Adequate accounting procedures help to organize the differing transactions within a business. An up-to-date view of the finances helps top-level management make swift decisions that can save your business time and money. Missing just one transaction in your books can ripple effect on your accounting records, which can have knock-on effects on the economic outlook of your business and the credibility of your brand to clients.
We take a look at ongoing maintenance and keeping your accounting records clean and current, is of utmost importance to your business.
The importance of maintaining proper accounting records
Having current accounting records is not only beneficial for tax filing, but it can also empower your accounts team to pick up on theft or bad debtors more easily. Employing ongoing maintenance to keep your accounting records up to date is important for:
- tracking accounts and crucial business transactions
- keeping records accurate to attract potential investors
- avoiding a major accounting mess
- making informed business decisions
- adhering to legislative requirements for retaining accounting records over a certain period
The best way to handle incoming data
When it comes to tracking income and expenses, it is important to make use of a reliable system that can automate information between reconciliation statement recordings to keep all accounting records accurate and consistent throughout. Implementing reliable accounting software that gives you a clear snapshot of your finances will help to reduce errors and to keep records of expenses, income, and taxes with ease. It is important to choose accounting software that is widely geared to your industry, and considerate of your bespoke business needs and the size of your organization. Your software can also be further tailored by adding integrations to further automate transactional records between ledgers and departments.
Accounting record retention requirements
In terms of the Companies Act, no 71 of 2008 and Companies Regulations 2011, companies should keep documentation relating to the books and accounts of their business as well as annual financial statements, for 7 years. These requirements differ under the Close Corporations Act, no 69 of 1984, and the Income Tax Act, no 58 of 1962 (Section 73 A & B), which the accounting division of every business needs to keep track of for your business structure.
With reliable accounting software integrations, your business can keep its records clean and consistent throughout. Accounting clean-up services can weed out a number of accounting errors, but ongoing accounting maintenance is required to keep accounting records accurate and up-to-date.
At Fusion CPA, we offer outsourced accounting services. Our team has years of experience with major clean-ups and we provide ongoing maintenance to safeguard against major accounting inconsistencies.
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This blog article is not intended to be the rendering of legal, accounting, tax advice or other professional services. Articles are based on current or proposed tax rules at the time they are written and older posts are not updated for tax rule changes. We expressly disclaim all liability in regard to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this blog as well as the use or interpretation of this information. Information provided on this website is not all-inclusive and such information should not be relied upon as being all-inclusive.
