Today, remote work has become the reality of businesses throughout Canada. These effects of the pandemic have been felt in major cities like Vancouver, with many people now having to work from home, and join the ever-growing number of remote workers in the city.
As most have felt, remote work in Vancouver brings with it some great benefits like more flexible schedules, being able to work in your sweatpants, being able to get just a few extra minutes of sleep…
However, for many businesses and individuals throughout Vancouver, remote work has also brought some difficulties.
Lack of interaction not on a computer screen, not-so-seamless support for day-to-day tasks, new rules and regulations, and much more.
One additional problem that is becoming additionally prevalent during this ever-growing trend of remote work is how new businesses and business owners carry out many essential accounting and bookkeeping tasks for their businesses.
That is, remote work has made it more difficult for simple bookkeeping and accounting to take place the same that it used to.
At first, this may seem backwards… After all, most bookkeeping software today is all cloud-based. So why would it be any different working remotely?
Well, unfortunately the reality of accounting and bookkeeping (especially in a fast-moving market like Vancouver) is that there is a lot that is much easier done in person, rather than remotely.
Not only this, but it’s often just much easier to not have to manage bookkeeping remotely.
After all, you don’t always want your money floating around. There’s a lot more peace of mind knowing that there’s no issues with your money with everyone working remotely.
So that’s why in this blog we wanted to talk about some of the best tips that we have to make bookkeeping much easier for remote workers.
We’ve come up with 4 of the top tips to make your remote bookkeeping more effective, simpler, and much more stress free.
We’ve made sure these tips are specifically targeted for business owners, bookkeepers, and businesses in Vancouver, and they are:
-
- Make sure your accounting is connected online
- Keep your bookkeepers and connected
- Have the right equipment to make remote work less remote
- Be Flexible
Make sure your core accounting processes are online
With Vancouver-based businesses today relying more and more on technology, one of the first steps to make bookkeeping less complicated is actually to make sure that payments, banking, payroll, and other core accounting processes are online.
But, what do we mean by “core accounting processes”?
Simply put, we mean those things that you have to do on a daily, weekly, and regular basis; or those important accounting things that you don’t want to miss.
So, making payments to vendors or partners (paying bills), collecting payments from customers (collecting money), managing AP and AR accounts, account reconciliations, payroll, and tax payments.
These are the core accounting and bookkeeping processes that you don’t want to miss – because if you missed them, your business would be in trouble.
So, the best first step is to make sure that you’ve moved things like payments, reconciliations, invoicing, and collecting payments from customers online.
Chances are, if you use an accounting software you already have most of your reconciliations and other accounts online.
That said, it’s important to make sure the rest of your processes are also online. The most pertinent of those to make sure that your bank account and CRA information is all kept online.
So, let’s dive into each of those.
Connect your bank account with your cloud bookkeeping software
Like we said, it’s important for your Vancouver business that you get your bank account and bookkeeping software online.
Most banks in Canada and Vancouver offer online banking solutions for small businesses, so that’s easy to set up.
Just make sure that you link any inbound or outbound payments to this online bank account. That way, it’s easier to track your money, whether for payments or purchases. Having these online bank statements also makes them accessible to the right people in the organization.
In addition to having your banking info online, you should also link your bank account to your cloud-based accounting software.
Most software that we talk about in our blogs all allow for businesses to link their bank accounts so that purchases made on company credit cards, payments made via bank accounts, or revenues earned from customers are automatically recorded in the accounting software.
Taking this first step to connect your digital banking and accounting software can make virtual bookkeeping in Vancouver much easier and streamlined.
Sign up for online services with the CRA
The second thing you can do in putting your core processes online is to sign up for CRAs online services.
This is something that we’ve talked about in other blogs on our site, but setting up an online CRA account gives you access to a whole range of forms and services to make things like payroll, taxes, payments, and other services much simpler.
If you’re unsure about how to sign up for an online CRA account, then your best bet is to talk with a local Vancouver bookkeeper, who can help get you started.
Nevertheless, these are the first few steps you can take to make bookkeeping for remote workers that much easier.
Keep bookkeepers and staff connected
The second bookkeeping tip for remote workers is to make sure that bookkeepers, staff, business owners, and other people in your company are connected.
Keeping connected is a undervalued tool when everyone is working remotely; because it’s been shown time and time again that when people feel connected in business, businesses can do much better working remotely.
The same is the case for bookkeepers.
