Notes on the numbers
Practical writing on bookkeeping and margin, for owners who want their books to answer real questions.
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Bookkeeping basics
You've Never Actually Closed a Month
The reports went to investors. Then the numbers in QuickBooks changed underneath them. Why an open month can move, and how to close and lock one.
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Bookkeeping basics
Your Bank Feed Has Been Quietly Creating Duplicates for Months
The bank feed had been entering transactions on its own for a year. How duplicates pile up, where they show up first, and how to unwind them.
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Bookkeeping basics
Your Chart of Accounts Has 200 Accounts. It Should Have 30.
A company gave every piece of equipment its own account. The list got long and the detail went stale. How to cut a chart of accounts back down.
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Cash flow
Your P&L Says You Made $40,000. Your Bank Account Disagrees.
Why profitable businesses run out of cash, where I look first when the numbers disagree, and how much belongs in the bank before you take a distribution.
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Pricing and margin
Margin by Service Line: Why 'We Had a Good Month' Is Not an Answer
A company booked out for weeks still couldn't tell me which jobs made money. The books balanced fine. They just weren't built to answer the question.
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