Can Bookkeeping "Spark Joy"?

With the new year brings a fresh start for many people.  A time to put the prior year behind you and begin the new year with a clean slate.  It is also a time to look at how you have been doing things so that you don’t repeat the same thing again.I am 5 episodes into the Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.  She states that you should only keep things that “spark joy”.  There are things that “spark joy” in your business and there are things that don’t but are necessary.  I have found that bookkeeping is one of the things that definitely does not “spark joy” for a lot of business owners, but instead sparks anxiety!  What Marie Kondo does is bring order to things.  Everything has a place.  If we can look at bookkeeping in that manner, it can create more peace & less anxiety.

Create Standard Accounting Procedures and Document the Whole Process to ensure that you follow basic bookkeeping and accounting principles without missing any important steps.  To make the task easier, create a checklist that covers the standard procedures.  Having documented procedures ensures consistency for when different people handle the accounting duties.  Reviewing those processes and updating them regularly can help you remain efficient and continue streamlining your process.  This is especially important as your business grows, and things become more complex.

Automating Accounting Processes saves you time and energy when performing bookkeeping duties.  Automation also helps to remove common human errors.  Are there reoccurring transactions that can be set up in your accounting software?  Customer invoicing, vendor bills, regular vendor payments, to name just a few, can all be set to post/print automatically.  You can link your bank accounts and credit cards to your accounting software to help eliminate some of the mundane data entering that everyone dreads.  Most accounting software use artificial intelligence when transactions are brought over from the bank.  You won’t have to worry that your utility expense will get posted to office supplies.

Delegation is one way to “spark joy” in your business.  The new year is a good time to analyze what you’re doing with your time and resources.  Is bookkeeping something that you need to be doing?  When you are confident in your accounting process it is time to let someone else manage the bookkeeping so that you, as a business owner, can focus on why you went into business for yourself in the first place.

Let 2019 be the year where you don’t encounter surprises as it relates to your business’s financial health.  Let it be the year that your financial house is in order. Let this be the year that you have joy!

If you would like help with implementing any of the above step, please contact Mackey Advisors.