We’re going back to basics today.
Before we get into some of the fancy stuff like ninja facebook tricks, marketing, and systems later this month….
we need to visit something built in the foundation or every solid business.
Bookkeeping. (snore)
It’s about as fun as slamming your head through a door, but it’s a necessary and critical part of running your business.
Based on my survey results, nearly 30% of fitness professionals don’t use ANYTHING to keep track of their financials.
If you don’t know what’s going on in your business financially, you don’t run your business effectively.
#truth #ihatehashtags
One of the first things I do with my coaching clients is help them organize their numbers.
You need to know how much money is coming in each month, and you need to know exactly how much is going out and what you’re spending it on.
Lucky for us in 2015, there are some EASY ways to keep track of our numbers.
In fact, it’s ridiculously simple to keep your books now compared to just a few years ago.
Bookkeeping is something that you can (and as you grow, probably should) delegate to a professional….
However it’s something that ANYONE can do themselves these days.
If you’re anything like me, you likely got into this field starting as a personal trainer or coach- and NOT starting with an MBA in Finance.
BUT (WARNING: Tough Love Ahead): Not knowing where to start or how to do something is NO EXCUSE not to do it.
All I mean by “keeping your books” is keeping track of all money flowing into your business and out of it.
You need to know EXACTLY how much money you’re spending on rent, utilities, payroll, inventory, advertising, insurance, and the list goes on.
The really cool thing is- you now have the ability to connect your bank accounts, credit cards, and paypal account right to online software so EVERY transaction is automatically imported FOR YOU.
It’s something called BANK FEEDS.
Once the software imports the transactions for you, all you need to do is literally choose a category for the income or expense to be assigned to and press OK!
(You can also give the transaction a description if you want.)
You’ll also want to double check to make sure the transactions recorded match up with what you’ve actually received/spent in real life.
That is IT.
At the click on a button, you can pull any kind of report you want to see how your business is performing.
You can see how much you’re spending in certain categories, and you can manage your money a LOT better once you know exactly what is going on in your business on a financial level.
There are 2 companies I’d recommend for keeping your books:
1. The one I personally use is Xero. It’s super user-friendly and has a minimal learning curve. I made the switch from QB (see below) and was up and running within 3 days. It updates my bank feeds multiple times a day and is always up-to-date.
If you’re interested, you can sign up for a FREE 30-Day Trial here to Try it Out (no credit card required) <—-
2. Quickbooks Online is main player in this market, however I’ve found it’s not as user friendly. It’s geared more for accounting professionals than business owners. I’ve used this software for years and am very glad I made the switch to Xero.
Whichever you choose, you may want to consider having a professional getting you up and running, but it’s something you should be able to tackle by yourself if you’re short on funds to pay someone.
Action Step: If you don’t have a method for keeping your books, then sign up for a free trial of Xero above and give yourself 30 days to get your books in order.
If you’re interested in have me do another post on this topic in more detail, leave me a comment below!
I’m happy to go more in depth about categorizing your expenses and recording payroll if there are enough people who want it!
Let me know below if this is something you’re interested in…
Happy Bookkeeping!
Alicia 🙂
