Taking control of your business finances can be a challenge but with some of these simple tips, you can eliminate some of the stress and overwhelm when you think about your business finances.
- Keep a Spreadsheet
Something that’s worked for me is to keep a spreadsheet of monthly business expenses. This includes the renewal dates on subscriptions and the due dates. This allows me to take note of when payment comes out but also review if the expense is necessary to maintain or if I can eliminate it.
- Keep Your Bills in One Place
If you are still receiving bills by mail, keep them in once place. There’s nothing more frustrating to have late fees because you can’t find where you put the bill. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a box or a file just that you keep them in one place. Add them to the spreadsheet with any relevant information.
- Pay Your Bills on Schedule
Adding the dates in your calendar to pay your bills can help you stop forgetting them. You can establish set times each month when none of your bills will be late. You don’t have to pay them right when you receive them but having a date during the month where you focus on bills for an hour so can eliminate late fees. Also sometimes if the due date doesn’t work for you, reach out to them and see if they are willing to change it.
- Read Your Statements
Whether it’s a regular bill or a credit card, look over your statements. And some credit cars are a pain for luring you in and then switching to a higher rate later on. And sometimes you find expenses on a bill that don’t make sense or do not apply so you want to stay on top of it all!
- Take Advantage of Automatic Payments
Most banks offer a way to automatically deduct money from your account to pay creditors. You won’t have to write the check or lick the envelope + stamp and the creditors will get their money on time. Just make sure you take note of when the automatic payment is scheduled or you will overdraft.
- Clean up Your Files
You don’t have to hang onto bills forever. A quick call to the IRS or internet search will let you know how long records need to be kept. In most instances, federal tax return audits can be done three years back but cancelled checks may need to be kept for seven.
Don’t stick your head in the sand when it comes to your business finances. You’re not going to make a profit if you don’t know what’s going on.
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