How to Automate Your Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is the one task companies ask us to automate. You can find tools and software that can help you put some tasks on autopilot, but you’ll want a human to overlook things and make sure your books are all in order.

You can use a combination of bookkeepers and automation to help you track expenses, create financial statements, and make everything as simple as possible during tax time.

If automating bookkeeping is something you’re interested in, where do you begin? 

First, you need to know what to expect from the tools available today and what they can automate for you.

Need help automating and managing your books? 

Schedule a call with us to learn how we can help.

What Bookkeeping Tasks Can You Automate?

Over 70% of small businesses don’t have an accountant or bookkeeper to manage their books, and cost is the biggest concern for many. You can begin automating the following and bring in a bookkeeper to make sure everything is in order for things like:

• Expense management
• Transaction categorization
• Financial statement generation

Keeping your books updated allows you to have your financials ready for tax season, understand your business, and plan for the future. 

When it comes to tools, Expensify is one solution we use, alongside QuickBooks Online, to help you manage things, such as your expenses, so you never miss deductions.

How to Automate Bookkeeping Tasks

Rushing at the last minute to clean up your books is stressful. You need to categorize your expenses, find receipts and figure out your write-offs. If you’re doing it months after purchases are made, it takes a lot of:

• Time
• Resources
• Willpower

Once you know how to automate bookkeeping, you will reduce this stress and even be able to take advantage of deductions that you might overlook when doing everything at the last minute.

So, where do you start automating your books?

Select an Accounting App to Use

There’s no shortage of accounting apps – we’ve covered them in great detail in the past. But you need to select one and use it – period. Hopping from app to app will only confuse your team and make the transition harder.

Which ones do we recommend?

• QuickBooks Online
• Expensify
• BILL
• Gusto

You’ll also come across others, such as Xero and FreshBooks. Review each app’s features, try them out for yourself and choose the one you’re most comfortable with.

Then, it’s time for a bit of setup.

Connect Payment Processors to Your Accounting App

Tracking income transactions manually can quickly become a chaotic process that’s vulnerable to human error.

To automate this process, connect payment processors to your accounting app. For example, if you use PayPal or Stripe to accept credit or debit card payments, syncing these accounts with your accounting software will allow you to track transactions automatically.

Sync Your Business Bank Account to Your Accounting App

To further streamline your bookkeeping tasks, link your business accounts (your bank account, debit card and credit cards) to your accounting app.

Syncing your accounts with your accounting software will ensure that every transaction is accurately logged and tracked – both credit and debit.

Connecting your business accounts will save you from having to manually enter each transaction and reduce the risk of error.

Upload Photos of Receipts

Are you still keeping your receipts in a box somewhere in your office? It’s time to upgrade your system. 

Physical receipts are easily lost, and the ink can fade, making it more difficult to know what you purchased.

Trade in your old box of receipts for digital copies. Most accounting software solutions have the option to upload photos of receipts. Digital receipts make it easy to keep things organized, and they are accepted by the IRS.

If your accounting software doesn’t have this feature, you can upload your photos to a cloud storage system like Dropbox or Google Drive.

To take your receipt tracking and organization to the next level, you can also use an app like Expensify.

Track Expenses Through an App Like Expensify

Expense tracking doesn’t have to be tedious and time-consuming. Manual methods are error-prone and eat up too much of your valuable time.

But with an app like Expensify, you can easily and automatically:

• Track receipts
• Manage your business’s expenses
• Organize, approve, reconcile and reimburse expenses

According to Expensify, expense tracking and management takes 75% less time with their app compared to traditional methods.

To Sum Up

Bookkeeping can be complicated. But the right tools and solutions can streamline and automate processes to save you time and reduce the risk of costly errors. Try implementing the tips above to start automating your bookkeeping today. 

And when your business starts growing, offload the work to us, so you can stay focused on important core tasks.

To learn more about our bookkeeping services or how we can help you with your accounting needs, schedule a consultation now!