You can DIY your books. But can you read them? 🤓

Most business owners can type numbers into a spreadsheet. The harder part is knowing what those numbers are actually trying to tell you.

“I mean… it’s just numbers in a spreadsheet, right? Surely I can do that myself.”

I’ve heard that from a lot of small business owners! And yes, you can definitely DIY your books. Plenty of owners do that when they’re first getting started. But eventually it catches up with almost everyone (& eventually it begins costing you money).

As a business owner myself, I know the pressure to do everything yourself is real. But I have a spoiler alert for you: there’s no prize for doing it all.

Eventually you’re a one-woman show and you wake up one day realizing you’re burnt out, that things are slipping through the cracks, and you wish you’d started looking for help sooner.

And bookkeeping has a funny way of sneaking up on you. At first, it only takes a few minutes each month…no big deal right? Until…

• Your schedule is booked out
• You want to hire help but have no idea what you can afford
• You owe way more than you thought come tax time
• Your computer dies, and you don’t have the money to buy a new one.

So bookkeeping turns into a massive chore. Forget sitting down to analyze the numbers and determine what they’re telling you – at this point you’re lucky to knock out the data entry part.

But here’s the thing…your numbers want to tell you a story.

One of my favorite parts of bookkeeping is to look at the whole picture instead of one transaction at a time. We look at what’s coming in, what’s going out, where you want your business to go, and how your numbers can help get you there.

When you’re running your own business, it’s way too easy to keep your blinders on. Sometimes you need someone to zoom out and help you see the bigger picture. That’s why bookkeepers like me exist.

Once you understand your numbers, running your business starts to feel a whole lot less stressful.

A clear financial picture helps you make smart money decisions, save for bigger purchases, pay yourself more, and be prepared for tax season.

On the (scary) flip side…I’ve seen business owners overdraw their account, hire someone they can’t afford, and get the shock of a lifetime when the CPA tells them what they owe the IRS (and no one wants to deal with that!) None of those situations are fun…and they’re mostly avoidable with consistent visibility into your numbers.

If you’ve been DIYing your books, or even if you work with a bookkeeper now, here’s my question for you:

Can you actually read your financial reports?

Because if reports are showing up in your inbox each month and you have no idea what they’re telling you, I’m going to be bold and say they’re not doing you any good.

Here are 15 questions to ask yourself if you’re DIYing your books.

1. Do I know my break-even point?
2. Can I afford to hire the VA I’ve been dreaming about?
3. How many clients do I need to hit my income goal?
4. Can I explain why my net income number doesn’t match my bank balance at the end of the month?
5. Am I confident that I’m recording my owners’ pay correctly?
6. Do I know the difference between a profit & loss report and a balance sheet?
7. Am I accounting for payment processing fees? (Stripe, Honeybook, Dubsado, Square, Flodesk)
8. Am I recording the interest from my business credit card?
9. Am I confident that QuickBooks isn’t missing or duplicating transactions?
10. Do I know what it means to reconcile my books?
11. Do I know if all of my clients have paid me this month?
12. What else can I afford to spend this month?
13. How long can my business survive without clients?
14. How much should I be setting aside for taxes?
15. How much should I have in business savings?

If you couldn’t answer several of those questions, don’t panic. Most business owners didn’t start a business because they wanted to become bookkeepers. I’ll bet you started because you were really good at something else.

At some point, though, understanding your numbers becomes just as important as serving your clients.

Because when you have clarity in your financials, then you can make smarter and bigger money moves.

Because that’s the goal. Not perfect books for the sake of having perfect books. The goal is understanding your business well enough that you can make confident decisions and sleep a little better at night.

And with a bookkeeper in your corner, that can be you.

If you’ve made it this far, you might be questioning your own bookkeeping skills and curious about what it’s really like to work with a bookkeeper (is it even worth it? Another spoiler alert: Yes, it is.)

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If you have any questions, feel free to email hello@numbersbyjen.com or connect with me on Instagram here.

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