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Business success is dependent on a solid financial foundation & success looks different to everyone & there is a lack of equity of access to resources and information for small business owners and independent contractors & there is a societal narrative making us believe “balance” is our ultimate goal & … There are so many “&”s that impact being your own boss. Let’s have some frank discussions on the basics of business with a holistic focus on everything that helps business owners define and find success.
Molly Beyer: [00:00:08] Welcome to The Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond, the podcast where we have frank discussions on the basics of business with a holistic focus on everything that helps business owners define and find success. Each episode is a reminder that success isn't one thing, it's a whole lot of ambiguous ands. Like subscribe or follow and let's explore these ambiguous ands.
Molly Beyer: [00:00:34] Hello and welcome to The Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond! I'm your host, Molly Beyer, and I'm here to lead you through frank and holistic conversations on the basics of business. Today's episode is a back to basics kind of conversation, but don't let that fool you, because the basics are often where the most powerful shifts happen. Today we're talking about spreadsheets. Yep, good old spreadsheets for bookkeeping, whether as a supplement to your accounting software or in some cases as a full on substitute. Now, before we dig in, I'm going to say this, I am a big believer in using accounting software when it makes sense. The automations, the integrations, the reporting, those features are incredible for a growing business. But there is a reason that I still love a good spreadsheet. And if you're listening to this, there's a good chance that you do too. So let's start here. Sometimes the basics really are the best. You don't need to be a tech wizard or finance major to keep clear functional bookkeeping systems, especially if your business is still small or your operations are relatively simple and spreadsheets give you a level of control and customization that even the best software doesn't always match.
Molly Beyer: [00:01:43] So maybe you're just tracking income and expenses for a sole proprietorship, or you're not quite ready to invest in a full accounting platform. Or maybe, like a lot of my clients, you have accounting software, but you still find yourself copying data into a spreadsheet for budgeting, tracking, or cash flow planning. Yes. That's normal. You're not doing it wrong. So let's talk a little bit about the benefits of spreadsheets for bookkeeping. The first is flexibility and customization. You can build your spreadsheet to match your business, not the other way around. So that means you choose the layout. You build the formulas. You set it up to track exactly what matters most to you. You can't always do that with a pre-set software. And if you're someone who likes to see the story in your numbers your way, spreadsheets are an amazing tool. Two is ease of use and accessibility. Because let's be real, most of us have at least some experience with Excel or Google Sheets. You don't need a subscription. You don't need a tutorial every time you open it up, it's there, it's familiar, and it just works. And bonus, collaboration is easy. You can share a Google sheet with your VA, your bookkeeper, your accountability buddy, whoever you need. No logins, no license limits.
[00:02:52] Three is cost effectiveness. And this one's big, especially if you're early in your business journey. Spreadsheets are free or included already in tools that you're paying for. There's no monthly subscription, no steep learning curve, and you're not paying for features that you don't actually need yet.
[00:03:09] Four: it's perfect for simple bookkeeping needs. If you're only processing a handful of transactions each month, you probably don't need to pay for a software that was designed to handle thousands. Tracking income and expenses. Check. Categorizing vendor payments? Yep. Calculating quarterly estimates? Yep. That too. All of that can be done in a spreadsheet. Simply and clearly. But spreadsheets aren't always enough. As much as I love a good spreadsheet and believe me, I love spreadsheets, there are limits. So if you're managing inventory, if you're running payroll, if you're billing a lot of clients, or if you need detailed financial reports, you're really going to want accounting software. Period. As your business grows, keeping your spreadsheet accurate, secure, and organized does get harder. You have to be meticulous. You have to be careful that there's no forgotten or screwed up formulas, that there's no typos and dates, that you're not overwriting cells by mistake. And also backup and version control becomes a hazard because one accidental overwrite and you could lose weeks of data.
