Small business guide
Bookkeeping is recording every dollar in and out of the business and putting it in the right category. This guide covers what to record, how often, and a weekly routine that takes less time than catching up once a quarter.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Bookkeeping is the record of your business transactions: sales, expenses, payments to suppliers, payroll, taxes and transfers. Accounting builds on that record to produce reports and advice. If the record is incomplete, every report built on it is wrong, which is why the basics matter more than any software.
Keep digital copies with the date and the vendor name in the file name. A photo of a receipt taken the same day is better than a box of paper at year end.
| Task | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Record the week’s sales and deposits | Match them to your bank activity |
| Enter and categorize expenses | Use the same categories every time |
| Review unpaid invoices | Note who owes you and who you owe |
| Set aside tax and payroll money | Keep it separate from operating cash |
Thirty minutes a week beats a full weekend each quarter. Once a month, reconcile the books to the bank statement. See reconciliation.
Clean books make a funding review faster, because the numbers a funder reads in your bank statements match what you can explain. We fund from $25,000 to $5,000,000, decisions move fast, and funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses. We read about three months of business bank statements, consider owners with a FICO score of 500 or above, and sole proprietors can apply.
See bookkeeping habits that make funding easier and the financial statements funders want, then start your application. It takes about five minutes and begins with a soft credit pull.
Not necessarily. A spreadsheet can work for a very small business. Software saves time once you have many transactions, because it imports bank activity and categorizes it.
Weekly for entries and monthly for reconciliation is a common rhythm. Daily is only needed for high-volume businesses.
Bookkeeping records and organizes transactions. Accounting interprets them, prepares reports and plans around them.
Check current guidance from the IRS or your accountant for your situation. Many businesses keep records for several years.
Funders mostly read your business bank statements. Clear books help you explain what they show.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
