Business owners often feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work involved with running a successful enterprise. But there are things SMEs in Malaysia can do today that will help ensure your financial records are neat and accurate.
We know how busy you are, so we won’t make you read through every single tip here. Instead, check out our list of 5 essential accounting tips for SMEs in Malaysia. You’ll find everything you need to keep your personal and business finances separate, make sure your records are neat and accurate, remember tax deadlines, and much more.
1. Keep Your Personal and Business Accounts Separated
If you’re like most people, you use one checking account for your personal expenses and another for your business. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it does mean that you have to track your spending separately. If you want to save money, you might consider setting up a separate bank account just for your business.
2. Make Sure Your Books Are Neat and Accurate
When you run a business, you need to keep track of many different types of information. For example, you might need to record sales data, customer contact info, inventory levels, employee salaries, and much more. To make sure your books are neat and accurate, you need to organize your bookkeeping system properly. Use spreadsheets, software programs, or online tools to track your numbers.
3. Remember and Stick to the Taxes Due Each Year
You don’t want to forget about taxes. In fact, you should plan ahead each year so that you can file your returns on time. There are certain tax deadlines that apply to everyone, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations. If you miss a deadline, you could face penalties and interest charges.
4. Keep All of Your Receipts
If you’re running a small business, it might seem like keeping track of everything you spend money on is a pain in the rear. But there are ways around it. You don’t necessarily need to keep every receipt; just make sure you keep enough to prove what you spent money on. If you’re self-employed, you can even use tax returns to show how much you earned.
You could also try claiming back business expenses. This includes things such as office supplies, postage, business lunches, and travel costs.
5. Budget for Tax
If you’ve got a lot of cash coming into your bank account each month, it’s probably safe to assume that you don’t want to spend every penny on yourself. But how do you know what to save and where to put it? You could just keep everything under your mattress, but that’s hardly practical.
The above are some of the account tips that SMEs in Malaysia can use to keep their accounting in order. Should you need a hand in preparing your accounting, SMEs in Malaysia can also hire external accounting services to help you to prepare your account. PakarCukai.com.my offer comprehensive and affordable solutions to support SMEs in Malaysia with their accounting needs. Contact us now and we will be at your service!