Many small business owners consider their bookkeeping useless. Those types of owners look at their bookkeeping only as a means to file taxes, therefore time and money spent on bookkeeping is a waste. I understand that mentality because I have helped clients break free of it. Bookkeeping is useless if it does nothing, but your small business bookkeeping should add value. Your bookkeeping system should be one of the best business tools in your arsenal. If you think your small business bookkeeping is useless you may be experiencing one of the following issues.
Inaccurate Bookkeeping
If your bookkeeping is inaccurate then it is not much use to you as a business owner. If you are not regularly reconciling your QuickBooks accounts then you can't prove accuracy. You can't reconcile just your bank accounts either; you need to reconcile all bank accounts, credit cards, loans, lines of credit, and payroll liabilities. Even if your accounts are reconciled you may not have all of the transactions coded properly.
Solution: Make sure to reconcile all accounts on a regular basis. A quarterly review of your bookkeeping by a CPA will ensure that everything is coded appropriately.
Never Updated
If your bookkeeping is not updated on a regular basis then it is of little value to you. If you are always behind on your books then you are looking at outdated information. Much like the news you don't want to read the news from last week do you? You want to know what is going on in your business right now.
Solution: Establish expectations of when you need updated information and clearly communicate them to your bookkeeper. In addition hold your bookkeeper accountable to meeting those deadlines.
Does Nothing Unique
If your bookkeeping doesn't do anything unique for your business then it can't be used as a tool to help you grow. If you look at your financial reporting and think to yourself: "So what, I already knew all of this", then it is time to step your game up. You need to identify what really matters to you in your business and communicate that to your bookkeeper. Don't worry about financial reports for a second; identify what you actually care about as a business owner. What information would really help you grow? It's your bookkeeper's job to design a system that satisfies your needs and desires.
Solution: Come up with something unique that would help you grow. Additionally never settle for good enough. Constantly be pushing your bookkeeping system to be better.
You Don't Look At It
If I viewed something as useless I wouldn't look at it either. However, you need to look at your bookkeeping system in order to mold it into a useful tool. If you spend time or money updating your bookkeeping system then you need to take the time to analyze the financial reports that come out of it.
Solution: Block some time off on your calendar each week to look at your bookkeeping reports. Over time you will transform your bookkeeping into a useful business tool that helps you hit your goals and grow your business.
Your bookkeeping can be a really useful tool sometimes you just need to be shown how. Update your bookkeeping, ensure accuracy, find unique and useful information and analyze the data often.
Is your bookkeeping useless? Why do you feel that way about it?
Photo Credit © Dollar Photo Club / Vibe Images
