Make Bookkeeping Less Stressful

Dawn
May 20, 2024

While good financial management is essential to sustaining a successful business, it is also a common source of stress, particularly on small business owners who have to do most or all of the administrative, clerical, and financial tasks on their own. The draining amount of time required—combined with the added stress of last-minute payments, late fees for neglected bills, unanticipated expenses, and cash flow disruptions—make bookkeeping and accounting some of the least popular aspects of running your own business.

Looking for budget-friendly ways to lower the stress level without compromising accuracy or harming cash flow? Consider a few simple tips to make the financial management a little less burdensome.

Dedicate a day and time each week

When you barely have enough time in the day to get your scheduled work done, less essential items often get pushed off to another day. However, bookkeeping is work that should not get neglected. Overdue or unpaid bills will result in late fees and can strain your relationships with creditors and suppliers. The longer the bookkeeping and bill-paying is put off, the longer it will ultimately end up taking. Setting aside a time each week to pay and record incoming invoices, reconcile accounts, and review expenses can save a lot of time in the long run and greatly reduce the stress of having to correct errors resulting from neglected or rushed work.

Build an emergency fund for unexpected expenses

There are few things more stressful than having to abruptly close for an emergency or needing to suddenly replace an expensive item for which you haven’t budgeted. These events occur, and they add a lot of stress to already-overburdened business owners. Building in a small emergency fund—and steadily adding to it—will be a lifesaver when the unexpected happens.

Delegate to a trusted employee

Small business owners tend to take on a lot (or all) of the work themselves. When the bookkeeping is becoming too much of a drain on your time or energy, consider delegating some tasks to a trusted employee to keep the financial management and bill payments on track. Online services that allow you to add multiple users without additional cost can help keep both of you connected to accounts and able to share real-time data.

Keep good records

One of the biggest stress inducers for bookkeeping is disorganization. The lack of accessible, up-to-date records compromises the accuracy and the efficiency of the bookkeeping process. Save yourself hours of stress in the long run by keeping organized receipts and records of financial transactions. If space is an issue for storing a lot of documentation, consider cloud-based online storage that allows you to upload needed items so that they are accessible any time you need them.

Tap into professional expertise

If the stress level is high, and the budget is flexible, it may be time to look into professional expertise. Many remote bookkeeping services are available to small business owners who are overwhelmed with the financial management responsibilities. Online accounting and payroll software are also widely used by small businesses, and they offer a budget-friendly alternative to in-house hires. They can be adopted to add organization, efficiency, and accuracy to each step of the bookkeeping process and reduce the stress of having to track down errors or catch up on months of neglected paperwork.

Online check printing helps reduce the time and stress

Checkeeper offers online check printing and mailing services that reduce the time and stress associated with paying bills and recording expenses. Take some of the stress out of routine financial management by adding Checkeeper to your other financial management tools. Checkeeper lowers the stress of managing the books and running payroll because the online Checkeeper account:

·       Can be accessed anytime, anyplace, and from any device

·       Enables easy delegation to multiple authorized users

·       Keeps you connected to your bookkeeper in real time

·       Records all check details automatically for you and stores them in your online registry

·       Allows easy exporting, downloading, printing, sharing, and searching of the automated account registry

·       Prints checks from as many linked checking accounts as needed, for times when you need to pay for things from different funds

·       Has no hidden fees

·       Offers complete printing and mailing outsourcing options

·       Works on any budget