Melton Bookkeeping and Accounting Services LLC

10/21/2026

🚩 Want to Make an Accountant Nervous? Show Them a Balance Sheet Full of Negative Balances.

There are a few things in bookkeeping that make my skin crawl.

Negative asset and liability balances are at the top of the list.

When I worked in public accounting, I could sometimes look at a client's Balance Sheet for about 30 seconds and know I needed to start digging.

Why?

I'd see things like:

Checking Account ........ ($12,487)
Accounts Receivable ..... ($8,200)
Loan Payable ............ ($15,600)

Could there occasionally be a legitimate reason for a negative balance? Absolutely.

But when I see several of them, or a balance that simply doesn't make sense, it's a giant flashing sign that says:

🚨 LOOK CLOSER.

And it's probably the single most common obvious warning sign I see in messy books.

So what causes negative balances?

It depends on the account.

A negative bank account could mean transactions are missing or incorrectly dated, expenses have been duplicated, checks were recorded to the wrong account, or checks are being held until funds can be moved around.

Negative Accounts Receivable can come from customer payments or credits that haven't been properly applied. Many times it is caused by incorrect dates recorded on transactions. A client comes in to pay a bill for services on Monday, the 31st. The invoice to the client is recorded on Tuesday, the 1st. Oops! But it's so easy to correct.

Negative Accounts Payable can result from vendor payments or credits that aren't matched to the correct bills. It can also happen when someone records a bill, the bill is paid, and then someone deletes the bill.

A negative loan balance might mean loan payments were recorded incorrectly, the original loan wasn't entered properly, or principal and interest weren't separated out correctly.

And sometimes... something was simply posted backwards or to the wrong account.

That's bookkeeping. Mistakes happen.

The problem isn't that an error occurred. The problem is allowing an obviously questionable balance to sit there month after month without asking: “Does this number make sense?”

Your tax preparer WILL notice. Please don't send your tax preparer a Balance Sheet with obvious negative balances and hope they won't look at it. 😂

I prepared business taxes for more than 23 years before starting my own accounting business. I can tell you, the tax preparer looks! They will notice it.

And when I worked in public accounting and saw one, my immediate thought wasn't: "Well, I'm sure everything else is perfect."

It was: “I better look at the rest of this very closely.”

Because if an obvious problem made it all the way to the tax preparer, there may be less obvious problems hiding behind it.

That's why reviewing the Balance Sheet is such an important part of good bookkeeping.

Don't just run the report. READ it.

Ask whether every balance makes sense.

And please, at very least, fix the obvious problems before you hand the books to your tax preparer. They'll appreciate it.

And they won't have to wonder whether anyone looked at the Balance Sheet before sending it over. 😉🐾

10/20/2026

“Why does one bookkeeper charge $300 a month and another charge $1,500?”

My first question would be: What has each person agreed to do?

“Bookkeeping” can mean recording transactions and reconciling a checking account. It can also mean handling customer invoicing, tracking unpaid bills, preparing accounting adjustments, and investigating balances that don’t make sense.

Those are very different responsibilities.

📚 Bookkeeping services keep your financial records current and organized.

🔎 Controller services provide accounting oversight, resolve issues, and handle more complex accounting. If you already have a bookkeeper—or do the bookkeeping yourself—a controller can work alongside you.

📈 CFO services help you use the numbers to forecast cash needs, evaluate profitability, and plan decisions such as hiring or expansion.

Some businesses need one level. Others need a combination.

Before comparing quotes, ask:

• What work is included?
• How often will it be done?
• Which reports will I receive?
• What will I still be responsible for?
• What costs extra?

A lower-priced service may meet your needs perfectly. But it may also leave you doing work you thought you were handing over.

Compare the services. Then compare the price.

I explain the differences, including the cost of hiring these roles full time, in my latest blog:

https://meltonaccountingservices.com/why-bookkeeping-prices-vary/⁠

10/17/2026

Your business is growing. Is it time to hand over the bookkeeping?

You need invoices sent, customer payments recorded, unpaid invoices tracked, and bills paid. You want your income and expenses recorded correctly—and you’re ready for someone else to take care of it.

But you don’t have enough bookkeeping work to keep a full-time employee busy. And hiring someone means wages, employer payroll taxes, and possibly benefits.

That’s where I can help.

