Author: Ankpal

Cash flow is a significant component of any business. It is the company’s lifeblood; without it, you are dead in the water. Since it helps you meet your current financial responsibilities and make plans for the future, cash flow is crucial.

Why Is It So Important to Manage Your Cash Flow

One of the critical aspects of operating a successful business is cash flow. It’s the money that’s coming into your business and going out and how well your business is managing its expenses. If your cash flow is low, you might be unable to keep up with your bills or pay your employees. That can lead to problems like layoffs or even significant issues like bankruptcy.

There are a lot of things you can do to improve your cash flow. You can try to reduce your expenses or increase the amount of money you bring each month. But whatever you do, don’t try to figure out how to make more money without addressing the issue of cash flow first. That’ll lead to trouble down the road.

Here are some tips to ensure efficient cash flow in the business.

Make Better Plans and Decisions

It’s crucial to take into account not only what you want to achieve but also how you will get there. Without a clear understanding of your cash flow, you may make poor decisions that could jeopardize your business.

For example, your business may suffer if you plan to purchase equipment but don’t have the money set aside to cover the cost. Conversely, if you know your business will be profitable in the next month but have no money to pay expenses, you might have to delay some of your planned investments. In both cases, cash flow can determine what happens next.

By articulating a proper plan and taking measures to improve cash flow management, businesses can ensure that they can operate at their best and meet future goals.

Understand where you’re spending money

Keeping tabs on your business’s money is essential when running a business. Not only does this aid in saving costs, but it can also help you make better decisions when it comes to expanding or contracting your business. By understanding your cash flow, you can ensure your business runs as smoothly as possible. Efficiently handling cash flow is key to keeping a healthy financial foundation for your business.

Protect business relationships

Cash flow is an integral aspect of the business. It ensures that companies can continue to operate while paying their bills and maintaining their relationships with creditors. When a business cannot meet its financial obligations, it can damage its reputation and lead to financial ruin.

Expand at the right time

Cash flow measures how much a business makes and spends each month. A healthy cash flow allows a company to expand and grow when necessary and avoid unnecessary debt.

Manage your Bookkeeping Easily with Our templates

Cash flow is the only way to measure the success of your business. The amount of cash coming in versus going out is a crucial indicator of your overall health. A healthy cash flow will help you pay off debt, invest in new equipment, and cover salaries and other expenses.

Fortunately, managing your cash flow is easier than ever with Ankpal’s easy-to-use templates.

Ankpal is acclaimed as the best retail accounting software in India. Simply fill out the details, and our cloud-based software will take care of the rest, including preparing your financial statements and tracking your progress over time. With our help, you’ll be on your way to a thriving business!

Prepare the Cash Flow Statement

A healthy cash flow will allow a business to operate more confidently and maintain its liquidity, which can help it weather difficult times.

Cash flow is vital for every business, but it is significant, especially for small businesses, which often have less margin for error. A well-managed cash flow can help a small business maintain its competitive edge and grow over time.

Businesses can easily prepare their cash flow statement step-by-step with Ankpal’s efficient legal accounting software.

Conclusion

Seamlessly managing cash flow is vital for any business. Just like with anything else, it will run out if you don’t take care of it. Switch to Ankpal’s robust and efficient cloud-based accounting software and seamlessly prepare cash flow statements for your business.

As a Chartered Accountant, you know that technology can help save you both time and money. But with so many options available, it can be hard to know which technology is right for you.

In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the most important tech tools for accountants, and how they can help you streamline your work and save money.

The Importance of Technology for Accountants

Technology has become an important part of the accounting profession. Today’s accountants need to be comfortable with using technology to save time and money.

There are a number of ways that technology can help accountants. For example, technology can help you automate tasks, such as creating invoices or tracking payments. Technology can also help you find and track discounts, which can save you money on your business expenses.

In addition, technology can help you communicate with clients and coworkers more efficiently. For example, chat tools and video conferencing can help you reduce the need for travel.

Ultimately, using technology can help you become more efficient and productive as an accountant.

The Benefits of Cloud-Based Accounting

Cloud-based accounting is one of the biggest advancements in accounting technology in recent years. Here are a few perks it provides:

1. Increased flexibility and mobility: With cloud-based accounting, you can access your account information from any device with an internet connection, making it easy to work from anywhere.

2. Reduced time spent on administrative tasks: Automated features in cloud-based accounting software can save you time on tasks such as data entry, invoicing, and tracking payments.

