Tracking your self storage facility’s cash flow can be daunting, but 64% of business owners forgo accounting software and do their own bookkeeping anyway.
Most self storage facility owners use some sort of cloud-based accounting software to take much of the time-consuming work out of bookkeeping and staying organized. Accounting software is a helpful resource that can save you a huge headache on a daily basis, especially at tax time.
Here are five reasons to integrate an accounting system with your self storage facility management software.
1. Easily track your facility’s income and expenses
It sounds like this would be the easy part of bookkeeping. If you know how to balance a checkbook, you should be able to keep up on your business credits and debits as well. BUT… your business works on a much larger scale than your personal checking account. You can’t afford to miss a single detail when you have large sums of money constantly flowing in and out.
Being consistent in recording the information in the same place will make sure you never miss a beat. We cannot stress this enough- RECORD EVERY SINGLE TRANSACTION! Luckily, many programs can import your bank data to ensure this is a smooth process.
2. Keep tabs on your open invoices, Customer balance, and past due amount
When you integrate bookkeeping software with your facility management software and payment platforms, your receivables can be automatically connected. This allows you instant access to the status of recurring payments, past due balances, and invoices that haven’t been filled. This gives you a more accurate view of your facility’s financial health, regardless of your current account balances.
It’s also a great way to double-check that this information has been correctly entered into your self storage facility management software. This way, you can also see if you missed any actionable steps in recovering a late payment, like sending SMS notifications.
3. Track your business expenses
Keep your expenses organized and make sure you never miss making or recording a payment by setting up expense invoices in your bookkeeping software. This process is super simple and can be used to schedule individual or recurring invoices to make sure you are always on track.
One extra helpful aspect of this is that you can set your bills into categories that help you later determine where your money is going. You can see how much you’re spending just on utilities when you are considering switching to LED lighting or solar panels, for example. Or you can see how much you spend on marketing to evaluate your ROI. See where you can save money and what investments are working to grow your business.
4. Be prepared for tax time
Remember those helpful categories? They also make it easier to stay organized for tax prep time, so you never miss a tax deduction. What categories do storage facility owners use to get tax deductions? Advertising, contract labor, car and truck expenses, employee benefits, repairs and maintenance, rent, and utilities. Setting up these categories in your accounting program helps you accurately record this information all year long, so you don’t have to search for it later. And having this info ready and organized will guarantee you don’t overlook an expense that will save you money on your taxes.
Using categories also saves you time, hassle, and money during the tax prep process. If your records are on point, your tax preparer can get your filing squared away faster, with less back and forth for clarification or asking you to search for missing data.
5. Get organized to know the financial health of your business
All of this meticulous record-keeping keeps you on top of the financial health of your storage facility. This is especially necessary if you intend to find investors, apply for a business loan, or sell your property. Not only is it important to make sure you have accurate numbers to give them, but showing up with such organized records makes you and your facility look more professional and like a wiser investment.
Succeed with Self Storage Solutions from 6Storage
4.5 million worldwide QuickBooks Online users can’t be wrong. It’s one of the most sought-after names in small to medium-sized business bookkeeping. This cloud-based accounting software is integrated with 6Storage facility management software along with all the best third-party apps so you have everything you need to successfully and effortlessly run your self storage facility all in one place.
4.5 million worldwide QuickBooks Online users can’t be wrong. It’s one of the most sought-after names in small to medium-sized business bookkeeping. This cloud-based accounting software is integrated with 6Storage facility management software along with all the best third-party apps so you have everything you need to successfully and effortlessly run your self storage facility all in one place.
Owning and operating self storage facilities requires a strong foundation in order to succeed. Accelerate achievements with smart self storage solutions.
From cloud-based self storage management software to a reliable remote gate access system, 6Storage offers user-friendly support to the self storage industry. In addition, 6Storage offers website services and an advanced storage calculator. We back up all of our services with live chat support.
If you’re looking for affordable self storage solutions designed by industry experts offered at competitive prices, look no further than 6Storage! Contact us to level up your storage business and experience our white-glove customer service.
