Tag Archives: record keeping

Scan invoices and receipts for accounting software

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By any chance, do you have a shoebox of receipts and a pile of invoices that you need to process?
Making sense of all of this can be a real chore and frustrating. A solution is to scan invoices and receipts. In this guide, we will touch on the importance of keeping good records but focus our attention on making this whole process simpler.

Importing of paper receipts or invoices refers to creating an electronic copy of a paper document that can then be stored or imported into an accounting package. Examples of accounting packages include MYOB and Xero

WHY should I digitise my receipts and invoices?

Keeping good records is important for any small business. Whether that is to help manage your costs, for legal, regulatory or tax reasons, or simply to help manage and improve your business. Collecting, storing, and effectively analysing your data is vital.

The Australian Tax office requires you to keep copies of invoices and receipts for five years.
This subject is covered in detail in our guide to Record Keeping for small businesses.

To scan invoices and receipts or to digitise them has the following benefits:
  • Records can be kept electronically, enabling them to be searched quickly
  • Physical copies do not have to be held. Thus, saving physical storage space
  • Electronic copies of invoices and receipts can be directly imported to accounting software packages saving you having to retype the information
  • Electronic importing of these scanned documents to accounting packages can reduce data input errors.
  • Records can be kept easily for legal and government purposes.

WHAT do I need to know about accounting?

An accounting system for your small business can be done manually, via spreadsheets, or through an accounting software package. Visit our guide on Accounting Software to run your business to understand more. The accounting software packages you should consider in no particular order include Xero, MYOB, Quicken, Reckon, QuickBooks and Sage.

You may do this yourself, hire a finance employee, use an external bookkeeper or retain an accountant. Irrespective of how you achieve your record-keeping, digitising those records will save you money and time.

Invoices and receipts are both a cost of running your business and must be measured accurately. These costs have a GST component which must also be tracked.

HOW do I scan invoices and receipts?

Ways to digitise receipts and invoices:

  • Have invoices and receipts emailed to you in the first place. For most business to business invoice transitions, this is commonplace. Even bunnings and coffee shops are now offering to email you a receipt
  • Most of the accounting software package companies referenced above provide an App that allows a paper invoice or receipt to be photographed, creating an electronic version. This process has the added benefit of the information automatically populating in the accounts package.
  • Most modern printers and photocopiers have a built-in scanner. This can be a time-consuming process but utilises resources you already have.
  • Purchase a dedicated receipt scanner.  These purpose-built scanners can scan multiple pages at a time and come with included software to process information from the documents ready for importing into an accounting package. This is a great solution if you have many paper documents that need to be processed.

Suppose you intend to use your digital or scanned image in an accounting package (excluding a provided App). In that case, you need to go through importing that document so it can be used. Your accounting package help function will explain this process.

You should ensure that your records are filed properly within your computer network and that backup copies are kept. This will ensure they can be found and recovered in the event of a disaster.

HINTS

The most common digital format is a PDF file. JPEG files can also be used.

Epson Australia offers the RapidReceipt RR-600W for $699. This wired or wireless scanner can scan up to A4 double-sided documents as fast as 35 pages a minute. The unit features a 100-page document feeder and a 4.3-inch colour display.  The display allows you to scan to a PC, USB thumb drive or cloud storage services such as Dropbox or Google Drive. The included Epson ScanSmart software can automatically extract data from receipts and export to XERO®, MYOB®, QuickBooks® Online or Excel. A side benefit of a product like this is it can be used to scan all sorts of documents like photo’s so you just might find yourself using it at home on the weekend.

SUMMARY – Scan invoices and receipts

Accurate financial reporting to your business is important. The ability to scan invoices and receipts lets you organise financial paperwork and accurately processing piles of messy receipts and invoices. Any method that can reduce errors, increase productivity and streamline the process is valuable.

Utilising the latest tools and equipment for which you probably already have can deliver these results. Teaching yourself, your staff will ultimately remove frustration, make things simpler and help with compliance.

Finances tips when self-employed

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Working for yourself and running your own business provides many advantages, including creative freedom, independence, and the flexibility of managing your own schedule. At the same time, self-employment comes with great responsibility.

The somewhat unpredictable nature of self-employment requires you to manage your money well. The sooner you get on top of your business finances, and by extension, your personal finances, the greater your chances of running a successful business.

Leading Australian life insurer TAL’s Head of Financial Health, Jo Hetherington, shares five tips to help make self-employment work for you.

1. Explore your options when it comes to deciding on your business structure

One of the key decisions you’ll make when starting a new business is what structure to operate under. Would it be best set up as a sole trader business, a partnership, a trust or a company structure? Your business structure identifies how you operate and will be dependent on the size and type of your business, your plans to expand the business, and your personal circumstances.

It’s essential to choose a business structure that enables you to reach your unique goals. It can affect things like who is making the critical decisions, tax advantages and disadvantages, how profits and losses are shared, and any legal obligations.

It’s a good idea to seek expert advice and discuss your proposed structure with an accountant or a financial adviser. 

For more finances tips when self-employed, see Small Business Answers guide to choosing a business structure

2. Consider the value of insurance

To ensure you’re protected, most self-employed people should consider a variety of insurance, such as business buy/sell, loan or key person insurance, public liability, and public indemnity.

As the owner of your own business, you are your most important asset. It’s important to consider how you or your business would survive financially if you had to spend months, or longer, out of business because of an unforeseen circumstance like an illness or accident.

Further, income protection and business expense insurance needs should be considered. These could help you stay on top of your business and personal expenses if you could not work temporarily, giving you time to focus on your recovery.

For more finances tips when self-employed, see Small Business Answers guide to business insurance

3. Stay on top of your taxes 

A key consideration for self-employed people is to understand what you owe the government and what you can claim. To avoid any tax-time surprises, periodically review and think about your taxes throughout the year, not only at tax time.  

Be sure to take advantage of any government support that may be available to you. For example, you may be eligible to buy equipment for your business needs and access cash flow benefits from the Federal Government’s Instant Asset Write-Off Scheme. Eligible businesses can claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of an asset’s cost in the year the asset is first used or installed ready for use. As of January 2021, instant asset write-off is only available for small businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million. The threshold is $1,000.

Suppose you do have a particularly complicated tax component to your business. In that case, you may also want to find a tax accountant to help you keep tabs on your taxes.

The Australian Government Business Website has a range of information, grants, services, and support from across government to help your business succeed.

For more finances tips when self-employed, see Small Business Answers guide to the tax return for small business

4.  Keep your cash flow going

Cash flow is the backbone of your business.

It is up to you to keep money aside. Regularly setting aside a little extra will help you manage during any quiet periods or if something unexpected pops up.

To help with your cash flow, try to bill early and collect quickly. You can do this by encouraging your customers to pay on time (or even earlier) by offering incentives to reward early payment. Creating invoices that are as clear and detailed as possible can also guard against late payments.

For more finances tips when self-employed, see Small Business Answers guide to record-keeping

5. Don’t underestimate your expenses

To get you started on the right path, you should be looking for ways to streamline your expenses. Focusing on spending only on what you need at the time will allow you to avoid overcapitalisation.

For example, when investing in facilities and equipment, it’s best to start small and take your time comparison shopping before choosing vendors or service providers that can provide you with the best possible deal.

Being your own boss also means that you need to be responsible for keeping your financial records up to date. Be sure to keep accurate records so you can confidently navigate your books in the long run.

For more finances tips when self-employed, see Small Business Answers guide to expense management