Why Organizing Your Banking Passwords is Key to Financial Success

Quick win alert: Organizing your passwords for your banking websites and other financial institutions can take you less than an hour, but revolutionize the way you interact with your finances.

Why is Organizing Your Passwords Important?

Because when we don’t know a password to check our bank balance, that can often create enough resistance for us to just not look at our money. As I’ve written about before, many of us live in a state of perpetual vagueness around our finances. The more challenging it is to break out of that fog, the more likely we are to stay there.

Conversely, when you know what your passwords are, it’s way easier to maintain a financial self care routine like a weekly money check-in.

How to Get Organized

First, take stock of all the different websites and digital portals that hold your financial information. Remember to consider both personal and business finances.

This list will obviously include any banks you use, but this also includes sites whose services you use to collect or send money (PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, etc.). Also remember to include any other sites where you manage your money, like investing services or tax filing platforms.

Once you’ve got a list, go and get those passwords! Centralize them in one place. You can do this using the old-fashioned paper and pen, or use a password-management app. There are quite a few out there, here’s a list.

Once you’re all done, you’ll see why this little tip is well-worth the time! If you enjoyed this article, you’ll probably like my e-Book, 9 Secrets to Financial Self Care. Get your free copy by clicking here.

By |2022-09-21T11:07:04-07:00September 21st, 2022|Categories: Banking, Financial Clarity|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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How to Get Organized and Reduce Money Stress in Your Business

As a business owner, you are responsible for the finances of your business. That responsibility can come with a lot of stress. However, with proper management, the financial side of a business can become a seamless system that sustains you and your passion. The key here? Get organized.

What does getting organized look like when it comes to your business finances? It looks like solid record-keeping and the ability to look back at financial data easily. It looks like a good awareness of the money coming in and out of your business. It looks like knowing you have enough to pay yourself, pay your taxes, and run your business.

All of this can be done without the chaos, by implementing a few changes to how you do your business finances. What you need will vary depending on the type of business you run and its current financial conditions. Today, I’d like to share a couple tips on getting your business finances organized that seem to come up most often in my work with clients.

Create a Supportive Money System

Last year, I wrote a full series devoted to money-mapping, a practice you can use to visualize the flow of money in your business. Creating a money system, and a visual way to understand it, can help you recognize where the income you receive through your business is needed most, and how your personal and business finances integrate. By creating a money system that tracks every dollar (including cash) of income that you receive, you set yourself up for success. A good money system gives you an idea of the profitability of your business, so that you’re not guessing at how much you’re really making.

My work around money mapping integrates the Profit First system’s allocations idea, to help business owners set aside money for various uses in their business. These include the important things, like paying your operating expenses, getting paid, paying taxes, and saving a portion of that money in a profit account. You can read the series on money mapping here: Part I, Part II, Part III, and a follow-up article on keeping your money systems simple.

Get Prepped for Taxes

One of the big themes in my guide to getting prepped for tax time is just simply keeping your documents organized in one place. Keeping all your paper documents in one physical spot, and saving all your digital documents to a designated folder, can save you from a lot of digging and stress when March rolls around. Creating a simple organizational system for tracking these things is a great preparation step for tax season, and a definite stress-reducer.

Show Up

They say that 90% of success is showing up, and this rings true when it comes to keeping your business organized and stress-free. If you’ve been reading this blog for a bit, you’ll know I’m a proponent of having weekly “money time,” which is for you to review your financial situation and do any financial admin work that needs to get done. This time is extremely important for financial self care. Perhaps even more important than what you do during this time, is simply scheduling it in and doing it. When you make a regular habit of revisiting your finances, you will naturally start to shape them to be more organized.

Use Helpful Tools

These days, we are lucky to have many tools available that can help us stay organized in our businesses. Here are a couple that I frequently help clients integrate into their finances:

  • MoneyGrit.(R) is a great tool for either personal or business use.
  • Mint has fewer features, but can be really helpful for solopreneurs with few transactions, or personal use.
  • QuickBooks Online is a classic and excellent for business use.
  • YNAB is a tool I personally have less experience with, but a few other coaches I know use it often and recommend it.

If you enjoyed this article, you’ll probably appreciate a copy of my free e-Book, the Cash Flow Reboot Guide. Click here or below to get your free download!

By |2022-09-06T10:57:21-07:00September 6th, 2022|Categories: Bookkeeping Business, Financial Clarity, Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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3 Things to Look For During Your Weekly Money Check-In

One of the best ways to feel better about your money? It’s to check in with it regularly. In my most recent episode of Financial Self Care Friday, I shared how paying attention to our money, rather than ignoring or avoiding it, helps reduce anxiety and fear. In my e-Book, 9 Secrets to Financial Self Care, I’ve shared the importance of weekly “money time”– time where you sit down and check in with your finances.

Now that we’re clear on how important a weekly money check-in is, what do you actually want to look for when you’re doing it? Here are my top 3 suggestions. You can start with these whether you’re checking in on your personal or business finances.

Review Expenses

First off, review your recent expenses that have unfolded since your last money check-in. You want to make sure that everything looks familiar. Watch out for any surprise fees or other charges. This is a good way to catch subscriptions you need to terminate, identity theft, or other concerns.

It’s also good to make sure your expenses are aligned with your spending plan for the month. You might notice your expenses are a little bit over, or a little bit under. That’s important information that can help you make financial decisions the rest of the month.

