There are very few times that you won’t be telling your customers to take a moment and breathe, and when it comes to your yoga business you’re going to have to take a few of those deep and cleansing breaths yourself. Starting a business isn’t a cakewalk, and there are a few things that you have to understand on a business level before you can start outsourcing work to other people. Bookkeeping is one such tool that as a business owner, you should be making yourself aware of.

You may well decide to have an independent accountant be the one to look over your finances, pay your staff and manage your books. Even as someone who is self-employed, that doesn’t mean that you won’t need the help. The thing is, regardless of whether you send your accounts out to someone else to monitor for you, you should be thinking about them yourself. Taking on a degree or a course in accounting to brush your skills up is a smart idea, and you should look at a flexible credit transfer policy so that you can graduate as soon as possible. This additional knowledge can help you to monitor your finances and keep good records of your operations. This will help in case of errors in the accounting and potential cash flow issues that you’ll have to face later on. So, which basics in finance should you be aware of as a business owner? We’ve got five of the most important below.

1. Expenses. No matter how big or small the expense, it must be logged. It’s so important to know exactly what’s coming in and what’s going out at all times if you hope to keep on top of things.
2. Cash. Detailed petty cash is so important for a small business. Not knowing where all your business cash is can be quite devastating when it comes to tax time and you can’t account for something in your company.
3. Inventory. If part of your business is selling the best yoga mats and clothing accessories, then you need to have a comprehensive inventory at all times. If you sell anything, update it as you go along. This can run side by side with your accounts so that nothing is left unaccounted for.
4. Payable & Receivable. You need to know what you owe and to whom at all times. You also must be in the loop about who owes you money and how much. This tracking is going to keep your business afloat and ensure you know where to chase the cash that you are outstanding.
5. Staff. You may not yet be hiring in any staff, but you could be outsourcing – specially to IT specialists and accountants. Tracking what you pay them and when is going to help you go a long way.

If you have all your finances in order, you’ll find your yoga business can thrive better. Make sure that you take the time to educate yourself about your business cash and you can’t go wrong.

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