WHY ITS IMPORTANT TO KEEP GOOD ACCOUNTING RECORDS

Published 6 April 2022
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​Keeping your accounts and bookkeeping in order will give you time to concentrate on your business and give you peace of mind that you are keeping compliant.
 
Records can be maintained manually on spreadsheets or online with specialist software.  You need to make sure the system you develop is easy to operate and supports your business.
 
Each business is required by law to keep records to support your accounts as HMRC can request to see records if they feel there is an issue with your tax.  The minimum period to keep your accounting records is six years.
 
You should keep documents that contain details of purchases/sales, payments/receipts and assets and liabilities. 
 
Keeping on top of paperwork on a regular basis rather than letting it pile up is key.
 
Records should consist of:-
 
Credit card statements and receipts
Loan agreements
Bank statements
Supplier and Customer invoices
Business expenses
Mileage expenses
 
By keeping good records, it helps to: -

• Grow your business by having financial information up to date and to hand
• Plan for your annual tax payments.
• Produce invoices in a timely fashion improving cash flow within your business
• Sell your business or apply for finance and loans
• Provide up to date information to run the business and grow

 
At Mayes we can help you with this by doing your monthly bookkeeping for you.  Where possible it is good to digitise paperwork especially with the making tax digital scheme.  We deal with all the popular cloud-based systems such as Sage, QuickBooks and Xero.  Bank accounts can be connected to these, and transactions are updated automatically.  Please ask us for further details if you require help with this.
 Tel:  01254 300050
Email:  [email protected]