January is the season for New Year’s resolutions. But can that be applied to accounting and company management? Of course it can! We have compiled a list of handy tips that can make your business life easier in 2022.
Have your paperwork ready for inspection
The Tax Authority may inspect your paperwork anytime. Make sure it is in order, so you do not have to get everything ready in a hurry – since hurried work can easily end up slap-dash.
- Know how and where your invoices are stored, so you can easily present them.
- If you have not done so, start issuing electronic invoices. They are easier to handle, stored securely, and some pieces of software also offer options for online payment to your clients.
- Have delivery confirmations and other documents related to your deliveries (depending on your business) properly filed and ready for presentation.
- If you issue invoices above HUF 200,000 (ca. EUR 550), you need to sign a contract with your partner – and have it properly filed.
- Make sure you have a backup on a hard drive, just in case.
Encrypt everything
In line with GDPR, your are responsible for the secure handling of personal data, while you also would not want unauthorized people to access your business data. Encrypt your hard drives, together with your laptop and your flash drives for added safety – these days most operating systems have a built in function for this (Bitlocker for Windows, Filevault for OSX). This way the sensitive data of your clients and your own company will always remain safe and secure.
Keep your inventory up to date
Year-end closing involves making an inventory. Make a habit of keeping it up to date throughout the year, and avoid having to make a full inventory just for the closing. Your inventory is also very relevant for your profit & loss statement, which in turn affects your taxes. As a result, keeping your inventory up to date can save you money on taxes!
Keep tabs on money owed to you
Ask your accountant to give you regular reports on unpaid receivables. Having a daily, or at least a weekly report on when you should expect to receive money can help maintain your liquidity a lot better than having an approximate idea of when your customers might pay. This way you can avoid issues with your cash flow while sending your customers more gentle payment reminders instead of urgent payment notices.
Check on your recurring costs
Recurring costs, especially bank costs, have a tendency to creep up. Make a habit of checking the costs of utilities every year, and switch to providers who give you better service for your money.
- Banks are now required to send you annual breakdowns of your costs. Compare the latest summary with the previous one, and check other options.
Since banking data are part of your Hungarian company’s data, changing banks should be reported, but this can be simply done by your accountant.
Use your free capital
If you have extra profit you do not want to invest right away, you can still find ways to make it return interest. Letting it lay around will only devalue your cash reserve; ask your bank clerk if they can offer e.g. a short term deposit or low risk government bonds to get ahead of inflation.
Keep your Ügyfélkapu access to yourself
For compliant accountancy, Hungarian companies must have direct access to the official Customer Portal for companies (often referred to as Company Gate, or Cégkapu in Hungarian), which can only be created through a person’s individual access to the Customer Portal (referred to as Client Gate, or Ügyfélkapu). To make matters easier, business owners often just share their Ügyfélkapu access with their accountant – and by doing so, they give them access to all their personal matters. To keep your private data safe, change your password now, and simply delegate access to your Hungarian company to your accountant.
The right accountant can help you keep your New Year’s resolutions
Precise and expert accounting can help you keep track of what is happening at your Hungarian company, keep you organized, make informed decisions and save you money. Setting New Year’s resolutions for your Hungarian company (and keeping them) can help you achieve your business goals, and we are ready to help you with that. The Helpers Team has assisted foreigners starting a business in Hungary for more than 15 years, and we pride ourselves in providing tailored solutions that make life easier for our clients.
Got you interested? Contact us today!
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