I talked about “Forgetting the Pain” in The ParentPreneur Edge, but yesterday the pain of starting up a business came screaming back. We met with our accountant about cleaning up our books for year-end closeout and I was reminded how much I HATE BOOKKEEPING. It was one of the first tasks I outsourced with my first business once I had enough work to justify sending it out. I didn’t miss it ONE BIT.
At this point in my new business, I haven’t hit that point yet. I just don’t have enough to farm it out but it is enough to drive me nuts. I have a great deal of respect for those of you who like to figure out why the pennies don’t balance as that has never been something I’ve enjoyed. Still, it IS my business and I feel strongly that I need to know how it all works, at least at a high level.

Entrepreneurs who completely abdicate the financial management of their business are setting themselves up for failure, or possibly even embezzlement. I don’t like it, either.

Going back over it at the end of the year is critical, too. I can’t tell you how many errors I have found in my phone bill (TOO MANY!) or cash receipts that I had forgotten to enter. In this time of year where we all reflect, don’t forget to go back through your books and make sure you’ve accurately recorded everything (or someone else got everything in!). You need to know where your company is spending money, no matter how big or small you are. It is your responsibility as an entrepreneur to not only hire competent people to manage your accounts if you can afford it and in any case, like it or not, you need to be able to dig into the details every once in a while. UGH!