3. Increased security: Cloud-based accounting software is hosted on secure servers, making your data safer than if it was stored on your local device.

How to Save Time and Money With Accounting Technology

Now that you’re a chartered accountant, it’s time to make the most of the technology available to you. Accounting software can save you a lot of time and money, both in the short and long run.

For starters, there are a number of software programs that can automate your bookkeeping and billing processes. This means that you can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time serving your clients. In addition, many of these programs are cloud-based, which means you can access them from anywhere, anytime—meaning no more missed deadlines!

Another great way to save time and money is by using tax preparation software. These programs make it easy to file your taxes quickly and accurately, without spending hours going through complex IRS forms. And since most of them are also cloud-based, you can access them from any device, anytime you need to.

So if you want to save time and money as an accountant, make sure to use the latest technology tools available to you!

The Future of Accounting Technology

The days of using a physical ledger to track your finances are long gone. Accounting technology has come a long way, and there are now a number of tools that can help you save time and money.

For example, cloud-based accounting software like Ankpal, allows you to manage your finances from anywhere in the world. This means you can work on your accounts from your office, home, or even on the go.

So if you’re looking for ways to save time and money as a CA, be sure to check out the latest accounting technology tools. You won’t regret it!

Conclusion

Technology has significantly changed the accounting industry. Cloud-based accounting and software have made it possible for accounting professionals to work from anywhere at any time.

This has helped to reduce the amount of time spent on non-billable tasks, such as administrative work and data entry, and has allowed accountants to focus on providing value-added services to their clients.

Moreover, cloud-based accounting and software have helped to make accounting more efficient and cost-effective. As a result, businesses are able to save money on accountancy fees.

So, if you’re an accountant, it’s essential that you embrace technology and use it to your advantage.

You cannot stop the future or pause it. In today’s world of emerging technologies, professionals in all industries face many changes.

Finance and accounting are not exempt from these challenges. Some industry experts believe that the digital world may not impact accounting. But the following eight emerging trends in accounting are devised to reduce cost, time-consuming manual labour, and human errors.

1. 1. The move to cloud-based accounting and finance software.

The advantage of having
cloud-based accounting software is that the staff members can access real-time financial information, approve transactions, and collaborate from anywhere in the world.

It reduces the cost of investing and managing on-premise software and hardware. Traditional budgeting ways are inefficient and costly. They take a long time to complete, and the market scenario has changed by then.

The financial data is linked to real activities and resources in driver-based budgeting. It shortens the time taken to create a budget or forecast.

1. 1. Predictive accounting-drive based budgeting.

Traditional budgeting ways are inefficient and costly. They are quite time consuming, and by the time they produce any results, the market scenario has changed.

In driver based budgeting, the financial data is linked to real activities and resources. It shortens the time taken to create a budget or forecast.

1. 1. Upskilling and reskilling as a way to stay ahead.

The transition from manual to automated work practice in the accounting field requires regular upskilling and reskilling by accounting professionals. For example, artificial intelligence helps in reducing financial risks as it can access and predict loan risks.

Many companies widely use data protection using blockchain technology to secure digital transactions. Accounting professionals must update their knowledge and skills to compete and succeed in this ever-changing market.

1. 1. Advisors are moving up the value chain.

When backed by advanced technology, accountants can become an asset to the company by providing additional value as a subject matter expert. Accountants would play a more creative and strategic role in their company as advisors.

1. 1. Outsourced accounting is growing rapidly.

The regulatory requirements increase as the company business becomes global. Outsourced accounting helps in being current on statutory compliances and allows a business owner to receive accounting support from an expert, eliminating in-house labour and resources.

1. 1. Client relationships are taking centre stage.

The relationship between an accountant and a client is based on loyalty and trust as they deal with their personal and financial information. Before the internet, the client and the accountant carried most business personally, but technology overtook this tradition.

With the onset of the online accounting software, clients can have multi-user collaboration with the accountant at any time, from any location. It saves time and fastens the speed of operation.

1. 1. Value-based pricing is becoming the norm.

In tandem with rapid technological evolutions, the accounting industry is witnessing a shift. The manual work is being automated by software. As a result, businesses have been moving from hourly prices to fixed value-based pricing.

As the price is fixed first, the client knows the cost upfront, and the company knows what they will get in return. Although this is a common practice, it has been recently introduced in accounting.

1. 1. The millennial generation is on the horizon.

Till now, the financial sector has been dominated by the older generation, who have been a bit reluctant to embrace new technologies. The millennial generation is now entering the job market. These guys have technology at their fingertips.

