Standard Bookkeeping Practices that Ensure Tax Compliance

While not all companies require complex accounting tasks, they must still be on top of their basic bookkeeping tasks as it is an accounting function that every company must have no matter the size and industry.  
 
True to the words book and keeping, bookkeeping is how a company keeps books or records of all the financial transactions made. Whether it be their actual sales, payments made for operational expenses and other revenue garnered from income-generating projects, your books should be able to show all your financials at all times. Tracking your records helps you know where you stand as a company. Are you still profitable? Are you losing money by continuing to offer a specific product or service? These records are able to answer all these questions and more. 

Because of the insights into your company's stability that the financial data from your books hold, it is considered essential to know your numbers.

A study showed that over 100 out of 150 small businesses were able to secure their longevity and become more than just a small business due to adhering to proper bookkeeping practices.  

Safe to say, bookkeeping is the heart of a company's operations. It gives owners and stakeholders a sense of where the company is heading and provides the blueprint of how to get there.  

Read: The Global Minimum Tax, Explained  

Daily Bookkeeping Tasks 

Having established the importance of bookkeeping for every company regardless of size, let's break down some of the daily bookkeeping tasks that one must keep up with to make sure that their operations run smoothly and that they are in compliance with all the rules and regulations and tax obligations that are applicable to their company.  

Recording Transactions 

Every financial transaction must be recorded to ensure accurate bookkeeping. This includes: 

• Sales revenue from products or services 
• Payments for operational expenses 
• Employee salaries and wages
  
• Loan repayments and interest payments 
• Miscellaneous income and other financial activities 

 Maintaining a record of all transactions helps companies track financial health and identify potential cost-saving opportunities – optimizing company processes from a holistic perspective. 

Managing Accounts Payable and Receivable 

A company's accounts payable and receivable serve as a record of all financial obligations that they owe and what is owed to them. Being on top of this helps make sure that your company has the funding it needs to remain operational.   

• Accounts Payable: Ensuring that bills, invoices, and payments to one's suppliers are processed on time, prevents late fees and maintains good professional relationships – helping build partnerships that last as your company grows.  
• Accounts Receivable: Keeping track of customer invoices and ensuring timely payments help maintain healthy cash flow. Sending payment reminders and following up on outstanding invoices is one of the best ways to make sure your company always remains positive in terms of cash in records.
  

Bank Reconciliation

Given that the financials of a company are more complex than those of one individual, discrepancies normally occur more often for companies than for individuals. Your accounting team tasked with bookkeeping are the ones who help you identify discrepancies and do the necessary reconciliation to see if there is indeed an error.   

In essence, reconciliation involves matching the company’s financial records with bank statements to see if there are any anomalies. This process helps in: 

• Identifying errors or fraudulent activities 
• Ensuring all transactions are recorded correctly
• Maintaining an accurate balance sheet

Tracking Expenses

Tracking a company's expenses not only helps with daily operations and keeping a positive cash-flow but can also help make sure you are in compliance with your tax obligations and fully maximize its benefits. A well-maintained record of expenses ensures that businesses can see areas where tax deductions can be claimed and how to minimize costs. 
 
Here are some of the expenses a company can track on a routine basis:  

• Office supplies 
• Rent and utilities 
• Travel and business meals 
• Marketing and advertising costs 
• Employee benefits and insurance 
  
  

Payroll Processing

Timely and accurate payroll processing is one of the most important bookkeeping tasks for your team. This ensures that you compensate your employees correctly and on time. Aside from having the guarantee that you are following your tax and regulatory requirements, you are also assuring your employees that you are doing the right thing – showing them that you value their contributions to helping your company succeed and attain its goals.  

Payroll bookkeeping tasks include: 

• Calculating employee wages and deductions 
• Withholding payroll taxes
  
• Issuing paychecks or direct deposits 
• Filing payroll tax returns

Generating Financial Reports

For some companies, generating financial reports is included in their daily bookkeeping tasks. Regular financial reports provide insights into the company's financial information and status – allowing management to decide what to do next and how to properly allocate and reallocate their budget.  

The most common reports include: 

• Profit and Loss Statement (Income Statement): Summarizes revenue, expenses, and profits over a period. 
• Balance Sheet: Displays assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time.
• Cash Flow Statement: Tracks incoming and outgoing cash to assess liquidity. 

Tax Preparation and Compliance

Aside from payroll, tax preparation and compliance should be your team's topmost priority. Being able to stay on top of your tax requirements and having the necessary financial records to properly file your taxes allows you to be in good standing with your government and/or regulatory body, keeping you in operation for the next fiscal year.  

Tax preparation tasks include:  

• Keeping records of deductible expenses 
• Tracking sales tax and VAT obligations 
• Preparing tax filings and ensuring deadlines are met 
• Organizing receipts and invoices for audits or tax deductions 

Proper Documentation

Throughout all these bookkeeping tasks, it is important that you keep an accurate and organized system for all your financial records – the foundation of good bookkeeping practices as it allows you to do all tasks stated above with no problem.  
 

