Here are some tips to help you stay on top of your financial reporting in the coming year.

Plan for End of Year Tax Today

Leaving your tax until the end of the year is stressful and can mean you miss saving money on your taxes. Start planning for the year ahead today.

Think about what systems and processes you need to support your business and goals. This is even more important when planning to expand or diversify your business. Talk to your accountant now and it can set you up well for the year ahead.

Set up a Budget

Yes, I know, the word budget is enough to drive you to bury your head in the sand. It can be just too overwhelming and complex and too hard to get your head around. But really there are only three main sets of figures to consider — the profit and loss report, trial balance and balance sheet. You need to understand where you are making and losing money.

The beginning of a new financial year is a great time to look at your accounts. Look at the real figures and set up a budget. It is really in the best interest of your business. A good budget:

• Tells you how much money or sales the business needs to make to cover operational costs.
• Determines how much revenue you need to grow the business.
• Shows you how to afford to hire new employees.

Again, your accountant can help you. You do not have to figure it out alone.

Implement Good Habits

Take a look at the practices that need updating that will help you when tax time comes around. Doing this at the start of the financial year makes your (and your accountant’s) life a lot more efficient. Spending the time now will free up your time over the long term.

Areas to consider could include:

• Tracking your expenses daily. Working hard in your business means you can be too tired at the end of the day to look at the figures. But this is important. Watching them daily allows you to see any mistakes and opportunities before it is too late to take action.
• Not always buying the cheapest options. Cheap does not always mean best value. Investing in better quality items means you will not have to replace them so often. This makes sense as your investment will work smarter and harder.
• Reducing debt though consolidation. Consolidating your debt may work for you to help reduce interest payments and overall debt.
• When you create a budget include a cash flow forecast. Understanding what your business needs to survive and grow over the next year will help you avoid running out of cash. Plan for a worst case scenario. Set some cash aside, so your business can survive.

Automate Data to Stay Organised

To make life easier at the end of the financial year, automate your data to stay organised. This makes updating important data a simple process. Here are three ways to achieve this:

1. Digitise your receipts. Are you still storing business receipts in paper format? If you answered yes, then it is time to automate the process. It will save you searching or losing them. It is as simple as using software to take photo of your receipts to keep them stored in a file together in the cloud.
2. Move you accounting to the cloud. Moving your accounting to the cloud makes it easier to record everything with single point of access. This makes it a simple process to search transactions, invoices and your business inventory. It also makes it easy for your accountant to access.
3. Share files digitally. Another good way to streamline your financial records is to use digital file sharing. You can organise reports and accounts in files using platforms such as Dropbox and Google Drive. Then all you need to do is share a link to whoever needs it.

Remain Updated about Capital Gains Tax Changes

When you sell capital assets, such as a building, you can receive up to a 50% tax deduction. But to be eligible you need to pass the $6 million net asset test. You can defer the exemption for up to two years if you replace the asset. Capital gains tax is complex so it is important to remain updated on any changes.

Talk to your accountant for more ways to organise your business financials and reporting to simplify the end of financial year rat race.