Everyone knows that things just go better when you have a routine. A morning coffee and planning routine, a bedtime routine, it all just flows better with a set routine. So that begs the question, do you have a bookkeeping routine? Do you have a set list of steps you follow to get your bookkeeping taken care of? If not it’s time to get one, here’s how to start.
Daily Routine
Every single time you make a purchase in your business (like seriously every freaking time) make it a routine to get that receipt saved. Whether you forward the receipt email to your bookkeeping software or to HubDoc, or if you just snap a picture and save it in a Google Drive folder, get in the routine of taking care of that receipt IMMEDIATELY. It takes almost no extra time and it will save you tons of headaches down the road.
Weekly Routine
Do you categorize your transactions every single week? I love to have a specific day when I set down and get it taken care of each week. Dealing with your bookkeeping on a regular basis keeps it from becoming a huge looming task. Instead, it becomes a quick task you can easily get done each week. You can uplevel this routine by doing it with some business friends. I’ve recently started hosting bookkeeping coworking sessions and it’s been a hit. It provides a bit of accountability and the ability to get your questions answered by a pro (that’s me btw). Only people on my list get the link to the coworking session so check that out here (and get a super handy checklist to help you keep up with your routines while you’re at it).
Monthly Routine
At the end of each month make sure you reconcile your bank and credit card accounts. It sounds complicated but really it’s just the process of making sure that everything that happened in your bank account is recorded in your books. And bookkeeping software makes the process super simple. Once your accounts are reconciled make sure you review your income statement (also known as a P&L). Doing this each month means you’ll know exactly how your business is doing in real-time, which is so valuable.
Stop avoiding your financials
Read and Understand your Business Financials In Just 30 Minutes, No MBA Required.
Quarterly Routine
The IRS doesn’t like to wait so make sure you’re filing and paying your quarterly tax estimates. Just FYI the IRS likes to be complicated, so taxes aren’t due after the regular quarter ends as you would expect, they’re due Apr 15th, Jun 15th, Sept 15th, and Jan 15th (when it’s not a COVID year of course). Quarter-end is also an excellent time to set goals for the next quarter. Focus not just on your sales goals but also on list building and other business goals. What’s not tracked can’t be measured.
Want a handy dandy way to track that you’ve got all these items done? Need tax deadline reminders? Ready to categorize your transactions with the best biz buddies around? Get your bookkeeping checklist here and you’ll also get tax reminders and info about bookkeeping coworking sessions. Everything you need to stay on top of your bookkeeping and get back to serving your clients.
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
