This guide has been designed to assist you to set up a bookkeeping system and to use it to help you manage your business finances. It describes what records you should keep and why it is so important for you to keep accurate records that are up to date.
The guide introduces you to the ‘Double Entry’ convention used by Bookkeepers and Accountants to help you to keep on the right track as well as describing some of the common accounting methods used. This will enable you to undertake simple financial forecasts and create financial statements that outline how well your business is performing. The guide contains a number of templates to assist you to see how well your business is doing financially and to help you to manage your business during the critical start-up and early growth stages. Please refer to the accompanying topic guides to assist you to explore and understand a range of related business topics.
This guide is primarily aimed to assist individuals who are thinking about starting their first business venture and/or those who have just started to trade and want to put in place a suitable financial recording and reporting system to help them manage their business finances.
By following the practical steps outlined in this guide it will help you to gain important information and insights about how to put systems in place that will help you to manage your business finances. The knowledge and understanding you gain from the time and effort you put into setting up and using financial recording and monitoring systems will better prepare you to successfully navigate your way through the challenges of setting up and building a successful and profitable business.
It is recommended that you read around the topic area when using this guide to further broaden your understanding of business management. You should also consider speaking to a professional business advisor, bookkeeper and/ or accountant who can answer any specific questions you may have.
