Use Correct Exchange Rates to Avoid Loss!

Exchange rates are something you typically pay attention to when processing foreign currency transactions in your accounting package. In Zambia today, businesses that have never dealt with any currency other than the ZMK Zambian Kwacha  must contend in one way or another with exchange rates for [...]

The Solution to Multi-Currency Problems

Do you care about multi Currency Accounting problems? If so then perhaps you have asked these questions; Is it possible to keep business accounts in different currencies? Is it necessary to have multi currency accounting software when a company has accounts in more than one currency? In the work of [...]

Tax Prep Tips to Avoid ZRA Problems

In this digital age, it’s now possible to prepare and file Tax Returns electronically; however, the physical filing continues to be popular among most Tax authorities including ZRA. Therefore to avoid Tax problems and disputes with ZRA, here are the Tax preparation tips you must keep in mind when preparing your Taxes. Always use the correct Taxpayer [...]

How to Export Pastel Reports to Excel

Are you very comfortable using Microsoft Excel to analyze and present your Reports? In this tutorial, I want to explain to you step by step how to Export your Reports from Pastel Evolution to either Excel or PDF format for emailing. Excel is an ultimate productivity too and probably still the most [...]

The Most Deadly Online Banking Mistake!

Online Banking, despite having been around for years is still fairly a very new concept in African Banking and in Zambia particularly. A number of banks have in the recent past introduced internet banking services all over the world. It is indeed a value added service. With an online bank account one is able to transfer money from their accounts [...]

How to Keep Good Tax Records

Did you know that you can avoid panic during Tax preparation time when you Keep Good Records through out the year? In this article, I want to look at why Good record keeping is important in your Business and also show you how to Keep Good Tax Records. Good record keeping is very important for future Tax reference. When your records are properly maintained, [...]

Why Not Get Rid of Email Accounts?

Not too long ago, Business depended so much on Postal Mail, but since the creation of electronic mail, more Email is sent than postal mail. Therefore, are we any where near to get rid of Email Accounts; and Why is Email still so important to Business? Email is undoubtedly still the most widely used [...]

Cost Your Product Like an Auditor to Make Money

A number of Small Business persons fail because they can’t Make any profit and eventually lose Business and Money due to wrong Product Costing. One of my face book friends sent me a message which read, “I am looking for an Excel Costing Sheet Template. I have a problem calculating my Product Unit [...]

Do You Make These User Access Mistakes?

The Rights to Access certain financial information is often restricted to a few system Users in any Business. However, this is only possible if you Create your system User Permissions correctly. In this article I want to look at serious Mistakes you must avoid when creating User Rights if at all you do make these Mistakes. When you just install [...]

Smart Way of Filing Your Income & Vat Tax Return

In an article on Starting a small business, I mentioned that registration for Vat and Income Tax with various Tax authorities is a requirement. In this article the focus is on what you need to know before Filing your first Income Tax and Vat tax Return to any of your Tax authorities. If you successfully file your tax registration forms with the department [...]

Create a Personal Budget & Control Your Finances

Budgeting is the foundation of managing your Personal Finances in a better way. If you know how to create a Budget, it is not enough if you can’t stick to it. The use of Free Budget Software can help you plan; make a budget easily, control your Finances and actually save money. A Budget is a plan and you only create a plan when you have an objective [...]

What Operating System are you using?

What Operating System are you using? Is it Windows xp, Windows server 2008 or Windows 7? What is an operating system? In this post I will look at these answers and how an operating System used in a small business can affect the choice of additional hardware and software needed to create and [...]

7 Steps For Keeping Positive Cash Flow in hard times.

Any given small business, aspires Keeping Positive Cash Flow all the times. Keeping Positive Cash Flows is very easy to aspire to but very difficult to attain during Hard Times. Cash Accounting is another critical element of Small Businesses. How cash flow is managed determines the growth and decline of any small business. It is often said that, [...]

Starting Up a Small Business

A number of people ask about procedures of Starting Up a new Small Business. The steps of setting up your own Business may be slightly different from one country to another. This outlined registration procedure relates to starting a Business in Zambia but may as well conform to Business opening procedures of other countries. 1. Once you are set on [...]

How to Make Best Use Of Cash Registers

Cash Registers are as important to small retail shops as they are to the big supermarkets. Any Business can make best use of the cash registers for sales accounting.Managing a retail shop can be difficult especially as sales increase. Manually calculating sales and issuing receipts eventually becomes difficult. However, this can easily be managed [...]

Quick Way to Create a Purchase Order

Purchase Order Software Solutions can do more than just creating Purchase orders. But there is also another Quick Way to Create a Purchase Order when buying items for your small Business. A purchase order is simply a written authorisation document from you to you supplier to ship products at an [...]

End of The Month & Year Procedures

End of Month and End of Year Procedures can be quite tedious for an Accountant depending on the Accounting Package you use. For many Bookkeepers it may mean working very late to go through a checklist of items, vouchers and entries which need posting and processing before the month end or year end. However, there is a smart way of avoiding the [...]