Bookkeeping Services
The foundations of your accounts. With good books, you can easily keep tabs on all parts of your business.
Income and Expenditure only
If your business is a sole trader or partnership, you don't legally require a balance sheet for your accounts. If you trade as a sole trader, especially if you're not VAT registered, we would typically not recommend maintaining a balance sheet as the additional time/expertise required will likely outweigh the minor benefit.
If this applies to you, then we would recommend you either prepare the books yourself if you're short on cash, or outsource it to a local bookkeeper if you're shorter on time.
There is no need to acquire a specialist bookkeeping package to do this. A simple summary of items of income and expenditure in a spreadsheet like Excel will suffice.
If you trade as a partnership, are VAT registered (bookkeepers often also assist with VAT returns) and/or have slow paying customers you've lost track of, there can be a benefit in using a more formal approach.
If a Balance Sheet is also required
A balance sheet is a snap shot at any given time showing all the assets and liabilities of the business. As its name suggests, it must balance. This can be where it gets tricky for those not suitably trained.
Limited Companies must provide a balance sheet in their annual statutory accounts, and it is common for partnerships and larger sole traders to do so as well. A correct balance sheet is strong evidence that the books are well maintained. With a simple set income and expenditure only account, there is no reconciliation to check all expenses have been put through/not double counted. It is therefore far harder to spot mistakes.
This is where the bookkeeping packages come into their own. They will typically simplify things so non-accountants can understand and use the software. The price and complexity of bookkeeping packages varies widely. We have summarised a list of the main bookkeeping packages below:
- FreeAgent - a modern, good value online bookkeeping package. As a FreeAgent partner we can also offer you a 40% discount on their prices if you sign up through us.
- Sage - the biggest player in the market, though some say it's not that easy to use for non-accountants. For most businesses Sage Instant Accounts will be perfectly adequate for your needs.
- Quickbooks - similar to Sage but considered by some to be slightly easier to use. Given the choice, we prefer Sage.
- Other packages - there are also many newer packages which are proving popular. The most popular choices being VT (free if you only want the cashbook), Kashflow and Solar.
How Maslins Can Help
Naturally we can do all your bookkeeping if you so wish. That way you can be sure your books are always in pristine condition. However this may not always be cost effective, and if you have relatively simple affairs, you should be able to do most of this yourself.
We enjoy nothing more than sorting out a mess. If your current bookkeeper is a bit out of their depth, or has left you in the lurch, then give us call. We have experience with a wide range of accountancy packages and should be able to quickly get you back on track. Please note this is not typically something we can provide a fixed fee quote up front for, as it is often very difficult to tell from the outset how much work is required. You can, however, rest assured that we will use our time efficiently and do not bill for time eating sandwiches or chatting to other clients!
We also often help with the installation of software, or the change from one package to another.
Maintaining well kept books will keep your year end accountancy work, and hence costs, to a minimum.