The clients today are the most educated generation in history. When it comes to accounting, they demand fast action and a thorough understanding of technology-based financial solutions. The millennial generation happens to be a boon for the accounting industry.

Conclusion

Technology and automation cannot replace human accountants. However, future accountants will have to develop their competency as the skill set required and job description demands will be more complex due to the changing business environment.

Upgradation in technology is a never-ending process. Organisations that invest in timely training and understand the importance of emerging technologies will remain above the curve.

In general, compliance refers to the act of abiding by rules. Compliance in business is how an organization obeys essential laws and regulations. It also refers to how the organization manages its business, staff, and consumers. Organizations are liable for fines and penalties under various rules and regulations. No one can ignore the significance of compliance because of the regular amendment of laws.

Basic Startup Checklist

Early-stage founders often approach investors too early before they are ready for business. Here are the pointers that can help them present a solid pitch to the investors.

• Introduction Of The Team

Investors want to know more about the workforce behind the scenes who work for the success of the organization. So, a proper introduction of the team holds significance during pitch presentations.

• What Is The Problem You Are Addressing?

As a company, you must have a detailed description of the problem that you are aiming to address or eliminate in the future. It should also describe the impact of the problem and its effect on the industry, commerce, and society.

• What Is Your Solution?

Investors must be aware of the innovative solutions used by an organization to solve the problems. Following are some of the solutions that address organizational issues.

• Marketing Plan

A marketing plan has information on the target audience, the market that the organization is entering into, proposed pricing strategies, and distribution channels.

• Projected Financials

The financials include the estimates of where an organization aims to be in the coming years. The financial details also outline the proposed plans of the business. These details will include a statement of profit or loss, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement.

• Finance Sources

Funding holds utmost significance in helping a startup grow at a steady pace. It includes vital details about the credit structure of the organization and its equity and debts. Most organizations have
fund accounting software or government fund accounting software to maintain their finances.

Pre-funding Compliance

• Compliance With The Registrar of Companies

According to the Company Act 2013 guidelines, a private limited company can issue shares to raise funds by making a preferential allotment of shares. The preferential allotment must include shares issued by a listed or unlisted company.

• Conducting A Board Meeting

All board members must receive a notice at least seven days before the meeting. Mentioned below are the matters to be discussed in the team meeting.

• Consideration of the valuation report
• The decision regarding the list of allottees
• The decision regarding the offer period
• Setting up a bank account to receive the money
• Finalizing the offer letter
• Schedule and venue of the extraordinary general meeting

• Conducting Extraordinary General Meeting

The objective of an extraordinary general meeting is to pass a special resolution with a 12 months validity regarding the preferential allotment.

• Issuance Of Offer Letters

The private placement offer letter or application is sent to the proposed allottees in writing or electronic mode within a month.

Post Funding Compliance

• Allotment Of Shares

The securities must reach the allottee within sixty days after receiving the funds concerning the allotment of shares. One must file a return of the allotted shares with the Registrar of Companies within thirty days of security allotment.

• Issuance Of Share Certificates

All allottees must get the share certificates to become the official shareholders of the organization. However, if the funding comes from a foreign investor, an organization needs to observe additional compliance as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines.

Bottom Line

Pre and post-funding compliance is a significant process for startups in India. In order to successfully raise funds, the most vital factors that one must execute concerning the pre and post-funding compliance process are meetings, registrations, allotment of shares, and issuance of certificates.

The digital revolution continues to penetrate into all parts of business operations and accounting isn’t spared from the takeover. And that’s a good thing, given that accounting software provides so many benefits to a company. It helps achieve better efficiency, productivity, data security, and many other adjacent benefits. All these things point to one overall outcome – the ease of doing business.

It’s no wonder why accounting software markets will surpass
$416 million by 2024. There is now a majority adaptation across the accounting practice and it’s likely that companies will follow suit and roll out accounting software. If you’re looking to launch or implement an accounting software in your business, here are a few tips to help you do that well.

Tip #1. Select the right software for your context

When learning how to implement new accounting software, the first step will be to choose and learn how to use the right solution for your organization. There are many choices available today and all of them have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

The temptation is to jump between one software to another, but it always works to a business’ advantage to have one solution for all your finance and accounting needs. If you do need to use multiple solutions, try to limit the number to avoid confusion and higher learning curves or find a way to integrate them all into one solution. Another thing to consider is your budget so that you can factor it into your business expenses.

