• Accurate bookkeeping is essential to providing sound facts for your business decisions.Andrew Bret Wallis/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
  
  One of the least-loved tasks in operating your own business seems to be bookkeeping. For many entrepreneurs, bookkeeping is nothing more than a chore that takes them away from focusing on the parts of their business that they love. But keeping accurate books is essential to your business' health. Fortunately, following these tips can help make your bookkeeping easier and more accurate.
  
  

Take Advantage of Technology

• Use a computer and bookkeeping software to manage your bookkeeping. For any but the smallest of businesses, computerized bookkeeping is essential. A program such as Quickbooks or GnuCash will keep your books accurate and organized, and automatically generates analysis and reports you'll need to understand exactly how your business is doing.
  
  

Use the Right Accounting System

• Use the right bookkeeping system for your business. In practical terms, keeping your books on a cash basis (where transactions are recorded when they actually occur -- when deposits are made and checks are written) is much simpler than the accrual method (where transactions are entered when originated -- income is booked before payment is received and expenses are recorded before payment checks are written).
  
  

Stick with the System

• Be consistent. No matter what accounting basis you choose and what accounts you establish, stick with them. Mixing cash and accrual accounting, or recording expenses in one account this month and the same expenses in another account next month, will leave you wondering about where your money is and where it's been going.
  
  

Synchronize Statements

• Ask your bank for a monthly statement with a month-end cutoff date. Synchronizing your bank statements with the months of your bookkeeping will make reconciling statements and tracking monthly performance much easier. It'll also allow you to process your statements faster and make matching deposits and expenses to statements a breeze.
  
  

Keep Track of Due Dates

• Make a due date calendar that shows when all of your required government filings and taxes are due. For each filing or tax payment, indicate the type of tax or filing, the report or form number, what government agency receives the filing, and the period the filing covers. You should also indicate whether each filing requires you to submit a payment, a report or both.
  
  

Keep Good Records

• Keep bookkeeping-related records such as bills paid, customer invoices, deposit slips and receipts. Maintain a financial records box and organize your business records by month for easy reference later. You should also keep copies of any tax payments, returns or other tax documents, organized by year. Plan to retain your financial records going back for seven years in case of IRS audit.
  
  

Back up Data

• Leave an audit trail so that your financial records can be recreated in case of loss or computer failure. Print records of all your transactions at the end of each month to retain in your financial records. File invoices and checks in numeric order, and don't skip numbers. You should also maintain separate bank accounts for your personal and business finances.