Nowadays, starting a business has become a trend. Everyone is talking about starting a small business and becoming an entrepreneur. But do you know approximately 90% of Indian startups fail within their first five years? Running a business is way more difficult and tedious than starting a business.
However, some parts of running a business are more difficult than others, like managing the finances, as not every business person is a number expert. So, to manage your finances, you need to plan your budget effectively and record and keep a proper record of every transaction.
In this blog, we have developed an easy checklist for you to follow to handle your business affairs effortlessly. The checklist is prepared on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis to make it seamless what task is performed and when.
Why do you need an accounting and bookkeeping checklist?
Before diving into the checklist aspect, let’s first glance at why an accounting and bookkeeping checklist is needed.
- A checklist keeps all the business tasks streamlined and organized.
- A checklist makes sure that you do not forget any single business task.
- If you have a checklist, you can easily delegate or outsource those tasks.
Daily Accounting Tasks
Now, let’s start our checklist with daily accounting tasks. They are as follows:
1. Compile cash sales for the day
The first task you have to do daily is compiling the day’s cash sales. As sales and cash generation are the most important aspect of the business, they can not be left unaccounted even for a single day.
2. Enter and settle your bills
Another task to do on a daily basis is to enter and settle your bills. Check if bills are pending or incoming invoices and try to clear them on the same day.
3. Reconcile your bank statements
Lastly, before calling it a day, make sure to reconcile your bank statements with your financial records. It is important to do it daily so that if there is any mistake or miscalculation, it will not compound over time.
Weekly Accounting Tasks
4. Record your Accounts receivable and Accounts payable
The first weekly task is to record all your accounts receivables and account payables. Calculate them, compile and send invoices.
5. Follow up for unpaid dues
The next weekly task is to follow up on unpaid dues and plan for them. If there are unpaid bills, check their due dates and make payments.
6. Financial housekeeping and administration
Finally, do all the financial housekeeping and administrative tasks at least once a week. It may include updating the accounting software, if you use any, uploading the receipts, checking emails, sending emails to clients, etc.
Monthly Accounting Tasks
7. Book Balancing
After weekly tasks come the monthly tasks, the first of which is to balance your accounting books. Review and reconcile the bank statements and credit cards, check your cash position, and track your budget to see that you are not out of track.
8. Review credit card receipts
Review credit card receipts and pay them on time to avoid processing or late payment fees.
9. Examine receivables to settle outstanding invoices
On a monthly basis, examine receivables to check on customers who haven’t paid, send them reminders, and send overdue invoices, if required.
10. Payroll processing and review
Process the payroll monthly even if you decide to pay otherwise, i.e., weekly or fortnightly. Review it properly before disbursing the funds to withhold or deposit any amount, if needed.
11. Analyze inventory data
Lastly, analyze the inventory, restock required products and review the excess products. In this way, inventory will not be overstocked, and slow or stuck-up inventory can be planned accordingly.
Quarterly Accounting Tasks
12. Estimate your income taxes and pay them quarterly
Every quarter, estimate your income taxes with the help of accountants or a consultant and pay them accordingly.
13. Prepare/Review Revised Annual P&L Estimate
Review the revised annual P&L estimate to check that you are going according to your plans. Check that you are not overspending, your assets are increasing, etc. to see if you are handling your business properly or need adjustments.
14. Pay your taxes, if any
Pay specific taxes applied to your business, like GST, customs, excise, etc.
Annual Accounting Tasks
15. Inspect fixed assets
Every year, inspect your fixed assets. Make sure that depreciation is properly taken into account, new assets should be added, and long unused assets should be disposed off.
16. Develop and distribute employees’ tax certificate
Once a year, develop and distribute employees’ tax certificates. So that they can show that TDS is deducted while filing for their income tax and can claim a refund, if any.
17. Audit your books
Every year, you must have your books audited by an expert auditor before filing for annual taxes. The audit is necessary to claim that all your financial records are accurate and fair.
18. Prepare your tax returns
After the audit is done, it’s time to prepare your tax returns. You can prepare them with the help of software, online services, or hire an accountant.
19. Prep for year-end close
Finally, after the end of the financial or accounting year, prepare your accounting books for the year-end close. Close your temporary accounts by entering the closing entries and carrying the balances to the following year.
FAQs
1. What is a checklist in bookkeeping?
A checklist is a tool that gives a to-do list of the business tasks to be followed in a systematic manner.
2. What are the four important activities in bookkeeping?
- Identify and record financial transactions in proper accounts.
- Make the proper journal entries.
- Post entries into the ledger account.
- Prepare an unadjusted trial balance and make adjusting entries.
3. What accounting is needed for a small business?
Small business generally accounts for only income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets.
4. Can a small business owner prepare company accounts by himself?
Yes, small business owners can prepare their accounts by themselves. However, outsourcing is preferable as not everyone is well-versed in numbers, and they can make mistakes that can lead to losses. So let experts handle it for you.
How we can help!
Proper accounting and bookkeeping checklist makes fiscal-related processes easily doable and streamlined. However, it is undeniable that accounting is tiresome and time-consuming.
So, it is advisable to outsource it to the hands of experienced people. In this way, you can use the extra time for the core business, which is essential, especially for small businesses.
We at FinAccountants help businesses to grow with our accounting services provided by a team of professionals. With decades of experience, we can support your business’s needs in the best possible and economical manner.
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