Business budgets are tricky, especially if you’re an online entrepreneur. We see “all the things” online—the new content scheduling tool, the new workflow system, the new course for creatives, the website maintenance tool, the membership site… You get the picture. And when we hear others talk about them, we get FOMO (fear of missing out).
Sure, there are necessities that you need to have in place so your business can run more efficiently. I personally pay monthly or yearly fees for a client management system, content scheduling, bookkeeping (um…duh…I’m a bookkeeper!) and a few other regular and recurring fees. They make my life easier and some of them I couldn’t live without!
Of course, all the bells and whistles are great. If they’re in your budget. And you’re actually using them. If it’s been a while since you’ve audited your recurring fees, it’s time to hop on that train before the end of the year so you can find out why your business might be losing money. Or, at the very least, not sticking to your budget.
Performing an audit on referring fees can save you money and stop the seeping of cash that sometimes happens. You know what I’m talking about: You thought you had the cash in your account, but an auto-renewal bill came due and the funds “magically” disappeared from your account.
They’re hard to keep track of, I know! To put an end to your own cash seep and stop losing money, take these steps:
- Log into your business bank account and take note of all the charges you’ve incurred in the last 30 days. In other words, reconcile your checking account. Going line by line, make sure you recognize every debit to your account. If you don’t recognize a charge, make a note of it.
- Do the same thing with any credit cards you use for your business. (And just a tip here: Bookkeeping is much more simple if you only use one credit card for business, and you use it only for business.)
- Investigate those unknown charges in the last 30 days. On your bank and credit card statements, there’s usually a toll-free number or abbreviated company name in the Description section. Do an online search of the company name and/or call the phone number listed to find out what the charge is for and how to cancel your account. Because if you don’t use the service, it’s time to cancel!
- Now that you’ve taken care of your month-to-month subscription-based purchases, it’s time to take care of any yearly subscriptions you may be billed for. Go back 11 months to find those yearly subscriptions that are coming up for renewal soon. Look at your bank statement and credit card statement for 11 months ago, again making note of anything you don’t recognize and contacting the organization you’re subscribed with.
- Work your way forward, again looking closely at every month’s statement. By the time you get back to your current month, you should have accounted for every subscription charge and be able to remove that “seep” from your business spending!
Overwhelmed and confused? Taking a proactive stance on business spending can be a challenge, but it’s a necessity if you want to get ahead financially. If you need help, book a free consultation with me and I’ll get you on the right track.
