Online banking. Use your bank’s site to set up automatic bill payments. Even if your electric, phone, and internet provider doesn’t offer payments through their site, your bank probably does. Set up as many automatic payments as you can. All you have to do then is remember to deduct the expenses from your checkbook. This saves me a ton of time each month, because I don’t have to remember when bills are due or write a bunch of checks and mail them. And by doing it through my bank, I’m in control of my money going out, rather than giving a company access to my information.

Automatic payments. In addition to setting payments via your bank, you can also pay some of your business items automatically with your business credit card. Purchases are tracked for you and you only have to make one payment to cover several expenses. And you may even earn bonuses or cash back. Just be sure to pay it off each month so you don’t rack up expensive interest charges.

Finance software. If you use a program like Quicken, you can simplify several financial transactions. It can automatically total your accounts for you. Use it to track various categories of expenses. And even download your banking info to make reconciling your account a breeze.

Automatic savings. Set up your accounts to automatically put aside some money for savings each month. Do it at a set time each month, with an amount that puts you closer to your savings goals. Want to save $5000 this year? Transfer $417 each month. Or about $100/ week. Don’t forget your retirement. And sole proprietors should be setting aside money for taxes as well. All of this can be done automatically so you don’t have to spend a lot of time each week or month figuring it out, or trying to remember to do it.

Just a few small steps can save a lot of time in the long run. Give it a try and see how it works for you. What other ways do find are helpful for simplifying your finances?

Image: Newscom

Post from: My Organized Biz

(myorganizedbiz.com) – One thing I’m trying to keep up on is finance. Specifically: expenses. I bought software to help me keep track of my business expenses and accounts receivable. It is intended to save me time when it comes to tax preparation. If I already have my expenses categorized, I won’t have to spend a few hours adding things up for my tax return.

But three-quarters of the way through the year and I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit. I have a few monthly recurring expenses that are easily added to my expense list. And I really don’t have a huge amount of expenses at this point, since I already took care of major purchases like my computer.

So while keeping up on the numbers shouldn’t be a big deal if done regularly, I now face going back through a few months’ of receipts and statements and entering them.

How did I get to this point? It sneaks up on you. I got busy getting a big project out of the way (which finishes this week). It took up a large chunk of time, and then I had my other regular work to do, plus family things.

It happens to the best of us at times. And now, I have to find a way to pull back out of it. So what’s my plan?

Small chunks. When you realize you’re far behind on something it’s easy to get discouraged and want to scrap it all. But when it comes to our businesses, we can’t do that. So to keep from getting overwhelmed, I need to get things back in order in small bites.

I’ll take 1/2 hour here, 15 minutes there, one pile of receipts, one credit card statement… you get the idea. I need to break it into manageable pieces and just get it done. A little each day or each week until I’m caught up. And then I need to enter receipts weekly so I don’t get behind again. Even biweekly is better than nothing.

We all get behind at times. But we can’t give up and just scrap everything. We have to take a look at where we are and take the steps to get back on track. Don’t try to do it all and once and overwhelm yourself. Just do it gradually if you can. And if you can enlist help, it’ll go quicker. Just don’t give up!

Post from: My Organized Biz

(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – I got a notice over the weekend of an unpaid bill. Now that’s not like me at all, so I wasn’t sure what had happened. It was a medical bill, which I hate dealing with. I could have sworn I’d already paid it, but I just had to find the evidence.

Easy, right? It should be if you have your paperwork organized.

It just so happens that the bill was in my “to be filed” pile and I was easily able to put my hands on it. And right on the bill was the notation of when and how I’d paid it. I also found the credit card bill that showed the charge.

With a short phone call, things should be resolved. I’ll check back in a week to make sure that their records have been corrected.

If I didn’t have a designated place for holding files until I can file them, I would have been searching for a long time to find what I needed. And fortunately, I remembered that particular transaction, which made it easier for me to put my hands on the papers.

The question is, do you have a spot for papers before you file them? Do you have a filing system that makes it easy for you to find what you need when the occasion arises?

Image: miguelb on Flickr (creative commons license)

Post from: My Organized Biz

Jennifer Hofmann is the queen of organization here at My Organized Biz, so the pressure was on when she asked me to help with one of her own organization issues.

Jennifer sent me a photo of her receipts piling up and said -

I can’t get myself motivated to enter my receipts. The picture features my system of sorting them, but it’s not working because they’re now piling up on my desk.

Seriously, it’s embarrassing, but I haven’t put them in my Excel spreadsheet since the end of January. And every time I try to use the desk, I have to shove them around or try to ignore them but it’s not working.

In a perfect world, I’d enter them regularly, like weekly. But I am so busy it’s just not happening. I’d love some ideas about how to make it more fun, less painful, or just have them disappear into thin air.

My Suggestions:

My first suggestion is to minimize the number of receipts you need to deal with by -

• Direct debits – For regular expenses e.g. phone, internet, mail etc. see if you can get your bank to direct debit these from your account so the payment goes through the bank.
• Credit card payments – For non regular purchases, use a credit card, but make sure you pay it off before the interest starts to kick in so it is cost neutral. Both direct debits and credit card payments will show on your bank statement so you have the details without the receipts.

For the remaining receipts –

Instead of letting them pile up, put them straight into an accordion file or 3-ring binder with pockets, divided into suppliers and/or date order. They will be in order ready for you to enter them on your Excel spreadsheet when you are ready.

They will also be off your desk, and out of sight, which may help both space wise and psychologically.

If you really hate this task, and thinking about it is affecting productivity, would you consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant? If you can’t justify the expense, maybe there is a task or service you could barter as a swap.

Have fun, Jennifer. I look forward to the “After” photo when you have tamed those pesky receipts.

Yvonne Russell is a freelance writer and professional blogger at Grow Your Writing Business, Small Biz Mentor and Home Biz Notes.

Post from: My Organized Biz

In it, you’ll find my article about Mark Silver’s Kitchen Table Financial Summit, some practical ideas you can use, and some other fun stuff.

Take 10 minutes and give it a whirl – it could help your business weather this storm.

Post from: My Organized Biz