Another surprising issue is that some people mix and match. The may try using a cash book for accruals, or they may use an accounting system like a cash-book. The two are fundamentally different - although some cash-books allow the use of accrual entries. In a cash-book, you enter in what shows on the bank statement - payments and receipts. Everything else is left to the accountant. In an accounting system, you enter all invoices and bills. They are the prime documents. They are paid and when bank statements are reconciled, all that is left is the sundry amounts like rents, bank fees, etc. Often these can be set up as automatic transactions so there is little extra needed.

The point is the two systems start from different sources. With a cash-book payments are coded to the expense. In an accounting system, the payment is simply a reduction of the account (payable or receivable). The coding is done on the original invoice.

So please make sure your practices reflect the system you choose. And if you want to do it all yourself, make sure you choose a full ledger rather than a cash book. Cash-books can be good - but if you use an accounting system properly, it can save considerable time and effort. And if you do have an accounting system make sure the accountant's changes are fed into your system (before roll-over if that is part of the procedure required by your system. That way the closing point used in tax returns matches the opening point in the new year. It sounds simple - but failing to do so causes problems in the following year.