There’s a lot to think about when you’re running a small business. 

 

Accurate and useful financial reports can save you time and help you to make important decisions. 

 

But which ones do you need and why? 

 

There are a lot to choose from, so here are some common reports and how they can help you run your business. 

It’s important to have a clear picture of your cashflow to understand how well you are doing and how you can improve your business performance. 

 

Your bookkeeper can help you with this.  

 

Here are five of our top tips. 

People might wonder whether bookkeepers are born or made. Well, in my case, the answer is ‘both’. 

 

I have always loved maths, but was advised not to do A level maths at school. I trained as a teacher at the University of Hertfordshire specialising in Geography but soon discovered I loved teaching maths.  

 

I was a teacher for over fourteen years but for seven of those years I enjoyed teaching maths to years 9 to 11 year old as well as computing and a variety of foundation subjects at Westfield Middle School.  

 

The school believes in high quality education, teaching excellence, providing great opportunities and variety. Most importantly the staff and children needed to have fun 

Benefits in kind are items or services that you or your employees receive from your company in addition to your salary. 

 

They can include things like private healthcare, interest-free loans and company cars. They are reported to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) using the P11D form. 

Research by Argos for Business says that errors in managing petty cash could be costing small businesses in the UK an average of £355 a year. With over five million businesses across the country that could amount to almost £1.8billion. 

 

Lost receipts and complicated processes are the biggest problems. More than one in 10 (15%) of those surveyed said that they didn’t know how their employers keep track of petty cash. 

 

Petty cash is often used for the wrong things too. For example, the research showed that some businesses used petty cash to buy assets – even a used ice cream van in one example. Petty cash should only be used for small, occasional costs such as refreshments or parking fees.