Tis The Season To Keep Up With Your Bookkeeping

It’s easy to get distracted by the hustle and bustle of the holiday season! There’s so much to do and a hard deadline that must be met! Everything becomes a blur of candy canes, invoices, glitter, and payroll! This may seem like the time of year to take a break on our bookkeeping and leave it for after the holiday season…but that’s never a smart option! If anything, there are some special things to keep your eye on during the holidays…

Stash your receipts. 

This goes for online email confirmations, as well! This is the only time of the year we will suggest saving a stack of receipts, but this pile will be from holiday expenses. This could be anything like employee gifts or bonuses, client gifts, prospect gifts, or more. Print out your email confirmations and add them to the pile. 

Stay on top of returns. 

It happens to us all - we purchase something online and it comes looking completely different. Returns happen, it’s how you handle them that makes all the difference! When you make a return or get any sort of refund, update your records right away. Make sure you staple or paperclip the original receipt to the return receipt. If you have a QuickBooks account, please make sure to attach both to the transaction. Make notes in your books as necessary. Don’t wait until the New Year or after the holiday season because it won’t be fresh in your mind and pieces will likely fall through the cracks. 

Check your bank account(s) daily. 

With the extra spending in the holiday season comes the responsibility of making sure you know how much is in your account(s) at all times. With the extra credit card use, it’s also more likely for suspicious activity to appear. Make sure you’re checking in on your bank account(s) daily and if something doesn’t look right, get to the bottom of it immediately. It will be easier to fix now than down the road. 

Log charitable donations appropriately. 

Tis the season for giving! Many businesses make it a point to give a special donation to local or national non-profits during the holidays. There are special ways to handle charitable donations, so make sure you speak with your bookkeeper and tap preparer when it comes time. They’ll both know what to do, but you should be kept in the loop for it means for your business. 

Consider splitting business & personal. 

You’d be surprised how many business owners don’t separate their business and personal expenses. It makes doing their bookkeeping an absolute maze and it isn’t worth it when it’s completely avoidable! Consider splitting your business and personal expenses in the New Year. It makes things less messy in just about every way! 

Enjoy the holiday season and soak up every bit of hot peppermint cocoa! Don’t forget to give some extra attention to your books during this time of year.