Starting an online business can be difficult when you have to deal with running your e-commerce website on your own or with a small team. Delegating tasks will help you and your employees focus on what needs to be done rather than frantically running around without a workflow and creating more issues for yourselves.
Part of running an online business is having to deal with money and receipts. If you want to avoid having problems with this, it is best to hire an accountant for your e-commerce business. You should remember that you and your accountant should work as a team. Simply handing your receipts to them won't make any of your jobs easy—it'll be harder to backtrack and keep tabs on the numbers.
Here are some helpful tips you can follow to manage your receipts properly:
Your budget tracker is your receipt envelope's sidekick
Along with your receipts, you should have to list down all your expenses and receipt information manually. That will serve as a helpful tool to backtrack your cash transactions and the number of receipts your accountant will be working with. If your accountant can't keep track of your transactions properly, including bank statements and credit card statements, it may cause further scrutiny. Help your accountant and yourself by keeping everything on record.
An envelope, a folder, your wallet—anything would work
Keep all your receipts. Place all your receipts in your wallet, and at the end of the day, write down all the information in your budget tracker. Then, keep them in a folder, envelope, or basket. It's a good bonus for your assistant if you've arranged them chronologically. Remember that you are teammates, and ultimately, you want to make each other's lives easier so that you can run your online business smoothly.
Don't want the mess? Take pictures of your receipts
There are so many apps online that can scan your receipts and upload them in a cloud so that you'll have a copy of it forever. If you don't want to deal with a lot of mess and paper, it is best to take a picture of your receipts before disposal. Uploading all your receipts in a folder is actually pretty helpful for tracking. Most receipts now are also electronic—so being able to compile both physical receipts and electronic receipts in one place for your e-commerce accountant will make their job easier.
Avoid stuffing receipts straight to your bag. The chances are that you'll forget that they're there, and worst of all, you'll think they're trash and eventually just toss them out. A great tip is to take a picture of your receipt the moment it is handed to you. You can then put it out of the way and not worry about it anymore.
Conclusion
Make it a habit to keep all your bank statements, credit card transactions, and receipts. Doing so will help you backtrack and compare the logistics and expenses of your online businesses. Not only will it help keep track of your money and how it's moving, but also it will help your accountant help you not to worry about your financial statements. Remember to do thorough research and find a reputable e-commerce accountant to work with to avoid problems.
If you are looking for an ecommerce accountant in Australia, get in touch with The Ecommerce Accountant. We are a team of passionate business advisors for online stores and influencers. We focus on giving our clients expert accounting services, cash flow forecasting, business goal setting, and much more. Book a free online strategy meeting with us today!