Help, I’ve ignored my business finances and now they’re out of control. What can I do?

Firstly, don’t panic. It’s always possible to get things organised and back in good financial order.

There’s a few things you can do to get your finances back in order and reduce your worry. The best place to start is to gather all your financial records, whether invoices, receipts, expenses and arrange them into an order you understand. Perhaps categorise them into their main groups such as invoices and then mark all the ones that have been dealt with and those that haven’t. It’ll be much easier to get them into your accounts if this is done, especially if you use accounting software.

You could put them in date order as well which may give you a better idea of how far back your unorganised finances go so you have an idea of the task ahead. This is useful information if you do decide you need to seek the help of a professional to help you.

Once they are all in your accounts and you’re up to date, it’s much easier to see the financial health of your business, but if you’re still struggling to understand it there are professionals such as bookkeepers and accountants that can help you. They can also help with the first stage of organising everything for you if you feel you're too stuck to do that. In fact, it’s one thing we love doing, taking a mass of financial data and putting it into order.