Look Forward

Next up, look forward to big expenses coming up. Examples of regularly occurring (and often large) expenses include mortgage/rent or credit card payments. There are also periodic expenses, or expenses that occur less than monthly, but are still expected, such as car maintenance, medical bills, etc. Look ahead for the next month and see when these expenses are coming up. Move cash around to different accounts as needed so that you’ll be able to pay when the time comes.

Quick tip: If you haven’t yet automated your bill payments, set aside some time during your weekly money check-in to do that! As long as you feel confident about having money available for auto-pay, this can be a great option to stay organized and avoid late fees.

If you discover at this stage that you have more than enough cash on hand, take some time to consider what to do with it. For example, this is a great opportunity to donate some money or top up a savings account.

Clear Your IOU’s

This last step is particularly important for business finance weekly check-ins, but can also apply to personal finances. Make sure everyone who owes you money has paid their invoices. If not, send a reminder out! This may seem obvious, but sending invoices and reminders regularly is key to keeping a healthy cash flow in your business. Many business owners don’t get to it as regularly as they’d like. By establishing this step as part of your weekly money check-in, you can make sure you’re getting paid more quickly.

Sending a reminder to anyone who owes you money is also a good weekly practice for personal finance check-ins. During this step you can also consider what other opportunities you have to generate some funds. This can be particularly helpful if you noticed during the second step that you’ll need some more cash on hand soon.

If you liked this article, you’ll probably like my free e-Book, 9 Secrets to Financial Self Care. I talk more about creating regular “money time” and how to develop other good financial habits as part of a self care routine. Click here to download.

By |2022-02-24T14:09:36-08:00February 24th, 2022|Categories: Personal Savings, Personal Spending, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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The Key to Reducing Money Stress in Your Business

As a business owner, you are responsible for the finances of your business. That responsibility can come with a lot of stress. However, with proper management, the financial side of a business can become a seamless system that sustains you and your passion. The key here? Get organized.

What does getting organized look like when it comes to your business finances? It looks like solid record-keeping and the ability to look back at financial data easily. It looks like a good awareness of the money coming in and out of your business. It looks like knowing you have enough to pay yourself, pay your taxes, and run your business.

All of this can be done without the chaos, by implementing a few changes to how you do your business finances. What you need will vary depending on the type of business you run and its current financial conditions. Today, I’d like to share a couple tips on getting your business finances organized that seem to come up most often in my work with clients.

Create a Supportive Money System

Last year, I wrote a full series devoted to money-mapping, a practice you can use to visualize the flow of money in your business. Creating a money system, and a visual way to understand it, can help you recognize where the income you receive through your business is needed most, and how your personal and business finances integrate. By creating a money system that tracks every dollar (including cash) of income that you receive, you set yourself up for success. A good money system gives you an idea of the profitability of your business, so that you’re not guessing at how much you’re really making.

My work around money mapping integrates the Profit First system’s allocations idea, to help business owners set aside money for various uses in their business. These include the important things, like paying your operating expenses, getting paid, paying taxes, and saving a portion of that money in a profit account. You can read the series on money mapping here: Part I, Part II, Part III, and a follow-up article on keeping your money systems simple.

Get Prepped for Taxes

One of the big themes in my guide to getting prepped for tax time is just simply keeping your documents organized in one place. Keeping all your paper documents in one physical spot, and saving all your digital documents to a designated folder, can save you from a lot of digging and stress when March rolls around. Creating a simple organizational system for tracking these things is a great preparation step for tax season, and a definite stress-reducer.

Show Up

They say that 90% of success is showing up, and this rings true when it comes to keeping your business organized and stress-free. If you’ve been reading this blog for a bit, you’ll know I’m a proponent of having weekly “money time,” which is for you to review your financial situation and do any financial admin work that needs to get done. This time is extremely important for financial self care. Perhaps even more important than what you do during this time, is simply scheduling it in and doing it. When you make a regular habit of revisiting your finances, you will naturally start to shape them to be more organized.

Use Helpful Tools

These days, we are lucky to have many tools available that can help us stay organized in our businesses. Here are a couple that I frequently help clients integrate into their finances:

  • MoneyGrit.(R) is a great tool for either personal or business use.
  • Mint has fewer features, but can be really helpful for solopreneurs with few transactions, or personal use.
  • QuickBooks Online is a classic and excellent for business use.
  • YNAB is a tool I personally have less experience with, but a few other coaches I know use it often and recommend it.

I am planning on doing a more in-depth post on money tracking softwares, and the why and how to use them for business and personal finances later this month. Stay tuned for that!

I hope these tips on organization encourage you to decrease the financial stress in your business. A lot of this work can be accelerated when done with an accountability partner. I’m currently offering a 4 Week Refresh package through the end of January for people who’d like to work with an expert to gain control of their business finances. This package of four private sessions is designed to help you review 2020 and create a clear roadmap to your financial goals in 2021. We’ll also construct a money map personalized to your business, so you can effortlessly visualize your money system. If you’re interested in this package, you can learn more and sign up for a free consultation here.

☮

Angela

Image by  Arnel Hasanovic

By |2022-01-12T10:37:03-08:00January 12th, 2021|Categories: Bookkeeping Business, Financial Clarity, Profit First, Small Business, solopreneurs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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