Books / The First 90 Days of Running the Books
The First 90 Days of Running the Books
by Steve Kennedy
Set Up. Reconcile. Report.
Ninety days, one week at a time, to books an owner can trust: the chart of accounts, connected accounts and a clean starting point, receipts and records, the weekly routine, reconciling every account every month, money owed and money paid in advance, bills and contractors, sales tax and payroll, the month-end close and the one-page report. Each week follows an invented bookkeeper and her first clients, with plain steps, the mistakes people make, and five things to have done by Friday.
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Thirteen weeks
Set Up · Days 1 to 28
- Week 1What the Books Are For, and Who Does What
- Week 2The Chart of Accounts
- Week 3Connect the Accounts and Set the Starting Point
- Week 4Receipts, Documents and Records
Reconcile · Days 29 to 63
- Week 5The Weekly Routine
- Week 6Reconcile Every Account, Every Month
- Week 7Money Customers Owe, and Money Paid in Advance
- Week 8Bills, Suppliers and Contractors
- Week 9Sales Tax and Payroll in the Books
Report · Days 64 to 90
- Week 10The Month-End Close
- Week 11The One-Page Report
- Week 12Taxes Through the Year, and the Year End
- Week 13The Day 90 Books Review
A sample: how Week 1 begins
Week 1: What the Books Are For, and Who Does What The story.
Tanya Bell had kept her brother's books for a year, mostly by instinct. Andre had been happy. The accountant had been less happy, and had charged them for eleven hours of "cleanup" in March.
When Dana Whitfield heard that Tanya was thinking of keeping books for other businesses, she asked whether Tanya would take on Bright Corner Cleaning. A week later, Grace Kim asked the same for North Shore Pet Care. Tanya said yes to both, and then lay awake wondering whether she knew enough to say yes.
She called Marcus Odell, who had retired after thirty years as an accountant and who seemed to know everyone in Port Alder who had ever owned a business.
What comes with the book
- The 90-day checklist: every "Before Friday" list in one file.
- A printable 13-week calendar.
- Roles, controls and engagement agreement outline.
- Chart of accounts template (Excel).
- Records retention schedule.
- Weekly bookkeeping checklist.
- Bank reconciliation worksheet (Excel).
- Contractor and W-9 tracker (Excel).
- Month-end close checklist.
- One-page monthly report template (Excel).
- Year-end package checklist.
- Download every file from the book's bonus page; the link is in Appendix D.
- Works on paper, in a spreadsheet or in any system you use now. Each week ends with a short note on where All In One For Profit does that week's work.
- General guidance, not legal, tax or accounting advice.
What readers say
Free on an annual plan
Businesses on a paid annual plan of All In One For Profit get every book in the series free, inside the platform. See the plans at https://www.allinoneforprofit.com/pricing/, or take the setup assessment at https://www.allinoneforprofit.com/assessment/.
About the author
Steve Kennedy is the founder of All In One For Profit and All In One Nonprofit. He built the platform, and wrote this series, for the owners who do the work all day and the paperwork at night. More about Steve
The whole series
Six books: the small business owner, the private practice, the trades business, marketing a service business, running the books and your first hire: https://www.allinoneforprofit.com/books/