I did a short talk today on keeping business records and just wanted to share it with the forum.
It was for a small group of people starting out, they were on a local Chamber of Commerce course for people considering becoming self-employed, it was the first time I had ever done any thing like it but it went quite smoothly.
I started out the talk by asking if everyone had shoe's. (They all did, but they all checked).
I then produced a shoebox. I used the shoebox as a metaphore for somewhere to keep all of the records for their business before processing. I explained that essentailly a filing system a little more advanced than a shoebox would be more appropriate.
I went over the recording of transactions, explained what financial statements they could expect to receive and explained to them that the books were their responsibility. It took around 30 mins, they thanked me and I answered a few questions on expenses and my own personal experienceof being self-emplyed. I thought it would be a good way to give some knowledge, gain market exposure early, and distribute some material.
I was wondering has anyone else done anything like this and what had worked for them?
Actually yes Nick. As part of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs and being a SME Mentor I gave a talk a while back about the kinds of records you have to keep when starting out. I went on to cover the methods of keeping them, and to keep ANYTHING to do with the business no matter how trivial. Your bookkeeper or accountant will decide if you can claim it or not.
They asked me a few questions on what i did when i first started up and how i advertised, that sort of thing. On the whole it was a pretty good event and I felt as though I did some good when I walked out the door. I even helped me gain confidence in how I'm running MY business!
Well done on your first talk - I completed one for the lunch time network. I am always slightly shocked how people already set up in business seem interested in what I feel is basic way of keeping records. Im surprised it isnt yet a requirement by law to attend basic courses on company records etc. when people set up a business. Im sure if people were given criteria prior to setting up business it would not only run better with eyes wide open but also scare off some less business minded.
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Donna Curling - Complete Book-Keeping Ltd (CBKLtd) - 07939 101900
