6 STEPS TO MASTER YOUR BUSINESS FINANCES
/If you are an entrepreneur, it’s time to be a grownup about your money. After all, you’re in business to earn a profit. This profit is what allows you to live the lifestyle you desire, give back to the community and ultimately fulfill your purpose on this earth.
Let’s check in on how confident you feel about mastering the finances of your business.
Are you comfortable thinking and talking about money?
Do you have a system to track the cash flow in your business?
Do you have your information organized for your tax preparer?
Do you maximize your business deductions at tax time?
Do you have access to the information you need to make decisions about your business?
Do you love the idea of earning more money from your business?
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, pause for a few moments to capture ideas for where you can improve your business finances. Do you need to implement a system? Do you need to stay on top of tracking information in your system? Do you need help understanding your business finances? Do you have the best tools for network marketers?
Don’t wait for the end of the year, or when tax deadlines are looming. Setup your system, maintain it at least monthly, and year-end will be a snap. If you only prepare your financial reports at the end of the year, they did absolutely no good for you during the year.
Master Your Money Mindset
If the words “money,” “profit,” or even “desire” make you feel uncomfortable, it’s time to take a look at your relationship with money. Are you embarrassed about money—whether you have it or not? For many of us, we have as many hang-ups about money as we do about sex and religion. These feelings have been ingrained in us since we were young children, and often reinforced by our own behavior and mindset. If you need some help to have a mature and healthy relationship with money, check out our favorite books on the topic:
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich for Women: Using Your Power to Create Success and Significance, by Sharon Lechter
The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money, and Miracles, by Marianne Williamson
The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace Wattles
The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham, by Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks.
If you are interested in the daily practice of the Law of Attraction, you may also enjoy The Secret to Money app.
Bank Online and by Mobile Phone
As an entrepreneur, online banking tools and your bank’s mobile apps become your new best friend. Use free tools available through your bank and credit card partners to stay on top of your transactions, balances, and schedule payments. Make sure you are using automatic or scheduled bill payments to avoid late fees and interest charges. Your goal is always to keep more of your hard-earned money.
Learn Basic Excel or Google Sheets
Excel is the quickest and easiest way to get started tracking financial information about your business. If you do not have Excel, then Google Sheets will get the job done just fine (and it is free). Begin tracking your business expenses and your business revenue vs. expenses every month. myBeeHyve has created two templates to help you with expense and revenue tracking. You can download these templates for free at the myBeeHyve Downloads page.
Save Your Receipts
Set up one central place for you to store all of your receipts related to your business. If you happen to be audited, the IRS requires receipts for every expense you have against your business. Personally, I scan my receipts throughout the year, save as PDF files and store in Google Drive. This makes it easy to share with my accountant at the end of the year.
Use a Mileage Tracking App
Since your business expenses represent tax deductions, you want to capture and document every single expense you can. MileIQ is one of my favorites for tracking business mileage. Signup for a MileIQ account and save for twenty percent off if you upgrade to the paid version.
Consider Easy Accounting Systems for Non-Accountants
If you have inventory, need to invoice and collect payment from customers, process payroll, or simply want a “real” accounting system, QuickBooks is the gold standard. Pricing for the online version (my preference) ranges from five to fifty dollars per month, depending on the functionality you desire, with a free thirty-day trial. For a fifty percent discount to start, signup as a friend of myBeeHyve.
If you like the features of QuickBooks online, but don’t like the price tag, check out Freshbooks or Xero. Feedback has been positive about these platforms as well, and the price point is usually lower than QuickBooks.
Quicken or the desktop version of QuickBooks is another option if you don’t need to account for inventory and collect payments.
Make Collections Easy
The most effective way to get paid quickly is to make it easy for your customers to pay you. If you need to be able to accept credit card payments, check out Square for a free card reader and setup. Square also now lets you track inventory quantities, so you may be able to meet two requirements in one easy-to-use tool. I recently used Square at a holiday market event, and both my team and customers loved how easy it was to use. You will definitely sell more at a live event when you can swipe credit cards securely.
Jennifer Turnage is an entrepreneur, business coach, speaker and author of Honey, You Got This! Technology Made Easy for Network Marketers. As the Cofounder and CEO of myBeeHyve, she combines her experience from multiple tech company exits with her mission of empowering individuals to achieve financial independence through entrepreneurship. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter for support on your entrepreneurial journey.