s © 5 bookkeeping mistakes entrepreneur moms...

5 BOOKKEEPING MISTAKES

ENTREPRENEUR MOMS MAKE

And How To Fix Them

written by Kimberly Sementa

COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2017 by Kimberly Sementa

All rights reserved. This ebook or any portion thereof may

not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher.

www.thebookkeepingmama.com

[email protected]

The Bookkeeping Mama - 1

http://www.thebookkeepingmama.com/


ABOUT ME As a mom of five children and a business owner, I know

that it’s a daily struggle to find the balance between family

and work. I’m passionate about helping you find greater

balance by focusing on your bookkeeping so that you can

spend more time nurturing your family and your business.

Prior to starting The Bookkeeping Mama I worked as a

bookkeeper for 13 years in various fields including

manufacturing, systems integration, construction and

retail. I also managed the operations department of a start

up investment management firm for six years where I

helped to develop the policies and procedures for the

department as it grew from three part time employees to

over 20 full time employees.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Business

Management with a Concentration in Accounting from

Bryant University.

When I am not crunching numbers or taking care of my

family, you will find me baking, crocheting or diffusing

essential oils.



TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction......................................................................4

Mistake #1........................................................................7

Mistake #2........................................................................8

Mistake #3........................................................................9

Mistake #4.......................................................................11

Mistake #5.......................................................................12

Conclusion.......................................................................13



INTRODUCTIONYou are an entrepreneur and a mom. Your days are full.

So first off, I’d like to thank you for taking time out of your

busy day to read this important mini ebook: 5

Bookkeeping Mistakes Entrepreneur Moms Make & How

to Fix Them.

My goal is to educate you about the biggest mistakes I

see working with Entrepreneur Moms - exclusively - as

their bookkeeper. By avoiding these mistakes, you can

earn more, reduce your taxes and sleep better knowing

the financial health of your business in order.

I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes

to small businesses and their bookkeeping. When I am

asked to help, the bookkeeping and accounting situation

is usually quite chaotic. But that is okay! Within a

relatively short period of time, I am able to restore order.

I don’t want bookkeeping and financial chaos to be a part

of your business!

Please read through these mistakes and see if they

sound familiar to you. If they do, that’s okay: I offer

proven solutions to those mistakes.


INTRODUCTION CONT. I want to warn you though: great solutions, in the hands

of an unskilled bookkeeper can actually make things

worse. Just imagine if you were a plumber and someone

calls you with an issue and you tell them the solution to

fix their leaky water heater. You are the expert, but your

customer decides “I can do that myself”. Even worse: the

customer goes and tells YOUR solution to her husband

who once unclogged a toilet which renders him the

plumbing “expert” and …oops: water everywhere.

Don’t be the bookkeeping customer living with a flooded

basement. Get REAL help. Whether from me or another

qualified bookkeeper, just make sure your bookkeeper

knows the tricks of the bookkeeping trade as they relate

specifically to entrepreneur moms.

I serve entrepreneur moms exclusively as their

bookkeeper and trusted advisor. If, after reading this mini

ebook, you feel you need help applying the

recommended solutions, I encourage you to make an

appointment with me to discuss your situation. I offer a

free, 30-minute consultation to entrepreneur moms to

discover how you can move beyond chaos and restore

order to your business.



INTRODUCTION CONT. To schedule your free consultation, visit

www.thebookkeepingmama.com/contact/. I offer a

limited number of free consultations so that I may tend to

my current clients. So, take me up on this offer now. I

am a bookkeeper which means I am not a pushy sales

person. I will be honest with you about your situation and

if we decide to move forward, then that is fine. If not, that

is fine too.


http://www.thebookkeepingmama.com/contact/


MISTAKE #1 Not Having A Written Budget That Is Recorded And Monitored

EXPLANATION

The number one differentiator between excellent and

average performing small businesses is the use of a

budget. For many of us, the word “budget” seems boring

and it has a reputation of limiting us (think about your

personal budget - you have one don’t you? - you most

likely use it to limit your spending). Let me assure you, the

most successful small businesses use a budget and

limiting your spending is only half of the equation.

And it’s not some spreadsheet they create and then never

look at again. They incorporate it into their bookkeeping,

they refer to it on at least a monthly basis and they adjust

their finances accordingly to ensure they reach their goals

outlined in the budget.

