Keeping accounts for small businesses is, on the one hand, very simplified accounting rules, and on the other hand, the necessity to keep very detailed and precise registers. Very often the accounting of small companies is sometimes called small bookkeeping and it is actually regulated by slightly more simplified regulations than those that apply in the case of keeping full accounting. What should an entrepreneur running a small business remember? What elements of the settlement are an absolute necessity for him? It’s worth taking a look at.
Small accounting is associated with keeping a book of revenues and expenses. It is a document that records various types of income, expenses and costs incurred. It is a document that allows you to balance all financial movements in the company on a monthly basis. Due to the fact that the document allows you to record both revenues and expenses, it allows you to determine the financial situation of the company. The book is kept by entrepreneurs taxed on general terms or with a flat tax.
Records of revenues is an equivalent of a book of revenues and expenses, but kept for entrepreneurs who are taxed with a lump sum on recorded revenues. On the basis of the above documents, the entrepreneur prepares a tax settlement for the tax office.
In some companies there is also a need to keep additional statements and documentation. These include the company’s fixed asset records, equipment records or vehicle mileage records. Each of them may be important during a possible control by the tax office. Each of them is also a way to precisely define and document expenses in the company.
In some situations, small business owners must also pay VAT on goods and services. In such a situation, the entrepreneur is obliged to keep a special register of VAT purchases and sales. This document is needed to enable precise VAT settlement. Any sale that is taxed results in a tax to be withheld, while any purchases that are subject to this tax mean that the entrepreneur can deduct this tax from the one that is to be paid. Due to the fact that currently there are three VAT rates, it is necessary to keep precise records that will allow for accurate settlements.
Payment of contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) is a mandatory element of every activity. It does not really matter whether the company is small, large or medium. Each of them is obliged to keep settlements with ZUS. An entrepreneur running a business is obliged to pay his contribution by the tenth day of the month following the one for which the contribution is to be calculated. However, in the case of hiring employees, this date is the fifteenth day of each following month. It is worth knowing that some of the premiums may be classified as business expenses, and some may not. What part may become a cost is regulated by detailed accounting regulations.
You can see from the above information that keeping the accounts, even of a small company, is quite complicated. Even simplified accounting requires knowledge, experience and knowledge of current legal regulations. If you make a mistake, you may pay the wrong amount of tax. If it is too high, there will be no problems. However, if the tax paid is too low, a problem may arise, and the tax office will expect explanations and additional payments. Of course, these are not particularly severe consequences, but they create additional difficulties and confusion that are not needed in running a business. In such a situation, it is best to hire an experienced accountant who will accurately account for all revenues and expenses and determine the entrepreneur’s obligations to the state.