It’s easy to feel like there’s not enough time to organize your finances, especially if you wait until the end of the year to do everything at once. Luckily, the solution is simple: Break up your bookkeeping tasks into monthly, quarterly, and yearly to-do’s. You’ll feel much less overwhelmed at the end of the year if you stay on top of your books year round!
We have plenty of tips to keep bookkeeping stress-free. Keep reading to get a complete checklist of bookkeeping tasks you should do monthly to reduce stress, save time, and keep your business financially healthy.
Review your customer invoices
Go through and document customer payments, and track the invoices in your bookkeeping system. This is especially important if you use a payment processing system outside of QuickBooks (which includes accounting software). Confirm that systems like Stripe, Wave, or Square are tracking your sales accurately.
Follow up on any overdue invoices, and take note of any outstanding payments. If customers tend to miss their due dates, set up auto-reminders to help them remember to send in their payment.
Review your accounts payable
Just like you want to be sure you’re getting paid, it’s equally important to make sure you’re paying your dues. Other people want to be paid, too!
Go over your accounts payable and make sure you are up-to-date on your bills. This helps avoid unexpected expenses later on, and it’s also a courtesy to others. Being a responsible customer helps maintain a positive relationship with your vendors.
Reconcile your accounts
It never hurts to double check your accounts, invoices, and bank statements to ensure everything is in order. Take the time to run through each transaction for the month to check for accuracy.
Enter anything you may have missed throughout the month. If you see any discrepancies, figure out why there’s an error. This will be easier to do at the end of the month, when transactions are still recent and fresh in your memory, than at the end of the year. Once everything matches up, you’re good to go.
Review your goals and financial forecasts
Although you should review your financial goals and forecasts at least quarterly, it’s a good idea to do it more frequently. Staying on top of the financial health of your business is key, so evaluating your financial state once a month will set you up for success.
Knowing your monthly revenues, profit, and loss will help you make educated investment decisions. If you need to make adjustments to your business plan, now is the time. Any revisions to your goals should reflect the state of your business and provide direction for the future. By setting realistic goals and taking time to review them monthly, you’ll be prepared to keep your business financially healthy.
Product based businesses can review inventory
For businesses selling physical products, check in on inventory levels. This is the perfect time to assess inventory risk to see how it affects your business financially.
Note what items sold well, what items are still on the shelf, what items have been returned, and what items are out of stock. Make sure your inventory management system is functioning properly, and order any restock you may need. You can audit your inventory more frequently if you want, but doing one at least once a month helps you avoid surprises and keeps your inventory at healthy levels.
Estimate your sales and income tax
While you won’t pay taxes until the end of a quarter, it’s great to know what you’re up against.
Set up a separate savings account for your tax payments to make sure you always have a reserve at the end of the quarter. Monthly, you can calculate your estimated taxes and move that amount of money into your tax savings account. Keeping track of your expected taxes will help your business maintain liquidity and ensure you don’t overspend throughout the year.
Bookkeeping shouldn’t be overwhelming, so if you’re feeling stressed, ask for help! We offer monthly bookkeeping services to keep your business financially on track. To learn more, send us a message and we can answer any questions.
