Are you, like many other farmers, busy with the last stretch of 2018? This means that you will soon be entering the new financial year. A new year also means a transition for the administration. The year-end close is important to end the year well, but also to start the coming year well.
What exactly should you pay attention to during the administrative year-end closing? We have listed a number of important points and tips below.
1. Print the administration
Nowadays it is easy to do your complete administration digitally. However, there are many people who like to print all invoices and find it easier to have physical invoices. Are you such a person? Make sure you at least have enough ink cartridges and have a working printer.
2. Fixed Depreciation
Agricultural companies, like other entrepreneurs, have to deal with incidental invoices and fixed invoices. These fixed invoices come back every month or every quarter. Think of insurance, energy, telephone and rent.
These invoices are common in the administration, making them easy to lose track of. Therefore, always check whether you have all the invoices for the fixed debits. Check whether you have the 12 monthly invoices and the 4 quarterly invoices of the recurring debits.
3. Missing purchase and sales invoices
The sales invoices are often automatically digitally processed in the administration. Missing sales invoices are therefore not so common anymore. Should this be the case? Then you will have to look for those missing invoices.
The purchase invoices are forgotten more quickly and are therefore more often missing in the administration. It may be that you have not processed certain invoices in your administration and that you have to look for them for the annual settlement.
4. Debtors and creditors
It is also advisable to draw up the balance sheet of all creditors and debtors at the end of the year. Is something wrong? Please contact the parties directly for clarification. This way you know exactly what to pay attention to and whether your creditor and debtor management is in order.
5. Closing and blocking the financial year
Have you completed the year? Then you can close it in the administration. Do not forget to block the period up to and including the past year in the accounting. This ensures that you do not accidentally process invoices in the closed financial year.
6. Deductions and regulations
As an entrepreneur you are entitled to various interesting deductions. If you do a large part of the administration yourself, it is important to be aware of these deductible items. These can be a big advantage. Frequently used deductions are: self-employed deduction, starters deduction and the investment deduction (KIA). In addition to the deductible items, there are also other schemes that you can look at.
We always advise entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector to make an appointment with a bookkeeper or accountant when preparing the annual accounts. He or she is aware of all deductible items and regulations and knows exactly how making an annual statement works. A good accountant or bookkeeper ensures a saving that the costs are recouped.