If you’re a one-man (or woman) show, it’s tough to keep up with all the hats you have to wear when you’re running your business. Even if you’re a multi-person operation, it can still be challenging to have the right person in the bookkeeping seat, so let’s take a look at a few upleveling tips easy enough for anyone to handle to make sure your business is maximizing its cashflow.

1. Separate Your Bank Accounts. This is probably one of the most important financial tips you’ll ever receive. It’s imperative for you to keep your business and your personal bank accounts separate for bookkeeping, tax and audit purposes. If the IRS ever decides it needs to do the “A-word,” it’ll have easy and accurate access to your business account without having your personal information mixed in. It’s also a bookkeeper’s dream to be able to find the right expense in the right places, which saves you time and money as well.

2. Know Your Employees. In my Employee v. Independent Contractor article, I stress the importance of knowing the difference between the two so you can make informed decisions on what works best for your business and your financial situation. For example, if you’re not in a position to pay for benefits, hiring independent contractors is the way to go. If, however, having people on staff for an undefined length of time suits you, employees are your better choice.

3. Know Your Expenses. If you’re not familiar with the exemptions you’re eligible to use, it’s easy to overlook or omit write-offs from expenses all together. This is where it’s important to have an experienced bookkeeping/tax service on board who is trained to find and use expenses to your advantage. At the very least, you should start with a digital service such as QuickBooks to help you keep your hard-earned money in your accounts where it belongs.

4. Be thorough. Being diligent in keeping up with each and every expense and inflow of income for each and every property you own is another must. Not only will it make your life and your business less stressful and more efficient, it’ll save you valuable time that you could be spending on what really matters: money-making business activities and ultimately your family as well.

Your business is your responsibility and your legacy. You want it to be the best representation of you as possible. So if hiring a professional to handle the bookkeeping for you will save you time and aggravation, it just might be the greatest investment you can ever make. Click here to set up a time for us to chat if you have any questions or are ready to leave the bookkeeping up to the pros.