Bookkeeping Basics: What Every Small Business Owner Should Know

AKA: It’s not just about saving receipts in your glove box.

Let’s be honest — bookkeeping sounds like something pirates did in the 1600s. But if you’re a business owner, it’s more like brushing your teeth: boring, necessary, and if you skip it too long, painful.

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Bookkeeping Basics: What Every Small Business Owner Should Know

Business Consulting

May 12, 2025

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At its core, bookkeeping is just keeping track of money in and money out. You’re tracking income, expenses, invoices, and payments. Why? So you don’t panic every April 14th or spend hours trying to find that one Uber Eats receipt from a “client lunch” in 2022.

Here’s what every small business owner should have a handle on

Chart of Accounts: Think of it like financial folders — money in, money out, assets, debts. It’s your business’s filing cabinet.

Monthly Reconciliations: Match your bank statements to your records so there’s no financial gaslighting happening.

Reports You Should Actually Look At:

Profit & Loss: Are you profitable or just busy?
Balance Sheet: What do you own vs what do you owe?
Cash Flow: Why do you feel broke even though you made money?

If all this makes your brain melt, that’s okay. That’s what we’re here for.

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