141 | Bookkeeping Strategies with Greg Higdon, Grow the Books

Does the thought of bookkeeping make you feel uneasy? I know that for so many creatives, knowing your numbers and doing your bookkeeping can feel a bit overwhelming. That’s why I brought on today’s guest because let’s face it... The reality is that even though numbers aren’t always our favorite, they are essential for knowing your business’ financial health and profitability.

Today you’ll hear from Greg Higdon, founder of Grow the Books, a bookkeeping company for small businesses. Greg helps entrepreneurs with a done for you service but he also helps those who want to DIY to understand what they need to know about reconciling their numbers.

We explore the topic of bookkeeping and how you’ll know when it’s time to outsource this task to someone else. We also talk about what questions you should ask before hiring a bookkeeper, the importance of setting aside time to do your bookkeeping and why sometimes you need to have someone outside of your business looking at the numbers.

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

Misconceptions that small business owners have on bookkeeping and knowing their numbers

How often a bookkeeper reconciles for their clients
Programs and systems that Greg recommends for bookkeeping
Having extra reconciliation to verify transactions are correct
Problems that can occur when you don’t reconcile with the bookkeeping software
What you should have in place before hiring a bookkeeper
Knowing your numbers so you can get a good idea on your return on investment
Questions you should ask before hiring a bookkeeper
Greg’s advice for people who want to DIY their books
Setting aside time to do your own bookkeeping
Why it’s beneficial to have someone outside of your business looking at the numbers
Leaning into your weaknesses and asking for help in those areas
What’s next for Grow the Books

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KEY TAKE AWAYS

“A bookkeeper is the one that does the day to day, like categorizing your transactions. Anything going in and out of your bank accounts or credit card counts is what a bookkeeper does.” - Greg Higdon

“It's good to have that extra reconciliation in there just to make sure you're verifying everything's correct.” - Greg Higdon

“Looking at where the money's coming in and going allowed me to make better decisions in my business and I put it off because I was intimidated by it. I didn't want to deal with it. I had other things that felt like they were more important. But the minute I did start paying attention to it, I felt like my business grew.” - Katie Hunt

“I definitely recommend bookkeeping software.” - Greg Higdon

“I think it's very helpful to have someone just kind of walk you through the steps of what you need to be doing monthly.” - Greg Higdon

“Once you have the technology and once you've got the training on how to do it, then it's about leveraging that and making sure, well, doing the work and making sure you've got it all there, but then leveraging it for your business so that you're making smarter better decisions.” - Katie Hunt

“I know even with my own business, what I've realized is just putting something on my calendar is big.” - Greg Higdon

“We make time for all of our clients and all of our customers and yet we have a tough time making time to do these things for ourselves.” - Katie Hunt

“I know that as a business owner there are a lot of things that you have to do. I know that from my own business and it's hard to get to certain things in your business.” - Greg Higdon
“When I hired a bookkeeper, it opened my eyes to the possibilities of how I could grow my business better. It opened my eyes to where my money was truly coming from revenue-wise and which portions of my business were most profitable.” - Katie Hunt

CONNECT WITH GREG HIGDON

Website: growthebooks.com | Facebook: @growthebooks | Instagram: @growthebooks

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct