Good Routines accounting

Accounting obligation – for most people

Let us start with the absolute basics. As a general rule, everyone is required to keep accounts, but you can decide whether you want to do the bookkeeping yourself or work with an accountant. There are also exceptions for certain individuals, but in this article we assume that everyone is required to keep accounts.

Doing the bookkeeping yourself can contribute to a better understanding of the company's core business and operations, but it can also take focus away from the most important work, which is value creation.

As the business grows larger, many choose a combination where you do part of the work yourself and the accountant does the rest. Some also choose to let the accountant do everything.

Get paid for the work you do

There are several ways to get paid for the work you do or the goods and services you sell. Previously, it was common to be paid in cash, but today it is more common to use a point-of-sale (POS) payment terminal, Vipps or invoice. Sales of goods or services on credit normally use invoices.

All sales must be documented and recorded, usually in an accounting system. A good accounting system gives you a clear overview of which invoices are outstanding, so that you can send reminders to the customer or refer them to debt collection.

Pay tax and duties

All companies in Norway must pay tax on the income they earn. Your company structure determines whether it is you as a private individual or the company that must pay the tax. In addition, you may need to pay value added tax. VAT, as it is also called, is a tax on goods and services sold in Norway. You can register for VAT so that you can invoice your customers for VAT when you have a turnover of over NOK 50 000.

Other expenses

All businesses have fixed expenses. Unforeseen expenses may also arise, but what all expenses have in common is that, like sales and income, they must be documented with receipts. You may also have employees who must be paid wages. To avoid overlooking certain expenses, it is wise to have routines for when you review all expenses and to use an accounting system that helps you with receipt documentation.

Financial management

Good financial management can secure the operations of your company, and there are several solutions and measures that can be of great help to your business. One of the most important tools for good financial management is a system that helps you maintain an overview and can do part of the work for you.

Annual accounts

The annual accounts are the formal summary of the business's finances for an accounting year. They consist of the income statement, balance sheet and notes, and show revenues, costs, assets and liabilities at the end of the year. The annual accounts are used both internally to gain an overview of the finances and externally for reporting to authorities, owners and other stakeholders.

Good practices include maintaining the accounts on an ongoing basis throughout the year, ensuring that all payment documentation is complete and correctly recorded, conducting regular reconciliations and following up on inconsistencies early. This way, the annual accounts largely become a summary of an already updated set of accounts, rather than a major rush at year-end.

A digital accounting programme such as the accounting system DNB Regnskap can make this easier by bringing together banking and accounting in one system, automating parts of the bookkeeping and providing good oversight along the way, so that the annual accounts can be prepared with better control and less stress.