My full-service bookkeeping can include:

✅ Recording and categorizing your income and expenses
✅ Preparing and sending customer invoices
✅ Recording customer payments and tracking accounts receivable so you know who still owes you
✅ Recording bills, scheduling payments with your approval, and recording those payments
✅ Reconciling your bank and credit card accounts
✅ Balancing all loan accounts at year-end, with principal and interest properly recorded, so your books are tax-ready for your CPA or tax preparer

Every month, you’ll receive a profit and loss statement and a balance sheet. You’ll be able to see what your business earned, what it owns, and what it owes—information you can use when making decisions about hiring, equipment purchases, or your next step toward growth.

Full-service bookkeeping starts around $550 per month for a business with one checking account, one credit card account, and a lower volume of transactions.

A business with a checking account, savings account, two credit cards, and two loan accounts might be around $1,250 per month, depending on transaction volume and the services needed.

These are starting estimates. Your fee will reflect the work your business actually needs.

You get experienced bookkeeping support without adding an employee to your payroll or paying employer payroll taxes and employee benefits for that position.

And you get back the evenings and weekends you’ve been spending on the books.

Use that time to grow your business—or enjoy the family you’re working so hard for.

Call today, and let’s talk about taking bookkeeping off your plate.

Paula Melton, CPA
Melton Bookkeeping & Accounting Services LLC
📞 417-630-0057

10/17/2026

Have a small business with simple bookkeeping needs? Getting help may cost less than you think.

Maybe you just need someone to record your income and expenses, reconcile your bank accounts, and make sure everything is ready for your tax preparer at year-end.

You don’t need anything complicated. You just want it handled—and handled correctly.

That’s something I can help with. 😊

For basic monthly bookkeeping, starting estimates are:

✅ 1–2 accounts: $250/month
✅ 4 accounts: $500/month
✅ 6 accounts: $750/month

“Accounts” means bank and credit card accounts—not the number of customers you have.

Your monthly fee depends on the number of accounts, the volume of transactions, and the work involved. A small business with a couple of accounts and limited activity may only need the basics.

You’ll also receive a profit and loss report every month showing your income, expenses, and how much your business earned.

I can also reconcile your loan balances at year-end so the principal and interest are properly recorded and your books are tax-ready.

You’ve already got plenty to do running your business. Your evenings don’t have to include catching up on bookkeeping.

Call today, and let’s talk about what your business actually needs.

Melton Bookkeeping & Accounting Services LLC
📞 417-630-0057

10/17/2026

Aren’t these great?

SOLD🌿 Beautifully refinished matching pair of Stanley Furniture nightstands!

🌿 These quality vintage nightstands have been given a fresh, timeless look with a custom greige blend of Wise Owl Paint, rich dark-stained wood tops, coordinating natural wood bases, and elegant brushed brass hardware.

🌿 The original dimensional drawer fronts and detailed molding add character, while the neutral finish makes this pair versatile enough for traditional, transitional, or modern bedrooms.

✨ Features:

* Authentic Stanley Furniture
* Custom-mixed Wise Owl Paint greige finish
* Dark-stained wood tops
* Coordinating stained wood bases
* Brushed brass hardware
* dovetailed drawers
* Clean, lined drawer interiors
* Two spacious drawers per nightstand

Sold as a matching pair.

A beautiful combination of vintage craftsmanship and updated style, ready for their next home!
Pickup: Ozark

10/16/2026

Mother Nature got serious about Fall today.

Since the first official day of Fall, our average HIGH here in Marshfield, Missouri, has been 83.2 degrees.

I haven’t even closed my pool yet.

Today? It’s 50 degrees.

Apparently, we’re skipping the gentle transition and going straight to “why do I live here?” weather.

Meanwhile, Gulf Shores and Destin keep coming to mind. I could be sitting on a beach instead of wondering whether it’s reasonable to do bookkeeping wrapped in an electric blanket.

I’m pretty sure this is NOT the weather God intended me for. Anything under 85 degrees and I freeze.

Mother Nature, I’m going to need you to submit these temperature changes for approval first.

Is anyone else already counting the days until Summer? And who has been waiting all summer for this?

10/16/2026

Everyone loves the profit & loss report, but have you looked at your balance sheet?

The Profit & Loss report gets all the attention.

How much did we make? What were our expenses? What's the bottom line?

It's the “sexy” financial statement. 😂

Meanwhile, the Balance Sheet is sitting quietly in the corner saying: “You might want to take a look over here...”

Because some of the biggest bookkeeping problems I find show up on the Balance Sheet first, and those problems can mean the profit showing on your P&L isn't right.

