How I can help you with your bookkeeping
I always start blog posts by saying, “We’re already X through the year. Can you believe it?”
Let’s switch it up.
I hope you’re making the best memories this summer and taking time for yourself! 🍉☀️🌊
I guess that’s a bit better.
Today, we're tackling a significant topic: the busy season, Q4, AKA the holidays. It’s on the horizon. You might already be knee-deep in planning your seasonal products or stocking up on gift certificates and packaging material.
Because I care for my fellow business owners, I relate to leaving some importing things on the back burner because, let’s face it, you’re in 10 places at once as a business owner. Essential things like sewing products, crafting custom signs, emailing customers, providing your services to clients, and all of the nitty-gritty of owning a business get brought up at the top.
Real moment: for me, that’s social media. I find it challenging to sit down and get a big picture of my posts, end goals, and ideas. That’s why I have an Emily on my side. She helps me so much bring calmness to my chaos.
I’m here to do just that: ease the chaos in your bookkeeping/finances with Open Book.
Let me ask you a few questions:
Are you pushing your receipts at the bottom of your purse and getting soaked with hand sanitizer and lipgloss because you don’t know where to put them?
Do you get anxious when you open your bank account because even though you see an amount, you’re unsure what you can spend or need to put aside?
Is logging into your QuickBooks feel like the most dreadful task ever?
Would looking at your past year's sales by quarters help you make more informed decisions on purchasing product/service supplies?
Do you need to apply for a grant or a loan but have no reports to provide to the bank or organization?
Do you have to pay GST/HST at the end of the year but have no idea how much and would like to save up for it instead?
Are you just winging your bookkeeping, hoping your accountant won’t ask many questions during tax time?
Did you find out that you need to keep every receipt/proof for every purchase you add to your bookkeeping, and now you’re panicking a bit?
Do you feel overwhelmed when you think of the word bookkeeping, avoid it at all costs, and spend a week straight organizing at the last minute during tax time?
I could go on and on. Those are scenarios and stories I’ve heard from my clients, and trust me; I was there before when I owned my product-based business when I was 19 years old. I had no idea about this world of bookkeeping and why it was so important.
Fast-forward to now. I studied Business Accounting and found that QuickBooks was the platform for me, so I got certified as a Pro Advisor. I learned more about accounting to help my clients and their accountants feel more organized and at ease. And hey, the learning doesn’t stop there. I’m continuously searching for ways to improve and better my processes, but having this knowledge allows me to help YOU better.
Now, if you’re thinking: “Roxanne, yes, I totally see myself in the scenarios you listed, how can I get your help?”
Well, my friend, I will explain what I tell business owners when they contact me or book a consult call. I work in two steps.
Whether you want to continue your bookkeeping or hire my help on a monthly/quarterly basis, the first step I recommend is my SYSTEM SETUP SERVICE.
To summarize the System Setup Service:
This is a week-long process. If you’re already in QuickBooks, I do a complete analysis of it. This means that I look at your bank transactions and chart of accounts to see if you utilize the Receipts feature, Suppliers, Clients, Sales, and App Connections (if any). When I tell you I deep dive, I deeeeeep dive. I look at the nooks and crannies and take notes as I move along.
Note: Now, if you’re using a spreadsheet, I would do the same analysis, but there won’t be as many sections to revise. I aim to move you into QuickBooks to take advantage of its automation to save you time. If you’re a spreadsheet lover, I’ll set you up in my Ultimate Business Tracker spreadsheet (I’m biased, but it’s a lifesaver!).
Cleaning it might look like:
Connecting your Chequing or Credit Card to the Bank Transaction screen allows the transactions to load automatically for you for faster categorization.
Remove the expense categories you won’t use for your specific business industry and add/adjust the titles of those you’ll use (for example, not all businesses will use the expense category “Utilities,” and I might add a category called “Dues and Subscriptions.” This will remove any confusion and save you time.
