Your essential bookkeeping workflow guide + template

Laying work information out in a flowchart helps your team to add new ideas to your processes with a clear picture of how the new ideas interact with the old ones to make for a more effective process. Ensure that all communication between you and your clients is clear and concise. This will help to avoid misunderstandings and ensure that all bookkeeping needs are met. The starting point with any workflow or system building exercise is to map out the process. You can also find this invoice template as a Google Sheet to download here. So just get started – it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be started.

  • This will help you keep track of payments and ensure your invoices are paid promptly.
  • Both ends can track the status of the process that is in progress.
  • It provides many benefits, including improved accuracy and efficiency in financial record keeping.
  • When it comes to offering your bookkeeping services, no two clients are the same.
  • It’s important to have an efficient bookkeeping system in place if you want your firm or business to grow and succeed.

Each project is broken up into various steps that can be assigned to a team member or multiple team members. Depending on which system is used, team members are automatically notified that they have been assigned a task or have an upcoming deadline. With this type of balance sheet template in hand, you can ensure a smooth and steady cash flow in your business and stay on top of your financial transactions and health. Plus, there’s a helpful Getting Started Doc to help you navigate the template so you can start making edits.

Myth #1: The course is only useful if you already have clients

A different workflow is followed by workflow service providers who take in other companies as their clients and manage the financial accounting. An automated bookkeeping workflow is what you need to save yourself from such a downfall. This article will help you understand the benefits of bookkeeping workflows and how you can effectively carry out workflow automation tools for bookkeepers. But before we dive into understanding a bookkeeping workflow, first let us understand what a bookkeeper does. Engage in periodic reviews and updates to keep workflow templates relevant.

  • If you make changes to the templates over time, your team will see the updates in real-time, helping you ensure good work quality with consistent deliverables.
  • This will result in inconsistent deliverables, which can degrade the quality of client work, upset clients, and tarnish your brand.
  • The spreadsheet includes monthly columns for recording forecasted and actual cash flow.
  • Once all the information has been processed and you’ve received all the necessary clarification from the client, you can complete your final review to ensure the project is complete to your standards.

The project manager should be tasked with setting the budget for the project, estimating completion time, and ensuring that the project is making progress. As the project progresses, the workflow should be updated with time spent on the project, the status of any missing documentation, and due dates for each step in the project. Hospitals have implemented checklists to achieve better surgical outcomes. Pilots use checklists to ensure that all safety precautions have been done.

Tax season is tough enough without having to wonder what’s next on your project or wondering if your team is making progress. Tax return workflows allow you to check in on projects without having to interrupt your team. Using a platform like ShipStation is key to reaching your customers where they are. No matter where you are in your business journey, the first tool Jean recommends using is ShipStation.

Free Bookkeeping Workflow Template

Jetpack Workflow was built with bookkeepers and accountants in mind and contains predefined templates to help you avoid these issues. The comprehensive workflow management system allows you to monitor project progress and saves time managing your team. This basic cash flow statement tracks the movement of money in and out of your business and compares financial data between time periods.

In an automated workflow, the duties of the clients can be mentioned. This will allow them to know what documents they have to scan and upload. The workflow template features a centralized project dashboard that aligns teams, what is cash basis accounting streamlines processes, and fosters a shared understanding. This ensures consistency and clarity throughout the entire project lifecycle. A simple workflow template for submitting confirmation statements to Companies House.

Tips for Implementing and Optimizing Your Bookkeeping Workflow

The template automatically populates the accounts receivable aging sheet after you fill in the payment ledger. Add invoice terms, amounts, and payments received to view current and overdue balances. This statement of account template shows all of the financial transactions that occurred between your business and a customer during a certain time period.

Tax Returns Template

The template lets you capture key details like client name, contact, invoice number, cash flow, amount owed, payment method, and due date. You can also set a confidence level to evaluate the likelihood of payments and collections across your balance sheet. Project management templates like the workflow template amplify efficiency through optimized resource allocation. This plays a crucial role in achieving project goals by strategically assigning tasks to team members, reducing bottlenecks, and ensuring more effective and timely project delivery.

Tips that will Increase Your Bookkeeping Firm’s Productivity

When you’re ready to create your invoice template, be sure to use a program that supports customization allowing you to add or remove information as needed. This will help you create a professional-looking invoice that meets your specific business needs. Be sure to list the currency in which payment is to be made if you have international clients. This will help you keep track of payments and ensure your invoices are paid promptly.

Look for opportunities to automate tasks within your bookkeeping process. This can free up time for you to focus on other areas of your business. That’s why it’s crucial to stay on top of bookkeeping tasks for up-to-date snapshots of the health of your business at any given time. Here’s an example of what a finished workflow looks like in Pixie. The steps on the left hand side are drag-and-drop, and you can add more using the ‘add subtask’ button.

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Because of the critical timing of payroll processing, this can allow you to better serve your clients and minimize disruption to your business. Each payroll workflow should include the payroll frequency (such as whether it’s a monthly or bi-weekly payroll process) and note the frequency that tax payments are due. The big firms have set procedures in place, and small businesses can compete by setting up similar procedures using accounting workflows for each project.