Bookkeeping Archives - JLD Bookkeeping https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/category/bookkeeping/ Mon, 19 Jan 2026 01:29:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/cropped-Screenshot-c-32x32.png Bookkeeping Archives - JLD Bookkeeping https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/category/bookkeeping/ 32 32 Free Download: 2026 Tax Survival Guide https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/year-end-bookkeeping-cleanup-guide-for-2025/ https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/year-end-bookkeeping-cleanup-guide-for-2025/#respond Mon, 19 Jan 2026 01:02:58 +0000 https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/?p=1712 Get ready for tax season with accurate bookkeeping. Learn how clean books save time, reduce stress, and lower costs for small business owners.

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]]> Download the Free Tax Survival Guide

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Survive 2026 Tax Season Without the Stress

A clear, practical tax season guide for small business owners who want to feel prepared — not panicked.

Running a business is already a lot. Tax season shouldn’t add unnecessary pressure, confusion, or second-guessing.

Download our 2026 Tax Season Survival Guide to get organized, understand what’s required, and approach tax season with more clarity and less stress.

What This Guide Helps You Do

This guide was created for busy business owners who want straightforward guidance — not tax jargon or overwhelm.

Inside, you’ll find:

  • A breakdown of 2026 tax deadlines based on your business structure

  • Clear checklists to help you get organized step by step

  • An overview of which tax forms apply to your business

  • A bookkeeping review checklist to catch common issues before filing

  • A tax preparation checklist so nothing gets missed

  • Helpful resources and reminders to avoid common mistakes

Everything is designed to help you feel more confident and prepared — even if you’re starting later than you hoped.

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is especially helpful if:

  • You’re a small business owner juggling growth, clients, and personal life

  • You’re unsure which tax forms apply to your business

  • Your bookkeeping feels messy, behind, or uncertain

  • You want to avoid last-minute scrambling or costly errors

  • You want a clear place to start, without judgment

You don’t need to have everything figured out before downloading this guide. That’s the point.

What Makes This Different

This isn’t a generic tax checklist.

It’s written from real-world experience working with business owners every day — people who are doing their best but don’t always have the time or clarity they need.

The focus is on:

  • Clarity over complexity

  • Practical steps you can actually follow

  • Reducing stress, not adding pressure

No fluff. No scare tactics. Just guidance you can use.

Enter your information below and we’ll send you the 2026 Tax Season Survival Guide straight to your inbox.

Download the Free Tax Survival Guide

Select list(s) to subscribe to

Download the Free Tax Survival Guide

Select list(s) to subscribe to

The post Free Download: 2026 Tax Survival Guide appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/year-end-bookkeeping-cleanup-guide-for-2025/feed/ 0 I Don’t Actually Know How Much Money I Made Last Year https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/cash-flow-tracking-for-service-businesses-without-the-stress/ https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/cash-flow-tracking-for-service-businesses-without-the-stress/#respond Sat, 10 Jan 2026 14:40:15 +0000 https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/?p=1701 Get ready for tax season with accurate bookkeeping. Learn how clean books save time, reduce stress, and lower costs for small business owners.

The post I Don’t Actually Know How Much Money I Made Last Year appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

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If you run an established business and still find yourself thinking, “I don’t actually know how much money I made last year,” you’re not behind, and you’re certainly not alone, no matter your stage of business.

In fact, this question tends to surface after a business reaches a certain level of growth.

At higher revenue levels, the issue usually isn’t understanding basic financial concepts. It’s that the business has become more complex – more transactions, more expenses, more people, more processes – and the financial systems that once worked no longer suffice.

What used to feel clear now feels… murky.

Why this happens as businesses scale

Most businesses in the $250K+ range didn’t get there accidentally. You likely understand revenue, expenses, margins, and cash flow at a conceptual level. But as volume increases, clarity doesn’t scale automatically.

Common friction points at this stage include:

  • Owner compensation that evolved informally over time
  • Financial reports that are accurate, but don’t clearly support pricing, hiring, or growth decisions
  • One-off expenses, investments, or growth initiatives distorting the picture
  • Books that are maintained, but not reviewed strategically and/or consistently
  • Numbers that don’t feel trustworthy

The result isn’t ignorance. It’s lack of confidence in the data.

And without confidence, even strong businesses hesitate to make big decisions.

When knowing the basics isn’t enough

At earlier stages, it’s often sufficient to know whether money is coming in and bills are getting paid. At higher revenue levels, that’s no longer enough.

Established businesses need to answer more nuanced questions:

  • Was last year profitable after accounting for owner pay and true operating costs?
  • Did growth actually improve margins, or just increase workload?
  • Is profitability sustainable, or was it driven by temporary factors?
  • Can the business support additional hires, investments, or expansion?

These answers don’t come from surface-level numbers. They come from well-structured financial data and consistent review.

How to assess how much money you truly made last year

Rather than starting from scratch, focus on depth and accuracy.

