If you’re reading this with interest, I’m guessing you’re one of the many stressed out business owners or self employed people who was rushing around at the end of January to get your tax return filed… correct?

We see it every year; people promising to do better, to get their papers to us well in advance, accountants relaxing at the prospect.  But every year it’s the same. Those last two weeks of January are somewhat fraught with huge amounts of unnecessary stress.

So why don’t you make this year a whole lot easier for yourself by following these easy steps… Here’s what I do…

1. I use the Xero software on basic level account which can start from as little as £9+VAT per month

2. Every time I buy something for my business I photograph the receipt and email it straight away to my Xero inbox which has a dedicated email address

3. When I receive invoices or bills from suppliers via email I forward them straight away to my Xero inbox ready for processing

4. I put aside ½ an hour each month to go through my receipts and upload them onto Xero ready to match against my bank statement

5. I raise my sales invoices to my clients from Xero so everything is in one place

6. I match my bank statement in Xero which is simple from it’s direct bank feed

7. As soon as 5th April has passed and my Xero account is up to date I let me accountant know. He logs on, compiles my tax return by the end of May and I’m done with about 8 months to spare.

8. Then I sit back and have a cup of tea and continue repeating the above steps… easy peasy!

There is an even easier way of course and that’s to hire your trusted and friendly bookkeeping team at Athena Business Services. Contact us today for a chat… we’re quite normal actually. 😊