Free Bookkeeping Software for Small Business (EASY TO USE) - YouTube

Channel: Jill Gockel

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Are you tired of trying to figure out how to get your business bookkeeping done the
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easiest way possible?
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Well, I'm here today to talk about what my favorite software is to use for bookkeeping
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and tracking expenses, and you may be surprised that likely you already have it on your computer,
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and I'm so excited that you landed on my channel where I show up every single week to talk
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about business, family and finances.
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Make sure to subscribe and hit the bell to get notified.
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So, let's get into it.
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Let's talk about the simplest way to track your expenses, so you can get it done fast
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and easy without having to have your accountant do all the work for you.
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First up is my favorite, favorite tool and that is using Excel.
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So, whether it's Excel, or Google Sheets, or Numbers, whatever it is, it is a crazy,
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crazy simple system to use that is very customizable to make sure that you can create the exact
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recordkeeping system that you want to track every little thing that you need, where you
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can automatically calculate exactly how your business is doing at any given time of the
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month.
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So, seeing what's your profit is versus whether you're losing money, it also will go through
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and calculate all of your tax deductions.
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That is how customizable that you can make it and even more than that.
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But, if you are trying to start out super simple, then what you can do is just start
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with Excel, and just start as basic as you can where you're listing out columns, things
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like the date of the transaction, and who you're paying, what the dollar amount was,
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something as simple as that, and make sure that you are always documenting what the business
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purpose is of that expense.
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If all you do is that,, you are right on track with tracking your expenses and your income,
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and putting together a bookkeeping software that works.
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That's actually how I started, and over the years as I worked with my accountant, and
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tried to make things easier for me at tax season, that's when all the sudden I started
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adding in the customization, so that it does all the work for me, and that is something
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that you can do too.
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You will love it.
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If you want to learn more about my customized system, we can set up a strategy call to talk
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about what your bookkeeping looks like and how we can make it super, super simple for
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you.
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Currently, there are a few other services online that are free to use that you can use
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to do your bookkeeping and track your expenses.
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So, currently a few of the top talked about websites that you could look at if you do
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not want to go the route of Excel is a website called Wave.
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Now, Wave is a free accounting software.
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I do not have any experience with it, so I'm just sharing the basics about it.
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So, if you want to look at it, you can go see what it's all about.
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See if it's a good fit for you or not if you know that Excel is not the way you want to
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go.
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So, Wave does do accounting and invoicing and offers a way to provide receipts.
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Now remember, this is again all things that you can do inside of Excel, Google Sheets
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and Numbers, but if you're looking for an online service, that could be an option for
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you to consider.
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Two other services that are highly talked about are ZipBooks and SlickPie, and I'll
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mention all these in the description below where you can go and look them up, see if
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it's something that fits you, but they are some of the most recommended online services
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that are free.
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But, of course with free comes shortcomings.
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So, there are limited things that you can do in them, and if you want to have more capabilities
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or you want some assistance with it, those are things that you end up paying for.
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Now, I want to know, what are you guys using right now for your bookkeeping software?
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Leave me a comment below.
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Let me know.
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Are you using Excel?
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Are you using pen and paper?
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Are you using Quicken, QuickBooks or one of these online services?
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Or maybe you're not doing any at all yet, and that's okay because we all have to start
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somewhere.
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But, you do need to make sure that you get started right away, right away.
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The best time to actually start doing bookkeeping for your business is the day you start that
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business.
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But, the second best time is right now.
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So, don't procrastinate at all because you are actually setting yourself up for some
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issues when you are not doing your bookkeeping.
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Some of those issues can be that you are definitely missing out on tax deductions because of poor
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recordkeeping, and you also run the risk of being qualified as a hobby rather than a business,
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which means if you're not running your business as a business, and the IRS deems you as a
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hobby, then you miss out on the opportunity to even claim tax deductions for your business.
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Also, you are completely in the dark on how your business is doing.
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You don't know if you're running in the red or if you're doing awesome with profits.
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That is stuff that you need to know on a day-to-day basis, and it's just as important to be tracking
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your mileage along with your expenses.
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That's another reason why I love Excel so much because you can track all of your mileage
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right there, and it's so simple to do.
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Make sure to stay tuned because we will be going more into depth with that training inside
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an upcoming video.
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So, what happens if you are not computer savvy, but what if you feel like you're the type
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of person that needs a Bookkeeping for Dummies, or you just need a pen and paper and you can't
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really do anything else?
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Well, the good thing is number one, Excel is just like a pen and paper.
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It's so easy to do guys, but if you want to stick with pen and paper that is totally fine.
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It's totally fine.
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You can find Excel templates to print out and use pen and paper.
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You can just grab a notebook and draw your own columns where you are recording just that
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basic information that you need, and if you want to hear exactly what that basic information
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is that the IRS expects you to be tracking with your bookkeeping, then make sure to check
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out this video because we went much more into depth in there sharing what all you need to
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be tracking.
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Now, the last thing that I want to talk about is when you need to get paid accounting software.
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Because Excel is so customizable, there are many opportunities that you can use it to
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do almost everything that a basic accounting software tool can do, but there are things
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in there that you simply can't do.
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For example, if you are wanting to have your payroll be integrated right into your accounting
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software, that is a time where you definitely, definitely want to get a paid service, because
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with that paid service, you can be setting up payroll to automatically be calculated
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and paid out to your employees.
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So, that would for sure be a time where you need to consider it.
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You may also decide that you want something that you don't have to customize yourself,
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that is already done and you would rather just pay for the software, and pay for the
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training on it so that you can just use it and be done with it.
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That would be another time that you may consider paying for accounting software, and of course
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if you are trying to track anything that you simply do not know how to calculate it, things
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like trying to track the depreciation of, for example, real estate properties, so that
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you have all of that figured out for your accountant come tax season, things like that.
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If it's over your head, then again, that's a time where it's much worth your money versus
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your time trying to figure it out on your own.
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Now that you know which free bookkeeping software is out there for your small business, what
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about how to actually get your bookkeeping done in just five minutes?
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It's totally possible guys, because that is how I do my bookkeeping every single day,
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just five minutes and that's it.
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Well, I go into more details about how you can actually implement that in a free webinar.
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So, you can grab that link in the description below, and if you want to join a community
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of women just like you, make sure to check out the 21 Day Mom Fog Challenge.
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That is a challenge that I participated in myself and absolutely loved it.
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It turned around my ability to be and have awesome time management so that I could get
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things done with my business, and still have time to have fun with the kids.
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So, if you would like to join me in there, get free mentoring from me as you go through
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it, again, that link is in the description below.
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If you liked this video, please let me know by leaving a comment, liking it, sharing it
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with a friend and subscribing, so that you do not miss another video.