If your bookkeeping is one of those things that keeps getting pushed to tomorrow — and then keeps you up worrying about it tonight — you're not alone.

Is Your Bookkeeping Keeping You Up at Night?

You finally finish working for the day.

Then you remember the bookkeeping.

The bank accounts haven't been reconciled. There are transactions in QuickBooks you don't know what to do with. You're not sure whether last month's numbers are right. Your tax accountant is eventually going to ask for everything. And you've been meaning to deal with it for weeks.

If your bookkeeping is one of those things that keeps getting pushed to tomorrow — and then keeps you up worrying about it tonight — you're not alone.

For many small business owners, bookkeeping isn't difficult because they don't care about their finances.

It's difficult because they're busy running the business.

Bookkeeping Is Easy to Put Off

There is almost always something more urgent.

A customer needs something. An employee has a question. A proposal needs to go out. A vendor needs to be paid. Something broke. Someone called.

Bookkeeping rarely creates that same sense of urgency.

Until it does.

A month goes by without reconciling the bank account. Then two.

There are more transactions to figure out. More questions you don't remember the answers to. And getting caught up becomes a much bigger project than staying caught up would have been.

That's when bookkeeping starts becoming a source of stress.

Being Behind Doesn't Always Look Like Being Behind

Sometimes the problem is obvious. You haven't opened QuickBooks in three months.

But sometimes everything looks reasonably current.

Your bank accounts are connected. Transactions are coming through the bank feeds. You've been accepting the categories QuickBooks suggests. Your bank balance looks about right.

That doesn't necessarily mean the books are accurate.

You can have duplicate expenses because a bill was entered and its payment was recorded as another expense.

Payroll can be recorded incorrectly.

Loan payments can be categorized entirely as expenses instead of being divided between principal and interest.

Old balances can sit on the balance sheet for years.

Bank feeds are useful tools. They aren't a substitute for an accounting process.

The Bigger Problem Is Not Knowing Whether You Can Trust the Numbers

Being behind is frustrating.

Not knowing whether your financial statements are right is worse.

If you're considering hiring another employee, buying equipment, expanding the business, or making another significant decision, you need more than a rough idea of what's in the bank.

You need reliable financial information.

How profitable was the business last month?

Are expenses increasing?

How much does payroll really cost?

Why is cash declining even though the profit and loss statement shows a profit?

Can the business afford the next investment?

Those questions become much harder to answer when you're unsure whether the accounting is accurate.

Tax Time Shouldn't Be the First Time You Look at the Numbers

Another common approach is to leave the bookkeeping alone until the tax accountant needs it.

Eventually, everything gets cleaned up enough to file the return.

But that misses much of the value of good accounting.

Your financial statements aren't just something your tax professional needs.

They're information you can use throughout the year.

If you don't find out until March that expenses started climbing the previous July, that information isn't nearly as useful as it would have been in August.

Good bookkeeping gives you a chance to respond while something is happening.

You Don't Have to Spend Your Nights Catching Up

There comes a point when doing your own bookkeeping stops saving money.

If you're spending evenings and weekends trying to remember what transactions were for, figuring out why accounts don't reconcile, or searching online for how to record a loan payment, your time may be better spent elsewhere.

That doesn't mean every business needs a full-time bookkeeper.

Many small businesses don't.

Outsourced bookkeeping can provide consistent accounting support without adding another employee.

The right level of support might include:

Reviewing and categorizing transactions
Reconciling bank and credit card accounts
Recording payroll correctly
Maintaining loans and fixed assets
Reviewing accounts receivable and accounts payable
Completing a month-end close
Preparing financial statements
Helping you understand what the numbers mean

The goal isn't simply to get QuickBooks caught up.

It's to keep it from falling behind again.

Already Behind? Start With a Cleanup

If the books haven't been maintained consistently, jumping straight into monthly bookkeeping may not solve the problem.

You may need catch-up or bookkeeping cleanup work first.

That can include reconciling old periods, correcting duplicate transactions, cleaning up payroll entries, reviewing loan balances, resolving old accounts receivable or payable, and investigating unusual balance sheet accounts.

Once the historical records are reliable, a regular monthly process can keep them that way.

Your Accounting Should Give You Answers, Not Another Thing to Worry About

Running a business already gives you plenty to think about.

Whether your books are accurate shouldn't be one of the things running through your head at midnight.

At BookWise Bookkeeping, we help small service businesses get their accounting under control and keep it that way. Whether your books need cleanup and catch-up work or you're ready for consistent monthly accounting support, the goal is the same: accurate financial information you can rely on.

So when you finally stop working for the day, the bookkeeping can stay at work too.

Ready to get bookkeeping off your plate? Schedule a 15-minute introductory call

BookWise Bookkeeping

Phone 314-325-2478
info@bookwisestl.com

Is Your Bookkeeping Keeping You Up At Night?