155: Efficiency With QuickBooks Bank Feeds Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle
155: Efficiency With QuickBooks Bank Feeds Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Mompreneur, Freelancer, Bookkeeper, Virtual Assistant, Business Owner, Or Self-Employed
As a business owner, bookkeeper, or accountant, you want to make sure that you are utilizing your time as wisely as possible, which includes processing your bookkeeping in the most efficient way possible. There are many options for you to do this when you are using a computerized software system for your bookkeeping, but making sure you are utilizing each option to its fullest extent will ensure you are saving the time you are setting out to achieve. If you are using Quickbooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online, bank feeds are one area that you can save time. In today’s podcast episode, I’m talking about how bank feeds can save you time, as well as a few of the pitfalls that you need to avoid so you can feel confident knowing that you can rely on your financial statements being accurate. Whether you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, gaining efficiency with your bookkeeping by using bank feeds can be a game changer in how you record your transactions in your bookkeeping software, and having the peace of mind that you are doing it correctly will help with any self-doubt that may be holding you back from doing your bookkeeping on a routine basis…
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Show Notes:
As a business owner, bookkeeper, or accountant, you want to make sure that you are utilizing your time as wisely as possible, which includes processing your bookkeeping in the most efficient way possible. There are many options for you to do this when you are using a computerized software system for your bookkeeping, but making sure you are utilizing each option to its fullest extent will ensure you are saving the time you are setting out to achieve. If you are using Quickbooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online, bank feeds are one area that you can save time. In today’s podcast episode, I’m talking about how bank feeds can save you time, as well as a few of the pitfalls that you need to avoid so you can feel confident knowing that you can rely on your financial statements being accurate. Whether you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, gaining efficiency with your bookkeeping by using bank feeds can be a game changer in how you record your transactions in your bookkeeping software, and having the peace of mind that you are doing it correctly will help with any self-doubt that may be holding you back from doing your bookkeeping on a routine basis…
Welcome Back…If you are using QuickBooks for your bookkeeping software, you more than likely have heard of bank feeds. You may already be using the bank feeds option, but if you are like many of the clients I work with, you may wonder if you are actually utilizing this option to its fullest extent so that it can save you time and improve your efficiency.
In this podcast episode, to make things simple, I will be referring to QuickBooks Online, but you will find that many of the bookkeeping software solutions out there have a similar option for you to utilize bank feeds, and much of what I cover today will be useful for whichever computerized software solution you are using for your bookkeeping. First, I want to describe what bank feeds are, just in case you are unfamiliar with it. When you are using QuickBooks Online, you are able to link your bank account to your QuickBooks Online software, and your bank transactions can then be imported into your QuickBooks file automatically. When you do this, it is called a bank feed. This makes a lot of people happy when they think that their bookkeeping will be done automatically, but in reality, the bank feeds are coming into your QuickBooks Online file, but by default, they are only going to show up in your bank feeds until you decide to do something with them. When you go to your banking tab in QuickBooks Online, you will see the bank account that you linked to your QuickBooks Online file, and you will see the list of bank feeds that were imported from your bank. Once you have this list, you can choose how you want to add the transaction to your financial information.
One of the biggest problems I see in people who are using bank feeds is that when they see all of the bank feeds, they assume the only thing they need to do with each transaction is to simply click add to get the information into their financial software. It sure would be easy just to start clicking on the ADD button to get each transaction entered, but this is exactly what I want you to be aware of in this podcast episode. When you click on the ADD button, you are adding the transaction into your financial data exactly as it is listed in the bank feed. Many of these bank feeds will list the account as an uncategorized income or expense if it is unsure of which account it should go to. Other times, it will list an account it is assuming it should go to, but overall, you need to take a look at each bank feed and decide exactly which account it should be recorded as. You also want to make sure that the payee is listed correctly as well so that if you ever want to look back on that vendor or customer, you have the correct information to do it. Reviewing and making sure that each transaction is correct prior to adding the transaction into your financial data typically takes less time than it would take for you to manually record each transaction, but it does take some time to do it correctly. When you are classifying each transaction correctly before you add it to your financial data, you’ll start building confidence that your financial reports are accurate as well.
If you have already recorded a transaction in QuickBooks Online, you will then have an option to MATCH your bank feed to the transaction in QuickBooks Online. For example, let's say you have already written out a check for your utilities. When the bank feed comes in for that transaction, QuickBooks Online will see there is a transaction that matches it, and you will have the option to MATCH the bank feed to the check that you already wrote out and recorded in QuickBooks Online. You can easily see the transaction you recorded in QuickBooks right in the bank feed to make sure that it is the correct transaction to match to the bank feed.
An advanced feature in the bank feeds area is the option for you to create a rule for your bank feed. So, if, for example, you see a bank feed come in for payment of your cell phone service, you could add a rule that every time there is a bank feed with this payee, you can automatically classify it as telephone expense. By doing this, you can also remain consistent in how you are recording your bank feeds as well. If you set up a rule, you’ll begin seeing the category show up for that bank feed, and you can simply review it, and if it looks good, you can click the ADD button. Another option you can do is to add the automatically add option to your rule. This will then apply the rule and then automatically add the transaction to your financial data without having you review it. I personally don’t recommend doing this so that you always have the ability to review and change any transaction prior to adding it to your financial data.
So, if you think adding bank feeds as an option to create efficiency in your bookkeeping, I want you to also think about how often you will go into your bank feeds and review transactions. I often see people think this is a great idea; they set it all up, and then it gets overlooked. Make sure you have a process set up so that you know exactly how often you will be reviewing your bank feeds. If you think you can do it on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, that is great. I don’t recommend you go any longer than monthly to review these transactions. Not only does the additional time that passes allow you to forget what the transactions were for, but as more and more bank feeds get added, people start feeling overwhelmed, knowing it is going to take a big chunk of time to get through each transaction and be caught up again. If you need help with time management or setting up streamlined processes for your business, as I mentioned in this podcast, feel free to reach out to a professional like me for help. As a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Life Coach, I can help alleviate the stress you may be feeling when it comes to your business, career, or personal life. I’m here to guide you through the financial aspects of your business and help you focus on the steps you need to follow to reach the success you want to achieve in your business and stay committed so that you can continue to keep pushing forward. If you’d like some help in any of these areas in either your business or your personal life so that you can relieve the stress, anxiety, or overwhelm you are currently feeling; I’m here to help. Having an accountant and certified life coach like me can provide you with valuable insights and ideas to help you simplify your business, which enables you to go back to enjoying your business like you thought you would when you first started it. I work with business owners and accountants to create the actionable steps they need to take to ultimately achieve their goals while getting relief from the stress and overwhelm they feel from the pressure of owning a business, deadlines, and the workload they face every day. If you are struggling with this as well and would like some help developing a solution, help strengthen and maintain your emotional health, increase your well-being, create a more positive, happy, and joyful life, set and achieve your goals, and manage your relationships, I’d love for you to join me in my Balance Life Coaching program so that you can live a more purposeful life. 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