Over the many years that I have serviced literally thousands of clients with bookkeeping, accounting and tax preparation services the one consistent comment that I hear is – I don’t know how to keep my records! And I have always advised – do what you do best and leave the bookkeeping to a professional. In other words spend 100% of your time devoted to your business and leave the record keeping to a record keeper – an accountant or bookkeeper.
The next question is how and what receipts should I keep and should I list them and how!
In a recent study conducted for American Express 39% of the 1,000 small business owners questioned said they put all their receipts in a shoe box and then periodically drop it off with their accountant. Interestingly, the highest percentage of those who use the ‘shoebox bookkeeping’ method are in the 18-34 years age group – the most computer knowledgeable group. These people know that their time is their most valuable commodity and that time should be spent on their business and not on their record keeping!
Another part of the survey shows – not surprisingly that 83% of small business owners are stressed out by record keeping and tax reporting.
Twenty years ago the author Donald Katz wrote a book about a small business that grew and grew and grew! The company was called NIKE and the title of the book was ‘Just Do It’. The book shows how Phil Knight grew a business started out of the trunk of his car into a world powerhouse by concentrating on what he knew and did best – marketing, and leaving the record keeping to the professional. Since the book was first published in 1994, Nike has grown many times over by ‘Just Doing It’.
So learn from the successful entrepreneurs and leave the mundane world of record keeping to those that enjoy it and get on with concentrating on what you do best!