119 Is Doing Your Own Books Actually Working for You?

123 Summer School Session 2: Balance Sheet for Small Business

Most small business owners either ignore the balance sheet or have no idea what they're looking at... and honestly? That makes total sense! The terminology is confusing, and it doesn't feel as urgent as your P&L. But in this Summer School session, we're breaking it all the way down so you actually understand what a balance sheet is, why it matters for YOUR business, and what to look at when you open it up. In this episode, you'll learn: * What a balance sheet actually is (and how it's different from your P&L) * The ALOE acronym that makes it all click: Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity * The most common asset types you'll see as a small business owner * What liabilities and equity really mean in plain language * How often you should actually be reviewing this report * Why the balance sheet is a sneaky great place to catch errors Key Takeaways: The balance sheet is a snapshot in time, not a summary of activity. While your P&L shows how your business performed over a period, the balance sheet shows where things stand at one specific moment. These two reports work together, and you really do need both! Everything on a balance sheet falls into one of three buckets: assets (what your business owns or is owed), liabilities (what your business owes to others), and equity (what's left over for you as the owner). Remember ALOE! Even if you're a service-based business without a lot of physical assets, you still need to review your balance sheet. It's actually one of the best places to spot miscategorized transactions before they become a bigger problem. Resources mentioned: Grab the free playlist to find the episodes that match where you are in your bookkeeping journey: https://erikamillard.com/podcast-playlist-bundles [https://erikamillard.com/podcast-playlist-bundles] Next week: Summer School Session 3 drops next week, so stay tuned!

122 Summer School Session 1: Let's Talk Profit & Loss

Hey hey, friend! Welcome to summer school! All month long we're diving deep into financial statements and the foundations you actually need to understand your business. And we're kicking things off with the report you've definitely heard of but maybe never fully understood — the profit and loss. What We Cover in this Episode: What even IS a profit and loss report? You might know it as the income statement, the P&L, or just "that scary report." They're all the same thing! It's basically your business's scorecard for a specific period of time — what came in, what went out, and what's left over. Key terms you need to know: * Revenue/Income — Every single dollar that came into your business (sales, services, affiliate income, referrals, all of it) * Expenses — Everything you spent to run the business * Gross Profit — What's left after you subtract your direct costs (cost of goods sold) from revenue * Net Profit/Net Loss — The bottom line. What's actually left after ALL expenses come out Revenue is NOT profit (and why this matters SO much) A million dollar month means nothing if you spent $900k to generate it. We talk about why it's not always about the big income number — it's about how much you're actually keeping. A live walkthrough of your QuickBooks P&L Pull up your report and follow along! We walk through: * The income section (and why you should separate your offers/services) * Cost of goods sold — what it is and who actually needs it * Operating expenses * The net income line at the bottom Your midnight Google questions, answered: * How often should I actually look at my P&L? (Hint: at least monthly!) * My P&L says I'm profitable but I have no money — what's going on? * My categories are a mess — does that affect my report? Action Steps from This Episode 1. Pull up your QuickBooks profit and loss report for the current or most recently completed quarter 2. Make sure your transactions are categorized before you run it 3. Look at your income section — are your different offers/services separated out? 4. Check out that bottom line — are you profitable? Does it match what you expected? Mentioned in This Episode Podcast Playlist Freebie — Not sure where to start with your bookkeeping? Grab the free playlist that meets you right where you are → [link in show notes] Summer School Series — This is part 1 of 4! Each session covers one big financial foundation topic. Stay tuned for the next session!

121 Your Books Are Caught Up... Now What? Tax Strategy and Building Wealth with Emily Bowie

Today I'm sitting down with Emily Bowie, one of the partners at Thorne Advisors, and y'all... this conversation is SO good. We're talking about what happens AFTER your books are clean, why profit doesn't always equal cash, and how to know when it's time to bring a tax strategist into your corner. In this episode, we cover: The red flags that you've outgrown basic bookkeeping and need a tax strategist What tax strategy actually is (and why it's not the same as just filing your taxes) Questions you should ask before hiring a CPA Why your bookkeeper and tax person need to actually talk to each other The S corp breakdown you didn't know you needed, including when it actually makes sense to make the switch Why a good tax pro will never make you feel like you're in the principal's office The S corp tipping point: Emily drops a really helpful rule of thumb here. That S corp conversion makes sense when your profit (not revenue!) hits $100k. Not $40k, not $60k. She explains why making the switch too early can actually create more headaches than it solves. Questions to ask when interviewing a CPA: 1. Do you offer tax strategy, or just tax prep? 2. What's driving your strategy recommendations? 3. What are your core values around communication and timeliness? The biggest thing most business owners are missing? Having their bookkeeper and tax strategist actually in the same conversation. If those two people have never met, this episode will change how you think about your money team. Connect with Emily: Website: https://www.thorneadvisors.com/ [https://www.thorneadvisors.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thorneadvisors/ [https://www.instagram.com/thorneadvisors/] Freebie: Grab the Cash Leaks guide (plus commonly missed tax deductions!) at https://www.thorneadvisors.com/cashleaks [https://www.thorneadvisors.com/cashleaks]