SOLUTIONDevelop a budget. Use your budget every month as a

benchmark for your business’ financial goals. Work with

someone who knows specifically about entrepreneur

moms and their businesses to help you create your

budget.



MISTAKE #2 Missing Legitimate Tax Deductions

EXPLANATION

Most entrepreneur moms are missing out on legitimate

tax breaks because they just don’t know. And that’s

perfectly okay. You may have taken a class on how to

create a money making blog or you took a sewing class

and are now making children’s clothing. How much time

was spent on finances?

I would bet that neither of these classes spent any time

teaching you about taxes, bookkeeping or financial

matters. I wouldn’t expect them too…that’s not their area

of expertise.

SOLUTION

Develop a bookkeeping system designed to capture every

tax break possible. This system needs to be tailored to

you as an entrepreneur mom. You see, you have unique

tax breaks that aren’t common among other businesses.

The way we design our bookkeeping systems for our

clients makes it difficult to miss out on tax breaks. You

and your accountant will love the way it functions. And the

best part is you know you’re capturing tax breaks in real

time.



MISTAKE #3 Pretending That Bookkeeping Doesn’t Exist & “Doing The Books” Once Per Year

EXPLANATION

You became an entrepreneur mom to help out your

family’s finances. You are good at what you do, whether

that is blogging, creating beautiful handmade goods or

selling products through a network marketing company.

You are having a positive effect on your family’s bottom

line. Because of this you may be thinking that the

bookkeeping will work itself out. That’s like thinking that if

you do all of the grocery shopping, dinner will appear on

the table at 5 o’clock every night. We all know that never

happens! (If it does, please let me know your secret!!)

Just like you can’t ignore the food in your refrigerator, you

can’t ignore the books or the finances of your business!

SOLUTION

First, find someone to handle all of the day-to-day

bookkeeping and accounting matters.



MISTAKE #3 CONT.

Second, review your financial information with your

bookkeeper monthly.

Third, compare your financial information to your budget

each month.

Reviewing this information monthly will give you the ability

to deal with any financial issues in a timely manner and

make changes to your budget. Failure to do this could

cost your and your business a lot of money.



MISTAKE #4

Allowing Someone Unqualified To Do The Bookkeeping

EXPLANATION

Who does your bookkeeping now? Maybe it’s your

husband because he handles your personal finances.

Maybe it’s your business partner because she is “good

with numbers”. Maybe it’s you because you think it’s your

only option.

Well, unless this person has received the proper training

and is an expert at bookkeeping, then I’m sorry to tell

you, but s/he is not the right person to be doing your

bookkeeping. Remember the plumbing example earlier?

SOLUTION

Hire a trained professional to handle your bookkeeping.



MISTAKE #5

Keeping Incomplete, Non-Existent or Outdated Books

EXPLANATION

This is usually happens along with mistakes #3 and #4.

You ignore the books and hope that everything is fine.

Then at tax time you hand over your shoe box full of

receipts and bank statements to your CPA and you let

her deal with it. Guess what? This is costing you A LOT

of money.

SOLUTION

I know why this happens. I get it. You are an

entrepreneur and a mom. You have a million things on

your to do list every day. The bookkeeping falls to the

bottom of the list until it’s time to file a tax return with

Uncle Sam. I can’t stress the importance of hiring

someone whose sole function is to care for your

bookkeeping. Someone who is qualified and is outside

of your business.



CONCLUSION I don’t share these mistakes to scare you. I share them

with you because I want you to succeed. I want you and

your business to reach your full potential without worrying

about the financial stuff.

So I would love the opportunity to learn more about your

business and how I can give you the freedom to nurture

your business and your family while I focus on your

bookkeeping. If you would like to take me up on this

offer, please use this link to schedule your free 30-minute

consultation.

Please know that I only serve a select handful of

entrepreneur moms. Because I offer a hands-on

experience (and I’m a mom too) I limit the number of

clients that I choose to work with.

If you choose not to contact me, that’s okay. But, please

find a qualified bookkeeper to take care of your books.

Learn from the mistakes that other entrepreneur moms

have made. They are unnecessary and I would like to see

you avoid them at all costs.

I hope you found this mini ebook to be useful and you are

inspired to take action.

Kimberly Sementa The Bookkeeping Mama - 13

http://thebookkeepingmama.com/contact/


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