How to organise your business finances with reporting
Having your business finances organised is important when keeping track of payments, making projections and managing your company.
Separate your accounts
Keeping your business and personal accounts separate will help you track your company expenses easily. This should also help when it comes to managing your taxes.
Organise your finances
Creating reports is a great way to get an overview of your company’s finances and stay organised. Bokio accounting software automatically generates the following reports:
Balance sheet
The balance sheet shows the company’s financial position at a certain point in time — which assets are financed by equity and what proportion are liabilities.
If you’re concerned about cash flow then the balance sheet report can help. You, or your accountant, can interpret the balance sheet report to see how much you owe, and how much you have in liquid assets to pay off any debt.
Profit and loss report
As its name suggests, the profit and loss report shows the profit or loss for a specific period.
This is one of the most useful tools for small business owners and sole traders. It’s easy to understand and gives insight into where your money is going. In Bokio, you can compare the profit and loss report for different periods. This is really helpful when analysing performance and finding anomalies.
Ledger
The ledger contains business transactions sorted by account. This gives you a useful overview of the accounts and transactions linked to the selected period.
Suppliers (accounts payable)
A supplier ledger, also known as accounts payable, is a report containing information on which invoices have arrived from which suppliers, which have been paid and other information about the suppliers. This will show how much you owe to suppliers for goods at any time.
Customers (accounts receivable)
A customer report is the opposite to a supplier, ledger. This will show any outstanding invoices that have yet to be paid to your business by your customers. This report shows assets.
Trial balance report
The trial balance report lets you see a breakdown of all accounts in a debit and credit format for a particular period. It’s very useful as a starting point for doing the year end accounts. In Bokio, the trial balance report is available for download as an Excel file too, so you can dig deeper into the numbers
VAT report
If you’re registered for VAT and need to submit a VAT Return for Making Tax Digital, automated reports make it easy. With Bokio, you can automatically generate your VAT Return from your bookkeeping, so all you need to do is check it and submit it to HMRC.
Invoice reports
Invoice reports are useful to see which items are selling and if there are any loyal customers who could be rewarded. Bokio shows top customers, items and an overview of late payments. You can also track your invoices to see if they have been opened, and when payment is due.
Keep track of your finances
Checking in on your reports is a great way to keep track of your finances, but there are other ways to stay organised and monitor the financial state of your business in Bokio. The overview screen shows the turnover and profit and cash flow for your company. Plus, you can get an overview of your account balances and how much you owe for this year’s taxes.
Bokio also has a To do list which lets you know if there are any tasks you need to complete, for example if invoices are due for you to pay, or if you are owed payment and need to send a reminder.
With Bokio accounting software, you can do your bookkeeping, invoicing, and manage your finances in the same place. We have everything you need to help you prepare for your Self Assessment tax return, submit your VAT Return for Making Tax Digital and keep the right financial records. If you need an extra hand, we can help you find an accountant to work with.
This article was updated 22 March 2021
