Know Your Numbers: 3 Quickbooks Tools to Grow Your Business

June 6, 2022June 6, 2022 by Michelle Mitchell

Know Your Numbers: 3 Quickbooks Tools to Grow Your Business

Quickbooks Online bookkeeping software is a powerful tool. I’m kind of a QuickBooks nerd and have been for as long as I’ve been an entrepreneur because I’ve seen firsthand how transformative it can be for a business. If you’re using it, you’ve probably already experienced how much easier it’s made your bookkeeping and business accounting. But, you’re probably just scratching the surface of its capabilities.

Quickbooks does more than make your bookkeeping easier. With built in Quickbooks reports and tools, you can develop a better understanding of your business finances so you can grow your business. The information that’s easily available to you within QuickBooks reports is invaluable for scaling your business. That’s because diving deeper into your data can give you guidance on how to run your small business more efficiently and effectively. Read more about digging deeper into your data here.

If you are working to get a better handle on your finances and grow your business, there are three essential tools you need to being using: the budgeting tool, projects, and the cash flow report.

Quickbooks Budgeting Tool

The Budgeting Tool helps you make decisions in your business that you can feel good about. You can spend minimally or you can leverage your debt, but no matter what, there needs to be a balance. Enter: your budget.

In QuickBooks Online Plus, you can use the budgeting tool to determine how much money you can expect to bring home after taxes and expenses. Learn that number and you can budget for everything else! You can also run reports against others to compare data and get even more in-depth information.

Quickbooks Project Tool

Quickbooks Online Plus also has a Project tool. This tool comes in handy when you’re auditing the services you offer and the way you’ve packaged them.

So what does it do? The Projects tool lets you record and view your transactions by project. From there, you can see which projects are bringing in the most revenue, which are racking up more expenses than what they’re bringing, and which projects have the highest amount of interest.

Quickbooks Cash Flow Report

Last but not least is the Quickbooks Cash Flow report, available in all versions of Quickbooks Online. This report is auto-generated from your transactions and lets you keep track of where all your money is going.

Good cash flow is a high priority for business success, especially as you’re scaling up, so you want to be able to keep track of it. Learn more about how you can improve your cash flow here. If you’ve ever looked at your bank statement and asked, “where did my money go?” this feature is for you.

Using QuickBooks tool and reports beyond your basic bookkeeping and invoicing might seem overwhelming at first, but once you start using these features, you’ll begin to build confidence in your ability to understand your business finances and use your numbers to make decisions that grow your business.

Want more help managing your finances? Mitchell Consulting offers bookkeeping, accounting, and virtual CFO services for businesses. Complete this questionnaire to book call with us!

Celebrate leveraging your time!

December 23, 2021 by Michelle Mitchell

As we all know, there are only so many hours in a day. When you run your own business, you’ve got to make the most of those hours without overworking yourself. Not sure if you’ve been leveraging your hours well? Go through this checklist for some time-saving wins:

☑️ You’ve set up a system that’s made you more efficient. A good system is simple to follow and done the same way every time. You can be sure it’s done the right way every time, leaving you with one less thing to worry about! A few example areas that can be systematized: organizing leads, onboarding staff, submitting payroll, invoicing clients

☑️ You were able to hire staff. Bringing in a new employee allows you to delegate tasks outside of your genius zone and gives them a chance to work in their genius zone. Your staff is proof that you bring in enough money to support another person’s livelihood.

☑️ You’ve been able to reduce your hours or take a vacation. If you aren’t constantly putting out fires and can actually walk away from business for a bit, way to go! When you’re first starting out and have to do absolutely everything, that isn’t possible.

What will you do with your extra time? I personally like to take time for self care. Sometimes that means just a simple nap, other times it means going out to eat at a nice restaurant or planning a trip with my husband. Celebrate however you want, as long as you celebrate you.

The Time and Energy Saver You Need

October 28, 2021 by Michelle Mitchell

Knowledge is powerful on its own, but the real power of knowledge is in the way you use it.

Knowledge can mean a lot of different things, whether that’s your expertise within your passion, remembering something you read about business, or understanding how to calculate your pricing. It can also mean self-awareness.

A great way to build your self-awareness is by reflecting. You can reflect on the big things, like finances and goals, but I would also recommend thinking about your day-to-day. When you think about your daily actions, they should hopefully be intentional and efficient.

Nothing gets done in the blink of an eye. Being intentional is about taking the big aspirations and breaking them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This doesn’t mean all of your time and energy has to be spent on working on those tasks personally. Instead, consider systems.

Systems are processes you repeat regularly in your business that save you time and energy. They let you refocus yourself on the tasks that are worth your time and will move the needle forward.

It’s time to put that self-knowledge to good use.

Grab that planner you’ve been using for months or take a look at your time tracker.
Make a note of what tasks come up over and over again, are outside of your genius zone, and take up a good chunk of your time.

More than likely, these are the tasks that could be made more efficient with a system. This could be anything from fitting someone onto your schedule to sending an invoice to a client.

Reflect on yourself and your business and you can finally free up time and energy to do what you love.

Are you taking care of yourself?

July 14, 2021 by Michelle Mitchell

Being an entrepreneur means you are your business. Your business will only thrive if you yourself are thriving too. That’s why I’m encouraging you to think about the personal goals you’ve set for yourself as it relates to your business. Two goals immediately come to mind:

Learn to create boundaries. You are in control of your business. Unlike working for someone else, you get to dictate what your hours look like, who you work with, and what you charge for your services. It’s important to take advantage of these possibilities so that your business works for you. If you don’t set your boundaries, it’s likely clients will take advantage of you and your time. If you want to have an appropriate work-life balance where your time is valued, you must be able to communicate your parameters and your process. Setting boundaries allows you to maximize your time and your earnings.

Practice self care. It’s impossible to care for your clients and your business when you don’t care for yourself. When we talk about self care as business owners, we are talking about investing in ourselves and our skills. Investing in yourself will help you grow as a person, which in turn will help your business grow. Someone who practices self care is someone who never underestimates their value. You cannot reach your full potential unless you value yourself and what you bring to the table.

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