Hello, I’m Marsha from Keeping the Books, where we account for every cent to make your business more efficient. I wanted to share a story that might resonate with many small business owners.

Yesterday, I received a call from a potential client who owns a massage therapy practice. She’s been in business for about five years and, like many entrepreneurs, realized that managing the financial side of things isn’t her forte. To address this, she enrolled in an eight-month accounting class, hoping to learn bookkeeping and get a grip on organizing her books.

About two months into the class, she hit a wall. Juggling her business and trying to learn bookkeeping was overwhelming. She realized she needed professional help, so she reached out to us.

When I asked how she had been tracking her income and expenses, she admitted that she had been using a mix of Excel for expenses and a special app designed for massage therapists to track her income. To top it off, she had boxes of receipts piled up, waiting to be sorted. She told me that if she locked herself in a room, it would take about six hours to manually enter all the data.

I knew she needed a more efficient system. I explained how we could set up a system that’s 80 percent automated, bringing in transactions directly from her bank and credit cards. As for those receipts, they could be sent straight to the system for classification. At the end of the month, she’d have accurate profit and loss statements and a balance sheet, all without the stress of manual entry.

Her relief was palpable. The burden of bookkeeping was finally off her shoulders, allowing her to focus on what she does best—providing wellness services to her clients.

If you’re a small business owner feeling overwhelmed and not really wanting to learn bookkeeping yourself, give us a call. At Keeping the Books, we’re here to help you streamline your financial processes so you can get back to what you love. We’re located in Rhode Island and proudly serve businesses across New England.