Greenwood Bookkeeping

07/22/2026

QuickBooks Tip: Use Classes to Track Profitability by Location, Project, or Department

Running multiple locations, services, or departments?

QuickBooks Classes let you tag transactions to a specific segment — so you can see exactly which parts of your business are profitable and which aren't.

Setup:
⚙️ Go to Settings → Account and Settings → Advanced → Categories → Turn on "Track classes"

Then on any transaction, assign a Class.

Run a P&L by Class and suddenly you can see:
📍 Location A vs. Location B
🛠 Service line A vs. Service line B
👥 Team A vs. Team B

This is how growing businesses make data-driven decisions about where to double down — and where to cut.

Are you tracking by Class in QuickBooks? Let me know how you use it 👇

07/20/2026

What Is Gross Profit Margin and Why Should You Care?

Gross Profit Margin might be the single most important metric for product and service businesses.

Here's the formula:
(Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold) ÷ Revenue × 100 = Gross Margin %

Example: You make $100K in revenue. Your direct costs are $60K.
→ Gross Margin = 40%

Why it matters:
✅ It tells you how efficiently you're delivering your product or service
✅ It sets the ceiling on how profitable you can ever be
✅ It reveals pricing problems before they sink you

A 10% gross margin means you have very little room for operating expenses and profit.
A 60% gross margin gives you breathing room to grow.

Do you know yours? Most business owners don't — and that's a problem.

07/15/2026

The $12,000 Lesson About Mixing Business and Personal Finances

A client came to me mid-year in a tough spot.

They'd been running their business for 3 years — all through one personal checking account.

When I dug in, here's what we found:
🔴 $12,000+ in business expenses we couldn't fully deduct (no clean paper trail)
🔴 Two years of books that needed to be reconstructed from scratch
🔴 A CPA bill 3x higher than it should have been

The fix? A dedicated business checking account. A business credit card. And a clear rule: personal money and business money never touch the same account.

Simple. Painful to learn the hard way.

If you're still mixing accounts, let's fix that today — before it costs you.

07/14/2026

QuickBooks Tip: Reconcile Your Accounts Every Month

Monthly reconciliation is non-negotiable.

It's how you catch errors before they compound — and verify your books match reality.

Here's how to do it in QuickBooks:
1️⃣ Go to Accounting → Reconcile
2️⃣ Select the account (start with checking)
3️⃣ Enter the statement ending date and balance
4️⃣ Check off each transaction that matches your statement
5️⃣ The difference should be $0.00

If it's not $0.00, something's off — a duplicate, a missing entry, or a bank error.

Most business owners skip this step. It's also how most accounting errors go undetected for years.

Don't skip it. Set a monthly reminder right now. 🗓️

07/10/2026

Understanding Your Three Core Financial Statements

Three documents. Every business owner should know them cold.

📄 1. Profit & Loss (Income Statement)
Shows revenue, expenses, and net profit over a period. Answers: Are we making money?

📄 2. Balance Sheet
A snapshot of what you own (assets), what you owe (liabilities), and owner's equity. Answers: What is the business worth right now?

📄 3. Cash Flow Statement
Tracks actual money in and out. Answers: Do we have enough cash to operate?

You can be profitable and still run out of cash. (This is one of the #1 reasons businesses fail.)

Understanding all three together gives you the full picture.

Which one do you check most often? 👇

07/07/2026

Bookkeeping Isn't an Expense — It's an Investment

I hear it sometimes: "I can't afford a bookkeeper right now."

Here's what I know to be true — you can't afford NOT to have one.

Consider what messy books actually cost you:
❌ Hours of your time every month doing it wrong
❌ Missed deductions your CPA couldn't find
❌ Overpaying on taxes due to poor categorization
❌ Bad business decisions made without accurate data
❌ Stress during tax season that's completely avoidable

Clean books = clarity. Clarity = better decisions. Better decisions = growth.

Bookkeeping isn't overhead. It's the foundation your business is built on.

07/03/2026

QuickBooks Tip: Use the Chart of Accounts to Tell Your Financial Story

Your Chart of Accounts is the backbone of your bookkeeping — and most business owners set it up once and never think about it again.

But a well-organized COA does something powerful: it makes your financial reports actually meaningful.

A few best practices:
🔹 Don't over-categorize. Fewer, well-defined accounts > dozens of vague ones.
🔹 Separate COGS from Operating Expenses — your gross margin depends on it.
🔹 Create sub-accounts for things like Advertising (Google Ads vs. Social Media vs. Print).
🔹 Archive accounts you no longer use — don't delete, archive.

In QuickBooks: Go to Accounting → Chart of Accounts → New to add or Edit to refine.



I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!

07/01/2026

Why Tax Season Shouldn't Be a Fire Drill

Every April, the same story plays out for thousands of business owners:

📦 A box of receipts handed to a CPA.
😰 A frantic scramble to remember what that $847 charge was.
💸 An unexpected tax bill that wrecks cash flow.

It doesn't have to be this way.

When your books are clean and current all year long:
→ Your CPA spends less time (saving you money)
→ You see your tax liability coming months in advance
→ You can make strategic moves BEFORE the year ends

The best time to get your books in order? Right now — whatever month it is.

06/26/2026

The Difference Between Cash and Accrual Accounting (and Why It Matters)

Two businesses. Same revenue. Completely different financial pictures.

How? Accounting method.

📌 Cash Basis: Revenue is recorded when money hits your account. Expenses when you pay them. Simple. Great for small service businesses.

📌 Accrual Basis: Revenue is recorded when earned. Expenses when incurred. More complex — but gives a truer picture of financial health.

Example: You invoice $10,000 in December. Under cash basis, if they pay in January, it's January income. Under accrual, it's December income.

This difference can dramatically affect your tax strategy AND your understanding of profitability.

Not sure which method you're on? Check with your CPA — or reach out to me. It's worth knowing.

Call now to connect with business.

06/22/2026

QuickBooks Tip: Set Up Bank Feeds on Day One

If you're using QuickBooks and manually entering transactions — stop. 🛑

Connecting your bank and credit card feeds is one of the first things I set up for every client. Here's why:

✅ Transactions import automatically every day

✅ You eliminate data entry errors

✅ Reconciliation takes minutes, not hours

✅ You always have a near-real-time view of your cash

To connect: Go to Banking → Link Account → search your bank → sign in.

That's it. One setup, ongoing savings.

What bank are you using with QuickBooks? Let me know below 👇

Call now to connect with business.