How to make the financial side of your business easy peasy
For years I didn’t think I was ‘good with money’. Which felt weird because of how organised I am as a person. I’d create spreadsheets and plans that just failed because something unexpected happened or because my plan didn’t have enough room for error.
The thing is I was never taught how to handle money. How to save, what proper budgets look like. It has taken me years to become less of a frugal, stressed shrew around money issues. To remember that with a little ingenuity, I can always earn more money. That it is okay to make a few mistakes around money.
I’ve grown so much and have a much healthier relationship with money and how I can use it for good in my life and to invest in the relationships and small businesses I love.
However, I really wanted to make the money stuff in my business really easy. I didn’t want to be bogged down by spreadsheets or those awkward “hey, you haven’t paid me yet’ conversations.
So I made sure I was using great tools! I filed my self-assessment tax return a few days ago and it took no math. Because my system had all the answers for me!
We all know that having a financial system in our business is something that we should be doing, but how do we actually get it done?
Things you’ll need to get started:
1) A business bank account
There are a number of fantastically simple tech banks out there these days. They provide simple and functional business banking which can easily integrate into your accounting system and help you keep track of all things money in your business!
2) A great, simple accounting software
There are a few fantastic softwares out there to help you. I know people who use each of these and absolutely love them! They integrate with your other tools (like your website) and allow you to generate invoices that people can pay automatically. They also allow you to track your expenses and generate reports!
Freshbooks (this one is my fav, I used it for nearly 4 years!)
Xero
FreeAgent
Quickbooks
“The key is to set a freelance budget that doesn’t feel restrictive. The best way to do that? Base it on real numbers from your business.” - Susie Jackson (PS she has some amazing budgeting resources)
Let me break down the what tools and systems I use personally:
Freshbooks Cloud Accounting
Update: in January 2022 I switched many of my tools to an all-in-one CRM, Dubsado, but I still highly recommend Freshbooks.
Why I love it:
It has easy and useful reports in these categories
Invoice & Expense
Payments
Accounting
Time Tracking
Painless invoicing
Automatic late reminders
Recurring invoices
Allows for automatic payments and clients to save their cards
Automatic expense management
I’ve integrated my Monzo business bank account which auto imports all my expenses, which I can then reconcile.
Squarespace integration
If you sell products or services on Squarespace you can automatically have sales automatically put into your accounting software.
Loads of other fantastic integrations (like gmail)
Monzo Business Banking
Why I love it:
Super intuitive
The nicest customer service ever
Integrates with Squarespace
Easy reports and searching transactions
Automatic savings for taxes
Stripe (payment processor)
Why I love it:
Lower fees than any other payment processor
Great reports
Works with everything (Squarespace, Freshbooks, and more)
Easy refunds when necessary
Money Affirmation Cards
Why I love them:
I pick two per month to display on my desk. I’ve been doing this for nearly 18 months now and they serve as a reminder that I am capable and money isn’t scary.
They are beautiful!
