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The blog

Plain-English bookkeeping, from Lisa.

Short articles on money, tax and keeping your books in order. Pick one and read it in five minutes.

BasicsWhy I Say Keep Bookkeeping SimpleWhen bookkeeping feels complicated, there is usually one word you have not understood. Here is how I keep mine simple.BasicsWhy Getting Your Bookkeeping Done MattersEveryone tells you to get your books done. Here is what bookkeeping is, and the reason I think matters most.BasicsWhy I Check Every Word I Don't UnderstandI could not understand marketing until I found I did not know the word. Here is how a dictionary fixed it.BasicsWhy Your Business Files Are Its MemoryIf one person holds all the information in their head, what happens when they are away? Here is how I keep files.BasicsHow I Set Up Bookkeeping Files SimplyFive files, a customer file and a supplier file. Here is the simple filing set-up I use, and why.Basics20 Tips on Organising Your Business FinancesA free download from me: my 20 tips for getting your business finances in order.Tax and VATMaking Tax Digital: What I Learned in One DayI spent a whole day studying MTD. Here is my plain summary of who is affected and when, in the order I understood it.Tax and VATIR35 Explained Plainly for Small BusinessesWhat IR35 is, what inside and outside mean, and the five questions used to work out which side you are on.Tax and VATReverse Charge VAT for Construction SubcontractorsIf you invoice a contractor for CIS work and you are VAT-registered, your invoices change. Here is what changes.Money in and out4 Ways To Get Customers Paying FasterEvery company I have worked with wants its customers to pay faster. Here are the four steps I start with.Money in and outWhen and How to Chase Late InvoicesThe three-contact rule I use, plus the smiley face, the 2% discount and the cake that got me paid faster.Money in and outPay The Oldest Bills FirstA simple order for paying suppliers that helped one company clear a €40,000 overdraft in a year.Money in and outWhy Your Profit Is Not Your Bank BalanceYour report shows a profit but the bank is empty. The Profit and Loss and the Balance Sheet, in plain words.Money in and outWhat Reconciling Means, and Why It Takes TimeReconciling is the biggest job I do as a bookkeeper. Here is what it is, and the whole list of what gets checked.Running your businessSpend Your Money After You Have Earned ItA simple weekly plan I use to stop a business always catching up on its bills.Running your businessPlan Your Income Before You Spend ItBefore you decide how to spend this month's money, a few questions about where it will come from.Running your businessHow to Decide What to Spend Your Money OnOne question to ask before every expense, how to pay your backlog of bills, and where your advertising money should go.Running your businessPlan Your Income Before You Plan Your SpendingHow I plan next month's work before I decide how to spend a penny of it.Running your businessHow to Increase Your Profit: Manage Your MoneySpending less, raising prices or buying cheap will not do it alone. This is what I do every week instead.Running your businessTurn a New Year Intention Into a PlanThe 10-step Administrative Scale I use to take a goal from an idea to a real result.Running your businessPromotion You Can Do Before Any LeafletA smile, a tidy desk, a clean front door. The small things customers notice before they ever speak to you.Running your businessWhy I Put Executive Time Back In My WeekI went to a short seminar and saw I had let the overview of my own company slip.Running your businessWhy I Record My Business Statistics Every WeekI let mine slip, a breakfast meeting reminded me why they matter, and this is how I use them.Running your businessWhy Your Sales Are Down, And Where To LookWhen your numbers have dropped for a few months, the first reason that comes to mind is often the wrong one.Running your businessWhat to Do When Business Hits a SlumpMost people cut advertising first when work dries up. I think that is backwards, and here is why.Running your businessHow a Graph Helped One Client Double Her SalesOne customer's sales were falling and the work had dried up. Here is what I did, and what happened in the next six months.Running your businessWhy I Keep Monday Mornings for MyselfI was so busy producing that nothing else got done. Here is the weekly habit that changed that for me.

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