Bookkeepers help the companies that employ them to monitor finances and balance their books. They keep track of company income and expenditure and are responsible for filing financial documents, such as invoices, in a consistent and orderly fashion. A bookkeeper may also communicate with suppliers, customers and creditors, particularly if he works for a smaller company.

A profit and loss, or P&L, forecast is a projection of how much money you will bring in by selling products or services and how much profit you will make from these sales. In good times, you use it to ensure that there will be enough money coming in to exceed the costs of providing the goods and services so you can make a solid profit. In tough times, your P&L can play an essential role in showing you what kind of a plan you need to return to breakeven, so that you'll be able to survive until better times come.

Cash flow forecasting or cash flow management is a key aspect of financial management of a business, planning its future cash requirements to avoid a crisis of liquidity.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras ac justo ut nunc mollis aliquam. Etiam eleifend, metus sed feugiat tempor, nunc erat sagittis leo, eu viverra ante nibh ac est. Vivamus sit amet ligula mi. Vivamus auctor leo eu dolor rutrum, a blandit arcu luctus. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nunc a venenatis leo. Nullam id eleifend massa, non suscipit ligula. Nam eget orci vel quam iaculis euismod in eget ligula. Nunc imperdiet enim sit amet felis pharetra tempor.

Duis in volutpat diam, ac sollicitudin leo. Etiam in purus ut tellus porta vehicula vel ut orci. Proin et ullamcorper massa. In ullamcorper vel neque sit amet auctor. Vestibulum in lectus erat. Donec aliquet enim a lectus varius, eget consectetur tortor porta. Sed tellus nunc, viverra id scelerisque euismod, luctus sit amet purus. Praesent ultricies, ligula bibendum tempor dignissim, elit eros mollis elit, vel blandit nisi velit ut dui. Duis ultricies sapien vel enim aliquam porta.

National Insurance contributions currently build up your entitlement to what are known as "contributory benefits". These include:

• jobseeker's allowance (contribution-based element)
• employment and suport allowance (ESA - contribution-based element)
• maternity allowance
• bereavement benefits (bereavement allowance, bereavement payment and widowed parent's allowance)
• incapacity benefit

You can only charge VAT if your business is registered for VAT. VAT is charged on things like:

• business sales - eg when you sell goods and services
• hiring or loaning goods to someone
• selling business assets
• commission
• items sold to staff - eg canteen meals
• business goods used for personal reasons
• "non-sales" like bartering, part-exchange and gifts

VAT-registered businesses:

• must charge VAT on their goods or services
• may reclaim any VAT they've paid on business-related goods or services

If you're a VAT-registered business you must report to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the amount of VAT you've charged and the amount of VAT you've paid. This is done through your VAT Return which is usually due every 3 months.

Overtime: Work by a wage earner in excess of a statutory number or hours. For example, any time that a waged employee works over 40 hours in a week is usually considered overtime. Working overtime may entitle an employee to extra compensation, such as one and a half times his/her ordinary wage, which is often called time-and-a-half.
Finance: The science that describes the management, creation and study of money, banking, credit, investments, assets and liabilities. Finance consists of financial systems, which include the public, private and government spaces, and the study of finance and financial instruments, which can relate to countless assets and liabilities. Some prefer to divide finance into three distinct categories: public finance, corporate finance and personal finance. All three of which would contain many sub-categories.