How to track your business finances

If you are like most business owners, you are directly involved in your business's finances. Tracking your finances is sometimes difficult when your company starts to grow and generate a lot of revenue. Tracking your finances can often times be a tedious chore. Many companies find themselves hiring accountants to keep track of your business finance. Some simple things you can to track your business finances are as follows:

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• Cash Flow. Is your company spending more than it is earning?


• - Accounts Receivable. Is your Accounts Receivable department lacking in following up with invoicing?


• - Sales. Check with your sales team on what they are telling customers about payment options and terms.


• - Are your books adding up? Who is in control of your companies' books? Are they stealing money from the company?

If you don't have the money to hire an accountant to control your business finances, there are many software programs available now that can use to track your businesses expenses.

Your company most likely will need to make small and large purchases. Discuss the policies for purchasing products with your purchasing department, office manager or secretary who is in charge of this. Any business-related purchase needs careful consideration. When dealing with larger purchases, you should have a policy in place that defines how you are to go about purchasing larger products.

Take the time to investigate where all the money is going. How much do you pay on rent and utilities? Small numbers add up quickly and you need to properly monitor them as well as the larger numbers.

A few accounting software programs available can help you track your finances easily. Let's look at a few:

Peachtree Accounting. This is a popular program in business accounting. You are able to manage your accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, payroll, job costing, fixed assets, and your general ledger. It also includes internet postage, credit card services, direct deposit, and contact management.

Quicken Business is another great financial management program. You are able to create custom estimates and invoices, generate business reports, manage taxes and expenses, track your cash flow, and set up merchant accounts. Another great feature is that you can download your business transactions and pay your bills online.

Microsoft Monday is low-priced software with great benefits. You can create custom invoices, estimate tax payments, compare financial data, balance your checkbook, track cash flow, and pay your bills.

Another way to track your finances is to create Excel spreadsheets that include office supplies, client AR reports, and other details that pertain to your business.

Keeping a file of each client and their outstanding invoices will also help you control the cash flow since you will keep track of how much money they owe you and when you have been paid. The best program on the market is QuickBooks. Like all the other programs we discussed, QuickBooks helps you to keep organized and keep all your transactions in one place. It will send you reminders when statements are ready to be sent and deposit money into your account directly when a credit card is processed. Plus, QuickBooks will help your accountant figure out your finances easily when it is time for taxes.

Just be sure to monitor your books and have a clear outline for your employees to understand and you should be on your way to tracking your finances. It is important that you stay organized and don't let things pile up. Tracking your finances for your company is just like tracking your personal finances. Stay organized and keep on top of your cash flow and don't get too far into debt!