Phototropy via Compfight
If your financial content doesn’t get organized it doesn’t get out and then your work doesn’t impact lives to the fullest extent possible.
And by “organized” I mean timely, complete and accurate: the triumvirate of healthy financial operations.
Don’t get stopped by your own confusion. Let’s unpack those three conditions that need to be extant in order to be on top of your business. While each one is important in its own right, none of them can stand alone. It’s like a three-legged stool: neither leg by itself is worth much. It’s only when all three are together that you have something to sit on!
Timely: The minimum frequency to do your books is once a month. Sure, you could do your books once a year the weekend before the 15th of April and that will get you your taxes done. But keeping your books up to date in real time gives you timely information. It’s also a heck of a lot easier to code your transactions when only a couple of weeks have past, rather than over a year.
Complete: It doesn’t do any good to have your checking account fully entered for the month, but not your credit card transactions. You need each and every transaction accounted for to get the full picture.
Accurate: It’s possible to have transactions entered into your QuickBooks in a timely and complete way, yet have your “Airfare” expenses codi incorrectly into “Marketing Supplies.” Hey, it happens. This is where the timeliness principle comes in handy: when you’re reviewing your Profit & Loss statement once a month, you’re more likely to notice something wonky because your trip will be fresh in your mind.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments about this. Love to hear from you!
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