These pieces of paper could come in handy if they’re ever needed.
The most common word used for sales references is “receipt”. That’s the little piece of paper that you give to customers when they buy a product or service from you and you provide them with a slip to prove that they have paid for the item in question. And while technology has allowed for the use of emailing receipts and cash register printouts, some businesses still stick to the old-school method of having receipt books that they write each and every sale into. And you can’t just throw these pieces of paper away…
It’s important to hang onto your sales references for the taxman and your accountant. During each financial year, you need to submit tax returns for your business and then possibly pay tax over or get a rebate. Should you be audited or just asked to provide a bit more information about your sales during that year, you must be able to quickly and accurately prove that you had the claimed amounts go through your business. The easiest way to do this is to have physical proof – if you’re asked about all the sales on a particular day or week or month, you can just pull out the sales references, add them up and prove that you’re not doing anything funny. Just remember, the taxman expects you to keep these types of documents for the last seven years – you might need to store them off-site in a box at the back of a warehouse, but at least you’ve still got them.
The other key factor when it comes to keeping sales references is for customer support and assistance. If a customer came in and bought a product, they will have their receipt. Should the item or service be faulty or have a problem, you can bet your last cent that they will come running back to you to fix it or assist them in the matter. And rightfully so, provided they can prove when they bought it and that it was, in fact, from your business. This is important to make sure that you’re not repairing or replacing parts that are no longer under warranty or providing a service that was never paid for. Also, you don’t want to be working on equipment that you didn’t sell or can’t support. It’s easy to check this sort of information if you have a fully computerised system, but it’s just so much easier when the person has their original receipt.
Nobody likes loads of papers lying around, especially in the office where you’re trying to work. However, keeping certain documents on hand can assist your business tremendously and prevent unscrupulous people from taking advantage of you – the proof is in your hands.
Deodira
April 13, 2012
really impressed! everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. it contains truly information. your website is very useful. thanks for sharing.