How To Determine the Best Bookkeeping Rules for your Business
Overview:
Understanding and selecting the right Bookkeeping Rules is crucial for the financial health and success of your business. Follow these steps to identify the most effective Bookkeeping Rules tailored to your industry.
Steps:
1. Assess Your Industry Needs:
Consider the specific requirements and financial nuances of your industry. Each sector may have distinct transaction types, compliance standards, and reporting needs.
Example: Construction businesses operate on project-based models. Within this sector, utilizing Level Notification "Transactions Posted to Parent Accounts proves beneficial. In this context, each client is designated as a Parent Account in QuickBooks Online, with individual projects categorized as Sub-Customer Accounts. When a transaction is incorrectly posted to the parent account instead of the specific project, the business risks inaccurate cost visibility, potentially impacting project outcomes.
2. Evaluate Your Business Processes:
Analyze your current bookkeeping processes, including sales management, expense tracking, payroll, and inventory management. Identify areas where automation and rule-based notifications can enhance efficiency.
Example: E-commerce businesses often manage inventory, making the utilization of Level Notification "New Product/Service Added" particularly helpful. By activating this, businesses receive notifications each time a new product is introduced into QuickBooks Online. Additionally, Level goes a step further by including the user's name responsible for the addition, maintaining transparency in bookkeeping practices.
3. Identify Key Financial Metrics:
Determine the critical financial metrics that drive your business decisions. This could include revenue targets, profit margins, cash flow management, and expense control.
Example: The Level Notifications "Missing Bill Numbers" offers valuable advantages to businesses across all industries. When a bill is entered in QuickBooks Online without a designated bill number, it creates the risk of duplicate bills being inadvertently added or complicates the reconciliation process, potentially leading to operational challenges.
4. Stay Compliant and Informed:
Ensure that the selected Bookkeeping Rules are aligned with industry compliance as this is essential for accurate financial reporting and avoiding penalties.
Example: By enabling Level Notifications "Transactions Voided" and Transactions Deleted”, businesses in all industries can effectively monitor their transactions, ensuring a seamless reconciliation at month-end.
5. Make Strategic Decisions:
Use Bookkeeping Rules not just for compliance but also as tools for making informed, strategic decisions. The notifications and insights provided by these rules can guide your business towards growth and profitability.
Example: By enabling the Level Notification "Customer with Negative Balances", you receive timely notifications when a customer's Accounts Payable (A/P) balance dips into the negative territory. This notification ensures that you are consistently informed about your expected income and helps manage your monthly budgets.
6. Regularly Monitor and Adjust Rules:
Continuously monitor the effectiveness of the Bookkeeping Rules in improving your financial management. Make adjustments as needed based on evolving business requirements and industry changes.
Example: As your business grows, maintaining a comprehensive record of vendors and their details is important as working with each vendor may become more frequent. Enabling the Level Notifications "New Vendors Added" ensures you stay updated on all vendor information and track transactions linked to each vendor.
Tips:
If you are unsure about which Bookkeeping Rules are best suited for your business, to get you started, Level Copilot will automatically recommend the best rules based on the industry selected upon signing up by scanning your QuickBooks Online once it has synced with Level. Additionally, Level offers access to a network of expert accountants who can provide guidance tailored to your specific needs.
Summary:
To determine the best Bookkeeping Rules for your business, assess industry needs, evaluate business processes, identify key financial metrics, stay compliant, make strategic decisions, and regularly monitor the enabled rules. Level Copilot will provide recommendations for Bookkeeping Rules based on industry.
Related Resources:
Recommended Rules for Different Industries (Matrix)