SMEs advised to invest in book-keeping for growth

Small and Medium Enterprises have been advised to invest in book-keeping if they want to see their businesses grow steadily.

The sector contributes at least 70 percent of the country’s GDP. Their catalytic impact on employment can therefore not be over-emphasized.

The growth of the sector is however hampered by the lack of book-keeping skills. This according to Accounting Consultant, John Yeboah can be addressed if SMEs invested in keeping records of all transactions.

He was speaking at the first in the series of national seminars being organised by ABII National Savings and Loans Company Ltd to train some SME players on proper book-keeping practices.

Some of the participants who spoke with JOY BUSINESS said the training has been enormously beneficial to them.

One of them recounted occasions where his clients had called him asking that he provides them with various spare parts but unfortunately could not readily tell whether or not he had them because he simply cannot keep records of the spare parts he sells.

“A lthough in most cases I know I have sold so much, at the end of the month, the money in my account does not reflect it. Book-keeping is a big problem for me because I cannot even spell the names of the spare parts” the uneducated gentleman lamented.

According to him, sometimes he felt strongly that he had stock but the items could not be found, a situation which usually creates confusion among his co-workers.

Some of the players indicated that they cannot afford to engage either book-keepers or accountants in their operations since their revenues are not that impressive.

But Mr. Yeboah wants SMEs to invest in book-keeping as they do with the other aspects of their businesses.

According to him, understanding every aspect of the business is key to the success of the business. “If you have a business you should invest in book-keeping as you do with purchases and sales because the survival and growth of your business depends on it” he emphasized.

He wants SMEs to periodically arrange to hire external persons with the expertise to train them. He suggested that “if you don’t have an in-house person who understand book-keeping procedures, within one year, you would have learnt a lot – at least the basics that would help you keep your books.”

He reiterated that a lot more growth could be seen in Small and Medium Enterprise if books are properly kept.