When you run your own business, there are a variety of records that you will need to keep, both for your own, and data protection purposes. If your business is in the care industry, for example, you may be required to keep records of documents as part of your professional checks, meaning the secure storage of data is even more important.
Having a length of records, either paper based or in a digital format, will also allow you to review your prices or business practices, so that you can better service your clients and try to increase your revenue.
Invoices
Keeping track of the invoices you send, as well as the payments that come in, will show you how profitable your company is. There is software you can harness to make the invoice process so much easier. For example, using FreshBooks invoicing template could allow you to save time, and have digital copies of all invoices sent out. This can keep your information all in one place, as well as help alert you to any potentially risky clients who delay, or try to avoid, paying their invoices.
Looking at your invoices can also help you send off tax information or, for growing companies, allow you to work out how much you could afford to pay a prospective employee. This information, along with records from similar companies, could also help you to work out if a price increase or decrease is needed.
Employee Information
You will need to securely store information about those who work at your company, for both payroll and legal purposes. A lot of that may be left to your payroll or recruitment team, if you have one, but it is good practice for you to still know what information you are retaining.
Details of your employee’s name, address, and social security number may be held, along with contact details. You may wish to regularly reiterate to employees the need to update their information, for example, if they get a new phone or move to a new house.
Audit Details
You may wish to also keep a record of any internal audits that you undertake. These audits can show areas of improvement that your company requires, as well as what you have done since the previous audit. For some companies, this may be necessary as part of their paperwork, but it can also be useful for others so there is a clear timeline showing where you came from, and how far you have improved in the past twelve months, as an example. This can also show any external bodies related to your company that you have fixed any potential issues that were brought up at previous visits.
Having your own business does require a lot of work. If you can put in the time and dedication, including ensuring your records are kept up to date and securely stored, you should be able to get your company up, running, and constantly improving.