Do you need to update your small business bookkeeping? Don’t worry. Many business owners fall behind. Life 
happens. After all, it’s most important to focus on profitable growth and to do what you do best. However, at some point, you just need to get the bookkeeping done. And — once and for all — ensure this on-going chore just never becomes a problem again.
Decide That Bookkeeping is Important
The first step to getting your bookkeeping updated – and keeping it that way — is to commit to getting it done on an on-going schedule. You need to be on top of the business, anyway. At the same time, it doesn’t mean bookkeeping is the best use of your time. Many successful business owners set a fixed monthly date when they review their books. Consider setting a day early in the month to review the previous month-end actuals.
Somewhere along the way, bookkeeping gets pushed down on the urgency list. Then, one day, you or your admin staff decided to try and get the books completed yourself. Often, when this happens, a big mess develops or more urgent events come along and create overwhelming pressures. With the tax deadline rapidly approaching, you may now be starting to feel some stress (and many do!) Don’t let your bookkeeping distract you from what is important: growing your business and doing what you do best.
Consider Professional Bookkeeping Help
There is a growing trend by small businesses to outsource some or all bookkeeping tasks. If you don’t like bookkeeping, need to delegate the work or your books are simply a mess, you may want to consider seeking some 
professional bookkeeping help – even a few hours each monthly may help. An experienced bookkeeper can save you a lot of time, frustration and money.
Consider a bookkeeping service that is close to your home or will meet at your office. You will want to meet with your bookkeeper weekly or monthly — and on your schedule. It is also important to pick a bookkeeping service that’s been established and proven for over 10 years, as they will have dedication, experience and a team for stability. Bookkeeping companies have refined skills, discipline and staff with many years of experience, who are more efficient and know how to fix bookkeeping messes quickly and correctly. Managing in-house junior bookkeepers, handling worker turnover or cleaning up erroneous journal entries is not your top priority.
Put a System in Place for Upkeep
Once you finally get your small business bookkeeping current, you should put a system in place to maintain it on a regular basis. At YourBizManager, we provide on-going bookkeeping services or support starting at four (4) hours 
per month and recommend that you update your books on a regular basis — monthly or weekly.
Updating and reviewing your bookkeeping on a regular basis engages you in your business on a level that matters most. You become very familiar with your business’s finances, which gives you a great deal of confidence in your ability to accelerate efforts or to pivot your strategy in a new direction.
Additionally, you will be able to constantly monitor your key business metrics and gain total awareness of the results and have maximum control of your cash flow. Isn’t cash flow critical to your small business?
Use Bookkeeping to Grow Your Business
Once you are maintaining your business’s bookkeeping on a regular basis, you will start to see more value from it and you will feel comfortable using it as a tool to fuel further growth.
You will naturally begin to identify new trends and then monitor new key metrics for your business. Your business 
reporting will give you regular and continuous insights about changes.
One of the most important tools every small business needs is a reliable financial forecast. Setting annual and monthly budgets provide a clear picture of results versus expectations so that you may make changes, investment in key areas and hire critical staff.
Projected financial forecasts are just as important as past performance. When you forecast 3-6 months in to the future, you will have a clearer and more achievable vision for your business and data for key decisions. These reviews will also help you find opportunities faster and enable you to make the proper adjustments to achieve your growth goals.
Do you need your bookkeeping maintained or supported on an on-going basis?
Focus on what you do best.
Your Biz Manager (www.YourBizManager.com) can help. You can start the process by sending us an e-mail (info@YourBizManager.com) with your contact information, a list of your bookkeeping or business support needs or by texting or calling 424-246-6006.
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About Doris Cristiano & YourBizManager.
As an independent bookkeeper, Doris has been providing flexible business services in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles since 1997. To support Clients’ needs and growth, YourBizManager tailors its services to each unique business situation and works closely with its clients at their business or home office. More About Us