Here's a few ways for you to properly store and manage your company's financial documents:  

• Store invoices, receipts, and financial statements securely 
• Maintain a digital backup of records 
• Follow legal requirements for document retention periods
   

Bookkeeping and AI 

As your company grows and the market changes, the nature of your financial transactions and financial information will change. Because of this, companies have begun to invest in AI for their bookkeeping practices.  

Given that bookkeeping mainly involves routine record-keeping and daily tasks that involve financial tracking, AI has the capability to automate these functions to not only save time but also improve the accuracy of your financial records as well -- optimizing your financial processes such as tax filing and creation of forecast projections. 

For companies who are considering integrating AI into their standard bookkeeping tasks, one of the best ways to do it is to adopt AI-powered accounting software to be used by your accounting team. 

Here are some of the most common AI-powered software and how it can help: 

QuickBooks 

• Best for small companies who are looking to introduce automated accounting to help scale up their accounting processes.  
• Offers invoicing, expense tracking, payroll management, and tax preparation. 
• Integrates with third-party apps for seamless workflow. 
• User-friendly with automation for recurring invoices and reports. 
• Multiple pricing plans, including options for freelancers and large businesses. 

FreshBooks 

• Ideal for service-based companies providing essential services.  
• Simplified invoicing with automated reminders and online payments. 
• Time tracking, project management, and expense tracking included. 
• Mobile-friendly interface for managing finances on the go. 
• Scalable pricing with plans catering to different business sizes. 

Xero 

• Suited for small companies and startups needing cloud-based accounting. 
• Features include invoicing, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. 
• Strong integration with over 1,000 third-party apps. 
• Multi-user access with role-based permissions. 
• Affordable pricing plans with unlimited users on all tiers. 

Being able to integrate AI and accounting software into your bookkeeping tasks helps you optimize your financial information – making it more than just a record of your financials but a tool you can use to make decisions and plan your company's next steps.  

The Importance of Bookkeeping for Accounting and Regulatory Compliance 

As mentioned earlier, one of the most important reasons to adhere to good bookkeeping practices and keep a timely and accurate record of your books is to make sure that you are in compliance with your taxes. 
 
Due every end of the financial year, companies such as yourself have to file taxes and consolidate all their financial records to make sure that they are in compliance with their requirements for the year. This is important as compliance is needed to ensure that your operations run smoothly during the next year. Because of this, the months leading to the end of the year become the period spent on closing your books. So how do you juggle bookkeeping and tax during this busy season? 

Understandably, bookkeeping and tax compliance are two tasks that require a lot of effort and attention to detail by a company’s accounting team. To make it easier, it is best if you can get your books in order before the set deadline for filing as this could significantly help you in addressing compliance issues.   

Think about it – if your books are in disarray, closing your books come tax season will likely become a more tedious task. You have to go over your receipts and invoices from the current financial year – and even further into the previous financial years if you are filing late. In contrast, having everything ready will keep you at ease, knowing that you won’t likely get in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  

  
Handling your Company Taxes  

Between bookkeeping and tax, are you still confident that you can keep your wits about you? Here are more reasons why you should keep your books up to date in time for tax season to avoid time consuming cramming nearer to the deadline:  

Handling VAT returns and official VAT books  

Dealing with taxes is all about adhering to strict compliance issues imposed by the IRS. At the top of the list: VAT returns and official VAT books. When your invoices and receipts are organized, preparing critical business numbers that relate to VAT becomes practically effortless.  

Managing withholding Company tax returns   

One of the general rules in taxation in the US is that a certain amount of your business revenues is withheld. The specifics of the actual income dictate the computation for the tax withheld and needs to be submitted on or before the company tax return deadline.  

More often than not, the computation is based on a fixed rate or percentage. Going over these numbers and making sure that the withholding tax filed is accurate means having a withholding tax record to refer to – and this is why it is necessary to keep tabs on your books.  

Settling corporate income tax returns  

The structure of your business has everything to do with the income tax return you are expected to file to the IRS.  

In a nutshell, all companies are expected to do income tax bookkeeping and file their income tax returns every year. However, if your business is a partnership, the IRS will not oblige you to file an annual income tax return. What you will file, instead, is an information return. An information return is a report of the income, deductions, gains and losses of the partnership without paying taxes upfront.  

The impact of your well-kept bookkeeping and tax cannot be emphasized enough. Not to mention the incentive you’ll get if you can find legitimate tax deductions – something you can do more of if your critical business numbers are on track.   

Read Next: Exploring the Impact of Cloud Accounting on Tax Compliance   

Consider Bookkeeping Outsourcing in the Philippines! 

D&V Philippines’ commitment to staying on top of all regulatory changes relating to tax and compliance has allowed us to effectively handle our clients’ books for over a decade. If you want to see our comprehensive bookkeeping services, you can download our Accounting Outsourcing Whitepaper  here.  
 
Interested? You can contact us here and see how we can help tailor our solutions to fit your company’s specific needs!