As a creative person, bookkeeping probably feels like a foreign language to you. I have had that experience when it comes to the creative aspects of my business. If you’re a creative person it’s likely that bookkeeping just isn’t something that’s in your wheelhouse. It can be confusing and overwhelming. And I totally get it. Even just talking to a bookkeeper can be hard, the jargon is intense and varied, and let’s not even get started on the acronyms. CPA, CFO, P&L, FIFO….yikes.
But just because it can be confusing doesn’t mean you should avoid it. You should jump in with both feet and learn as much as you can. Knowing the basics of bookkeeping and accounting means you can run the financial side of your business with just as much confidence as the creative side.
How to get started:
Learn the basic terms. What is a P&L? Is that different from the Income Statement? What is Net Profit? These are excellent questions that can be answered with a simple Google search...but what if you don’t know what you need to know? I’ve put together a quick and simple course to teach you the basics of your financial statements and bookkeeping software all in just 30 minutes. Go here to check out 30 Min CFO.
Ask questions
Money can be such a touchy and sensitive topic. Many people avoid the topic simply because they don’t understand it. There is no shame in not understanding something. Never be afraid to ask the question. A good bookkeeper will love the opportunity to explain it to you. A great bookkeeper will explain it in your language (without all the jargon). This is one of my favorite parts of bookkeeping. I love walking my clients through accounting questions, using examples and language that they understand.
Practice
Start reviewing your financial statements each month. Notice how they change over time and how that correlates with what you’ve been doing in your business. The more time you spend digging into the numbers the better you’ll understand them. And this doesn’t have to take hours. Just spend 10 minutes once a month digging in. I offer my clients an optional monthly bookkeeping call where we review their financial statements, talk about trends and patterns, I answer any questions they have, and I show them how they can dig into the details. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
If you want help understanding your financials, in a language that’s not foreign, check out my 30 Min CFO mini-course, where I teach you everything you need to know to be able to read your financial statements. It only takes 30 minutes to get through the course. And as always, if you’re ready to get a bookkeeper in your corner, someone to take bookkeeping off your plate and keep you on track, check out my monthly bookkeeping package.
Don’t sit in confusion, jump in with both feet, and make sure you understand your numbers.
Bookkeeping seem complicated?
You know bookkeeping is vital to the success of your business. Stop procrastinating and start getting it done with this simple checklist. You’ll get:
- A list of exactly what tasks you need to do each week, month, quarter, and year so you can stay on track.
- Tax due date reminders so you stay on the IRS’s good side
- All the satisfying checkboxes so you can finally mark bookkeeping off your to do list
