Managing the Books of Accounts

Benjamin Franklin, an inventor and author, scribbled a letter to M. Leroy.  In that small missive, a famous quote was derived and has survived to this day: “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.Paying taxes starts when people begin earning their keep.  With the economic slowdown, and salaries are being cut left and right, it is harder and harder to pay tax dues.  Some even resort to getting fast loans just to pay for tax dues.For ordinary people, the tax system can be really confusing and bewildering.Technical rules govern most tax processes.Filling out tax forms in multiple copies and such bring undue stress to business people and entrepreneurs.Businesses choose to hire accountants to manage their books of accounts.

Books of accounts are important for tax filing purposes.  But its usefulness does not end after the tax filing season.  These books of accounts could also be used as leads to management decisions and data sources for government offices, business investors, and other stakeholders in the business.  One of the shortcomings of businesses and independent entrepreneurs is to neglect updating and keeping their books in order.  Some do not even bother to register them with the government’s internal revenue office, which could cause problems in the future.  On the other hand, some businesses do have books of accounts but they are careless with their entries, logging in inaccuracies or data without supporting documents.  These disastrous slips can render the books useless.  So, to keep tax issues and concerns out of the business, there are important things to do to tidy up the books.

First, for both business owner and regular employees—taxpayers all—they should know the books to be maintained.  These are the ledgers, journal, cash receipts, cash disbursement, sales, and purchases.  They must know the individual purposes of these things in order to maximize their use.  Second, depending on the type of business venture and the volume of transactions made, companies and entrepreneurs can decide on which system to maintain: manual books or computerized books.  Manual books are a little labor intensive so computerized ones are more practical for savvy business people.  For the cost of a small fast cash loan, entrepreneurs can hire a competent software developer to set up the initial computerized books systems and even customize it according to the needs of the business. Lastly, before preparing the books, systematically arrange the business transaction documents such as sales invoices, official receipts, and receipts of items and services.  This would facilitate better recording practices for the books.

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