Know how to organise and keep receipts for Small Business Owners

The functions of small business enterprises are handled by a few individuals, which can be less than five persons. In some cases, a single individual handles every area of business.

Activities carried out in business operations

Business runs through several activities, which may include the following:

1. Creation of invoices 

2. Handling customer requests 

3. Communication with vendors 

4. Quality checks of products 

5. Loading and unloading, and many more activities

How to organise and keep receipts?

You can track, organise, and record receipts dedicated to small business owners by doing the following:

1. Maintaining records over paper or spreadsheets

Earlier, individuals would receive cheques from their customers or vendors and deposit them the same day or the next working day while writing minimum details on the bank’s deposit slip.

Maintaining the name of the party, date of receipt and amount of cheque on a spreadsheet daily would help avoid remembering a lot of information. This information would also help during the accounting of records.

Situations may arise where your computer is not accessible. In such cases, you can write down the details on paper and punch them into a file or folder for easy reference.

Since the advent of online payments apps (for example, UPI), even though there has been a paperwork reduction, maintaining records of receipts daily would save time.

2. Determine the nature of receipts

You might receive payments of goods or services already delivered or provided or receive an advance from your parties for future deliverables.

The above information will help compute the exact bill-wise receivable from the parties.

3. Use an accounting software

The software reduces time and effort for routine transactions in your business. It would record data and produce reports such as ageing analysis or a list of overdue receivables, which help analyse records.

The software also sends an automated email to customers reminding them about their dues as of date. Additionally, certain software would restrict entering any sales invoice if the balance of the party crosses its pre-determined credit amount.

4. Receipt confirmation over email/SMS

Any data maintained electronically would stay for an indefinite time. Keeping confirmations over mail/SMS or any other electronic interface would help extract records for future references.

5. Verify from bank statements

For every cheque deposited or any funds received through online mode, every transaction is recorded in the bank statement. Cross-verification and reconciliations at regular intervals from these statements would keep you updated so any receipts will not go unnoticed.

These tips will help you keep track of your receipts, reduce unnecessary hardships, and run your business smoothly.