❌ Difference #4
Poorly organising your accounting documents: an invisible nightmare
A forgotten bill,
it is non-recoverable VAT…'
But an invoice that is incorrectly transmitted or misfiled... is an invisible, useless and therefore costly invoice.
Why it's important
Managers often think about passing on their supporting documents... but rarely about how they do it.
And yet, this is the key to good accounting:
- 📎 An illegible receipt or one in an unsuitable format slows everything down.
- 📂 A document lost in a WhatsApp conversation or misplaced in an email inbox no longer has any accounting value.
- ⌛ And above all: the more time your accountant spends processing, the higher your fees will be.
What we recommend
Here are the best practices we recommend to all our customers
- 📁 Use a shared folder to centralise all your documents
We provide each client with a shared Google Drive, organised by document type (rent, suppliers, bank, expense reports, etc.).
➕ This allows you to see what you have already sent at any time.
to check whether there are 12 rent payments or only 11, and to respond easily to our reminders.
- 🧾 Use a free mobile app to scan to PDF
- PDF format = time savings = lower fees.
- Our accounting tools only read PDF format.
- There are free apps such as Camscanner (Android), iPhone's built-in scanner, etc.
- No need to take photos of your bills: some apps allow you to convert your old photos into PDFs in just two clicks.
➕ By using a universal format, you simplify processing for us... and reduce your accounting bill.
- 🕓 Understand that accountants sell time.
Time tracking is a key issue in law firms. And the more disorganised a case is, the more expensive it is to handle.
At our company, to ensure accuracy and transparency, we rely instead on the number of accounting lines, an indicator:
- Fair,
- Monitorable (via a ledger),
- And directly related to your actual activity.
We do not charge for approximations...
Nor the transmission delays or duplicates that clog up our tools.
- 🧳 Optimise the management of your expense reports
Their number can quickly skyrocket if you are active in the field (customers, partners, service providers, etc.).
➡️ We have therefore selected a free tool, used by many managers, with:
- Scanning of supporting documents,
- Automatic reading of information (date, supplier, amount excluding VAT/including VAT/including tax),
- Excel export at the end of the month.
💡 This file is compatible with our Excel macro for direct integration into accounting: saving us time, which means savings for you.
And yes, this application is truly free (freemium model, sufficient basic features), and allows you to:
- Keep a clean copy for URSSAF or the tax authorities.
- No more losing VAT on a forgotten receipt,
- And note down the guests at a meal — mandatory information in the event of an inspection.
- 💳 Why some apps don't deliver on their promises
Tools such as QONTO promise integrated expense management... but in reality:
- No automatic recognition of VAT on receipts,
- It is not possible to declare expenses paid in cash, by personal card or shared expenses.
- 👉 And so... forgotten, unjustified and undeducted expenses.
Did you think it would be easier?
You lose out on deductions... and therefore on cash flow.
An advert that's too good to be true? Let's just say it overlooks real-life situations.
- 📆 Create a simple and effective routine
Every month:
- Prepare your invoices before the 13th.
- Put them in the Drive folder,
- Check recurring expenses (12 rents, 12 telephones, etc.).
Why this date? Because we then have a non-negotiable deadline for:
- Check the supporting documentation,
- Process the accounts,
- Submit VAT (often around the 20th, with a weekend in between!).
Even if you are on a quarterly basis, submit every month.
It protects you from oversights, delays... and penalties (minimum 10%).
And this avoids tirer un signal d’alarme on the tax authorities' radar.
The expert's tip
📎 Legible invoices, well organised, in the correct format,
📤 submitted on time...
= Fewer errors, lower fees, more VAT recovered, healthy cash flow.