Time and time again, businesses continue to succeed for one fundamental reason. It doesn’t matter how much money they start with, how lucky they get, or even how much talent they can combine. It certainly doesn’t depend on knowing some special “secret” that no one else in their industry has cottoned on to.

Having any of these things can help, just as it helps to have an excellent product or service and plenty of common sense.

But in our long experience, none of these things are the key to small business success. The one critical factor we’ve seen in any business that has gone on to success is that they’ve had their house in order.

And the businesses we’ve seen that have fallen over, failed to turn a profit or just keep running into problem after problem are the ones whose owners simply do not understand the numbers side of their business.

The small businesses that are in the best position to succeed are those that have an accounting system in place that lets them keep accurate up-to-date records. It’s these businesses who have the advantage when it comes to planning and flexibility – being able to pivot and respond quickly to changes with the market, staff, suppliers, creditors or debtors, or even to legislative changes.

Getting the basics right is one of the most critical success factors.

Having the right system that allows you to stay on top of your business fundamentals – accurately, simply and accessibly – puts you in the prime position for success, no matter the size or complexity of your business.

This all poses the question: what are the best ways to keep up to date financial records for your business that are simple to use and easily accessible?

There’s a strong chance some of your fundamentals are not in place if you find your business isn’t performing as well, financially or efficiently, as you hope.

This is the reason we’ve gone up to the small business mountain to scribe the 9 deadly sins to avoid if you want to run an efficient and successful Australian small business.

Take the path to small business righteousness with the first Small Business Bookkeeping Deadly Sin: not reconciling your records to your bank statement.