Record Keeping

For the day to day running of the business you will need to set up a book-keeping system to keep track of your accounts. This can be manual or computer based. There are several book-keeping packages on the market and many training courses are available to help people to acquire basic book-keeping skills.

Whichever kind of system you use it is essential to keep accurate and up-to-date records of all your business transactions. All your sales invoices should be numbered sequentially and filed in numerical order. Invoices from suppliers should also be filed and you should create a system which allows you to know which invoices have been paid and which are still outstanding.

All other documentation such as receipts, bank statements and cheque stubs should be filed safely. Some documents have to be kept for tax purposes, and if you are self-employed you need to keep all your business documentation for five years. Information about this is available from the Inland Revenue.