Bookkeeping For the Health and Beauty Industry

Bookkeeping is really, just a way of counting your business’s money. When it comes to your business it’s essential that you have a close eye on and a good understanding of your books. Without that, you’re making it harder to be successful in business. Because of taxes, it means the government is involved and there are fines and penalties for doing it wrong. This makes it all seem terrifying and intimidating and for many of us, it’s the part of our business that scares us most.

When that feeling comes up, remember how far you’ve come already! Some of the things you do now, that you take in your stride, at one time scared the life out of you, I’ll bet. Spreading hot wax on someone’s delicate parts? Way scarier than bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping is just another aspect of owning your own business and facing it head on is the only way to make it less intimidating.

My goal is for you to feel empowered and in control around your finances. Yes, you can get help, I actively encourage it, but before you outsource, spend the time to get an understanding of what you’re handing over. Realise, you can outsource the task, but not the responsibility. What that means: if your accountant or bookkeeper does things badly, the Revenue will come knocking on your door, not theirs.

Getting a system in place for your bookkeeping will transform your business. Taking on the assistance of a good bookkeeper is an excellent investment as your business grows.

Where to start!

Get a simple system for recording your sales and purchases at least once a week. DO NOT use a spreadsheet for this. Spreadsheets get more and more complicated over time and are prone to errors.

Use an online accounting software like SortMyBooks www.sortmybooks.com. You can access cloud accounting software from any internet connected device and it’s easy to share your data with your accountant or bookkeeper.

Get the training you need to understand how to do your bookkeeping properly.

As your business grows you’ll be able to outsource this task to a good bookkeeper. When the time is right make sure you get recommendations. A good bookkeeper is a bonus to any business, a bad bookkeeper can ruin a business.

SortMyBooks works in conjunction with the Professional Bookkeepers Academy www.professionalbookkeepingservices.ie. Bookkeepers from the Professional Bookkeepers Academy have proven qualifications and come highly recommended.

Beauty is a solid business and a growing industry. You can set up a beauty business anywhere and make a success of it. You get to do what you love every day. Get a handle on the books and you’ll see your hard work pay off.

You’ll ensure you don’t pay any more tax than you have to, you’ll avoid fines and penalties and you’ll have the satisfaction of watching your business grow and feeling empowered around your finances.

The main benefits of having your own bookkeeping system are:

1. No more surprises. You’ll know exactly where you stand financially. Instead of waiting for a shock tax bill each October, you’ll know ahead of time what your profit is and what you should be setting aside for your tax.
2. You’ll be able to track the profitability of your services. A successful business starts with having the costings right. If your costings aren’t right then no amount of new business is going to help. In fact it could make the problem worse.
3. VAT returns are easy when you have a system. No more stressing about gathering up paperwork to handover to your accountant or messing with complicated, error-prone spreadsheets.
4. Easily keep track of Suppliers, see exactly how much you are spending with each supplier and know what you owe at the click of a button.
5. Track your income categories: at the click of a button you’ll see how much you’re earning for eg. facials, waxing, manicure/pedicures, tanning etc.
6. Track your categories of expenditure - see exactly where your money is going, this gives you great clarity and allows you to see where savings can be made.
7. Know your profit margins - closely related to costings, you’ll see exactly what your sales are minus the cost of making those sales, in each category.
8. At any time you’ll be able to run a report showing your monthly income and expense, having this information at your fingertips gives you the power to act if there are more outgoings than incomings and provides peace and a sense of pride and accomplishment when things are going well.
9. Do you have staff? You can also do your own payroll, much more convenient since PAYE modernisation to take control of this inhouse.
10. Feeling organised and in control - you can’t beat the peace of mind that gives you. No more waking up in the dead of night worrying about your finances. You will be empowered and enlightened.

Sign up for a free trial of SortMyBooks using this promo code SMB010 and you’ll get two month’s free trial.