105: When To Ask For Help With Your Bookkeeping Whether You Are Starting A Business, Self-Employed
105: When To Ask For Help With Your Bookkeeping Whether You Are Starting A Business, Self-Employed, A Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Mompreneur, Business Owner, Side Hustler, Freelancer, Bookkeeper, Virtual Assistant, Or VA
Most business owners typically do their own bookkeeping when they first start their business, but a question I often receive is when should I be getting help with my bookkeeping. The help that a business owner can get from a bookkeeper, accountant, CPA, or tax preparer can vary, and the level of expertise and amount of time required varies as well. The main point here is that all business owners need to understand their business finances, whether they are doing their own bookkeeping or if they have someone else generating their financial statements for them. In today’s podcast episode, I walk through many of the main reasons business owners may want to consider getting help with their bookkeeping, as well as signs it may be time for you to start asking for help with your bookkeeping. If you are a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, side hustler, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, you want to make sure that you have your business financial information ready to prepare your tax return, but you also want to make sure that you are utilizing this information throughout the year so that you can make smart business decisions. Running your business in the dark without the right financial information will only hinder the success and the potential that you could see in your business. Listen in and see if or when you should be asking for help with your business finances. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
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Show Notes:
Most business owners typically do their own bookkeeping when they first start their business, but a question I often receive is when should I be getting help with my bookkeeping. The help that a business owner can get from a bookkeeper, accountant, CPA, or tax preparer can vary, and the level of expertise and amount of time required varies as well. The main point here is that all business owners need to understand their business finances, whether they are doing their own bookkeeping or if they have someone else generating their financial statements for them. In today’s podcast episode, I walk through many of the main reasons business owners may want to consider getting help with their bookkeeping, as well as signs it may be time for you to start asking for help with your bookkeeping. If you are a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, side hustler, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, you want to make sure that you have your business financial information ready to prepare your tax return, but you also want to make sure that you are utilizing this information throughout the year so that you can make smart business decisions. Running your business in the dark without the right financial information will only hinder the success and the potential that you could see in your business. Listen in and see if or when you should be asking for help with your business finances. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
Welcome Back…Are you doing your own bookkeeping and wondering when or if you should be asking for help with your business finances? I’m going to break this down a little further today by first talking about how and when a bookkeeper, accountant, tax preparer, or CPA can help you with your business finances, and then I’ll talk about the main reasons you might need to ask for help with your bookkeeping.
There are various stages in your business and projects where you may want to consult with an accountant for help. When you are in the beginning stages of starting your business, you may want to connect with an accountant to ensure you are setting your business up with the proper entity. There are many to choose from. Some business owners will start their business out as a sole proprietor and then move into another entity such as an LLC or S-Corporation, but knowing which entity is right for your business as well as which offers the best tax advantages is essential in the beginning stages of your business and can save you money in the long run. You also may want to utilize a tax preparer to file your business tax returns. When making this decision, you want to take into consideration how much time it would take you to prepare your own tax return and your level of knowledge. When hiring a professional to do this for you, you not only have peace of mind knowing it was done professionally, but they will also be there for you if you have a tax audit in the future. Your accountant could help you with preparing a business plan so that you know your business is feasible and help you secure financing if needed. You may also need an accountant to assist you when you are ready to sell your business. They can ensure you are providing the proper financial statements to your buyer as well as structuring the sale so that the money you receive from the sale sets you up for the best tax advantage. Most of these services can be done on a one-time or yearly basis and do not require you to hire them on a monthly basis. When you are looking at your bookkeeping process, there are many options available for you to get help. If you feel like you have a reasonable control of your business finances but just need a little help or training, you can easily get this when you need it. An example of this is when I work with my clients to provide training on the initial set up of their bookkeeping system, help them get organized, and put processes in place, so they know the exact steps they need to do their bookkeeping. I will be covering this type of training in my upcoming Bookkeeping Bootcamp. When I work with business owners, they often are seeking confirmation that they have their systems set up properly and they are doing everything necessary to create accurate financial statements and reports they can review on a monthly basis. We work through the procedures they need to do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, and they instantly feel relief knowing they are doing exactly what needs to be done in their business. On the other hand, you may be looking for someone to take over your bookkeeping and generate financial statements on a monthly basis. When you are looking for a bookkeeper to help you with this, you don’t normally need to hire an on-site bookkeeper. These services can be done easily with a remote bookkeeper and are usually billed on a monthly basis. Regardless of how much help you need with your business finances, make sure that you fully understand and review your financial statements on a monthly basis so that you can make smart business decisions.
