Bookkeeping With Excel Isn’t the Problem Sis...

Alright I'm going to be real with you girlfriend...

Some of y’all do NOT need QuickBooks yet.

And I need other accountants online to stop acting like using Excel or Google Sheets automatically means your business is doomed.

Excel can absolutely work for bookkeeping…

if you actually know what needs to be tracked.

So the real problem is...

most of my DIY lady business owners are building spreadsheets that were never designed to give real financial information in the first place.

So now:

- your numbers don’t match the bank

- your profit looks random every month

- tax season feels confusing

- and you’re lowkey or high-key scared your spreadsheet is lying to you

Spreadsheet works GREAT when:

- your transactions are still manageable

- you understand basic bookkeeping categories

- your business is relatively simple

- you consistently update things

For a newer business owner?

A clean spreadsheet is WAY better than ignoring your books completely because your accounting software feels overwhelming.

And that’s the part right there that isnt spoken about... women are breaking out in cold sweats just opening up QuickBooks.

But let's get into the next part…

Excel does NOT:

- automatically import transactions

- reconcile your accounts for you

- catch duplicate entries

- separate personal/business spending

- generate reliable reports automatically

Meaning:

if your setup is messy…

your financials become unreliable FAST.

And THAT’S where the real issue starts.

So lets say a business owner made:

$82,000 in revenue

But her spreadsheet only showed:

$67,000

Why you ask?

Because:

- transfers got counted as income

- Stripe fees weren’t separated

- duplicate deposits got entered twice

- personal purchases were mixed in

- missing transactions were never caught

Now she thinks:

she made less money than she actually did.

Meanwhile the IRS?

Still expects the REAL number.

Miss ma'am.

Because you're not going to be able to say your tax/Accountant Bestie didn't tell y'all.

So...

1. Mixing personal and business transactions

This alone creates chaos sis.

Especially when you’re trying to figure out deductions later.

2. Tracking deposits but ignoring fees

If Stripe deposits $485 but the customer paid $500…

you need BOTH numbers recorded.

Not just what hit the bank.

3. No consistent categories

Everything cannot go under:

“misc”

“supplies”

or “other.”

That’s where reporting starts becoming useless.

4. Not reconciling to the bank monthly

If your spreadsheet says one thing and your bank says another…

the spreadsheet loses.

Every time.

5. Editing old numbers constantly

Girl stop changing random transactions from six months ago without tracking anything.

Now your reports shift every month and you don’t even know why.

You really only need columns for:

- date

- description

- income

- expense category

- amount

- payment method

- notes if needed

That’s it.

Not 47 tabs.

Not color-coded chaos.

Not 50 formulas you found and barely understand.

Simple works just fine.

If:

- you avoid updating your books

- transactions are getting too high in volume

- you can’t reconcile monthly

- your reports don’t make sense anymore

- you’re preparing for an S-Corp

- you have contractors/employees

- tax time becomes a disaster every year

…it’s probably time for software.

Not because Excel all of a sudden became “bad.”

Because your business outgrew manual tracking.

There’s a difference.

They only track cash.

Not actual bookkeeping.

So they:

- miss deductions

- underreport income

- overstate expenses

- forget fees

- ignore owner’s draws

- duplicate revenue

- lose receipts

And then tax season turns into:

“Wait… where did this number even come from?”

Girl.

Not create MORE confusion.

You do not need to feel ashamed for starting simple.

You just need a bookkeeping system that’s actually reliable.

And if your spreadsheet currently feels like a chaotic mess you’ve been side-eyeing?

That’s exactly the kind of thing we can clean up together in your Girl Let Me See Your Books strategy sessions.

Because sometimes the issue isn’t Excel, Mac Numbers, or Google Sheets.

It’s that nobody ever taught you how bookkeeping is SUPPOSED to work sis.

But now you got me. ✌🏽💜