Tip #2. Roll out in phases

Slow is fast is how the mantra goes and the same is true for software roll-out. It’s always important to get things done as fast as possible, but they also have to be done right. To ensure that all things go well, it’s best to roll your accounting system out in phases. Start with the department most directly influenced by the system-your accounting and finance department.

Eventually, you can then roll out to other departments. Teach your staff how to use the features that matter to them most. Collection officers will need
billing software, accountants will need bookkeeping services, and all staff will need to learn how to turn in expense reports digitally.

Tip #3. Aim for company-wide use

Up to
94% of accountants have now implemented cloud accounting, so it’s safe to say that experts approve. But the buck shouldn’t stop with the accountants. All business operations have to do with money and finance management. Marketing departments will need to manage money just as customer service, sales, operations, creative, human resources, and all other departments will have to.

What companies need to avoid when rolling out software is having a silo that would rather stick to the “old ways” of doing finance. There are also some things to consider when changing accounting software, such as inertia from people who might have liked the old software better. Get the whole company on the same page by having someone or a group of people champion the rollout, which leads to the next tip.

Tip #4. Create a rollout committee

Think of your accounting software as a product you need to market internally. You’re going to need a “sales” team to vision cast the importance of successfully rolling out a new system. Talk about how the
accounting software can help with business growth and help staff stay efficient. Experiencing challenges with the learning curve is normal and should be expected, but you’ll need a team to motivate staff to keep using the software consistently.

The roll-out committee will also be in charge of the accounting system implementation checklist, and keep track of roll-out progress. For the first few months, it helps to ask them to give weekly or bi-monthly reports on software usage. Thankfully, many if not all accounting software provide analytics automatically so the roll-out team won’t have to create reports from scratch.

Tip #5. Provide support to your staff

Again, the learning curve is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing accounting software. So on top of choosing software that suits your team best, make sure to leave all grounds covered and provide support to your staff. Consider getting an online course that teaches people how to use certain accounting software and all the use-case scenarios.

Also, look into external factors that could affect accounting software use such as whether
e-invoices are GST compliant and help staff create the right parameters to follow such government policies. When in doubt, work with an expert who already has a background in using the app or tool so your roll-out team doesn’t have to figure things out on their own.

Accounting in The Cloud is Now the Norm

For professionals who ask “
what can you do with an accounting degree?,” it’s hard to imagine any application that doesn’t have a technology aspect to it. Digital tools are going to be a part of accounting and finance as a practice. That’s inevitable. So if you’re an accountant, finance officer, or bookkeeper, take the time to master online tools. They’re here to stay.

Most of the time, business owners believe they do not require having a fixed asset register software because they think they can count assets at their fingertips. However, they forget that when the business grows, business assets keep on adding regularly and hence it gets challenging to track and manage them orally. There was a dire need for business owners to implement a fixed asset register software, and we have a solution. But first, let us learn more about fixed assets.

What are fixed assets?

Fixed assets, also known as capital assets, are a kind of asset that assists the organisation in creating income. It comprises assets such as machinery, vehicles, manufacturing tools and many more. Also, these Fixed assets get purchased for the long term and do not readily get converted into cash.

Challenges in managing fixed assets

To keep your business operations running successfully, you must invest in the best tools and use them effectively. Because, with poor fixed asset management, your employees will get confused, and you will see a decline in their productivity.

This will undoubtedly lead to reduced profits. Hence, it is essential to have a well-organised fixed asset management plan to streamline your business operations. Mentioned below are a few challenges businesses face due to poor fixed-asset management.

• Massive paperwork: Businesses that employ hand-operated methods to store data find it difficult to keep track of their fixed assets, and they always remain engrossed in a tremendous paper trail.

• Extended downtime: Poor asset management methods intend not registering fixed assets for routine maintenance. This leads to increased asset downtime and reduced productivity.

• Discrepant records: Lack of a fixed asset record system builds confusion. Also, employees may enter duplicate data in separate files or even omit some data.

• Stock inequality: With manual systems, it is tough to track utilization patterns for assets. This can negatively affect demand forecasting and end in inadequate stock levels.

Increase your business’ overall performance with a fixed asset software

Mentioned below are some ways how a fixed asset register software helps you improve your asset management process.

• Recorded check-ins and checkouts enable stringent vigilance of assets

It is a standard fashion in every business to manually track assets records check-in or checkout. However, if the asset records do not get checked out accurately, there are higher odds of assets getting stolen or lost.

