Independence Bookkeeping, LLC

Question #1 - What payment platform do you use for your business (Paypal, Stripe, etc)? 🤔

Question #2 – Do you know if that platform (AKA “payment gateway”) is the best for you and your business? 🤔

Here’s where it gets tricky – there are a LOT of options, and since each business operates differently, there’s no “one size fits all” right answer 👕

And, honestly, a lot of factors go into deciding which one is best for you, including:

🤝 Does it integrate easily with the other software you use (like Quickbooks, Xero and others)?
💳 How do you invoice, and/or accept payment, from your clients? In person? Online? In installments?
☎️ And what about the company itself? Their global reach? Customer service? And their data exporting?

So what’s the best way to pick your ideal payment gateway? Take a minute to really get to know how money moves through your business 💵 💵 💵

Because, on the surface, the most popular gateways like:

🔵 Paypal
🟣 Stripe
⚫ Square

Well, they look pretty much the same:

💰 Online transactions fees for all 3 are 2.9% + $0.30
⏬ They all have an instant transfer option for a 1% fee
🔐 And all have PCI-compliant security

But if you dig a little deeper, you can find the differences:

🔵 Paypal is the most omni-present by far (with +28 million merchant accounts), but they have a reputation for hard-to-contact customer service

🟣 Stripe, however, has a reputation for great customer service (and for easily helping you move your data, if you later change payment platforms to or from Stripe)

⚫ And Square has a great built-in POS system (with slightly cheaper “in-person transaction” fees), which is great for brick-and-mortar stores

And if you have no idea where to start – and, honestly, just want someone else to figure it for you – well, just shoot me a quick DM! 🙋‍♀️ I always research the best platforms for each of my clients – and would love to help you, too!

Get on my calendar: https://bit.ly/3k9n2kZ
or send me an email: [email protected]
or text/call: 267-219-7071

Take a second to (mentally) pop the hood of your car – what do you see? 👀

Now, be honest - can you tell the difference between a cylinder head and the exhaust manifold? 🚙

… Or do you just see a bunch of tube-y things next to a metal-boxy thing that you think **might** be the battery? 🔋 (Also – which sides are positive and negative again … ?)

Sure, maybe you know the bare basics:

💦 Where to refill the windshield wiper fluid
🛢️ How to pull out that dipstick-thingy to check your oil level
⛽ And, of course, how to put gas in the tank

But if your engine ever starts to make a funny noise or smoke … you’d have no idea what to do, right? 😬 And you’d drive it straight to your mechanic the next day

Now, instead of popping the hood of your car 🚙 I want you to think about opening your business’ Quickbooks file 📊

Sure, you can probably click around in there and handle the basics, like invoicing your clients and even running a financial report or two.

But would you know what to do if the “engine” started to “smoke”? 🚙🔥

💵 Your revenue total is WAY overstated for some mysterious reason – but you don’t know how to correct it, and lower your tax payment to what it should be

💳 Your expenses total seems WAY too low – but you can’t figure out where they went, or how to get all the tax deductions you deserve

🔁 Not only that, but one of your automation apps went haywire, and now EVERYTHING has a duplicate transaction you need to somehow reverse

🏦 AND you were planning to apply for a business loan this month … but can’t until all of this is somehow cleaned up!

🔥 🤯 🔥

When your car starts to smoke 🚙🔥 basic knowledge just won’t cut it anymore – you need the help of an expert mechanic

Same with your business finances 📊🔥 When you’re overpaying on taxes and can’t figure out where your business is at financially – it’s time to get the help of an expert bookkeeper (like me!)

Don’t wait for the crunch of tax season - or a smoking engine - to start taking care of your business finances ❤️

Just reach out today, so we can get you higher deductions, lower tax bills, and a clear financial understanding of your business 📊

I do it for every single one of my clients – and I’d love to do it for you too!

Get on my calendar: https://bit.ly/3k9n2kZ
or send me an email: [email protected]
or text/call: 267-219-7071

When it comes to tracking your business finances, can you get away with using spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets? … Or is it better to use an accounting software option, like Quickbooks?

Honestly? It really depends on the size and type of your business.

Curious if Excel could work for you? Here’s some of the pros and cons of using it for your business bookkeeping:

PROS

👍 Lower Cost

As a business owner, it’s important to find cost-effective solutions - and nothing is more cost-effective than free! (You can set up a free Google account to use Google Sheets)

👍 Higher Awareness

Lack of automation will force you to do regular check-ins on your finances, which can lead to a better understanding of your business

👍 Small-Business Friendly

If you have a small business with uncomplicated finances, you can use a simpler type of bookkeeping called “single entry”, which Excel can handle
CONS

❌ Not Big-Business Friendly

If your business has lots of transactions or you have more complex financial statements, you’ll need double-entry bookkeeping, which is beyond Excel’s abilities

❌ More Time and More Errors
Excel doesn’t do automation, so you’ll have to manually type everything in. Not only does that take longer, it’s more error-prone (which is bad at tax time!)

❌ Difficult to Share Access

Which one sounds easier? A centralized accounting software with separate login credentials? Or 53 emails between you and your accountant as you send attachments and share 17 different Google Sheets?

(BTW Just check out the article below if you want more helpful info on how to bookkeep with spreadsheets! 👇)
https://loom.ly/oVOqw7o

Still not sure if Excel will work for you or not? Then feel free to reach out ❤️ I’d be happy to discuss your specific business needs and help you figure out the best option for you and your business!

Get on my calendar: https://bit.ly/3k9n2kZ
or send me an email: [email protected]
or text/call: 267-219-7071