3 Programs to Maintain a Healthy Accounting System for your Small Business
December 8, 2021 – Angel Calderón
Let’s start off by introducing the term “accounting”. Accounting, according to the Corporate Finance Institute, describes the process of consolidating your financial information to make it clear and understandable for stakeholders and shareholders. In Accounting, the main goal is to accurately record any and all financial performance pertaining to an entity or organization’s financial performance.
Learning to take control of your finances will bring upon bigger opportunities for growth as it will help you make better decisions, handle better communication between you and your stakeholders, and meet the legal requirements of the tax authorities. For example, in Puerto Rico, all taxes are due to be submitted by April 15 every year. Having organized documentation is key to easy and responsible accounting and will facilitate the input and filing process of your company.
Read more: If you have any doubts about taxes in the US, the IRS has some tutorials you can check.
The first part of handling your business accounting needs is to start off by keeping a complete record of the money your company earns (income), and the money your business has been going through (expenses). Most likely, you will learn to maintain copies of receipts, invoices and bills. This will help you organize, track, and manage the money and needs effectively. You will also need to learn bookkeeping, meaning you will choose if your company will run with a Cash or accrual accounting method. A Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, can help you decide which method is best for your business.
Read more: If you find this helpful, you can learn more about bookkeeping here.
However, there are various ways to keep track of your accounting and the benefits of being conscious of your accounting can go from saving money, to reducing risk, compling with regulatory agencies, managing growth, and planning ahead. Our recommendation is to always talk with a CPA you can trust first. But don’t worry, if you are still in the early stages of your business, here at PG we have our best 3 recommendations so you can take control of your finances.
1. Excel
With Excel, you may track your expenses and income on a monthly basis, you may create budgets and it is very easy to learn thanks in part to the Excel functions in finance. Excel is great for early start-ups and small businesses ranging from 1-5 employees. For some free courses on learning to use Excel, click here.
2. QuickBooks
Being one of the most trusted and easy-to-learn accounting software, Quickbooks is easily one of our top picks for all Accounting needs. Quickbooks is hand in hand with Intuit, which runs Turbotax, for fast tax filings. Quickbooks can match the needs of early startups and of big companies. It’s price ranges from $7.50 for startups up to $15 for bigger scale companies. For more information about Quickbooks and its various resources, like courses, click here.
3. AccountBerry