With the help of online fixed asset software, you can effortlessly manage asset check-in and checkout details to manage your assets safely.

• Barcodes enable businesses to track asset location

Retail businesses administer thousands of fixed assets, and hence it is essential to track the location of these assets. This is why companies use barcode labels to streamline this process. Fixed asset software enables you to generate barcode labels for your fixed assets and keep a close track of your barcodes.

• Lifecycle management assists in keeping tabs on depreciation

Fixed assets depreciate with time, and with the help of
fixed asset management software, you can keep a tab on the asset depreciation.

• Recurring services help decrease machine downtime

Fixed assets register the software to enable you to schedule future maintenance of your assets to decrease their downtime and keep it running without any glitches.

• Availability overview of assets limits colliding reservations

Precious capital goods are usually limited, and due to the unavailability of the fixed assets, you may get forced to cancel or suspend business transactions. Fixed asset software allows you access to a calendar and reveals the prevailing status of all your items to avoid last-minute hassles.

• Regular audits ensure compliance

Asset audit is a fundamental business operation. A fixed asset management software allows you to perform an asset audit regularly to sustain the credibility of your business at all times.

Choose the most competent fixed asset management software for an all-round view of your assets

Fixed assets make a substantial portion of your business’s capital investments, and hence it must get closely monitored.

If you are looking for comprehensive
fixed assets register software, Ankpal is your one-stop solution. To know more about this software, call us now at 63588 58915.

GST in India was introduced as a powerful and efficient way to impose taxes on exporters or manufacturers. This not only incorporates an effective way to levy taxes, but it additionally possesses a better flow of receiving GST refunds when a taxpayer gets imposed an excess amount.

The current GST tax composition enables its users to receive their GST refunds quickly by enabling well-organised inspection of the GST imposed on the person or the entity. Also, this processing of up-to-date GST refunds will benefit businesses and expedite trade through the discharge of blocked working capital and readily get managed with the help of GST accounting software.

How to claim GST refund?

You should always remain familiar with who can claim a refund in GST. Mentioned below are the most common rules to claim a GST refund:

• Tax paid on inward supply of services or goods shipped or on inputs or input aids employed in services or goods exported. However, if the goods are subject to export duty, you cannot claim a refund.
• Unused ITC of output being zero-rated supplies or exports.
• Unused input tax credit due to reversed tax structure as the tax rate on inputs is more than the tax levied on manufacturing supplies.

GST refund process

The GST refund process must get carried out within two years from the relevant date discussed above. Also, this ‘relevant date’ in the GST refund process differs in different scenarios mentioned below.

• Goods shipped by sea or air – Date on which the vessel or aeroplane in which the goods get placed leaves India
• Goods transported by land – Date on which the goods cross the country.
• Goods consigned by post – Dispatch day of goods by the concerned post office.
• Services transported, where the service supply is complete before the payment release – Day when the payment arrives.
• Services exported, where the payment was received in advance, before the date of issuance of invoice – Date of invoice issue.

Applications for GST refund claims

Once you are eligible to file a claim for a GST refund, you can make a refund claim application by filing a GST Refund Form
RFD-01. You can claim the GST refund within two years of the relevant date after filing the refund application. However, if you fail to file a refund claim with the stipulated timeline, your credits can get blocked forever, and you might never receive the GST refunds.

In addition, if there are any inconsistencies in the refund claim process, a
GST-RFD-03 form will get auto-generated and transmitted to the taxpayer for revisions in the application form, post which the refund amount will get transferred to your account.

Order for GST refund claims

If the GST refund is on behalf of the export of services or goods, the appointed officer will reimburse 90% of the cumulative amount claimed as a
refund in Form GST RFD-4. After due verification of the records supplied, the officer will pass an order for the ultimate settlement of the refund claim. Also, if the commissioning officer gets convinced that the complete or part of the refund amount claimed in the application is refundable, he will pass an order for the payment refund in Form GST RFD-5.

Exceptional scenarios of GST refund claims

Listed hereunder are a few exceptional scenarios of GST refund.

• Tax on supply of goods considered as deemed exports such as exports in SEZ.
• Tax is refundable as an outcome of a decree, judgement or on the command of an Appellate Tribunal.
• Tax incorrectly accumulated and collected with the Central or State Government.

To claim your GST refunds, you must follow a poignant GST refund process as the government will not provide a refund without a careful examination. Hence, always ensure keeping all your GST records well-organised by employing the
best GST billing software that can help you easily furnish all the required records at the time of claiming a GST refund.