We are almost at the end of the year. How are you keeping your books? I know not a very exciting topic for some but very important.
Keeping up with your expenses is a key to keep your business growing. Keeping an accurate picture of your business will help you with your tax preparation as well as simple duties like ordering product and supplies. You don’t need to be an accountant to keep your books organized. It just takes a little discipline and some time to set a system down.
Some ways to keep track of your business
- Spreadsheets
- Expense Programs
- Spa POS (point of sale) system
- Accounting software (online or on computer)
Here we have several types of bookkeeping for spa and skincare clinics from simple to more complex.
Spreadsheets
As an independent contractor or business owner it is fundamental that we keep our receipts of all expenses and acquisitions we make in the long of the year. On your spread sheet, you can have a line for building expenses (rental, loans, mortgage) ,one for utilities (water, electricity, gas, phone, internet), one for marketing, one for office (printing paper, ink, office supplies), one for supplies(for your services), one for equipment’s, one for retail of goods ( what you pay for your wholesale), one for education ( the courses you took, the conventions you went), equipment, your mileage and tolls, and extra expenses (lunch meetings, free treatments, gift certificates to clients) , etc. You can also use excel to record expenses related to the business. Expenses can be categorized on excel by month, creating monthly spread sheets.
Expense Apps or Programs
Now a days you can find apps and programs that are free or have a small fee that do so much. You can use an expense program like Expensify to keep yourself organized. There is a free and upgraded version you can use. It is very simple to use and some will have an app you can use on your phone. Some expense apps will track your receipts with just a picture.
Spa POS & Bookkeeping Software
If you want a system that is more robust and will allow you to modify and create reports you can look into using a Spa POS system or an accounting system. Vagaro and Mindbody are a couple of spa pos systems that do a lot for the skincare business. Quickbooks and Freshbooks are a couple of accounting software programs out there. There are so many you just have to do your research and see what works for you.
Your spa POS system is great because it was designed for the spa or clinic type of business. It will allow you to track sales and trends. Some will do more and others are limited on the tracking expenses. If you need to track more expenses, depreciation of assets etc an accounting system may be something you need. There are many companies that offer this type of software. There are online versions available also.
Depending how much bookkeeping you want to do you can work with your accountant on what you would like them to do for you.
Once you get into the groove, tracking won’t take a lot of time, it will save you a lot of money. Not to mention your accurate reporting will help you make good business decisions. When in doubt check with your accountant. Find out how they prefer you report your expenses. The more organized you are the less time the accountant will need to get the job done.