Molly Beyer: [00:04:18] So that is an area where accounting software really does shine. They're built to scale, they're designed for compliance. And they really do protect you from a lot of human error. But there is again a sweet spot. You know me, I love the sweet spot with everything we have here. So this is that best of both worlds scenario that just makes me so happy. So here is some information on using spreadsheets with your software. And it becomes a supplement. It's not a competition. It's something that you're using to help your software be better. So here's a couple of places you could use it. You could use a spreadsheet to plan your budgets, to track your actual versus projected income. There are software budgeting tools that are sometimes a little clunky or limited, or you have to pay for a higher level of the software you're in. With a spreadsheet, you can have budgets that reflect how your business is actually running, and you can even allocate a percentage of revenue for taxes, for bonuses, for savings goals and other investments. You can also run different scenarios, like what would happen if I raise prices 10%? Or what's the impact of hiring a contractor next quarter? So with spreadsheets, you get that flexible, forward looking tool that grows with you and helps you to make smarter decisions, to not and not just tracking history, you can also use it to map out your cash flows week by week.
Molly Beyer: [00:05:46] There are some items that have impacts on both your income statement and your balance sheet, but neither really shows you the actual cash movement in full. Something like a loan or a credit card payment is going to show the movement in the principal on the balance sheet and the interest as an expense on the income statement, but the total paid is what impacts your actual cash that's moving in and out of the business. And so that information is what you need to really set an actual budget of what's going in and out each month. A spreadsheet can be a great place to hold on to that information.
Molly Beyer: [00:06:19] It's also a great way to build a dashboard for non-financial data. Things like social metrics, lead tracking, operational KPIs. Use those then to connect to your financial picture. So say you're a service based business, maybe a coach, a designer, or a virtual assistant. You track your Instagram reach, email list growth, and inquiry forms in a spreadsheet each week. In that same spreadsheet, you also track how many of those leads turn into paying clients. So now next to that, you plug in your monthly revenue from your accounting software, or even manually. And over time you start to see the relationships. Do more inquiries actually lead to more sales? Is there a dip in revenue every time your social engagement drops? Are there certain marketing channels that drive more profitable leads? That kind of insight doesn't usually show up in traditional financial reports, but a spreadsheet lets you bring it all together.
Molly Beyer: [00:07:11] It becomes your business health dashboard, not just dollars in and out, but the bigger picture of what's working. If this is the data that you're getting from your CRM or other lead management, putting it alongside your financial data can really bring deeper insight. Because really, not everything is going to fit neatly into your accounting software. So you might want to track things like inventory reorder points, or mileage, or employee training reimbursements, even a client's billing quirks or multi-tiered pricing, which most accounting softwares can't handle well, or it's at a price point that doesn't work for many small businesses. So spreadsheets really give you the space to build what you need, without all of the additional workarounds that you might need in a software.
Molly Beyer: [00:07:57] Sometimes you need more than financials. You need to manage the moving parts. And this is that great place for the spreadsheets. You can set up task checklists, track recurring deadlines, things like quarterly tax filings, build your content calendar, and monitor grant reporting or project milestones. And then again, when you're pairing this with your accounting workflows, it really creates a complete operational picture.
Molly Beyer: [00:08:19] Not just numbers, but also action steps. So remember, even though your software does give you reports, it doesn't always give you clarity. And that is what spreadsheets are great for. So don't feel bad if you're exporting QuickBooks data into Excel. You're doing what smart business owners do. You're using the tools that work for you. So no matter what you do, your system needs to fit you. So whether you're team spreadsheet or you're team software or a little bit of both, remember the best bookkeeping system is the one that you're actually going to use. If a spreadsheet helps you stay consistent, stay clear and stay connected to your numbers, then that's absolutely the right choice for you right now. You can always level up later. You can always bring in a bookkeeper or move to software as your business grows. But don't let perfectionism or pressure keep you from tracking what matters today. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. We'd love to hear your feedback on today's episode, as well as any requests for future content. Drop a comment or suggestion and join us next time for more frank and holistic conversations on the basics of business. Please also like, subscribe or follow so you never miss an episode. And until next time, I'm Molly Beyer and this has been The Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond. Have a wonderful day!