Five things to set up before your first sale
The boring checklist that saves you a very expensive cleanup later.
The cheapest time to get your books right is before there are any. Here’s the short list we walk every new founder through.
1. A separate business bank account
Not “the personal account I mostly use for the business.” A separate one. Mixing personal and business money makes bookkeeping painful and can weaken the liability protection your LLC is supposed to give you.
2. A business credit card
Same idea. Every business expense on one card makes categorizing things almost automatic. Bonus: it starts building business credit.
3. An EIN
An Employer Identification Number is free from the IRS and takes a few minutes online. Banks usually want one, and it keeps you from handing your Social Security number to every vendor who sends you a W-9.
4. QuickBooks Online, connected to everything
Connect the bank account and the card from day one. Every transaction flows in automatically, and your books stay current instead of becoming a year-end archaeology project.
5. A receipt habit
Snap a photo of receipts the day you get them. QuickBooks can attach them to transactions automatically. Future you, the one getting asked about a $400 charge from eight months ago, will be grateful.
That’s it
None of this is exciting. All of it is way cheaper than a catch-up project in a year. If you want a hand setting it up, that’s literally what we do.
Questions like this, answered in Slack.
TEO clients just ask in their shared channel. No appointment, no meter running.
Book a free call →