For the people that are constantly plugged into the money-side of the business, it’s important for them to know what’s going on at all times. Not only within your accounting and finance department, but in the company as a whole.
For this, we’ve come up with a few strategies.
Daily meetings and communication
One easy way that you can keep people connected that can take as little as 10-15 minutes per day is to have daily meetings, daily communications, or just daily check-ins.
If daily is too much, then trying longer weekly check-ins could also be effective. These check-ins ensure people have simple, accessible, and open communication to bookkeepers, and that bookkeeping can be kept on track.
The purpose of this is to make sure that remote bookkeepers are aware of what’s going on in the business.
Does there need to be a change in the sales budget? Are there more employee expenses than usual? Are people worried about the finances of the company when working remotely?
These are just some of the many, many questions that bookkeepers can be asked, and ask other people in these check-in meetings.
Easily accessible documentation
The second way to improve communication for remote workers is to ensure that bookkeeping and accounting documents are easily accessible.
The benefit to this is two-fold.
It ensures that remote bookkeepers always have access to essential documents that they need to do their job effectively.
Moreover, it also ensures that other forms like expense forms, templates, and other company-wide forms are also accessible to people in the company to maintain that constant communication at all levels.
All of these things together will help remote bookkeepers not only have an easier time with their jobs; but it will also ensure they feel more connected to the company, despite working remote.
Have the right equipment
The third tip that we have for you is to make sure you have the right equipment in place to ensure remote bookkeeping is as seamless as possible.
We’re sorry, but only using Excel, and having paper invoices isn’t going to cut it in the virtual world of business anymore.
Remote workers and businesses need to have the right bookkeeping tools in place to operate effectively. We’ve compiled a list of the most important tools for you to have in place.
Internet
Let’s face it… We’ve all been there on a zoom call.
“Can you hear me?”
“No, can you see me?”
Then, not long after, the call drops entirely.
To keep it simple… To ensure that bookkeeping is kept seamless, effortless, and effectively for remote workers, you need to have good internet in place.
Whether that’s in an office (in a reduced capacity), or at home… Good internet is essential.
Software
This is a bit more of a generic tip because there are so many different types of software that you can use.
We’re talking about having virtual and cloud-based accounting, HR, communication, and other types of software in place that keep your team connected and your bookkeeping on track.
If you’re curious about what types of software that would be most beneficial for your remote Vancouver business, we suggest you head over to our accounting software blog Land understand what types of software will help you out.
Nevertheless, having software in place that is accessible remotely will make sure that remote workers are always connected to the business; and, most importantly, connected to your bookkeeping.
Time tracking
Just as you need to have software to communication, track your accounting, manage your HR, and manage your workflows… You will also need some sort of cloud-based time tracking software.
There are lots of different types of software out there that help you and your staff track time, without making remote workers feel like they’re being monitored, or kept on a short leash.
Because the last thing you want both as a remote worker, and working with remote workers is for them to feel controlled, or like they don’t have freedom.
But, in a world where resources are changing, time is becoming an increasingly resource in Vancouver business.
So, keeping track of time of remote workers helps keep your bookkeeping on track.
Above all… Be Flexible
This is self-explanatory.
But, above all else, be flexible.
Understand that at the end of the day, remote work can be hard for everyone, and it’s harder for some roles, and for some individuals.
So, something important to keep in mind with your bookkeeping when working with remote workers in a market like Vancouver is that you need to be flexible.
Obviously, you can’t always be flexible with some accounting dates and processes; but allowing for more flexibility among employees will go a long way. That bit of flexibility often is received as mutual trust by employees.
You trust them to get their work done without breathing down their neck; and, in return, they will often go the extra mile to get their work done for you.
Not having to chase remote workers down for deadlines and work is a bookkeeper’s dream. And, allowing for some flexibility helps you achieve that.
Need help from an expert?
We know that the world of remote work can be complex. Let one of our experts at Valley Business Centre help. For over 30 years, Valley Business Centre has been providing comprehensive bookkeeping, tax, and payroll services to our clients in Whistler, Squamish, the Sea to Sky Corridor and metro Vancouver B.C. areas. Valley Business Centre provides reliable and effective services to all clients.
Disclaimer
This article is written for informational purposes only. It is current at the date of posting and changes to laws and regulation may result in the information becoming outdated. It is not intended to provide legal, tax, or financial advice. It is recommended that readers get advice from a tax professional before making any final decisions.