Here are a few things that make me start asking questions:

🔎 A bank balance that doesn't agree with the bank.
Are the accounts actually reconciled? Are there old outstanding checks or deposits that aren't real anymore? Are transactions missing or duplicated?

🔎 A large balance in Undeposited Funds.
This one makes my hair stand up! This can be a clue that customer payments or deposits weren't handled correctly, and sometimes that income has been duplicated.

🔎 Accounts Receivable that nobody expects to collect.
If customers supposedly owe you thousands of dollars but everyone agrees those invoices aren't really collectible, or may no longer be correct, your books may be overstating both assets and, depending on the underlying error, income.

🔎 Accounts Payable full of bills you don't actually owe.
Old or duplicate bills can overstate liabilities and may mean expenses were overstated as well.

🔎 Credit card balances that don't match the statements.
Missing charges, duplicate expenses, payments posted incorrectly, or unreconciled accounts can affect both the Balance Sheet and P&L.

🔎 Loan balances that don't agree with lender statements.
Loan payments recorded entirely to expense instead of separating principal and interest can leave the loan balance wrong and your expenses wrong.

🔎 Assets that aren't really assets, or assets that are missing.
Equipment purchases posted directly to expense, old assets still on the books, or asset purchases recorded incorrectly can distort both financial statements.

And those are just a few examples.

Here's the important part. The Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss don't live in separate worlds. Transactions affect both.

That's why I don't consider the books finished just because the checking account reconciles and the P&L looks reasonable.

Every account on the Balance Sheet should be reviewed and, where appropriate, reconciled or supported.

So yes, go ahead and look at your Profit & Loss report, but don't ignore that Balance Sheet sitting quietly in the corner.

It may be trying to tell you something. 🔎🐾

10/15/2026

Your Business Needs Your Time. Your Bookkeeping Doesn't Need All of It.

Running a business already means wearing more hats than you probably ever intended.

There are customers to take care of, employees to manage, decisions to make, bills to pay, and somehow you're supposed to keep the books straight, too.

You don't have to do everything yourself.

Good bookkeeping means knowing your accounts are reconciled, your income and expenses are recorded correctly, your financial records are organized, your reports make sense, you know how your business is performing, and your books will be ready when your CPA or tax preparer needs them.

Good bookkeeping can also give you some of your time back.

Wouldn't it be great to have time to work on your business instead of constantly working in it?

Wouldn't you love to leave the office a little earlier, make it to the grandkids' soccer game, have dinner with your family, or do absolutely nothing business-related for a change.

Your bookkeeping should give you information and peace of mind, not another job to do.

If you're ready to take bookkeeping off your plate, call me. Let's talk about how I can help. 🐾

10/14/2026

Some Days Just Require a Cupcake. 🧁

You know those days.

The computer isn't cooperating.
The phone won't stop ringing.
Your to-do list somehow gets longer instead of shorter.
And something that should have taken 10 minutes has now taken two hours.

We've all had them.

But I've discovered there are very few bad workdays that can't be improved, at least a little, by shutting down the computer and making a stop at the local cupcake shop.

Will a cupcake solve the problem? Probably not.

Will the problem seem slightly less important while you're eating buttercream frosting? Absolutely.

Sometimes you've just got to call it a day, grab a cupcake, and try again tomorrow.

And if Charlie happens to be riding along, I'll spend the entire trip explaining why chocolate isn't for dogs. 🐾

Happy National Dessert Day! 🧁

That's all for today! I've got to go. I've got to get to The Little Clay House Tea Room before they close! Cupcakes are calling my name...

What's your “I've had enough for today” treat?

10/13/2026

Charlie is my basset hound and sits next to me every day all day as I work from my home office. I talk to Charlie about everything.

I sat down to write an informative blog for my website this morning. 🐾 I told Charlie we were going to talk about his favorite subject today… FOOD!

He got pretty excited! 😂 His eyes got big, he started barking and running around, and I think he started drooling! He wasn't happy when he found out we were talking about business meals and tax deductions, not his dinner bowl!

Did you know that just because you pay for lunch with your business credit card, that doesn't mean it's tax deductible?

And with new rules taking effect in 2026, some meals that were deductible in previous years may no longer qualify!

In my latest blog, I share real-life examples of deductible and non-deductible meals. I explain the new rules, and clear up some confusion about business entertainment expenses.

Please check out my latest article here: https://meltonaccountingservices.com/business-meals-tax-deduction-2026/

And, in case you're wondering... Charlie thinks ALL meals should be 100% deductible. 🐾😂