Admin. It’s one of the most feared words in the eyes of a lot of small business owners. After all, many are busting a gut in a bid to make their first profits – and the nuisance of paperwork doesn’t make their plight any easier.
Unfortunately, it has to be done. While the consequences of failing to do the appropriate tax planning are there for all to see, it can stretch even more serious if you fail to get your insurance obligations in order as well. These are just two examples but in truth, the list can go on.
Bearing this mind, as a small business owner, what are some simple tips to stay on top of dreaded paperwork? Through today’s guide, we’ll provide some hard and fast advice.
Get an accountant
Let’s cut to the chase and tackle one of the biggest paperwork-related matters for small businesses out there. From tax returns to Self-Assessment, it’s a lot for one person to handle – and that’s before you even think about the National Living Wage and other legislation updates!
The best way to take the headache out of business admin is to get an accountant. They will have a vast wealth of experience and will likely already have systems in place to make your life easier.
Sure, you might be bemoaning yet another expense, but if we turn to the famous “time is money” saying – this is one that is utterly worthwhile.
Have a dedicated admin day
This isn’t going to be a popular suggestion with a lot of small business owners but it will make a world of difference.
Every week, have a day where you know that you’re not going to be customer-facing. Whether this is a Monday or a Friday, make sure that you have at least one day where you’re not trying to balance customer service with business admin.
On this day, you can go through your paperwork, answer any queries and get everything up to date. You’ll be surprised at how much easier everything is to manage when you have a set day for it.
Get organised
One of the main reasons that small business owners despise business admin is that it’s often a bit of a mess. If you’re constantly misplacing invoices and losing important documents, it’s going to be a nightmare come tax return time.
To make things easier on yourself, get organised. Have a system in place for storing documents and always make sure that you know where everything is. This will make your life a lot easier in the long-run, particularly if combined with the previous suggestion.
Automate where possible
In the modern world, there is no excuse for not automating your business admin. From online bookkeeping software to online invoicing, there are a number of ways that you can make your life easier.
Not only will this save you time, but it will also drastically reduce the amount of paperwork that you have to deal with. If you can find ways to automate your business admin, do it!
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.