another, can save busy professionals a lot of time, while also lowering overall costs affiliated with bookkeeping, expense tracking, and payment processing. Online software services built especially for small business needs are designed to offer affordable solutions to managing payroll, paying bills, recording transactions, reconciling accounts, running reports, and other bookkeeping tasks. Checkeeper offers an online, mobile- and user-friendly software service for check printing and mailing. Checkeeper records check data automatically in an online check registry—so that users don’t have to—and Checkeeper integrates with FreshBooks, QuickBooks Online, Gusto, Square, and other services for up-to-date data syncing and more accurate account management.

3. Turn bills directly into checks

For those times a paper check is the needed or preferred payment method, Checkeeper offers direct bill-to-check conversion options. Connect Checkeeper to an Odoo or Xero account in order to import data from unpaid invoices into the Checkeeper template. Checkeeper will generate a payment check with relevant check fields automatically populated. Payments due to the same vendor will be consolidated into a single check with an attached invoice table breaking down the total. This improves accuracy, reduces paperwork, and streamlines payment processing for everyone.

4. Authorize additional users

When the payment process becomes too time-consuming or complex for one person to handle, online tools make it easier to delegate some work or to share with a virtual bookkeeper. Checkeeper offers a cloud-based, mobile software that goes where you do, and a business’s check printing account can be accessed by the users the account owner authorizes. Add names and email addresses of users you wish to authorize, and Checkeeper will email them a secure link that prompts them to set up their access. Account holders can limit the user permissions to only features needed, and those permissions can be changed or revoked at any time. Updates to the account are made in real time, and the reports that account owners run will list the authorized user who initiated each payment, keeping everyone accountable and the payment transactions transparent.

5. Outsource

When the number of checks you need to send out begins to exceed the time or resources available, it is time to look into Checkeeper’s printing and mailing services. Checkeeper offers same-business day check mailing for orders received by 4pm EST, as well as four priority delivery methods that allow users to control the speed and tracking options for their payments. Checkeeper can also send out attachments, enclosures, invoice tables, or promotional material, if needed. Have a one-time, high-volume check order that needs to go out for customer rebates or refunds? Checkeeper is the go-to outsourcing option for high-volume check orders. Call or email to get a custom quote for a check order that needs special care.