Download (export) your bank transactions to Excel and CSV at the end of each quarter (30 Sep, 31 Dec, 31 Mar, 30 June)

Many of our self-employed clients are using BankLink and MYOB. Some are subscribing to cloud accounting packages. Others are happily preparing cash books in Excel and good old paper ledgers.

If you’re not already keeping your books up to date, how do you plan to prepare your 2012-13 records for tax time? With a little forethought and preparation NOW, you’ll not dread dealing with it.

Do you use online banking? Whether you use Excel for your BAS worksheets, may start using accounting software, or plan to tackle it all after the end of the year, this simple habit can potentially save lots of time.    Most financial institutions only allow you to view the last 100 days of transaction history so you should set yourself a reminder to export data files from your online banking every quarter, and save a backup.

Why do we suggest doing this?

  • It’s a simple contingency plan.
  • If you decide to sign up for our BankLink service part way through the year it’s not too late for us to start automatically streaming your bank statement data into our software. We can import a CSV file of your historical transactions into BankLink and code the income and expenses in the same way as streamed data. We’ll save time – and you’ll save money on accounting fees – if we don’t have to manually enter all the transactions that happened before the bank feeds were set up.
  • If you prepare cash books in Excel then why spend hours of time on manual data entry when you can save the actual business bank statements in Excel? Have column headings for Date, Statement Text, Withdrawals and Deposits. Then insert a few extra column headings for Description, Payer/Payee, GST Included (if registered) and Private Usage {6fcc1c1ff9ec9a5c3715b3df24b03e03dd18419044a8019d9effe56cdf867a12}. You’ll only need to type data under these extra headings, and your basic cash bookkeeping will be done!
  • If you think you may end up using MYOB, Xero, Saasu or QuickBooks it may be necessary to import past transactions. You need to export the data from your bank account in a file format that can be taken into those programs, such as QIF, OFX, CSV or QBO. Contact us for help choosing the right software for your needs and budget.

  • It’s always good to have a backup. If one method fails (technology can be tricky) or you end up not liking your new accounting software you can always fall back on those saved Excel or CSV files to cost-effectively, accurately and efficiently construct your records in Excel or other software.

  • Saving an Excel spread sheet of all your transactions provides details you can use later to prepare all types of spread sheets for business cash flow analysis, work deductions, checking salary payments, investments or personal budgeting. A little copy/paste, data-sorting and auto sum in Excel can go a long way to keep you informed about your finances.
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