Driven by ambition, most business owners tend to think beyond the realms of the possible. I know this because I’ve dabbled in the business world for a good minute.
While it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, I have no regrets about the amazing entrepreneurial journey I’ve been through. Then again, everyone once in a while, I tend to find myself just thinking how everything would have panned out had I done things differently at the beginning.
Having shared excellent counsel with close associates about my success over the years, I believe it’s high time that I divulge some of the best practices that have kept me afloat. More specifically, I’ll be sharing pointers on just how essential a bookkeeping service is for restaurant business growth. By the time I'm done, you’ll have all the insights on how to run a profitable business.
Best Time to Hire a Bookkeeper
- First Quarter Craziness and Tax Season
- Post Tax Season plus the Second and Third Quarter
- The Fourth Quarter and the Holidays
1. First Quarter Craziness and Tax Season
New Year’s resolutions aside, there’s way too much happening around the start of the year. For most businesses, it marks a new beginning and a time to rethink strategies. Fresh off the back of a grueling holiday season, it takes time before the dust settles and everything gets back to normalcy.
With the tax season on the horizon, you may opt not to outsource the services of an bookkeeping expert to help you make the necessary filings. However, you need not fear since having a restaurant bookkeeping system in place can ease the burden. This is indeed much simpler than filing for an extension and then waiting until D-day before remembering you have taxes to sort out.
The smart way to do things is to keep a close eye the deadline so that you’re not found napping. Following the Corona outbreak early into the year, Tax Day has shifted from April 15th to July 15th.
Having an up-to-date bookkeeping system allows you to flex a little bit and make great use of financial data to arrive at key business decisions. Without an effective system, you may run your business to the ground without even realizing it.
In contemporary times, you simply can’t afford to depend wholly on your gut feeling when making decisions. For a clearer picture of what’s happening, you need to have updated books that tell the full story. With accurate depictions of the true state of things, you’ll be able to narrow down to the problematic areas and plan accordingly.
Indeed, a dialed bookkeeping system makes forecasting a breeze.
2. Post Tax Season plus the Second and Third Quarter
As alluded earlier, the current COVID-19 pandemic has crippled many activities. To be on the safe side, it's best to prepare for tax season ASAP.
However, with everything settled and A-Okay, the months of May, June, July, or August are usually ideal to hire restaurant bookkeeping services. This timing tends to work out great because the year is still relatively young and you can still account for most of the transactions conducted.
True to the age-old adage, it's best to make hay while the sun shines. If you delay and let the fall and winter holidays roll around, you may realize that it's too late to seek professional counsel.
Rather than wait until everything goes haywire, why not streamline your bookkeeping for a restaurant business? Not only will you be more comfortable with the terms of the operation, but you’ll also have more breathing space to conduct your other activities.
It would be remiss if I didn’t point out important it is to have a handle on cash flow.
Without cash, there’s high probability for a business to go under. With sufficient reserves, your vendors and employees will be all smiles and all the more motivated to steer your business along the right path.
For posterity, you must have your books properly sorted out. Doing this ensures that your cash flow is always on check since you’re using good accounts receivable procedures from the word go.
3. The Fourth Quarter and the Holidays
With a bookkeeper running the show at the restaurant, you can close the year with a bang in anticipation of the next tax season. In an ideal situation, the gears need to be well-oiled such that you can forward the books to your CPA on the very first day of the year without having second thoughts.
This kind of forward-thinking can work great for you since you have plenty of time to handle hitches that may arise before Tax Day comes calling.
While we're on this, did you know that waiting until the end of the calendar year to review your taxes can be detrimental to your business? If you didn’t, then it’s high time to review your strategies.
To stay ahead of the competition, you need to evaluate your tax situation before the year comes to a wrap. With your finger always on the buzzer, you have the freedom to make some last-minute amendments that will suit your business and enhance your tax situation.
With good bookkeeping practices, you don’t have to always scramble towards the finish line whenever the year is about to end. Instead, you can better utilize that time zeroing in on key issues that are affecting the business and developing lasting solutions that will suit you.
Crucially, your bottom line is sure to greatly benefit from the suggested measures.
Curious to know how efficient bookkeeping can enhance your profit margins? Well, first off, when you streamline your bookkeeping for a restaurant business, you never have to worry about your current financial position. This is because it’s always within your radar.
With your sights trained on the prize, you have ample time to react to real-time data and boost your financial situation.
To make that next level leap, you can use your financial reports to cut unnecessary expenses or to notch higher sales numbers.
Parting Shot
Having highlighted some of the advantages of hiring a restaurant bookkeeper in a timely fashion, it’s time for you to think about how you can implement the shared pointers.
Does your current bookkeeping system benefit your business?
If not, then, you need to streamline your restaurant bookkeeping services.