120 Avoiding Your QuickBooks? Here's What's Really Going On and What to Do Next

Do you have QuickBooks open in a tab right now that you haven't actually clicked on in two weeks? This episode is for you. First things first: you're not lazy, you're not bad at business, and you are so not alone. Bookkeeping avoidance is one of the most common things I see, and today I'm breaking down exactly why it happens AND what to do about it. In this episode, I cover: The 3 real reasons you keep avoiding your QuickBooks (hint: it's not because you're bad at this) Why avoidance is actually making the problem bigger, not smaller How to start breaking the cycle without needing a full free afternoon to do it Why you need to drop the shame spiral for good The 3 reasons bookkeeping avoidance makes total sense: 1. It feels overwhelming before you even start 2. There's shame, guilt, or fear attached to what you might find 3. Nobody actually taught you how to do this But here's the truth: the longer it sits, the heavier it gets. What would take 30 minutes today can turn into a 3-hour project next month. And without your numbers, you're making business decisions based on vibes... which is a different kind of stressful. The good news? You don't need a perfect 3-hour block to get caught up. You just need a plan and a starting point. Ready to stop dreading it and actually start doing it? Grab the free Cleanup Playlist Bundle in the link below. It walks you through how to clean up your QuickBooks, get caught up quickly, and figure out if you're missing anything. https://erikamillard.com/podcast-playlist-bundles [https://erikamillard.com/podcast-playlist-bundles]

119 Is Doing Your Own Books Actually Working for You?

Is Doing Your Own Books Actually Working for You? 4 Honest Signs Every Small Business Owner Needs to Hear Be honest with yourself for a second... is your bookkeeping actually working? Not just kind of happening, but really working? There's a big difference between doing your own books and doing them well, and if you're a solopreneur or small business owner managing your own QuickBooks, this episode is for you. Today we're breaking down four honest signs to help you figure out where you actually stand with your bookkeeping, and what to do about it no matter where you land. Grab the free podcast playlist in the show notes — it's a curated starting point no matter where you are in your bookkeeping journey! The 4 Signs We Cover: Sign #1: Your Bookkeeping Isn't Getting Done Consistently Are your books only getting done when things slow down? Or is there a three-month pile of transactions waiting for you in QuickBooks? Consistency is the whole game with bookkeeping for small business owners, and if it's a struggle, it's usually a setup problem, not a you problem. We talk through some practical (and fun!) ways to actually make yourself sit down and do it. Sign #2: You're Not Sure Your QuickBooks Numbers Are Actually Right Your transactions are in QuickBooks... but do you actually trust them? If you have a quiet little voice wondering whether your profit and loss report is accurate, or you've been avoiding your reports altogether, this one's for you. We talk about what to look for and where to get support so you can actually use your numbers to make real business decisions. Sign #3: You've Been Avoiding QuickBooks Completely If QuickBooks is a tab you keep opening and closing without actually doing anything, that pit in your stomach is real information. Avoidance is almost never about laziness. For most small business owners doing their own bookkeeping, it's usually fear, shame, or confusion, and all of it is fixable. Sign #4: Doing Your Own Bookkeeping Might Not Make Sense Anymore Your business is growing. You're good at what you do. And bookkeeping keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. There's no shame in reaching the point where DIY bookkeeping just doesn't make sense anymore. Outsourcing your books isn't failure. It's a smart business decision. Resources mentioned: * Free Podcast Playlist: https://erikamillard.com/podcast-playlist-bundles [https://erikamillard.com/podcast-playlist-bundles] * Monthly Support Club (membership): https://erikamillard.com/monthlysupportclub [https://erikamillard.com/monthlysupportclub] Happy Bookkeeping!