How can you improve your business’s efficiency?
Mastering and understanding time management is integral for every business owner. Learning how to streamline your work and prioritise tasks will be highly beneficial for improving your time management.
Technology is at the forefront of helping us to save time and improve our efficiency. Processes that once took days can now be completed within hours or minutes.
A leading accounting software company surveyed 3,298 accountants from across the globe and found 91 per cent of respondents believed that new technology delivers value to their business.
The respondents found they were able to spend more time focusing on clients, or simply found they were more productive because of using technology.
What technology should you use?
As a business owner, you need to be able to track all of your business’s operations. There are a variety of technology options available depending on what your business needs are.
Accounting Software
Accounting software is essential part of every successful business. Desktop programmes can create invoices, monitor incomings and outgoings, generate insightful financial reports, analyse your business’s financial health and so much more.
There are many benefits of accounting software, all of which will help you to save time and money:
• Automates processes
• Organises records
• Reduces the number of errors
• Makes it easier to share financial data
Cloud-based solutions
Cloud accounting is another option for improving your time management. Moving to cloud-based solutions allows you to keep your books online and allows you to access them from any web browser, or from an app.
The biggest advantage of moving to cloud accounting, is that you can access information at any time or in any place in the world, as long as you have internet access.
Due to cloud software being online, there is nothing to update or install, which helps you save time on maintenance and upkeep.
All of your data is also backed up automatically in secure remote servers, so if your own computer systems fail it is still accessible.
Many users connect the cloud to their business bank account so that transactions automatically reconcile from the bank to the books, which can reduce the amount of time spent on data entry.
Many existing cloud accounting platforms are also able to integrate with third-party applications that can automate other financial functions, including invoice reminders and your payroll.
Making Tax Digital (MTD)
The UK Government is introducing significant changes to the way that taxpayers record and report tax.
Currently if you own a VAT registered business you must already file your tax return online each quarter under the initial phase of this HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) initiative.
The next stage, MTD for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA), will be phased in from April 2026 for taxpayers with property and/or personal business income exceeding £50,000 and requires mandatory use of digital software to file financial records. These rules will be extended to those with property and/or personal business income exceeding £30,000 from April 2027.
If you are self-employed or a landlord, you will need to keep digital records and file your tax returns using HMRC software each quarter depending on the amount of money you earn.
If you need any advice regarding your business, we are happy to help. Get in touch today to find out more.