Need a bookkeeping & accounting task checklist for your handmade or creative biz? Look no further – I’ve created a free one that you can download, WITHOUT giving up your name and email address or subscribing to my newsletter.
Although I hope you will subscribe so you can take advantage of other freebies like this.
Bookkeeping & accounting is a huge sore spot when I bring up the topic in any of the Facebook groups I belong to (including my own free community – Bookkeeping for your handmade business).
I recently asked the members in a couple of groups, if their bookkeeping & accounting tasks were up to date. I really wasn’t surprised when several handmade and creative business owners admitted that they were:
behind, and- totally confused about what tasks needed to be done and when
- afraid they’d forget something
behind, andThe thing about bookkeeping and accounting is:
- it can take hours, days, even weeks if you get behind and have to catch-up.
- if you do tiny chunks EVERY day, it’s not that much of a chore.
Real businesses do their bookkeeping & accounting EVERYDAY!
Are you glad you’re sitting down?
Hope you didn’t fall off your chair!
Did I just hear you make some sort of huge groaning noise?
The truth of the matter is, real businesses do their bookkeeping on a daily basis! And then perform other tasks weekly, monthly, quarterly and at year end.
Download the FREE Bookkeeping & Accounting Task Checklist here.I put it in Google Drive for you, simply save a copy to your own “drive” and edit it to meet your needs. |
Whether it’s for our software biz or my handmade biz, this is what I do on a daily basis in my accounting software (QuickBooks Premier Desktop):
As email receipts (for sales) come in – I record the sale and all pertinent info (who made the purchase, what they bought, the price, any sales tax, etc.) in an invoice. As the Invoice is created all relevant COGS and inventory is automatically calculated and posted.- When bills are paid they are recorded in either the checking account or the credit card account
- The bank account (online) is checked on a daily basis for deposits made by the credit card processor.
- I apply payments to the invoices I created, lumping or grouping them together so the deposit in the check register matches the deposit into my bank account.
- If I make inventory purchases (whether by check or credit card) I record all the detail and my inventory is then automatically updated.
- I track my time spent on projects (handmade biz) or customer support calls (software biz).
As email receipts (for sales) come in – I record the sale and all pertinent info (who made the purchase, what they bought, the price, any sales tax, etc.) in an invoice. As the Invoice is created all relevant COGS and inventory is automatically calculated and posted.Believe it or not – this literally takes me less than 30 minutes – out of an 8 hour work day – by using QuickBooks.
Using software really automates your bookkeeping tasks because one entry (like an invoice) automatically completes several tasks all at the same time. If you use Excel spreadsheets this process will take more time.
About the bookkeeping & accounting task checklist
I’m sharing this checklist I created so that YOU can do small tasks each day throughout the month. This will prevent your bookkeeping tasks from becoming a huge, overwhelming project at the end of the week or month.
I also realize that this checklist might not work for everyone. Let’s face it – bookkeeping & accounting isn’t a “one size fits all” type of thing.
Each handmade or creative biz is unique and how often you should do your bookkeeping tasks is going to depend on:
- the volume of transactions that you have
- whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for a fair amount of time
I urge you to take 30 minutes, download the checklist, review it, add or delete things specific to your biz and make it work for YOU!
With GOOD systems in place bookkeeping & accounting tasks aren’t so awful.
The starting point of any good system is a plan or a list.
If your small, just starting out, or a one woman show – you have to do EVERYTHING yourself – and – you need to remember what you need to do and how you did it.
Having a system in place ensures that your books are consistent because things are dealt with the same way each and every time.
Getting into good bookkeeping habits early on – OR – jumping on the wagon NOW means that you take care of things while they are fresh in your mind and that piece of paper is right there in front of you.
The bookkeeping & accounting you do today will be quicker than what you put off until next week, next month, or the end of the year.
