Monthly Accounting Services

What is an income statement?

This statement is also often referred to as Profit and Loss Account by Financial Professionals. This term may offer you a clearer idea of what an Income Statement is. It’s a financial document which lists the money you’ve made over a specific period of time considering the money you had spent over the same period of time.

The more frequently these statements are done, the more likely it is for you to be aware of larger issues within your business. These statements offer you an overview of whether your business is profitable or not.

We’d strongly advise that you ask your accountant to proactively look for issues in your statements to help you identify what you could be doing differently soon.

This could be the difference between steering your business towards the success of failure.

The term Balance Sheet is self-explanatory. This sheet, or financial document, balances the opposites which exist within any business. This is essentially what you own versus what you owe.

It balances your Assets (what you own) with your Debt (what you still need to pay for your assets) / Equity (what you’ve already paid for your assets).

You are probably thinking why is this important? Well, this document is a snapshot of your business’s health. When you look at a couple of snapshots you can see your company’s progress.

Investors are also often interested in Balance Sheets because these financial statements are considered a true reflection of your business over a specific period.

Paying tax is a fact of life for most of us.

If you earn a salary from a fixed employer, you will pay tax automatically through pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) taxation. People who own companies, rent out properties or rely on the interest of investments need to contribute in a different manual way. This way is known as Provisional Tax.

Provisional Tax is a clever invention on SARS part. It ensures that the financial burden of paying these taxes does not hit you all at once, crippling your business.

In 2019, SARS switched to a new system called a Tax Compliance Status System. This system requires a Tax Clearance Pin.

Before Contractors and Companies use specific suppliers, they are often required to do their due diligence. Part of this process means ensuring a supplier is paying their taxes (this includes VAT if the company is registered for VAT).

The Clearance Pin was developed by SARS to offer you a real-time view into the Tax Compliant Status of a supplier. In the past South African companies used a hard copy Tax Clearance Certificate, however, these documents can easily be fabricated. That’s why the PIN functions more effectively.

When a supplier provides a company with their PIN it grants them the authority to view their status online, using the SARS’s eFilling system.

Your PIN is automatically renewed annually when you are compliant with SARS’s due payments and its submission requirements.

Again, we urge you to make use of Professional Accounting Services as ensuring compliance can be a complicated process.

Your Annual Financial Statements is a group of Statements which are usually done at the end of a Company’s financial year. These documents showcase how your company has performed throughout the year in question. The Income Statement and Balance Sheet forms part of this group of documents, however, they can be produced more frequently if needed.

These Statements help you show that your company is legally in order and that the financial year is closed.

The Annual Financial statements must be done by a registered accountant. You can sign up for one of our Monthly Accounting Services Plans for an affordable way to get the support of a registered accountant.

Not all taxes are alike. Value-Added Tax or VAT is an extra Tax that’s added to products and / or services of VAT-registered companies and payable to SARS.

If your business generates less than R1 000 000 in sales per financial annum you can voluntarily register for VAT. If you make more than R1 000 000 in sales per annum you are obliged to register as per South African law.

This tax is different because it’s calculated as a percentage of the value you add to the existing price of a product or a service. When you, for example, buy an Apple for R2, and you sell it for R3, you’ve added an R1 value to that item.

You can deduct the VAT you’ve paid, from the VAT you need to pay.

VAT is currently calculated at 15%. So, 15% of R2 is 30 cents and 15% of R3 is 45 cents. This means the VAT that’s payable to SARS is 15 cents.

Sorting out your VAT submissions, for the most part, is a stressful process. Adding to this, SARS can double-check (audit) your calculations at any time. Thus, we strongly advise making use of a qualified accountant to make sure all your VAT affairs are in order.

You can sign up for our VAT Professional Accounting Services so you can have the peace of mind that your paperwork is in order, while you focus on your business.

Bookkeeping is essential for all new businesses because it’s the process of tracking all financial transactions in an organized way. Excel (by Microsoft) is probably the most used tool to keep track of your income and your expenses for your bookkeeping purposes.

Essentially the process of bookkeeping helps you maintain healthy operations as a business owner, as it motivates you to keep track of finances coming in and finances being spent.

Properly documenting your receipts and invoices is also necessary for SARS submissions. Your Accountant and/or SARS may request it at a later stage.

Accounting is when a professional uses the data gathered by bookkeeping to create a deeper sense of business operations or to execute tax submissions and financial statements. Accounting helps you make more informed business decisions going forward.

A Professional Accounting service can help you grow your business and it helps you manage your taxes effectively.

Most businesses are very simple in the beginning and as such more of your resources and effort should be channeled into getting more customers and subsequently increasing revenue.

We offer affordable Monthly Accounting Services Plans that can relieve some administrative stress of a business without having to employ an additional person full time making this solution all-around cost-effective and stress relieving.

An accountant is not compulsory, but it is compulsory to have your tax registration, and your supportive documents, in order if you have a business.

As a business owner, you might not have the time or the knowledge to do your own taxes or company compliance effectively.

While you may not have the funds to commit to a full-time accountant, you may want to use more affordable Accountant Services like any of our Accounting Maintenance Plans.

Accountant services can help you submit your tax effectively to ensure that your business is compliant to South African law. This helps keep your company tender-ready so you can pursue new contract opportunities.

Having Professional Accountant Services helps you submit your taxes accurately, so you don’t pay unnecessary taxes. Investing in Professional Accounting Services is well worth the investment in the long run. Particularly because it ensures that all your documents are in order when SARS enquirers about your accounting practices.

Our experts would recommend signing up for a basic accountancy service from the get-go.

If you’re just starting out, driving sales is your main priority. However, what new businesses often neglect is how accounting and professional accountancy services can help you grow your business.

Accounting can help you keep track of your expenses and help you maintain healthy cash flow. Furthermore, honest advice, in the beginning, is essential for the longevity of your company.

An accountant service can help you keep your company compliant; it can help you organize your annual and quarterly financial paperwork and subsequently guide you to make better business decisions.

1) Concentrating on accounts payable is great, but it’s not going to guarantee the survival of your company like money coming in the door.

Each month review the number of outstanding accounts as a percentage of your overall sales. Your grace period should be relatively small and preferable at the end of the month you should not have more than 15% of your account receivables past due. Be sensitive (as they are returning customers), but firm with these creditors to make sure money keeps coming through that door.

2) Stay on top of taxation deadlines.
Both individuals and registered companies must adhere to multiple tax deadlines. You may be liable to yearly or quarterly deadlines. Be mindful of this. The simplest way to make sure you meet the deadlines that apply to you or your business is to apply for an Accounting Maintenance Plan. Our accountant will remind you whenever your submissions are due.

3) Make sure you are cash flow positive.
Large companies usually pay their service providers 60-90 days after receiving an invoice. If you have clients like these, make sure your debtors’ payment terms match up. If you have to pay within a 30-day term, you’d find yourself always drawing the shortest end of the stick come payment day. This has driven many firms out-of-business prematurely.

Do you have any questions about accounting or how our Monthly Accounting Services work? Call us on our Toll-Free number on 0800 007 269.