Setting up your GST/HST section correctly. I’ve seen many businesses not tracking sales taxes correctly in QuickBooks Online because they didn’t set up this feature correctly. This will allow you to view the accurate amount you owe or what you get back from the CRA in QuickBooks Online.
Suggest connecting apps to your selling platform (like Shopify) to help with more accurate numbers. Sometimes, business owners will categorize deposits from Shopify in their bank account as Income at 13% HST. But that’s not always correct; you might’ve charged 5% GST to specific clients and 15% HST to others, so that 13% HST isn’t correct, resulting in incorrect sales tax collected.
Some transactions might not have HST associated with them. For example, I’ve seen many subscriptions categorized with 0% tax, but that’s incorrect. SO MANY businesses charge HST in their subscriptions. For example, Canva has HST in its prices, meaning you lose so much money on sales tax paid. So I’m here to help with that.
You might not categorize certain expenses into the same category each time, so I’ll ensure all of your Facebook expenses are under Advertising. This will ensure your books are clean and concise.
Many people are unaware that certain high-value purchases shouldn’t be categorized as expenses but as Assets. Your accountant will love you for knowing the difference.
I can create different Items under Services/Products so your income can be recorded in the appropriate categories. For example, your sales of your products can be placed under Sales of Products, and your sales from services can be placed under Sales of Services. By separating the two, you can visualize your income better in the Profit and Loss report.
AND SO MUCH MORE!
The different ways I can clean your books depend on your business industry, how long you’ve utilized your current system and many other factors.
We begin the week-long process once you decide to proceed with the service. But don’t worry; I primarily work my magic behind the scenes. You need to provide me with access to QuickBooks Online or your spreadsheet so we can start. You’ll also need to ensure that you can communicate by text or email when I have questions.
I won’t only clean up your file but also provide you with many tools in our shared Google Drive folder (that you can keep forever!). These include:
A customized To-Do List for your bookkeeping (so you know how to do your bookkeeping every month/quarter)
A document that lists out all of the everyday expenses you can claim for your business and another copy of it with my notes for YOUR business
A business-use-of-home calculator if you work from home for your business
A mileage log tracker if you use your personal vehicle for your business
A cheat sheet that lists out my notes of things for you to remember for your specific business
A video walkthrough of me explaining the folder
A document explaining how to store paper and electronic receipts correctly
A document explaining the Reports and Features that will be most useful for your business (for reference or future purposes)
I will leave you a few days to revise the Google Drive folder and my work, and then we will meet at the end of the week to discuss any questions and comments regarding the provided System Setup Service.
It ensures your system is READY FOR SUCCESS and guides you TO DO YOUR BOOKKEEPING CORRECTLY. It gives the perfect ✨refresh✨ to your bookkeeping system.
If, after the service, you notice you’re getting busier and would like ongoing help, then I provide the following:
Full Bookkeeping Help is me doing the full bookkeeping for you monthly or quarterly.
Reviewing Help includes YOU doing your bookkeeping and me coming in every month/quarter to review your work and make corrections if necessary.
Don’t worry if you don’t live in the same place I do. We’ll use Google Drive and QuickBooks Receipts to their full advantage.
The joys of technology nowadays.
That’s why I like to start with the System Setup Service. It allows you to have a clean file for you, me, or any other bookkeeper/accountant.
Just know that I’m always here to help you if you feel overwhelmed and anxious about your business bookkeeping. And since the busy season of Q4 is coming up, it’s better to start thinking of this now instead of too late… in 2025.
You can book a System Setup, Full Bookkeeping or Reviewing Services by booking yourself a Consultation Call here.
See you soon, biz bestie! 👋
Roxanne
I’ll leave you with some cute freebies! Happy tracking!
I found some SUPER cute savings trackers on Canva. It’s a great way to stay on track all year round!
Disclaimer: The information contained on this Website and the resources available for download through this website are not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as, financial advice. While the professional at the Company have education and background in the field of business-accountancy and the information provided on this Website relates to financial issues, the information contained on this Website is not a substitute for financial advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation.
