FINANCIER Courts Ready Cash says borrowers, especially among small businesses, could gain more financing support if they kept better records.

Atasha Bernard, general manager, Courts Ready Cash, during the recent staging of the Courts Ready Cash Business Survivor Webinar Series, said the task of keeping records can fall secondary to everyday business operations. However, failing to efficiently keep up-to-date and comprehensive records can hurt the long-term operations of businesses.

Courts Ready Cash now offers business loans. Bernard said she wants small business owners to feel confident that they are armed with the information they need to take their businesses to the next level.

In the webinar entitled, ‘How To Keep Business Records: Your RoadMap To Success’, Bernard outlined, “Keeping clear records of income, expenses, employees, tax documents and accounts isn’t just good business. It can bring you peace of mind, help you monitor progress toward goals and save you time and money.”

According to Bernard, “ You cannot manage what is not measured, and therefore the reasoning behind sound record-keeping is that it allows business owners to learn and grow from their own business experience.”

“Keeping your records in check will help you understand the current situations of your business and also project future profit or losses. In addition, good record-keeping will also show you where your business needs improvement or reinvention,” Bernard said.

Bernard advised that businesses should set up “a standardised yet user-friendly bookkeeping system, ensuring legal, financial, regulatory and operational discipline.”

“Proper record filing and retention is the first step to upholding industry regulations and wider business compliance. A fully orchestrated record management system ensures you can locate essential documents for tax filings and other mandatory paperwork,” she said.

“Records management is even more critical for certain document types, such as financial records, as failure to do so can result in severe penalties, from government fines to potential legal action if the non-compliance is deemed intentionally negligent,” she added.

The finance manager said keeping accurate and up-to-date financial statements will help borrowers seeking a finance boost at the time of lending applications. “These finances include income statements as well as balance sheets that show assets, liabilities and the equities of your business at a specific date,” she stated.

Bernard counselled that, to keep business records organised, business operators should get into the habit of tracking all the information about financial and non-financial transactions

“Keep track of every amount you spend on your business and every amount you take in as sales. Ensure that you keep personal and business expenditures separate even if you always repay your business when you pay personal expenses out of that account. Be sure everything you capture includes a description of the item, the amount, and the date,” Bernard said.

This information, she said, must be saved whether virtually or manually, however, “after recording your financial information it must be in a usable form, so that you can turn everything over to your bookkeeper to record or record it yourself.

“Input the information into a spreadsheet or accounting software. You might find that online software works best for you; you and your bookkeeper can both see the information and discuss it. Just be sure you get everything recorded each month so you can review it,” she said.

Bernard indicated that even if you are not familiar with accounting systems, “you should be able to set your record-keeping in motion and keep it running with minimal effort. The most difficult part is to start the process.”