Real Entrepreneur Mums RealMag Jan29 2018 | Page 10

Planning it right from the start
Bookkeeping Basics
I swore I’d never run my own business. I swore it black and blue. I’d watched my grandparents work extremely
hard in their small business and then, at eight years of age, my parents bought a coffee shop. This was in the mid-
80’s and trading was only 5 days a week, but soon it included Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, then all
day Saturday and before they knew it, it was 7-days a week. Having lived through it once, I decided that was never
going to be me.
Fast forward to five years ago and I had a career I loved in financial services. It was flexible enough for me to
work, raise a family and do bookkeeping for friends on the side. I still wasn’t interested in having my own business.
Until I discovered Xero. It was like a lightbulb moment for me. Suddenly I could see how I could help all these
small business owners, who were spending hours they didn’t have, pouring over accounts they didn’t want to
do. I knew there was a tool that could help give families back time with each other, through using a bookkeeper,
without any of the previous concerns of transparency. Xero is not only easy to use, but business owners can
access their financial information at the touch of button.
“
Focus on what you love doing
”
Small business owners still hesitate to outsource their accounts to a bookkeeper. In the early days, it usually
money driven, which I understand completely. When you start out, money is always tight, and you save where you
can by doing everything you