You probably use QuickBooks and I’m betting you’re not using it to its full potential. But you probably already know that. Just like you already know your relationship with QuickBooks (or whatever you’re using) is love–hate. I’m here to help tip the scale in favor of love. I’ll even settle for heavy like.
It’s not magic. I promise it’s not even that hard. And you shouldn’t have to be franking around with Google Sheets or Excel on the side to get what you need. Here are a few easy ways QuickBooks can help your business run more smoothly:
1. Automate, automate, automate
What if QuickBooks were to send you reports every week summarizing what you’re owed and what you owe? That would be AWESOME! Why? Because it would force you to look at those things on a regular basis without any effort.
There’s a TON of custom reporting you can set up to look at your business the way you want to look at it and have it delivered to you automatically. Instead of having to hunt for that information, make whatever software you’re using work for you.
2. Gimme my $$$
Speaking of working for you … you can even automate getting paid. Tell me how much you love having this conversation:
“Here’s my banking information.”
“You forgot a zero.”
“Is that a zero or the letter O.”
“Can I just send you a check?”
“A What? No!”
I hate that conversation, too. Instead, you can allow clients to pay you directly through QuickBooks. It may cost you a few points, but it will save you time and headaches associated with chasing your money. Really. I swear. You can automate pretty much every financial thing.
3. Tags, you’re it
Tags are a really cool function you probably don’t know about. Say you go to a conference every year and want to know how much you spend on from travel to meetings and anything else, and you also want to know which clients/deals/projects come from that so you can figure out if it’s worth going. Now you can know for sure by tagging all the transactions with the name of the conference.
4. The right side of the tracks
Overall, you know (think?) you’re making money. But you probably don’t realize that you’re actually losing money on three of your clients or that one of your offerings is an unintentional loss-leader. If you track expenses by client or project, you can instantly know client or project profitability. I can guarantee if you track these things, even if it’s not 100% correct, you’ll easily be able to tell which clients/projects/offerings are working, and which one’s aren’t.
Almost everything you need to run your business better is right there in your financial software. Set it up correctly to get as much information flowing to you in a proactive way so you can measure and manage the success of your business without having to think about it, served to you on a platter. Now, if you don’t know how or want to prepare your own platters, I can cater your financial party, and it will be fabulous.
