Short answer: Keep business money in its own bank account, record every sale and expense the day it happens with a category, keep receipts, match your records to your bank statement each month, and review a simple profit and loss (income minus expenses). A cashbook app that imports your bank statement does most of the sorting for you.
Why bookkeeping is worth 10 minutes a day
Without records you can't tell whether the business is making money, which products or services are profitable, or how much you can safely take out for yourself. Banks and investors ask for records before lending, and the tax authority expects you to support what you file. Good books also stop the slow leak of small expenses (data, fuel, transport, bank charges) that eats profit unnoticed.
Step 1: separate business and personal money
Open a business account (a current account in the business name, or at least a separate personal account used only for the business). Pay yourself a fixed amount from it, instead of spending from it directly. This single habit makes everything else simple.
Step 2: choose your accounts
List every place money sits: the main bank account, a second bank, cash in the drawer, the POS terminal's settlement account, mobile money wallets, savings. Record each separately, and record moves between them as transfers (not as income or expenses).
Step 3: use categories that make sense
| Money in | Money out |
|---|---|
| Sales | Stock and materials (cost of sales) |
| Other income | Rent |
| Owner's capital (not income) | Salaries and wages |
| Loans received (not income) | Transport and fuel |
| Generator diesel and electricity | |
| Data, airtime and software | |
| Marketing | |
| Bank charges and POS fees | |
| Repairs and maintenance | |
| Taxes and levies |
Don't create 50 categories. Ten to fifteen you'll actually use beat a perfect list you abandon.
Step 4: record daily
Every sale and every expense, the day it happens, with the amount, date, category, account and a short note. Snap a photo of receipts for expenses. If you sell many small items, record the day's total sales from each account (cash, POS, transfers) instead of each sale.
Step 5: reconcile monthly
Download your bank statement (most Nigerian bank apps export CSV or Excel). Tick off each line against your records: anything missing gets added, anything wrong gets fixed. Then check that the balance in your books matches the bank. With ENB, you can upload the statement directly: lines are sorted into categories, rules learn from your choices, and lines already recorded are skipped.
Step 6: read three numbers every month
- Profit: total income minus total expenses (the profit and loss report).
- Cash: what you actually have across accounts. It isn't the same as profit; see cash flow basics.
- Who owes you and what you owe: unpaid invoices and bills.
Step 7: keep it ready for tax time
Keep records and receipts for at least six years. At year end, export your reports for your accountant: profit and loss, income and expenses by category, and VAT if you charge it. Small companies may qualify for reduced or zero company income tax under current rules, but you still need records to show it; ask an accountant about filing.
Common mistakes
- Mixing personal and business spending.
- Counting a loan or your own capital as sales.
- Forgetting cash expenses (transport, small purchases).
- Only looking at sales, never at profit.
- Leaving it all for December.
Doing it on your phone
ENB's bookkeeping is a cashbook built for this method: accounts for bank, cash, POS and wallets; Nigerian SME categories ready to use; bank statement upload; bills and budgets; and reports for profit and loss, cash flow, who owes you and tax. Invoice payments land in your books automatically. It's on the free plan.
A 15-minute monthly routine
- Download last month's bank statement and upload or tick it off against your records.
- Add any missing cash expenses from your receipts.
- Check your profit and loss: did you make money? Which expense grew?
- Look at who owes you and send reminders or call the oldest.
- Check bills due in the coming month.
- Move your planned savings or tax set-aside into a separate account.
- Note one thing to change next month (a price, a cost, a supplier).
Do it on the same day every month, for example the first Saturday, and it becomes a habit.
What an accountant wants from you at year end
- Profit and loss and income and expenses by category, for the full year.
- Bank statements for every business account.
- A list of who owes you and what you owe at year end.
- Receipts for large purchases (equipment, vehicles).
- VAT records if you're registered.
With a cashbook kept monthly, this takes minutes to export instead of weeks to rebuild.
Frequently asked questions
What is the simplest bookkeeping method for a small business?
A cashbook: record money in and out daily with a category, reconcile with your bank statement monthly, and check profit and loss.
Do I need an accountant?
Not for day-to-day bookkeeping. An accountant is valuable for tax filing, year-end accounts and advice, and good daily records make their work faster and cheaper.
How long should I keep business records in Nigeria?
Keep records and receipts for at least six years.
What is the difference between profit and cash?
Profit is income minus expenses for a period. Cash is the money you have now, which also depends on unpaid invoices, bills, stock and loans.
We build the ENB business platform and support Nigerian businesses from our offices in Yaba, Lagos and Owerri. This guide is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice; for your own situation, speak to a qualified professional.