WEBVTT 00:00.050 --> 00:05.060 So one of your key responsibilities as a business owner is keeping track of your accounts. 00:05.090 --> 00:09.710 Now, if you've never done anything like this before, please don't worry, because the introductory 00:09.710 --> 00:14.240 tips that I'm about to give you in this lecture should get you off to a fantastic start. 00:14.270 --> 00:21.620 Now, any business, whatever size, will have two main categories the orders and your expenses. 00:21.620 --> 00:24.200 So let's start off by talking about orders. 00:24.230 --> 00:30.140 Well, as you can see here, Shopify makes this unbelievably simple for us because all of our orders 00:30.140 --> 00:33.200 are automatically listed on our orders page. 00:33.200 --> 00:37.760 You're also going to find exactly the same information within your payment provider. 00:37.760 --> 00:43.070 And when the payout gets made to your bank account, it is also going to be recorded there. 00:43.070 --> 00:49.340 So in short, with you basically doing nothing at all, all of the orders are being recorded automatically. 00:49.340 --> 00:50.480 So that's orders. 00:50.480 --> 00:51.920 Really very simple. 00:51.920 --> 00:53.990 So now what about expenses. 00:53.990 --> 00:59.300 Well it's also very simple, but not all of it is going to be recorded automatically. 00:59.300 --> 01:04.460 So in order to clarify this, let's have a look at some of the main expenses that you can expect. 01:04.460 --> 01:10.160 And remember an expense is basically anything that you are paying for, anything that you have bought 01:10.160 --> 01:11.930 to keep your business running. 01:11.930 --> 01:17.120 So kicking things off with expenses that are going to be recorded for you automatically. 01:17.120 --> 01:21.710 The first one is your Shopify subscription and any apps that you might have bought. 01:21.710 --> 01:28.970 The second main expense will be any product that you have bought on AliExpress or dropshipping, or 01:28.970 --> 01:34.220 indeed any supplier that you might be using, and that includes all of the shipping costs. 01:34.220 --> 01:38.840 So if you think about the first expense, of course, that's all being recorded within your Shopify 01:38.840 --> 01:39.440 admin. 01:39.440 --> 01:43.790 And for the second one that's going to be recorded automatically with the supplier. 01:43.790 --> 01:49.460 Now your third main expense will also be recorded automatically because that typically will be virtual 01:49.460 --> 01:54.680 assistance if you choose to use them and all of that information you're going to be able to easily find 01:54.680 --> 01:59.090 at online jobs or Upwork or whatever platform you decide to use. 01:59.090 --> 02:02.330 So those three categories of expenses, they're not exhaustive. 02:02.330 --> 02:04.970 There may be others, but they're probably the principal ones. 02:04.970 --> 02:08.690 That's going to make up the majority of your expenses going forward. 02:08.690 --> 02:12.350 But there are others that you perhaps will want to record manually. 02:12.350 --> 02:14.870 And I suggest you use a simple spreadsheet. 02:14.870 --> 02:17.780 So that could be anything like your office supplies. 02:17.780 --> 02:21.950 So if you're at home and you're thinking right now, well, I'm ready to start my business, but I'd 02:21.950 --> 02:24.260 really like a new desk or a new laptop. 02:24.260 --> 02:25.910 Those are expenses. 02:25.910 --> 02:31.640 You can expense those as part of your business, so make sure you record exactly where and when you 02:31.640 --> 02:32.270 bought them. 02:32.270 --> 02:37.250 So now all of your orders and all of your expenses are very neatly taken care of. 02:37.250 --> 02:42.170 So what's going to happen is once a year, you're going to have to submit your accounts to your local 02:42.170 --> 02:43.430 tax authority. 02:43.430 --> 02:45.080 And you can either do this yourself. 02:45.080 --> 02:49.250 But what I suggest you do is use the services of a local accountant. 02:49.250 --> 02:54.650 And I stress the word local here because it's a local accountant that will be familiar with all the 02:54.650 --> 02:59.480 regulations and customs of your country, things that you really don't want to get involved with. 02:59.480 --> 03:03.740 Now, if you're wondering where you can find a local accountant, well, I suggest you turn to Google. 03:03.740 --> 03:09.830 Simply type in local accountant wherever you are, and many, many services will pop up now in order 03:09.830 --> 03:10.760 to choose the right one. 03:10.760 --> 03:13.010 What I suggest you do is that you contact them. 03:13.010 --> 03:18.020 Typically, an accountant will give you some of their time for free, and that will give you an opportunity 03:18.020 --> 03:20.660 to see whether you think that you can work with them. 03:20.660 --> 03:26.120 So there you have it, a simple but very effective way to get started with your accounting.