Book
For owner-run job shops
The books and the monthly P&L fall behind first
When your shop gets slammed, the bookkeeping is the first thing to go. Accounts don't get reconciled, the monthly P&L doesn't come out, and you're running the shop on gut feel.
Sound familiar?
- Reconciling accounts waits until things slow down, and things don't slow down.
- The monthly P&L shows up weeks late, if it shows up at all.
- After the books, the schedule slips, then the follow-ups, then the quoting.
- Receipts and bills pile up in a drawer or an inbox until someone has a free evening.
What it costs you
- You make calls on hiring, pricing and equipment without current numbers.
- You find out a month went badly long after you could have done something about it.
- Catching up takes nights and weekends, and they're usually yours.
- When the books are behind, every money question takes longer to answer.
Why it keeps happening
- The owner is also the bookkeeper, the quoter and the scheduler.
- Bookkeeping never feels urgent until it is.
- Bills, receipts and invoices come in from too many places to keep straight.
- Nobody else in the shop can pick it up when you're buried.
Common questions
Do you give tax or accounting advice?
No. That's for your accountant or bookkeeper. What we can talk about is the busywork around the books and why it falls behind.
Why does bookkeeping fall behind first?
Because it never feels as urgent as parts going out the door. When the shop is busy, the books wait, and the backlog grows a week at a time.
What exactly do you build?
It depends on how you work today; we figure that out on the call.
Related shop bottlenecks
See all shop bottlenecks, or go back to the home page.
Tell me what slips first when it gets busy
A lot of the work behind the books is busywork that can now be taken off your plate. Your accountant still does the accounting. The rest depends on your shop, and that's what the call is for.
It's a conversation with me, Kevin Kirchner. Tell me how far behind things get in a busy month and who catches them up.
