{"id":951,"date":"2019-06-10T06:33:23","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T06:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sage-new-clone.local\/en-au\/blog\/?p=951"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T09:13:12","slug":"top-3-accounting-tips-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/top-3-accounting-tips-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 3 accounting tips for startups"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoney Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTop 3 accounting tips for startups\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tPublished
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tBruce Minty<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

You work hard at making your business a success because you love what you do\u2014not because you love balancing the books. But accounting is a business essential that\u2019s crucially important to your success as a startup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are our top three tips for successfully managing your finances, wherever you are on your business journey:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Understand your financial story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you look at your financial statements, you should know what\u2019s behind every figure. While you don\u2019t need to take a course in advanced accounting<\/a>, it\u2019s useful to understand basic accounting practices and terminology, including the following three kinds of statements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The Balance Sheet is a snapshot of your finances on a given day
\n\u2013 Income Statements show a business\u2019s progress over a set period of time
\n\u2013 A Cash Flow Statement<\/a> shows how changes in the Balance Sheet and income affect cash<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your business accounts don\u2019t have to take hours of your time. With the right tools, accounting can be quick and simple\u2014so that you can focus on your business journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Keep up-to-date records<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Businesses with up-to-date accounting records are far better at making informed, educated decisions based on real, current facts. It\u2019s therefore essential that you allocate some time every week to updating your books.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the right tools, you don\u2019t need to spend more than a few minutes a day, but it won\u2019t be long before your business starts reaping the rewards. Keeping your records up to date helps you create and maintain a solid and reliable idea of progress\u2014making it easier to see if you can pay yourself and your employees this month. You need to record revenues, business costs and allowable expenses as they happen. A few minutes a day can save you hours over the course of a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Create and maintain a budget<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Try plotting your future expected income<\/a> and expenses so that you can foresee cash flow. Creating a monthly budget until the end of the current financial year\u2014and then tracking and updating your provisional figures with the real ones as they come in\u2014helps you monitor progress against your plan, and adjust your plan to improve future performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And don\u2019t forget to run your overall budget for the full current financial period<\/a> (usually a year) so that non-regular expenses\u2014such as annual insurance premiums, taxation or periodic services expenses\u2014are also factored in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t