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If you do your own bookkeeping, it’s important to double-check your records to make sure everything is correct. Here are five easy and important ways to make sure your books are in order.

1. Do your deposits match?

Your bank account and your books should have the same number. If not, check QuickBooks to make sure your deposits weren’t added on multiple lines. This can happen even if the deposit hasn’t reached the bank yet.

2. Is any income double-recorded?

Obviously we don’t want income recorded twice. Sometimes we have clients mark invoices as paid and move them to Undeposited Funds. After they go to the bank, they record an additional entry for depositing the money, but this is wrong. This double records your income - once in Undeposited Funds and once as a deposit. After you deposit money in the bank from Undeposited Funds, you need to make an entry in QuickBooks moving the money from Undeposited Funds to the bank. This will move the money, not double-record it.

3. Are any credit card transactions double-recorded?

You never want to be charged twice! Mistakes can happen when you allow automatic downloads to record all transactions. That’s why you need to check in. We’ve seen clients record two different transactions when they use their credit card - one payment from the bank to the credit card AND one payment from the credit card to the bank. In result, the money is taken out of the bank twice and the credit card is paid

Let’s talk about reconciling your account(s) on a regular basis and why it’s necessary for not only your bookkeeping, but your business. First, what does it mean to reconcile your account? This means you compare your books to your bank accounts over a period of time to make sure everything aligns perfectly (example: comparing your records to your bank account from March 1 - 31, 2019). If there are any discrepancies, you can catch them and act on it. Also, note that you only need to reconcile your accounts if you use the accrual method of accounting. If you use cash basis accounting, then every transaction is recorded at the same time as the bank, so there are no discrepancies.

We always say you should be paying constant attention to your books, so we decided to break it down based on what you should be doing daily, weekly, and monthly. What you do in these short periods of time can impact the overall state of your books and your knowledge of your company’s financial standing. The more often you work in your books, the less time you’ll have to spend on them come the year’s end. You’ll thank yourself come December! If not, we’re here to help.

Mistakes are likely happen in your bookkeeping, but it’s best if they don’t! We have a few common errors that can occur and how to avoid them. They’re easy to miss but also easy to fix. Sometimes it’s as easy as double-checking your entries and making sure numbers match up. When working on your books, be sure to keep your eye out for these five mistakes that can easily slip by unnoticed.