Why Better Bookkeeping is Essential for Your Retail Business

I am all about being resourceful and saving money, and I’m a firm believer that sometimes “done” is better than “perfect.” However, I truly believe that one exception to that rule is when it comes to your bookkeeping & taxes. If you’ve recently shrugged your shoulders and said your bookkeeping is “good enough” – then you need better bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping is a LEARNED skill. It is not something that comes naturally. And unless you’ve taken bookkeeping and Accounting classes or training it can be extremely easy to mess something up. 

Unfortunately, I’ve seen it time and time again – business owners stumble their way through their Quickbooks account because they know their bookkeeping needs to be done, and they think they’ll just figure it out as they go.

If you can’t yet afford to invest in a bookkeeper, then it’s time to invest in some bookkeeping training for yourself! Either way, this type of investment will reap huge rewards, and will result in better bookkeeping for your retail business.

Today, I want to give you 4 reasons why investing in better bookkeeping (whether its done by a bookkeeper or yourself) is essential for your retail business. 

Better Bookkeeping Helps You Always be “Tax Ready”

Probably the number one reason that people do bookkeeping is because they have to. Plain and simple. Now, obviously, I know there are better reasons than that, but that’s a conversation for another time.

If you’re someone who waits until the end of the year to catch up on all your bookkeeping, then I want to encourage you to commit to a better (and much less stressful) way in 2024. 

By having up-to-date financial reports each month, whether they’re prepared by a bookkeeper or yourself, there’s no year-end scramble to piece together some semblance of a Profit and Loss (P&L) statement for your tax preparer. It’s ready at the push of a button.

Better Bookkeeping Gives You Confidence in Your Numbers

Do you know if you’re truly profitable? Do you know what you can afford to pay yourself? Do you know how much you should be saving for taxes?

One of the greatest benefits of having up-to-date and accurate financials is knowing exactly how your business is performing. You can see how every dollar is flowing through your business.

With a solid understanding of your business finances, you can feel confident in making business decisions that will help move your business forward.

Better Bookkeeping Saves you Money

Like I said earlier, I’m all about being resourceful and saving money. 

The problem with stumbling your way through your Quickbooks is it can create a mess. And oftentimes, it’s an expensive mess. 

Inaccurate bookkeeping leads to inaccurate reports. Inaccurate reports lead to inaccurate taxes.

That could mean you’re missing out on potential deductions to help you save money on your taxes, OR it means under-reporting your income, and the IRS could come after you with fines and penalties.

Let me give you a couple of real-life examples that I’ve helped uncover recently:

By reconciling her payment processor accounts, Ashley found nearly $20,000 sitting in her Sezzle account that had been accumulating there for over 4 years.

Andrea discovered that her Shopify & Paypal integrations (and how she was using them) were over-reporting her income in Quickbooks by over $14,000 so far that year, which would have resulted in roughly $4,000 extra in taxes.

Now, I obviously am not saying that working with a bookkeeper is going to guarantee you find these amounts of money sitting around. But, what I WILL say is having someone who knows what they’re doing manage your bookkeeping is the best way to guarantee that you’re not going to overpay in taxes and that you’re not bleeding money somewhere. And yes, YOU can know what you’re doing with just a little training.

Investing in a Bookkeeper Saves You Time

Let’s face it – numbers and taxes can be boring. At least that’s what some people tell me 🙂 

I’m sure you could think of something you’d rather be doing than sitting at your computer working on your bookkeeping. I know the amount of time it takes to do your bookkeeping varies greatly based on your business size, but just bear with me for a moment.

Let’s say it takes you 2 hours a month to do your bookkeeping. Instead of doing that, what if you hosted a Facebook Live sale – how much extra revenue could you earn? Or maybe you host a special event in your brick-and-mortar to drive extra traffic into your store – how much extra could you earn?

Or maybe you are so overworked that you’d rather take that extra 2 hours and just unplug at home with your family. By investing in a bookkeeper, you can use that time however you’d like.

If you are tired of feeling anxious and confused over your numbers, then commit to making a change in 2024! If you can afford it, invest in hiring it out. I would love to chat with you about what it would look like to partner together, where I can take all your bookkeeping off your plate! If that sounds like a dream come true, then please schedule a coffee chat consultation for us to meet!

If you’re truly not quite there yet, then invest in some training for yourself so you can feel confident in your own bookkeeping abilities. If you want to become more confident in your own bookkeeping abilities, then I want to invite you to watch my free masterclass.

Here’s to finding your own version of freedom,

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