by Shaheen Darr

Created on: January 31, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

Keeping accurate business records is vital for any business as it provides the owner with useful information on how the business is doing. As a small business owner there are two options available to you, to do your books yourself or to hand them over to an accountant. The choice obviously depends on a number of different factors:

Firstly, there is the question of affordability. If you can afford to pay an accountant to keep your accounting records up to date, then this is the best choice for you. Not only will you get accurate accounts but taxation, VAT and end of year returns can be filed at the correct time with less chance of late penalty charges. You also have the advantage of having more time to concentrate on other aspects of your business.

The other option is to start keeping your own accounting records and for this you will need to invest in a computerised accounting package. Technological progress has brought many advantages in its wake and the accounting field is no exception. For the majority of businesses the days of the manual accounting system are gone when armed with a calculator and a good set of eyes you spent hours totalling up all your day to day business expenses. Over the years we have seen many computerised accounting packages introduced which have made life much easier for business owners.

Nowadays, because of computerised accounting packages, the majority of small business owners can do their accounts themselves. The key is to input the correct information on the system to get accurate reports on the business performance. In addition, most accounting packages come with telephone and email support to help with problems that might arise and there is also the facility of filing returns like VAT, Tax Returns and PAYE online.

The cost to the business will be the initial setting up of the system and the training that will be required. It is advisable to have back up support for which you pay an annual or a monthly fee but it is worth having this as it helps you with any queries that might arise.

There are many different accounting options you can choose depending on the size of your business and the type of business set up you run. It also depends on what reports you would like to see at the end of an accounting period. Some small home businesses require a simple book keeping package which gives the option to enter sales, purchases, bank and cash transactions and expenses that the business incurs on a daily basis. This can be downloaded

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