In SMEs / VSEs, organizing your administrative service is often perceived by business leaders as a tedious and unnecessary process. Putting the administrative organization of one’s company on the back burner is however a mistake to be avoided because beyond the help it provides, it also saves significant time.

General classification

Our first tip is to store administrative documents by nature in different filing cabinets:

• Purchases (supplier purchase orders, quotes, invoices)
• Sales (sales orders, delivery slips, invoices)
• Bank (bank statements)
• Legal (Kbis, statutes, AG …)
• Social employees (employment contracts, DUE, pay slips, social charges, etc.)
• Social manager (DSI, social contributions, etc.)
• Tax (VAT, IS …)

Notes:

• Purchases can be arranged by supplier and in chronological order or by month and by supplier …
• Sales can be sorted by sales number (or invoice) or by month …
• On the social and human resources level: you can open a first binder with employment contracts and confidential elements in order to be able to store them so that only authorized persons have access to them and open a second one with information relating to absences, periods of leave, etc. Department heads, workshop foremen, etc. will be able to follow and consult this or these workbooks.

Some general procedures

Mail

Receipt of mail: mail can contain sensitive or even confidential information. For proper operation, it is important that the mail is delivered correctly. The opening and delivery of mail should be done by a trusted person who changes very little as much as possible. This person can be the secretary, the accountant of the company or the manager himself.

The mail received must be distributed to the persons concerned or must be sent to the manager in one or more different pockets (invoices to be paid, order form, various letters, taxes, etc.).

• Today’s date will be written on each letter received using a date stamp.
  • It is essential to photocopy any outgoing document and then file it. Each document must be seen and validated by the manager or by a department head.

Regulations / Collections

The quality of settlement monitoring has a direct impact on the average customer settlement time, it can therefore significantly modify the company’s cash flow through its influence on working capital payment). It is an important task which requires regular and rigorous monitoring, as well as a certain know-how.

• At the purchasing level, when an invoice is received, it must be verified using the order form and the delivery note. Once validated, the inspector’s signature (or a “verified” stamp) can be affixed before making payment. The invoice must mention the method of payment, the amount paid and the date of payment. This invoice can then be posted and filed in the purchases binder.
  • Payments must be checked and controlled by the department head, the secretary (during purchase orders) or the accountant in order to present them to the manager for validation and signature. It should be noted that the checks must include the amount in figures and letters as well as the beneficiary. Blank checks should not be authorized, and checks to be cashed should also include bank account references.
  • Check books and check remittances must be stored in a safe (or any other locked place).
  • Give preference to transfers and direct debits in order to control your payment deadlines, avoid unpaid debts, and save administrative management time.

Cash

Cash is the sinews of war, and a business without cash would be like a boat in the middle of water, without gasoline, without a way to steer the boat.

The basics of good cash flow monitoring are:

• Perform a bank reconciliation ideally once a week, at worst once a month.
  • Check your balance. Anticipating financial tensions allows you to maintain good relations with your banker. It also makes it possible to find less expensive financing solutions. Finally, a cash budget can be studied calmly in order to predict the future. He will prepare possible investments, and provisions for exceptional supplier payments.

Billing

A precise and efficient invoicing system is reassuring for the teams, for the customers, for the management as well as for the partners of the company (customers and suppliers). It helps improve the company’s cash flow by reducing the average payment time.

• Sales invoices are prepared by department heads or those who have information on what to invoice, and are sent to the accounting department which establishes them.
  • Duplicate invoices can be filed in paper format or better yet scanned to avoid having additional filing cabinets during large invoicing volumes.
  • Once the invoices are established, they can be posted in the sales journal. Up-to-date accounting allows regular customer monitoring in order to monitor cash flow and make reminders.

The advice of the chartered accountant

Do not hesitate to ask us for any advice when starting your business in terms of management, administration and projects. We will be able to carry out an administrative audit and will be able to provide our advice and our skills in these areas. This saves time for launching your business. Also better monitor the management of your business.

“A good administrative for a good management! “