If you own a small business in Festus or anywhere in Jefferson County, you probably wear every hat. You serve the customers, order the supplies, answer the phone and, at some point, try to keep the books.
I’m Miles with MilesP Bookkeeping. I’m a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (Level 1, Level 2 and Payroll), and I work remotely with small businesses in Festus, Crystal City and the surrounding area. A lot of owners tell me the hardest part of bookkeeping isn’t the math. It’s knowing what to do and when. So in this post I’m going to give you a simple monthly routine you can follow yourself, and then talk about when it makes sense to hand it off.
Why a routine beats a once-a-year scramble
Plenty of small businesses do their books once a year, right before taxes. It works, sort of. But it means you spend eleven months flying blind. You don’t know if a slow month was a blip or a trend. You don’t catch a double charge from a supplier until it’s too late to dispute. And tax time turns into a stressful weekend of digging through receipts.
A short routine each week and month fixes all of that. It doesn’t take long once it’s a habit.
The weekly 20 minutes
Pick one day a week. Monday mornings work well for a lot of folks. Then:
- Enter or review new transactions. If your bank is connected to QuickBooks, this is mostly approving what came in and making sure each one has the right category.
- Save receipts. Snap photos of anything you bought and attach them, or drop them in one folder.
- Send any invoices for work that’s finished.
- Glance at who owes you. If someone’s late, a friendly reminder now beats a hard conversation later.
That’s it. Twenty minutes a week keeps a pile from forming. If a pile has already formed, my post on how to prevent a bookkeeping backlog can help you dig out.
The monthly hour
Once a month, after your bank statements come in:
1. Reconcile your accounts
Match your bank and credit card statements to QuickBooks. This is the step that catches errors, duplicates and missing transactions. My guide to bank reconciliation walks you through it.
2. Review your expenses
Look over what you spent. Anything surprising? Subscriptions you forgot about? My post on how to track business expenses has tips.
3. Pay and record your bills
Make sure every bill you paid is recorded and anything still due is on your radar. Here’s a simple accounts payable process.
4. Run two reports
Run your profit and loss statement and your balance sheet. Compare them to last month. Are sales up or down? Is cash growing or shrinking? If those reports are new to you, start with how to read a profit and loss statement.
For a full checklist, see my post on how to close your monthly books.
A quick word on year-end
If you follow the weekly and monthly routine, year-end gets a lot calmer. Your accounts are already reconciled, your receipts are already saved and your reports are already sitting there. Instead of a weekend of digging, you hand your CPA a clean set of books and answer a few questions. That usually means fewer back-and-forth emails and less time billed. It also means you can look back at the whole year and see which months were strong, which were slow and what you might do differently next year.
Keep it simple with a few ground rules
- One business bank account and one business card. Mixing personal and business spending is the number one thing that makes books messy. Here’s how to separate business finances.
- Keep your categories short. You don’t need 80 expense accounts. A clean chart of accounts is easier to use and easier to read.
- Don’t let “uncategorized” pile up. If you’re unsure where something goes, make a note and ask.
When to hand it off
The routine above works well for a lot of businesses. But there are good reasons to hire help:
- You keep skipping the routine because there’s no time.
- You have employees and payroll is eating your evenings.
- Your reports never seem to come out right.
- You’d rather spend that time growing the business, or with your family.
There’s no shame in any of those. I compare the options in outsourced bookkeeping versus in-house.
How I work with Festus businesses
I’m remote-only, so there’s no office to visit and no drive up I-55 to drop off paperwork. We work through QuickBooks Online, phone, email and secure file sharing. I handle the weekly and monthly routine for you, and you get clear reports each month with a plain-English explanation.
Festus clients are part of my St. Louis-area work, which you can read about on my St. Louis bookkeeping page.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the monthly routine really take?
Once you’re in the habit and your bank is connected, many small businesses can do it in about an hour a month plus a few minutes a week. Busier businesses take longer.
Can I do part of it and have you do the rest?
Yes. Some clients enter their own transactions and have me do the monthly reconciliation and reports. We can split it however works for you.
Do I need QuickBooks Online?
That’s what I work in and recommend. If you’re not using it yet, see my QuickBooks setup guide.
What if I’m already behind?
We catch up first, then start the routine. It’s very common.
If you’d like that routine taken off your plate, drop me a line on my contact page.