Every small business owner knows they should “keep the books,” but few realize how much bookkeeping influences profitability, cash flow, tax liability, and strategic decision-making. Poor bookkeeping isn’t just inconvenient — it can cost you your business. This guide goes beyond a surface-level overview to explore the deepest bookkeeping concerns small businesses face and how to address them.
Accuracy of Records: The Domino Effect
The Concern: Even small misclassifications (like recording an owner’s draw as a business expense) can distort your profit and loss, tax liability, and even your ability to get loans.
Example: A café records its espresso machine as a consumable expense rather than a capital asset. This inflates costs now and prevents future depreciation deductions.
How to Fix It:
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- Create a custom chart of accounts (with your bookkeeper) to classify every type of transaction.
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- Automate bank feeds and reconcile weekly.
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- Use a two-step review process if multiple staff touch the books.
Time & Resource Constraints: The Opportunity Cost
The Concern: Bookkeeping competes with sales, operations, and marketing. Many owners delay recording transactions, creating a backlog and outdated numbers.
Example: An e-commerce owner spends Sunday nights reconciling a week’s worth of PayPal and Stripe payments instead of running marketing campaigns.
How to Fix It:
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- Block a specific weekly time slot for bookkeeping.
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- Use receipt capture apps like Dext or Hubdoc to import expenses automatically.
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- Consider delegating to a remote bookkeeper, freeing you to focus on growth.
Tax & Compliance: Beyond April 15th
The Concern: Small businesses often miss deductions, miscalculate sales or payroll taxes, or fail to register for local tax obligations.
Example: A salon doesn’t realize it must remit state sales tax on certain product sales, leading to penalties.
How to Fix It:
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- Track all deductible expenses in separate categories.
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- Keep digital receipts linked to transactions.
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- Schedule quarterly reviews with your CPA or bookkeeper to ensure compliance.
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- Stay up-to-date on state-specific rules (remote bookkeepers can monitor this).
Cash Flow Management: Predictability vs. Panic
The Concern: Owners often look at their bank balance and assume it reflects available cash — forgetting about upcoming payroll, tax obligations, or vendor bills.
Example: A landscaping company receives a large customer payment but has $15,000 in upcoming payroll and $5,000 in sales tax due. Without a forecast, they overspend on new equipment.
How to Fix It:
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- Maintain a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast.
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- Review accounts receivable and payable weekly.
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- Set up automatic transfers to a tax savings account.
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- Ask your bookkeeper to generate a cash flow dashboard so you can see trends at a glance.
Financial Visibility & Decision-Making: Data-Driven Growth
The Concern: Without reliable financials, pricing, hiring, and expansion decisions are guesses.
Example: A retail boutique considers opening a second location but lacks clear profitability by product category, leading to overstocking slow-moving items.
How to Fix It:
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- Implement job costing or profit center tracking for each service or product line.
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- Compare budget vs. actual performance monthly.
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- Use dashboards to monitor gross margin, labor cost percentage, and other KPIs.
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- Hold quarterly strategy sessions with your bookkeeper to interpret results.
Technology & Integration: A Double-Edged Sword
The Concern: Too many unconnected apps create duplicate data entry and errors.
Example: A restaurant uses separate software for POS, scheduling, inventory, and payroll, none integrated with their bookkeeping software.
How to Fix It:
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- Select platforms that integrate seamlessly (QuickBooks Online, Xero, Gusto, Square, Shopify).
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- Conduct an annual tech stack audit to retire unused apps.
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- Ensure data security with strong passwords, 2FA, and encrypted transfers.
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- Let your remote bookkeeper handle integration — they’ve done it before.
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Staffing & Scaling: Growing Beyond DIY
The Concern: DIY bookkeeping systems collapse as transaction volume and complexity increase.
Example: A catering business tracking costs in Excel struggles to reconcile hundreds of vendor invoices and multiple staff schedules.
How to Fix It:
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- Move to a cloud accounting platform before growth spikes.
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- Hire a remote bookkeeper or fractional CFO to oversee financial operations.
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- Automate workflows for approvals, expense management, and payroll.
Stress & Risk: The Hidden Toll
The Concern: The mental load of worrying about missed deadlines, audits, or errors drains energy.
Example: An entrepreneur stays up until midnight to reconcile books before a tax deadline, leading to burnout.
How to Fix It:
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- Establish a monthly financial review routine.
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- Keep records organized digitally for quick retrieval.
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- Delegate to a bookkeeper who proactively flags anomalies and deadlines.
Why Remote Bookkeeping Works So Well
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- Cloud-Based Access: Real-time, anywhere.
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- Flexible Communication: Email, portals, video calls — no in-office required.
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- Industry Expertise: Remote bookkeepers often specialize by sector.
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- Cost-Effective: Less expensive than in-house staff with broader skill sets.
How They Solve These Concerns
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- Accurate categorization and reconciliation reduces errors.
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- Integrated dashboards give you real-time cash flow and KPIs.
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- They maintain tax-ready books, reducing compliance risk.
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- They proactively provide insights, not just numbers.
Working with a Remote Bookkeeper
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- Choose a cloud accounting platform.
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- Give secure access to banks, credit cards, and POS.
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- Set clear expectations on reporting and communication cadence.
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- Schedule regular KPI reviews.
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- Use receipt apps to streamline documentation.
Putting It All Together — From Reactive to Proactive
With a solid bookkeeping system and a trusted remote bookkeeper, small businesses:
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- Gain clarity on cash flow, margins, and profitability.
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- Reduce risk of audits and penalties.
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- Free up time for strategy and customer service.
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- Make data-driven decisions about pricing, hiring, and expansion.
Stop Struggling With Your Books — Start Gaining Clarity Today
Bookkeeping doesn’t have to be a stressor. By addressing these concerns head-on and partnering with a skilled remote bookkeeper, you transform your books from a burden into a growth engine.
If you’re reading this, chances are bookkeeping has been a source of stress, late nights, or second-guessing for your small business. You’re not alone — over 60% of small business owners say financial management is their least favorite task. But every week you wait to address your bookkeeping concerns is another week of flying blind on cash flow, taxes, and profitability.
Partnering with a skilled remote bookkeeper changes that. With the right systems in place, your books become a tool for decision-making instead of a source of anxiety. You’ll gain real-time visibility into your numbers, catch issues before they become problems, and free up your time to focus on growth. Imagine going into tax season already prepared — no scramble, no surprises.
Here’s what you get when you take action now:
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- Accurate, tax-ready books year-round.
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- Weekly or monthly KPI dashboards to track cash flow and profitability.
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- Expert advice on software and integrations to streamline your operations.
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- More time and less stress — so you can do what you do best.
You don’t need to hire a full-time employee or bring someone into your office. Remote bookkeeping is cost-effective, secure, and scalable. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling fast, we can customize the service to your needs.
Don’t wait for your books to get behind or for tax season panic to strike. Eliminate your top financial headaches and give yourself the peace of mind you deserve.
Ready to get started?
Take routine bookkeeping off your never-ending to-do list with the help of a certified professional. At Eric Buchholz Bookkeeping, we can help ensure that your business’s books close every month, and you’re primed for tax season. Our expert certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors have over 25 years of experience working with small business bookkeeping across various industries.
Whether you’re learning how to streamline your accounting to save time, or how to set-up your chart of accounts for the first time, Eric Buchholz Bookkeeping can guide you down the right path. Schedule your FREE phone consultation today!… Simply CLICK HERE.
