How Much Time Does it Take to Do My Own Bookkeeping?

When you decided to start your own garage or art gallery, or hair design studio, you understood that you would take on many tasks. You knew you would run your day-to-day operations. You realized that if you didn’t have enough cash flowing through your new business, you’d fill in wherever necessary. 

That’s precisely what you’ve done, but did you ever think to yourself, “I’d love to do my own bookkeeping?” That idea might not have occurred to you until it became necessary. 

If you’ve added bookkeeping to your growing list of upcoming DIY tasks, you probably have a few questions. 

1. How does bookkeeping work?
2. How much time does bookkeeping take?
3. Should I do my own bookkeeping if I know nothing at all about bookkeeping? 

How does bookkeeping work?

You track your cash flow each day by documenting daily transactions and income. For example, you track employee hours, services paid, sales, paid expenses, cash on hand, and other monetary transactions. The bookkeeping work you do will help you understand how much money you’re taking in and paying out. It will also let you know if your business is making money.

Of course, business bookkeeping includes other essential tasks. For example, you must track your accounts receivable, accounts payable, and overdue accounts. In addition, your bookkeeping should be current enough to produce a profit and loss report, a balance sheet, or other critical financial statements that tell you how your business is doing. 

Then, of course, you must always be prepared to present your financial data to qualify for loans or share with the IRS at tax time.  

How much time does bookkeeping take?

Bookkeeping takes as much time as you need to get it done. That might not sound like a legitimate answer, but it’s the most valid answer possible. Bookkeeping is personal to your business. It takes a daily time investment which is defined by your financial activities. For example, if you have a lot of incoming cash, outgoing payments, employee payroll disbursements, and other cash flow items, you have to document these until you’re done for the day. 

If you don’t know a lot about bookkeeping, the necessary tasks usually take much longer. A bookkeeping program or app may or may not lessen your time investment. Before you make your first bookkeeping entry, you have to set up your app, so it’s compatible with your business and accounts. If you have no one tracking your cash flow and performing other import bookkeeping tasks, you still have to do a lot of the bookkeeping work yourself. 

Should you do your own bookkeeping if you know nothing at all about bookkeeping?

The short answer to that question is, No!

If you’re a typical business owner, DIY bookkeeping wasn’t a part of your original plan…until you had no choice. However, if you know the basics and feel comfortable with the time away from your other business tasks, you probably still shouldn’t do your own bookkeeping. Professional bookkeepers can do the work so much better than you, and they do it virtually.

Virtual bookkeeping gives you an economical option. You gain financial confidence because bookkeeping professionals do the work. As a result, you have more time to invest in your businesses, and isn’t that what you wanted in the first place? 

Contact Goode Bookkeeping & Consulting

To learn more about our virtual bookkeeping services, give us a call at (860) 659-6543 or leave a message on our contact page.