All the financial records genetared by your business needs to be kept properly, to be in complance with the tax governance offices and be able to generate reports that help you achieve your invenstments goals. This is were you need a professional bookkeeper on your side.
How a bookkeeper may help? Bookkeepers track all business's financial transactions. The services include recording what money comes into and flows out of a business, recording all sales and invoices, bill payments and payroll calculations. A professional bookkeeper also provides you with accurate and timely reports.
What are the main advantages to you?
- Getting help with the day-to-day financial transactions
- Ensuring compliance with CRA
- Making accurate budgeting possible
- Helping you be ready for taxes
- Helping you set goals and monitoring them
Wheter you decide to use a bookkeper or do your own books, there are several strategies that you may want to consider to have proper systmens. Here are 6 Bookkeeping Strategies that we use and our clients are benefiting from:
- Organization is KEY: you need to maintain organizaed records, full of details and that proves to be business income and expenses. If you run a multi-property management business organization will be your best ally. Keep separated files (pyshical, or electronics) for each property.
- Automate Bookkeeping: use cloud systems and online software that will keep track of transactions, giving you the opportunity to record all the financial transactions, reconcile the accounts, run payroll and create accurate records. Find the software that best serves you: connect your bank accounts and upload your daily transactions. Use also software where you can upload your receipts automatically. Will save you a ton of time and headaches when you need to locate a receipt.
- Use Classes to track properties: once you decide to go with the online bookkeeping you can maintan all your bookkeeping records in "one place" using CLASSES to classify Income and Expenses, and create the reports you need to review. Tis will make your life so easier.
- Have separated bank accounts: you may choose to track everything from one business account but depending on your business structure or level or organization you should have at least one bank account for each property. If you investment venture is structured as a soleproprietorship in Canada you may keep only one account for varios properties, if you keep accurate accounting records. If you run your property management as various corporations we recomend you to have a separated bank account for each property, even when you manage all properties from one main bank account.
- Use Cash Flows: beside the regular Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statements, you may want to use the Cash Flow statements to predict the money in and out, and how much you actually will have at a certian point. This report will show you in a summary how any changes in the Balance sheet account and income/expenses will affect your cash. You can also break and see the transactions as: operating, investing and financing activities to make the position clearer.
- Use Budgets: as business owners we are use to budgets, but we recommend to see past events and plan for future "Unexpected Expenses" impacting the business: replacing furniture and appliances, pest treatment, air conditioning replacements. Expenses that may occur at any time, that;s why we call them "unexpected".
Currently we are using online bookkeeping software and online receipt collection software to helps us complete all the monthly bookkeeping task and help our clients with their accounting books. We use a combination of Quickbooks Online - Dext Prepare and Builium (for clients with multiproperty status). This strategy give you all the tools you need to reduce the need for manual entry of data, save time, and reduce the possibility of error.
As you already know, Property Management includes a lot of tasks, let's us help us with your daily bookkeeping and you will focus better on your investments growth. One less thing to worry about.
Let's work together. Book a call today!