Accounting of your business events
When you do your accounting, you take notes of all your business transactions in the company. According to the Accounting Act, you must account for all your business transactions.
Do your accounting digitally
There are many benefits to managing your business digitally, which is often both cheaper and easier. With a digital accounting software you can get a complete solution for both accounting, invoicing, support for submitting your annual report digitally, and links to your bank. You can also receive automatic reminders if someone has not paid an invoice, or if you forgot to send an invoice for a work done. There are many accounting programs on the market.
Keep in mind that the accounting must be in a definite form. This means that what has been accounted for cannot be deleted or otherwise made illegible afterwards. This is why you cannot use a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.
What about digital receipts and invoices?
You must always save the receipt or invoice in the form in which the company received it. For example, if you receive a paper receipt, you must save it in paper form. If you receive receipts or invoices digitally by email, you must save them in digital form, for example on your computer's hard drive. You may photograph or scan a paper receipt or paper invoice and use the digital copy in your accounting software. You can also print a digital invoice and save on paper. In both cases, you must then save the receipt or invoice in its original form for the first three years.
What is a business transaction?
A business transaction changes the company's economic position and/or results.
Examples of business transactions are:
- deposits and payments from cash, bank and other accounts
- changes in receivables and debts
- transfers between accounts
- decisions on appropriations
- own deposits and withdrawals
- goods and services purchased and sold
- wages paid
- equipment purchased
Transactions are documented through verifications, for instance invoices, receipts, debt securities, bank statements, and other documents that contain information about the business transaction.
Running accounts
The various business events must be recorded continuously.
Archiving
According to regulations, accounting records must be archived for at least seven years. Some documents needs to be kept even longer, e.g. documents containing information about acquisition of properties.
You should always save the receipt, verification or invoice in the form you received it. For example, if you get a paper receipt, you should save the paper receipt. If you get a digital receipt or invoice by email you can save it in digital form.