Organise your business finances
Support good decision making with well managed finances.
Organised finances are important for the success of a business. This includes:
- having the right bank account
- budgeting
- bookkeeping
- deciding on payment terms and types.
Bank accounts
Having a business bank account:
- makes it easier to track income and expenses
- helps you separate personal and business expenses.
You may be required for tax reasons to have a business bank account for some business structures. This includes companies, partnerships and trust structures.
Read about the benefits of a business bank account is important on the Australian Government's Business website.
Budgets
A budget is an estimate of your income and expenses. This helps you plan your spending so you can achieve your business goals.
If you have an accountant or bookkeeper, they may prepare a budget for you. Review your budget regularly so you can check for differences between what you budgeted for and your actual income and expenses.
Get information about how to create and understand a budget on the Australian Government's Business website.
Cash flow
A cash flow budget can help predict if you will have money available to pay your bills. Find out more about cash flow.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the process of recording your business' financial transactions.
You may do your own bookkeeping or it may be done by a financial professional such as a bookkeeper or accountant. No matter who is doing it, you should make sure you have a good record keeping system in place.
There are requirements about the types of records you must keep and how long you need to keep them for. Find out more about this on the Australian Taxation Office website.
Payment terms and types
Getting payments from your customers is an important part of business.
Set up procedures
You should establish payment procedures for your business. These can cover:
- how and when you will be paid
- how debts will be recovered.
You also have responsibilities when it comes to providing customers with invoices and receipts. Read about invoicing and payments on the Australian Government's Business website.
There are laws in place to protect consumers. You must understand your obligations when it comes to selling goods.
Grow your financial skills
Attend workshops and courses to increase your business skills.