Now, let’s talk about the main reasons or signs you might need to ask for help with your bookkeeping. One of the first signs you may find is if you are not doing your bookkeeping at all or your business financials are not up to date. Maybe you find yourself spending weekends trying to catch up on the last three, six, nine, or even twelve months of bookkeeping. If you don’t have your bookkeeping done on at least a monthly basis, you may want to start asking for help. You might find that your bookkeeping is taking up too much of your time, and you are not able to properly focus on running your business. If you find that you don’t know how your business is doing financially, you don’t have timely and accurate financial statements to review on a monthly basis, and you’ve never done a bank reconciliation or don’t even know what a reconciliation is, it may be time to make some changes to your bookkeeping process. If you don’t do your bookkeeping all year long and bring a shoebox into your tax preparer for them to do your bookkeeping for you so that they can file your tax return…which by the way, will probably cost you more money than if you had someone do your bookkeeping monthly for you, and you could have known how your business was doing financially throughout the year, it’s time to get some processes set up for your bookkeeping system. Maybe you need to find out why your sales are up, but you are just not seeing the cash flow you think you should. When you hire a bookkeeper, they are able to help you ensure your bookkeeping is up to date, you have financial statements you can rely on to make smart business decisions, and they are able to give you advice and a different perspective on how your business is doing. When you don’t have a good idea about what you are spending your money on or where you are making the most money in your business, it is hard to make decisions that will improve your finances.
If you struggle or are overwhelmed with invoicing your customers, staying on top of your accounts receivable so that you have consistent cash flow, you are unable to pay your bills on time so that you can avoid late fees or bank service charges, you don’t have time to process your payroll or are unsure of the payroll tax deadlines you need to meet so that you don’t incur any penalties or interest, you don’t prepare a budget or need help creating one, you have a hard time separating your personal and business expenses, or you are losing track of your transactions or receipts and need a system to keep all of these business receipts, setting up some simple processes and getting your bookkeeping organized will help you tremendously.
Most business owners who get help with their bookkeeping find out that they aren’t doing as good of a job as they initially thought. Many times, you just need to ask a few questions or get the proper training so that you know you are on the right track. If you feel like you are lacking the confidence you need when doing your own bookkeeping or have a few questions about how you should handle situations specific to your business, I’d love to help you. I have a couple of options for you. You could either sign up for one of my free consultation sessions, where we will go over where you currently are in your business and where you’d like your business to be in the future by going to www.FinancialAdventure.com and clicking on the work with me button. In this session, we will also talk about how you are currently doing your bookkeeping and how you could improve these processes to save you time and money. I also have my Bookkeeping Bootcamp coming up next week. During this Bookkeeping Bootcamp, you can take the time to learn more about what you need to do to either set up and start your bookkeeping system, catch up on your bookkeeping for the year, or simply learn more about how to understand your business finances when you are doing your own bookkeeping so that you can make smart business decisions. If you are struggling with your bookkeeping and you know you need help, do whatever you can to join us in the Bookkeeping Bootcamp so that your bookkeeping is up to date, you understand exactly how your business is doing, and you are ready to prepare for your upcoming tax return while taking advantage of all the tax deductions available to you. Don’t miss this opportunity, as a business owner doing your own bookkeeping, you need to join us in this workshop. I’ve helped hundreds of small business owners and solopreneurs set up their bookkeeping systems, and if you join us for my upcoming Bookkeeping Bootcamp, you’ll have a plan in place and processes for your business so that your bookkeeping becomes a much easier task. Don’t procrastinate. When your bookkeeping is up to date, think about how much more satisfying your business will be, as well as the peace of mind you’ll have knowing everything is accurate, and you can make sound business decisions from this data. You’ll walk away with a step-by-step process to do your bookkeeping, and you’ll understand the reports you need to review to see how your business is doing financially before it’s too late to do any tax planning this year. If your bookkeeping isn’t up to date, you won’t have the opportunity to strategize and make good decisions before the end of the year. You’ll also learn how to verify and utilize your balance sheet so that you know how healthy your business is, and we’ll get you on track to start your budget for next year while incorporating your goals so that you know exactly what you need to do to achieve them in the coming year. I know it can be easy to put your bookkeeping off. As a CPA, Business Strategist, and Coach, I help business owners just like you to ensure you have up-to-date and accurate financial statements. I take the uncertainty and stress out of doing your own bookkeeping. In this workshop, you’ll have a chance to either get started with your bookkeeping, catch up on your bookkeeping or make sure you have your bookkeeping system set up properly so that you can make smart business decisions during these last few months of the year. You’ll also have a better understanding of which reports you should be reviewing and what each report means for your business. This workshop is excellent for business owners and solopreneurs who are doing their own bookkeeping, as well as bookkeepers who want to understand financial statements better and streamline their procedures in their bookkeeping business. I offer workshops like this throughout the year, and you can go to www.FinancialAdventure.com/workshop to sign up for this current Bookkeeping Bootcamp Workshop today, and don’t worry, if you are unable to attend the upcoming live Bookkeeping Bootcamp next week. Once you are registered for the event, I’ll be sending out a link for the replay so you can watch it at your convenience. I’ll post links to this and other valuable resources for business owners and bookkeepers where you are listening to this podcast and in the show notes.
And, you know I’m going to ask…what’s at least one thing you will take away from this episode that will help your business succeed and grow your bottom line? If you need some accountability, join our PRIVATE Facebook community and post your action item, we’d love to support you.
