Everyone is having a really difficult time making ends meet in this economy. There are thousands of people locally that lost their jobs because of layoffs or business closings and they are truly lost.

More and more often they are turning to a hobby or a talent and starting their own business. But they never seem to first seek the help they need from professionals such as a bookkeeper, accountant, attorney, insurance agent or, for sure their banker. They open a checking account and they’re off.

What happens next is they discover they have omitted some basic and essential element, such as paying payroll taxes, or filing the wrong federal forms, or failure to get a license. They then start receiving letters asking for information that they know nothing about. They ignore them and after a time, they receive a notice of taxes due with penalty and interest, or find themselves in need of huge amounts of money for unexpected permits or licenses. It’s only when they’re in trouble that they seek help from a person such as myself, a professional bookkeeper.

If a bookkeeper Melbourne can work with them within the first three to six months of opening their business, he/she can usually help them get their books set up properly. Then a bookkeeper Melbourne sends them to a business attorney and an accountant.

A bookkeeper Melbourne can explain that they should not have accounts receivable but instead need to collect their money when they deliver the product or service. Most businesses just getting started do not have a credit rating, so most suppliers will want their money up front, and they should follow suit. This is the main issue that is by far keeping business from being successful. They do not collect their money. Then they have added time and cost chasing their money to no avail. They end up losing big.

Another issue is that they do not understand the need to keep a good set of books. A bookkeeper Melbourne explain that a good set of books will tell them everything they need to know about their business, including profits they are making, costs versus income, etc. Without numbers, you simply do not know how your business is doing. It is like walking into a dark room and stumbling around. You need to find the light switch, and that’s what a good set of books is all about – the light showing you where you stand and the right way to go.