My story of learning to make my money work for me…one week at a time.
When I was a kid, we had an electric model train that used to belong to my Grandpa. It was one of those kids' toys that would never pass the child-safety standards of today. So many small pieces. So many loose wires. So much lead-based paint.
But of course, we loved it. Every year, a few days before Christmas, my dad would take a cardboard box down from the attic and lay down the pieces of track, one by one, in a circle around the tree. My sisters and I would watch for a little while, but soon we'd get bored and move on. It seriously took him hours fiddling with the connectors, aligning the engine wheels to the track correctly so that the electric current would push it forward, fitting the frayed wires into the fuse box…
Until suddenly, we heard a low screeching noise from the other room, and we'd come rushing in to see the train careening around the evergreen, as my dad sat with a satisfied smile on his face.
When you're playing with mysterious technology, there's nothing quite like the feeling of suddenly seeing it work.
I just never expected it to happen so quickly with my new accounting software.
Ridiculously Easy Accounting? Yes, Please!
For my second Profit Club meeting, Jess walked me through setting up my user accounts in both Xero and HubDoc.
If you've been following this blog, you've heard about these two software programs before.
HubDoc is The Bottom Line's favorite app for documenting and tracking cash flow. (They like us too–we've been named among their Top 50 Accountants. Twice. In a row.)
And Xero is hands down the best accounting software for the online entrepreneur: cost-effective, mobile-responsive, and ridiculously easy to use.
But I'll confess, as I was gearing up for my meeting, I was wondering “Okay, but how easy?”
Turns out ridiculously easy is an understatement.
Watch It Work
When it comes to training, Jess is definitely not a “throw her in the pool and she'll learn to swim” kind of teacher. The sessions are broken up into bite-size pieces that leave you feeling satisfied that you learned something but not overwhelmed by all the work ahead of you.
So for this session, Jess simply walked me through the user interface in both HubDoc and Xero. After helping me set up an account in HubDoc, she showed me how I can connect it with any other online app I use for my business. Getting paid on Paypal, buying storage through Dropbox…by just typing in my user details and password, HubDoc pulls a copy of every receipt and organizes them for me.
If you've been keeping your own file of receipts (like I have) and spending hours every April organizing them into tax-appropriate categories (like I have), you'll understand what it means to suddenly see your receipts actively flowing into a database and falling of their own free will into the right categories.
It's magical. Like Christmas morning magical.
Xero: Your New Girl Friday
I will admit to being a little bit terrified when Jess guided me to the Chart of Accounts in Xero. But that's mainly because the term “Chart of Accounts” is in itself terrifying to me.
And yes, when you look it in the face this Chart of Accounts is intimidatingly long and involved. But Jess assures me it’s pretty standard for online service-based businesses. What's nice is that I can create my own codes for organizing each entry–this makes them easy to filter and has the added benefit of making me feel like the boss of my own money.
Actually, Xero is all about making you feel like the boss. It performs like a perfect “girl Friday,” sending invoices in different templates designed for different services, helping you handle emails and CRM, letting you make notes to call someone and then automatically making a note after you called them. This software handles my business better than I do!
Oh, and did I mention that it connects me with Client Care at The Bottom Line with the touch of a button?
Don't be surprised if this thing takes over the world.
The Bottom Line
Accounting doesn't have to be terrifying. By taking it in slow, bite-sized pieces, using amazingly designed software, and getting someone knowledgeable to walk you through it, you can own your books and be in control of your business finances.
