You may have heard the news in late March from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that highlighted small UK firms being hampered by late payments, with the final quarter of 2023 seeing that the proportion of small firms with late payments worsened from one in four to over a third.
These small businesses have dampened growth expectations for the year ahead, and it should not be a problem with today’s modern business banking methods.
Overdue invoices cause stress and harm to small business owners, leading to plenty of sleepless nights and loss of productivity. However, many instances can also come from having no system to send invoices promptly and have a follow-up procedure.
Although it can be hard to be a small business owner and juggle so many areas with no real help, invoicing and bookkeeping is an area that stands to get shelved in favour of other seemingly pressing issues. These areas are the lifeblood of your business, and if not on top of them, it will soon leave you feeling the financial pinch.
Invoicing
Many times you have probably gone to bed without remembering to send an invoice due the next morning. Realistically, it must be sent during business hours when you know the recipient will be in the office themselves.
Simply setting a reminder on your calendar for each day is one way. The other way is to outsource this element and others to bookkeeping services in Manchester. A qualified bookkeeper will be able to handle the areas around your invoices and program in follow-up inquiries should any customer or client not settle their initial invoice.
Having somebody dedicated to this crucial task will help you to get a good night’s sleep each night and know that a huge part of your business financials is done in a scheduled fashion.
Bookkeeping
The biggest area that gets shelved for a later day is around your bookkeeping. Sometimes, you can leave it until the end of the month to catch up, but it is more likely that many small business owners leave it until the end of the year as the business year-end looms closer.
That also plays a huge disadvantage as a business owner, as it can be months later that you realize mistakes have been made and payments have been missed. Bookkeeping is as crucial as your invoices and should be given a regular cycle too!
Like invoicing, your bookkeeping can also be outsourced to bookkeeping services, helping you to keep your financial structure fully in line and healthy as the year progresses – instead of panic stations as soon as January hits.
Eliminate the stress of late payments and out-of-order books within your business by working with the team at Pebbles Bookkeeping. Call our friendly staff today for small business bookkeeping solutions.