  1. Review profitability and clarify owner compensation
    If owner pay is inconsistent or unclear, profit becomes hard to interpret. Clarity here is essential at scale.
  2. Look for patterns, not just totals
    A full-year view is helpful, but trends matter more than end-of-year numbers. Consistency, volatility, and seasonality all tell a story.
  3. Separate operational performance from one-time events
    Large purchases, cleanup projects, or unusual revenue spikes can skew perception. Understanding what’s repeatable is key.
  4. Evaluate whether your reports support decision-making
    If your financials don’t help you confidently answer questions about pricing, hiring, or growth, the system may need refinement.
  5. Notice where confidence breaks down
    If you hesitate to rely on your numbers when making decisions, that hesitation is a signal worth paying attention to.

When it’s time to bring in support

For many established businesses, this stage marks a transition, not a failure.

The business has outgrown informal systems and needs a higher level of financial stewardship.

Working with a bookkeeper or accountant can help:

  • Clean up and normalize financial data
  • Ensure profitability is being measured accurately
  • Translate reports into actionable insights
  • Create systems that scale with the business

The goal isn’t just compliance or clean books. It’s confidence to make the decisions that matter the most for your business in the long run.

Final thought

Not knowing how much money you made last year doesn’t mean you lack financial understanding. It often means your business has reached a level where clarity requires stronger systems, deeper analysis, and consistent maintenance.

And addressing that now is what allows growth to continue, intentionally.

The post I Don’t Actually Know How Much Money I Made Last Year appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/cash-flow-tracking-for-service-businesses-without-the-stress/feed/ 0 The Best Bookkeeping Tools for Solopreneurs and Start-ups https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/best-bookkeeping-tools-for-solopreneurs-and-startups-in-2025/ https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/best-bookkeeping-tools-for-solopreneurs-and-startups-in-2025/#respond Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/?p=1505 As a solopreneur or start-up owner, managing your books can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The right bookkeeping software helps you stay organized, save time each week, and have confidence in your financial decisions. Clear, accurate records mean fewer surprises at tax time and better insight into how your business is really performing. Here are a few options to explore: Xero Easy to use and made for small business owners. It’s cloud-based, so you can log in from anywhere, send invoices on the go, and connect your bank account for quick reconciliations. QuickBooks Online A great option if you want more detailed reports and insights into your cash flow. It’s flexible, user-friendly, and grows with you as your business grows. Wave Perfect if you’re just starting out and don’t want to spend a lot upfront. It’s free and gives you the basics like invoicing and tracking expenses, which is often all you need in the beginning. FreshBooks Great for service-based businesses. It’s user-friendly, helps you track time and expenses, and makes invoicing clients easy. When choosing, think about what matters most to you. Do you want simple invoicing? More detailed reports? Or payroll for a growing team? Try a free trial first and see what feels like the best fit. The right software from day one will save you time and headaches later, and give you the confidence to focus on running your business. Ready to make bookkeeping simple? Let’s chat about how we can take this off your plate.

The post The Best Bookkeeping Tools for Solopreneurs and Start-ups appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> As a solopreneur or start-up owner, managing your books can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The right bookkeeping software helps you stay organized, save time each week, and have confidence in your financial decisions. Clear, accurate records mean fewer surprises at tax time and better insight into how your business is really performing. Here are a few options to explore:

Xero

Easy to use and made for small business owners. It’s cloud-based, so you can log in from anywhere, send invoices on the go, and connect your bank account for quick reconciliations.

QuickBooks Online

A great option if you want more detailed reports and insights into your cash flow. It’s flexible, user-friendly, and grows with you as your business grows.

Wave

Perfect if you’re just starting out and don’t want to spend a lot upfront. It’s free and gives you the basics like invoicing and tracking expenses, which is often all you need in the beginning.

FreshBooks

Great for service-based businesses. It’s user-friendly, helps you track time and expenses, and makes invoicing clients easy.

When choosing, think about what matters most to you. Do you want simple invoicing? More detailed reports? Or payroll for a growing team? Try a free trial first and see what feels like the best fit.

The right software from day one will save you time and headaches later, and give you the confidence to focus on running your business. Ready to make bookkeeping simple? Let’s chat about how we can take this off your plate.

The post The Best Bookkeeping Tools for Solopreneurs and Start-ups appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/best-bookkeeping-tools-for-solopreneurs-and-startups-in-2025/feed/ 0 Avoid these Bookkeeping Mistakes (they cost big in clean-up fees) https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/notary-appointment-checklist-what-to-bring-and-how-to-prepare/ https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/notary-appointment-checklist-what-to-bring-and-how-to-prepare/#respond Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/?p=1500 Bookkeeping isn’t always the most exciting part of running a business. But here’s the truth: ignoring it, or getting it wrong, can end up costing you a lot more than just time. We’ve seen small mistakes snowball into expensive clean-up jobs that business owners never planned for. Here are some mistakes we’ve actually seen clients make that ended up costing them a lot in clean-up fees: Each one might seem small on its own, but together they create a mess that’s time-consuming and costly to fix. Clean-ups often mean sifting through months of receipts, re-entering transactions, and correcting reports, all of which take extra hours and, unfortunately, higher fees. The ripple effect doesn’t stop there. Inaccurate books can also: Timing matters, so start your clean-up now, before the holiday season, because by then bookkeeping professionals are already swamped and it becomes much harder to get the help you need quickly. The good news? With consistent bookkeeping and clear systems, you can avoid these problems altogether. And if you don’t want to do it alone, we’re here to help. We’ll keep your numbers accurate and up-to-date, give you regular insights into your business performance, and make sure you’re ready for tax time with no last-minute surprises.

