November 9, 2024

Keeping Your Books Balanced: Why Leave this Job to a CPA in Atlanta

Black female boss leading corporate multiracial team meeting talking to diverse businesspeople, african american woman executive discussing project plan at group multi-ethnic briefing in boardroom

If you own a small business and are struggling to balance your books, you are not alone. This can happen, especially if you are not an accounting expert yourself. You have other responsibilities to juggle while you handle your daily operations. Bookkeeping can be intimidating and exhausting. However, with the right guidance and help, it does not need to be challenging. A CPA in Atlanta can keep your books balanced and help you stay on top of your business’s finances. Balancing the books is possible by considering the following tips:

Separate Your Finances

Keeping your business and personal accounts separated will help you avoid troubles down the line. A CPA can give you an overview of the cash flow of your business, so you can track expenses easily.  Using credit cards for business transactions lets you gain control over your expenses. Cash payments are easy to overlook. 

Keep an Eye on Receivables

Each business wants to get paid; however, handling such payments is never fun. While it seems easy to mark an invoice as paid whenever you receive payment, not all customers pay their dues on time. You must monitor your transactions when they occur. By applying weekly customer payments, you can save money and time as well as headaches when the tax season strikes. 

Pay Yourself

Although paying yourself a salary may not be your priority when you build your business, once the business picks up and earns money, it must be. It is a great way to keep your personal and business life separate as well as keep the books in order. Instead of having your business your personal expenses, it is best to have the business write you a check and deposit it into an account for just payments.

Record Expense Receipts

Keeping business receipts allows you to keep accurate records necessary for taxes and gives credibility to tax reporting. All purchases must have some kind of receipt with them, whether you must pay to make a new company logo or buy dinner for an important client. 

Hire an Expert

A lot of businesses struggle with the daily tasks of keeping the books. However, you can easily avoid this problem. You need to give your business your full attention, especially as it grows. Thus, you should outsource accounting and bookkeeping duties to those who do it for a living. This way, you can concentrate on making your business profitable. An experienced accountant can be your great partner in this aspect.