345 - Self-Care through Knowing Your Numbers with Misa Bacon

Unf*ck Your Biz With Braden

On today's episode of the podcast I'm chatting with Misa Bacon of Perfectly Kept Books about how to care for your business and yourself through bookkeeping.

Misa is a bookkeeper that takes an easy, fun and accessible approach so business owners enjoy getting to know their numbers. Misa typically works with women creatives. It's easy to stay in the dark about your numbers, but if you don't know how much you make and how much you're spending, it's hard to grow your business.

Bookkeeping is about more than just knowing your numbers for taxes. Society always talks about self-care, but we don't talk enough about financial self-care. But how you feel about money is going to effect everything you do, especially in your business. And knowing your numbers helps you get a better understanding and the information you need to make a better decision for tomorrow. It's okay if things aren't good today, things can get better, but they can't if you don't know what's happening with your business.

If you have bank account anxiety or are avoiding your numbers, it starts with logging into your bank account and just look at what's there. See what's happening - were you charged for something you shouldn't have been? Did you get paid by a client? As time goes on, work towards checking your bank balance daily.

For more on money mindset blocks, check out Episode 65 - Money Blocks with Denise Duffield-Thomas

When it comes to financial self-care, a lot of avoiding money is tied to negative money beliefs. One of the big ones Misa often hears is the belief that I'm not good with money, which means different things to different people. But being good with money is a skill, and skills are learned. You will learn the terms and get a better understanding with time if you get out there and learn it.

Start with the basics in your business. Do your bookkeeping at a minimum, know what you're making and what you're spending, and determine what's bringing in an ROI and what is unnecessary spending. After you've done that, then you can start to learn about APRs and investing and savvier business investments. It's all building blocks and it's important to start with the basics of bookkeeping and not try to skip steps.

For more on financial mindset, check out Episode 327 of the podcast -- Healing Your Money Mindset with Financial Therapist Rachel Duncan

Not having a business bank account is another building block that is often overlooked but ultimately makes more work for the business owner. When all of your business transactions are not separated out, you'll need to comb through all of your personal statements to highlight business expenses which is very time-consuming. Choosing to skip the work of going back and finding these expenses can cost you more in taxes, even if your business isn't making any money, because you won't have as many deductions. When all of your business expenses are deducted from a business account, it makes bookkeeping significantly easier and more time efficient. You don't need an LLC to open a business bank account, as a sole prop you can open a separate personal bank account for your business.

If you're just starting to get a hold of your finances, Misa recommends setting up a system and sticking with it. It's one thing to say you have a bookkeeping software or spreadsheet, but it's another thing to actually use it and making sure you set aside time to do it. If you choose to use a spreadsheet, Misa advises to get one that is already set up instead of trying to build one from scratch.

It's important to understand what's going into your bookkeeping, even if you hire someone to do it for you. Learn what to look for, what reports to look at, and how to read your books. If you're going to set up Quickbooks, ask someone for help. A bookkeeper can show you what to click and how to set it up appropriately from the get-go so you aren't having to go back and re-do things.

If you're in a place where you need help with your bookkeeping but can't yet afford a monthly bookkeeper, Misa created a membership to give you access to ask a bookkeeper questions because having someone you can go to can help make you more confident to do it on your own.

Get in Touch with Our Guest - Misa Bacon

Join the membership to get answers to your bookkeeping questions at club.perfectlykeptbooks.com (30 Day Free Trial available)

Follow Misa on Instagram @perfectlykeptbooks

Check out Misa's website perfectlykeptbooks.con