The post Avoid these Bookkeeping Mistakes (they cost big in clean-up fees) appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> Bookkeeping isn’t always the most exciting part of running a business. But here’s the truth: ignoring it, or getting it wrong, can end up costing you a lot more than just time.

We’ve seen small mistakes snowball into expensive clean-up jobs that business owners never planned for. Here are some mistakes we’ve actually seen clients make that ended up costing them a lot in clean-up fees:

  • Mixing personal and business expenses, which makes it harder to know your true financial position.
  • Forgetting to reconcile bank accounts, leaving errors or missing transactions unnoticed.
  • Losing receipts or not tracking expenses properly, which means you could be missing out on tax deductions.
  • Ignoring overdue invoices, leading to poor cash flow and harder collections.
  • Misclassifying income or expenses, which can distort your profit and loss statement.
  • Skipping regular financial reviews, leaving you blind to how your business is really performing.

Each one might seem small on its own, but together they create a mess that’s time-consuming and costly to fix. Clean-ups often mean sifting through months of receipts, re-entering transactions, and correcting reports, all of which take extra hours and, unfortunately, higher fees.

The ripple effect doesn’t stop there. Inaccurate books can also:

  • Delay your ability to apply for loans or grants because the numbers aren’t ready.
  • Leave you unprepared for tax season, increasing the chance of penalties.
  • Make it harder to make confident business decisions because the data you’re relying on just isn’t accurate.

Timing matters, so start your clean-up now, before the holiday season, because by then bookkeeping professionals are already swamped and it becomes much harder to get the help you need quickly.

The good news? With consistent bookkeeping and clear systems, you can avoid these problems altogether. And if you don’t want to do it alone, we’re here to help.

We’ll keep your numbers accurate and up-to-date, give you regular insights into your business performance, and make sure you’re ready for tax time with no last-minute surprises.

The post Avoid these Bookkeeping Mistakes (they cost big in clean-up fees) appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/notary-appointment-checklist-what-to-bring-and-how-to-prepare/feed/ 0 How to Manage Your Bookkeeping When Juggling Multiple Income Streams https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/bookkeeping-for-multiple-income-streams-a-clear-system/ https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/bookkeeping-for-multiple-income-streams-a-clear-system/#respond Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:00:00 +0000 https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/?p=1486 Got multiple businesses under your belt? Maybe you’re running a consulting LLC while also operating a separate product business? Here’s the golden rule that’ll save you major headaches: each business entity gets its own set of books. If you have multiple businesses with different EINs (Employer Identification Numbers), they need completely separate bookkeeping systems. Think of it like this, each business is its own legal entity, so it needs its own financial records. The IRS sees each EIN as a separate business entity. Mixing their finances creates a mess that can trigger audits, complicate tax filings, and potentially pierce your corporate veil (potentially losing your liability protection). Plus, you need clean books for each business to track profitability, make informed decisions, and maintain proper legal separation. Each business needs its own: Review each business’s books separately every month. Each entity should have its own profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow tracking. This isn’t just good practice, it’s legally required. When tax season arrives, each business files its own return. Having completely separate books makes this straightforward instead of a nightmare of untangling mixed transactions. Got questions about managing your books? Schedule a call and let me know what you’re struggling with, we’re here to help!

The post How to Manage Your Bookkeeping When Juggling Multiple Income Streams appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> Got multiple businesses under your belt? Maybe you’re running a consulting LLC while also operating a separate product business? Here’s the golden rule that’ll save you major headaches: each business entity gets its own set of books.

If you have multiple businesses with different EINs (Employer Identification Numbers), they need completely separate bookkeeping systems. Think of it like this, each business is its own legal entity, so it needs its own financial records.

The IRS sees each EIN as a separate business entity. Mixing their finances creates a mess that can trigger audits, complicate tax filings, and potentially pierce your corporate veil (potentially losing your liability protection).

Plus, you need clean books for each business to track profitability, make informed decisions, and maintain proper legal separation.

Each business needs its own:

  • Bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Accounting software or files
  • Expense tracking
  • Revenue recording

Review each business’s books separately every month. Each entity should have its own profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow tracking. This isn’t just good practice, it’s legally required.

When tax season arrives, each business files its own return. Having completely separate books makes this straightforward instead of a nightmare of untangling mixed transactions.

Got questions about managing your books? Schedule a call and let me know what you’re struggling with, we’re here to help!

The post How to Manage Your Bookkeeping When Juggling Multiple Income Streams appeared first on JLD Bookkeeping.

]]> https://jldbookkeepingservices.com/bookkeeping-for-multiple-income-streams-a-clear-system/feed/ 0