There is something more damaging than improper tax filing, late payments, or neglected books.

The most costly error you could make is not on a balance sheet or a tax form, it actually a mindset, and it is a flawed assumption that could be lurking within your own business. It is the fatal error of demoting your company’s bookkeeping to the status of busywork. 

Busywork is the obligatory work that has no real purpose other than to get it done. But is that how you would classify the financial health of your business?

Unfortunately, many small business owners will consider bookkeeping to be purely administrative and a necessary evil that should be put in the same pile as answering email, returning phone calls, and running errands. This is the sort of work you do because you have to. It is the sort of task you tackle when you have time. 

But approaching the financial health of your business with this sort of attitude can lead you down a trail of successive decisions that could drain your savings and leave you with ulcers.

The assumption that bookkeeping is essentially busywork has some serious problems.

If Bookkeeping Is Busywork, Anyone Can Do It

When you considering bookkeeping as a menial but necessary task, you automatically lower the bar for those qualified for the job. Instead of expertise and specialized training becoming the metric, availability is now the gold standard. Now, your pool of potential employees are those who have the time, but not necessarily the required experience. They are generalists, able to fill a variety of holes, but most likely lacking a focused background or mastery. But don’t confuse their willingness or their availability as the reason to assign them with the responsibility of overseeing your bookkeeping. 

Instead of thinking of bookkeeping as something anyone can do, it should be thought of as only something the select qualified should do.

If Bookkeeping is Busywork, Your Leftover Time Will Handle It

Leftovers is not a phrase anyone wants to hear. Left over time is certainly not the place you want to leave your bookkeeping. Because, by its very classification, you have just declared that your business finances will get the remainder, the scraps of time when all of the other important stuff is done. And with this sort of mindset, accounting and reporting will be thought of as “good enough.” 

Without strategic focus and the dedicated time, your accounting practices will rarely move beyond the bare minimum and into the forecasting, planning, and observation that comes only with dedicated time.

Instead of thinking of bookkeeping as leftovers, it should actually be considered the main course. 

If Bookkeeping is Busywork, Software Can Automate It

One of the significant advantages of technology is the ability for menial and repetitive tasks to be handled with less human effort. Why light a candle when you can turn on a light switch? Why swing an ax when you can cut with a chainsaw? And if bookkeeping is thought of as the same category as candle-lit rooms and heavy axes, then yes, software automation makes sense. But the sort of quality bookkeeping that goes beyond automated balance sheets and PDF profit and loss statements requires more than an internet connection to your bank account. Accurate bookkeeping will identify trends over time that can affect future spending. A qualified accountant will be able to recognize expenses that could be classified differently and save you money. 

Instead of thinking of bookkeeping as a menial task to be automated, it should be considered a dedicated responsibility of a qualified person.

Your Mindset Matters

Like many other areas of life, how you think will determine how you act. So what would it look like if you considered your company’s bookkeeping as vital to your goals and future strategy? 

What would change in your business if the bookkeeping was no longer considered busy work, but critical work? What sort of priority would be given as far as time, resources, and focus? 

The answer to those questions are now the priorities for your next steps.