Crochet Small Business Bookkeeping Tips To Avoid Procrastination

Have you ever fallen into the trap of procrastinating for so long that you have to carve out 4 days just to catch up on bookkeeping? No, just me? Well, I’m guessing it’s more common than we might care to admit. In this episode of Crochet Business Chat, I’ll be chatting with Erin Toews of Juniper and Oakes about her struggles with bookkeeping procrastination. Then, I’ll give her some crochet small business bookkeeping tips to make bookkeeping less painful!

I’m just wondering what your tips are—your top tips for a crazy busy person to do quick bookkeeping, just to catch up before the end of the year so that tax season isn’t super stressful.

– Erin TOEWS, Juniper & Oakes

The tips I’m going to be sharing with you are my aspirational goals for myself. Like many creative entrepreneurs, bookkeeping is the last thing I want to be doing. It takes so much dedicated brain space and quiet time. Not to mention all of the other business and personal commitments that we have to juggle. So how can crochet business owners make bookkeeping easier for ourselves?

Crochet Small Business Bookkeeping Tips for Less Stress

How on earth can crochet business owners manage bookkeeping along and still have time for the parts of our businesses that love, like crocheting, designing, or writing crochet patterns? I will freely admit that I still struggle with this. But here are a few ways I try to make bookkeeping less stressful.

1. Set Aside Time to Get it Done

I really recommend setting aside a day (or several chunks of time over several days) to catch up on bookkeeping. Speak to your family and let them know, “Hey, I need to take x time to focus on bookkeeping.” If you have kids, like Erin, you may have to block out some time after bedtime.

Thinking about it may sound daunting. But you’re going to feel so much better when you’re finished. How much precious energy do you spend each day worrying about bookkeeping? You just need to get it done so you don’t have to think about it anymore!

Now make it a habit. If you set aside time regularly each month for bookkeeping, you will avoid getting into the position again where you have to play catch-up. I’ll use myself as an example. Every first of the month, I take a look at my blog stats. I take a look at how much money I made that month. My goal is to take that extra step and enter those numbers into QuickBooks each month. Then I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the month (or year).

Maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah, I could have thought of that myself.” But the key here is commitment. Commit to working on your bookkeeping each month and you’ll save yourself so much stress when tax season comes around.

2. Use Software to Automate Bookkeeping

As your crochet business grows and you’re dealing with things like sales tax, income tax, and multiple income streams, I recommend that you use software to help automate your bookkeeping.

With bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks, you can connect your bank account and it will show you all of your bank transactions. All you have to do is review each transaction and make sure that they’re posting to the correct categories, rather than typing everything in manually.

If you to use the Profit First Method, as I do, bringing in all of your bank account transactions can be really helpful as well. You can read more about the Profit First model in Mike Michalowicz’s book, here (affiliate link). But when using this method, you have several bank accounts for your business and you transfer between those accounts frequently. Instead of having to enter each transaction three times, QuickBooks takes care of that for you.

Yes, software is an investment. But ultimately, it is an investment, in getting this stuff off your shoulders. And your mental well-being is priceless.

3. Find An Accountant Friend

When I first set up QuickBooks, I had no idea how it worked. So I talked to a friend who’s an accountant and I asked, “Hey, can you come over here and help me set this up?” He was able to walk me through all of the basics, like what a chart of accounts is, how to set up bank accounts, how to process payments and deposits, and how to classify each transaction. That made the process a lot less scary for me.

So leverage your network. Ask around and find an accountant friend who’s willing to do you a favor. Maybe even make somebody a cake. Or crochet them a hat. An experienced bookkeeper can provide valuable insight to start you off on the right foot.

Wrapping Up

If you’re a bookkeeping procrastinator, you’re not alone. Many creative people in the crochet business community struggle with this. But if you follow these crochet small business bookkeeping tips—set aside time, automate your bookkeeping, and get expert help—you can manage your bookkeeping and give yourself one less thing to worry about!