The New Year is a great time to start new things.

Perhaps tribulations presented by the pandemic opened up some areas of opportunity for you, perspectives on ways to pivot that you think could be profitable as we look ahead to 2021. It helps to have a good framework in place from the beginning. Starting a company with professional bookkeeping guidance doesn't only make the process easier for you - it's also a smarter way to do business.

Effective bookkeeping produces results you need to run a successful company. You don't only need information that bookkeeping yields for your own use, but need it readily available for agencies like the IRS. Business owners need to know the basics, such as the fact that they need separate business and personal bank accounts, knowledge on how to track company expenses, how to establish good bookkeeping habits and how to regularly evaluate the health of their business.

The good news? None of this has to be done alone!

Basics to build

Reputable accounting firms offer services to start-up businesses - offering an ally from Day 1 - ensuring new companies begin with proper practices in place. These practices produce transparent, detail-rich information which is the lifeblood of successful businesses. Whether a restaurant, construction firm, convenience store, nail salon or law firm - the bookkeeping principles are the same.

We've previously looked at some of the basic account types that help comprise business bookkeeping: Cash accounts - Payment receipts, tracking of expenses; accounts receivable - Money coming into the the business; payroll expenses - Money paid to employees for work performed, often a company's largest cost; and accounts payable - Where money going out of the business is recorded, for vendors or suppliers, for example.

Accountants can help with these more basic bookkeeping concepts and the finer, nuanced services needed depending on the business, owner, and that particular situation. Bookkeeping can be customized to do the most good, with reports that produce information to guide that company's unique decisions.

Kerby Accounting & Business Solutions, for instance, offers QuickBooks training so new owners and CFOs can benefit from our experienced direction. We help new company owners handle matters of sales-tax legislation, file articles of incorporation to form their business structure, choose vendors, keep their expenses in check and acquire financing. (We've even helped fledgling company owners brainstorm names for their new organizations - we're here to help!)

Value that resonates

Setting up good bookkeeping systems and practices from the time you launch your new company will allow you access to:

-Data to help keep expenses in check

-Information to build efficiencies

-An organized system within which one can quickly retrieve information for the IRS, investors or banks (to acquire financing, for example)

-Data that highlights business opportunities or risks

-The ability to move through growth stages faster than new companies with bookkeeping hiccups along the way

If your New Year's resolution is to start a new venture in 2021 in the form of a new company, be sure you get some bookkeeping guidance from an accountant on doing your books with insight the first time. Proper bookkeeping's transparency is the only way to truly know how your company is performing, and serves as a guide for business decisions.

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