Reflecting on ’24 and the Benefits of Owning Your Data

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Housekeeping: *CURRENTLY*, there are 2 deadlines in January, but possibly one more:

1. Q4 Estimated Tax Payments: Jan 15th.
   April’s newsletter explains the Why and How of estimated tax in the ridiculous “4 month quarter”(insert eyeroll).
2. 1099/W2 filings postmarked: Jan 31st.
   December’s newsletter shows you who needs a 1099 and how to get the necessary info and file.

However, keep your ears and eyes peeled for the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement, which could become a third January deadline. This Ross and Rachel of a filing has been on-again, off-again throughout December thanks to legal challenges, and the original Jan1st deadline was pushed back to Jan 13th. As of the moment I send this newsletter, there is a second injunction against it, so it currently does not have a deadline. It’s uncertain whether or not that injunction will last, so follow us on Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook for updates when things change again.

If you haven’t filed yet but plan to do it, our November newsletter has all the handholding you need to get it done yourself.

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Close the Door on ‘24

Before we can reflect, we must complete the year – financially speaking. Here are the items we request from our clients when closing out the prior year:

1. Mileage totals: If you don’t dive much for business purposes, you can do this in Excel using your calendar and Google Maps to piece this number together retroactively. If business has you driving regularly, you can use the mileage tracker in the QBO app (MileIQ does the same thing). When you turn on auto-tracking in these apps, they track all your driving trips. Then you go in once weekly and swipe left for business and right for personal – so easy. Plus, it’s got GPS and time stamping so it’s iron clad should you get audited.* Don’t skip this deduction! The 2024 mileage reimbursement rate is .67/mile – super high! Even little trips add up quickly
2. Receipts for business expenses purchased with personal money
3. Loan statements to capture interest expense

Using more than numbers to reflect

After closing the year, carve out some time to sit with your reports and absorb the numbers. Here are a few of my favorite reports:

1. 2024 Profit & Loss, *Display Columns by Month*: This report gives you context for each income and expense category. This is where you would recognize seasonal trends, and high-five yourself for any revenue records and positive trends.
2. 2024 Balance Sheet *Display Columns by Month*: This report will show your progress – or lack thereof – in paying down debt and accumulating assets. It will also show you which months you paid yourself bigger distributions.
3. Profit & Loss as % of Total Income: This report quickly identifies which expenses are chewing up your income and illuminates areas where you might pursue impactful change in 2025.

As much as I enjoy analyzing reports and visual representations of financial data, I still look for other metrics for success. For example, one of my goals for 2024 was to write a newsletter every month and I did it! I’m proud that I’ve been here each month with my cozy subscriber list, playing the long game by spreading bookkeeping knowledge and a little entertainment. I’m also SO grateful that you keep coming back to read this, so THANK YOU!

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More of that bookkeeping knowledge:

Bookkeeping Nightmare after Christmas

On December 27th, 2024, the large, venture capitalist-backed bookkeeping firm – Bench Accounting– emailed all of their 35,000 customers with this message:

Those customers, who thought they had done the responsible thing and had been paying for competent professionals to do their bookkeeping, abruptly lost both their bookkeeper, and access to their financial data. This was because Bench had developed their own proprietary accounting software, into which all of their customers had migrated their financial data. I’ve spoken with ex-Bench customers who report that they now have access to their data, but it was not available by the promised date.

I don’t know enough specifics to comment on the situation (otherwise I might use words like “gross negligence”), but I do have something to say about the benefits of owning your financial data. Most accounting software – QBO, Xero, Freshbooks – are subscriptions that you own, then either manage the data yourself or pay someone to manage it for you. You can then give access to any bookkeeper or tax pro to do the work for you. As long as you remain the Primary Admin, you can revoke their access and take your data to a new accounting professional at any time. Each company has it’s own policy on what happens if you stop paying for the subscription: QBO give you 12 months of Read-Only access so you can export lists to another subscription, while you immediately lose access to Xero and Freshbooks. In all 3 cases, the files are archived. You only need to resubscribe to access the data again, so it’s never really lost.

Full disclosure, Quickbooks Online – the software in which we specialize – is not a perfect system. There are limits to the software and I have experienced annoying glitches with QBO that (while temporary) are still frustrating. However, the freedom to revoke access from a bookkeeper or accountant who isn’t responding to your questions or performing the agreed-upon tasks gives you valuable leverage and the control to find another professional who will get the job done.

This event becomes a PSA in favor owning your financial software and hiring a boutique bookkeeping firm that you connect with and trust. Look for a bookkeeping team that’s integrated into your business and invested in you and your success. Real human relationships are at the core IQBK. We keep a team of at least 2 bookkeepers on every client and a 24 business hour response policy on any client communication.

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IQBK Client Highlight

Dan Hinz Video & Seaside Flukes

This overachieving power couple really knows how to diversify. Dan Hinz is primarily a YouTube video editor, but also a budding real estate investor. Allison and I worked with dolphins together years ago at Gulf World Marine Park, where she is still a fulltime trainer. On the side, she creates one-of-a-kind decor pieces in her workshop, Seaside Flukes.

Dan and Allison Hinz keep busy building their businesses. Dan is a YouTube Editor that specializes with helping educators become edutainers, and the videos he’s edited have over
260 million views and counting! Allison creates custom animal decor and specializes in marine mammals. So if you have a favorite dolphin or sea lion–and some extra wall space–Allison has got you covered.

Check Dan out:
Website: danhinz.video
Instagram: @danhinzvideo

Check Allison out:
Instagram: @seasideflukes

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this, please tap the heart or drop a comment. Positive reinforcement is so effective and I always want more of it.

If you want to discuss bookkeeping questions, hop on my calendar for a no-cost discovery call, I’d love to chat.

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