5 Reasons to Have Automated Bookkeeping in 2020

Business owners are busy. With as many hats as the typical business owner wears it’s not unusual to find them filling every role from customer service to bookkeeper to CEO. This is why it comes as a surprise that 18 percent of small businesses aren’t using any bookkeeping software, while only 21 percent have integrated their bookkeeping software with other time-saving products for invoicing, expense management, and payments.  To free up time this year, consider implementing automated bookkeeping. 

Do you regularly issue invoices to the same customers for the same amount? Set up your bookkeeping software to send these invoices automatically at the scheduled interval. Your clients will appreciate the regularity, and you’ll have one less thing to think about each month.  

Take automated bookkeeping one step further by setting your recurring clients on an auto-billing payment plan that allows you to automatically debit their bank account or charge their credit card on the day it’s due. No more waiting for checks to arrive! And this way both you and your client will know exactly when the money is coming out of their accounts.

If you’re using an online bookkeeping software like QuickBooks Online, Xero, or Sage One, transactions from your business bank account, business credit card, and business PayPal account should automatically be pulled in. Once brought into your software, you can quickly categorize each transaction. 

With this system, you only need to reconcile the transactions to your bank account at the end of each month. No more typing in each transaction individually! You can even create automation rules around certain types of transactions to help your bookkeeping software recognize and automatically assign the correct category.

Whether you’re wrangling all your business expenses for taxes at the end of the year or struggling to get your employees to submit their expenses each month, expense reporting can take up a huge chunk of a business owner’s time. 

Use expense reporting software like Abacus, Concur, Expensify, or Receipt Bank to streamline your automated bookkeeping process and keep track of key financial metrics. Just snap a picture of your receipt with your phone, type up a quick note, and it’s automatically added to your bookkeeping software. Some of these solutions even allow you to set rules to flag and prevent unauthorized employee expenses, saving your finance department the time of sifting through employee receipts individually. 

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If you have regularly recurring bills, set those up to be paid directly from your account at scheduled intervals. Besides saving you time, this has the added benefit of ensuring you don’t miss payments — and therefore don’t get charged late fees or interest. 

When you use a payment platform such as Veem or Bill.com that connects with your bookkeeping software, those payments are automatically entered into your books so nothing gets missed.

Automating all these steps of your bookkeeping will save you time, but ultimately you’ll still be responsible for setting up your bookkeeping systems, reconciling your bank accounts, and managing your bookkeeping technology stack to ensure everything stays working as required.

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Why not consider outsourcing your bookkeeping, instead? When you turn to an experienced accounting advisory services professional like MBS ATA, you’ll find a trusted advisor who can help you improve your bookkeeping processes, manage your cash flow, and answer all your questions. 

Schedule a free fifteen-minute consultation with our team to learn how we can help save you valuable time, and rest easy knowing your bookkeeping is in good hands. 

Images from: Campaign Creators  Leon