Processing the accounts correctly: a guide for the people who do it

If materials for one job are coded to another, or to a general expense account, the business loses the ability to see which work makes money. Cost coding is where bookkeeping meets decision-making, and it is the part staff are least often taught.

We agree a short, practical list of categories and job references that matches how you want to report, then practise coding real transactions from your own records. Staff learn what to do with the awkward ones: shared costs, returns, deposits and small purchases made on a personal card.

• Direct costs against the job or customer they belong to
• Overheads to a consistent set of categories
• Personal and business expenses kept apart
• Unclear items flagged, not guessed

If the business is registered for VAT, the person processing invoices needs to know what a valid tax invoice looks like. In general terms it shows the words tax invoice, the supplier's name, address and VAT number, an invoice number and date, a description of the goods or services, and the amounts with VAT shown. For larger amounts, the buyer's details and VAT number are also required.

Staff learn to check supplier invoices before they are captured, so input VAT is not claimed on documents that will not stand up, and to issue your own invoices correctly. The detailed rules and the VAT return itself stay with your accountant or tax practitioner; the aim is that what reaches them is complete and correct.

A bank reconciliation matches every line on the bank statement to a record in the accounts. It is the single best check that the books are complete. When it is done weekly it takes minutes; when it is left for months it becomes a project.

Staff learn to reconcile in your accounting software, to investigate items that do not match, and to follow a month-end checklist: all sales invoiced, all supplier invoices captured, bank reconciled, debtors and creditors reviewed, and anything unusual noted for the owner. Month-end then becomes one sitting rather than a weekend.

Collecting money is part of processing the accounts. Staff learn to run a debtors ageing report, to follow up overdue invoices on a set schedule, and to use clear, polite wording that gets a payment date rather than a promise. Written records of follow-up also matter if a debt ever has to be recovered formally.

On the creditors side, they learn to pay suppliers against matched invoices and statements, on agreed terms, and to query differences before paying rather than after.

SARS generally requires business records to be kept for five years from the date the relevant return was submitted, and longer if a return is under audit or objection. Staff learn a filing structure that makes any record findable in minutes, whether it is paper or digital.

Client and staff information also has to be handled with care under the Protection of Personal Information Act: kept secure, used only for its purpose and not shared casually. We cover the practical habits that go with processing accounts. Finally, the routines are written up as SOPs and checklists, so the next new staff member learns your way from day one instead of reinventing it.