Structure of Accounts
Accruals and prepayments: this is a way of registering costs or income against the time-period they truly belong to, in order to better represent business activity.
Double entry: all transactions have two effects on the accounts and need to be recorded simultaneously as both debits and credits in different areas of the accounts.
Control accounts: complicated comings and goings can be viewed in one account, which works like a lynch pin; examples of control accounts include VAT, subscriptions and retail.
Methods in Being Tidy
Journal entries for corrections
Writing off bad debts
Disposals and sales of fixed assets
Drawings and takings
End-of-year adjustments
Closing books to secure financial data for an accounting period
Entering complicated transactions or reversals on cloud computing
Accounting Error Checking
Trial balance: this is where all that double-entry pays off and you see at a glance if the debit and credit amounts match up.
End-of-year accounts and draft final accounts: getting the accounts in shape before bringing in an accountant means a smoother experience of filing tax returns and benefiting more from their specialism as a tax consultant.
Bookkeeping Builds Quality Data
Cash budgeting – can you pay your suppliers?
Allowances for doubtful debts – how much income is likely to be received?
Clean financial data – would you see this as an investment in your business?
Partnership current and capital accounts – how much are partners taking out of the business?
Bookkeeping for Efficiency
Making Tax Digital (MTD): this is a computerised way of submitting VAT returns and tax assessments.
VAT schemes: the government has created several different submission methods to help businesses achieve their VAT commitments. Bookkeepers are trained to understand them and correctly process VAT records accordingly.
Cloud accounting software: technology can speed up record keeping, but they are complicated applications that still require a bookkeeper.
Frequent reconciliations with bank and other accounts: ensuring the bank balance matches the accounting picture will help ensure there are no surprises.
Boolean Bookkeeping 