5 Signs Your Business Finances Need Attention

Most business owners don’t wake up one day and decide their finances need attention. It sneaks up on you. A few months of “I’ll get to it,” a busy season, a new hire, and suddenly you’re not quite sure where things stand.

Here are five signs I see again and again when a business has outgrown the way it’s handling its money. If a few of these sound familiar, that’s okay. Noticing is the first step.

1. You don’t know if you’re profitable until tax time

If the first time you see your real profit is when your tax return is done, you’re making a whole year of decisions without the most important number in your business. Your books should be able to tell you, month by month, whether you’re actually making money and where it’s coming from.

2. Your accounts haven’t been reconciled in a while

Reconciling means matching your books to your bank and credit card statements so you know they’re complete and accurate. When that hasn’t happened in months, small errors pile up: duplicates, missing transactions, things in the wrong category. Your reports might look fine and still be wrong.

3. Business and personal money are mixed together

Paying for groceries with the business card, or a business subscription from your personal account, happens to almost everyone at some point. When it becomes a habit, though, it gets hard to tell what the business actually earns and spends, and it makes tax time much harder than it needs to be.

4. You dread opening your accounting software

A pile of uncategorized transactions. Rules you set up once and forgot about. A little knot in your stomach every time you log in. That dread is information. It usually means the system isn’t working for you anymore, not that you’re doing something wrong.

5. You couldn’t pull clean financials together quickly if someone asked

Banks, lenders, landlords, and potential partners often ask for a Profit & Loss statement and a Balance Sheet. If a request like that would send you scrambling for a week, that’s a sign your books aren’t ready to support the next stage of your business.

So what now?

If you recognized your business in two or more of these, please don’t read it as a failing grade. It just means your business has grown past your current system, and that’s actually a good problem to have.

Here are a few ways to move forward, depending on how hands-on you want to be:

• Get a clear picture first. My Diagnostic Review looks at where your books really stand and gives you a cleanup plan and a firm quote, so you know exactly what’s involved before you commit.
• Learn to do it yourself. My DIY Membership gives you simple weekly routines and training so you can stay on top of things.
• Just ask a question. Join my free monthly Coffee Hour and bring whatever’s on your mind.

Wherever you’re starting from, you don’t have to sort it out alone. Book a free discovery call and I’ll walk you through your options. No judgment, just clarity.