From the desk
Real notes on bookkeeping, written plainly, from a QuickBooks ProAdvisor in Bayfield, Colorado.
Cleaning Out Old Business Records? Here’s How Long the IRS Says to Keep Them
Before you shred anything: the IRS’s 3-year rule, 4 years for payroll records, why equipment receipts stay longer, and what each receipt needs to show.
October 27, 2026Paying Quarterly Taxes? 4 Things Your Books Should Show Before January 15
What your books need to show before the January 15 estimated tax payment: this year’s profit, every payment made, and where each one gets recorded.
October 20, 2026Why I Work in QuickBooks Online, and What It Means for You
What working in QuickBooks Online means on your end: who owns the file, who can see it, what it costs, and what you touch each month.
October 13, 2026Profitable Month, Short Bank Account? 4 Places the Money Went
The report says you made money and the account is lower than last month. Four ordinary places the difference comes from.
October 6, 2026Changing Bookkeepers Mid-Year? Here’s What Comes With You
You don’t have to wait for January to change who keeps your books. What stays in QuickBooks, what to check first, and where a new bookkeeper picks up.
September 29, 20265 Things to Get Ready Before Your Tax Preparer Asks for Your Books
Five things to get ready before your tax preparer asks for your books, from reconciling your accounts to handing off the paperwork, in plain English.
September 23, 2026What You Have to Do Each Month When Someone Else Keeps Your Books
Worried that hiring a bookkeeper turns into homework for you? Here’s every step setup week asks of you, and what each month needs once it’s running.
September 15, 2026Put Something Personal on the Business Card? Here’s What to Do
Put a personal purchase on your business card by accident? Here’s how it gets recorded so your profit stays accurate, and what to do if it keeps happening.
September 13, 2026Hiring Your First Employee? Here’s What Changes in Your Books
Getting ready to hire your first employee? Here’s what changes in your books, and what payroll software can take off your plate.
September 9, 2026What Working With a Remote Bookkeeper Looks Like, Week to Week
Nothing to drive to, and no meeting to sit through. Here is what happens week to week, from receipts to reconciling, once you hand your books to a remote bookkeeper.
September 8, 2026How to Read Your Profit and Loss Statement
What each line of your P&L is telling you, and the one thing worth watching every month besides the bottom line.
September 2, 20263 Things One Bank Account Costs Your Business
What running business and personal spending through one account does to your reports, your deductions, and your cleanup bill.
September 1, 2026What a Books Health Check Finds
What the 12-point check looks for in your file, and what a bad result looks like.
September 1, 2026How to Choose a Bookkeeper (And What to Avoid)
Anyone can call themselves a bookkeeper. The questions to ask, and the answers that should make you walk.
September 1, 2026QuickBooks Setup Mistakes New LLCs Make
Most of the damage happens in the first week, and nobody notices until much later.
September 1, 2026What Happens If You Stop Reconciling Your Bank Account
Why your reports can look fine while errors build up, and why the fix costs more the longer you wait.
September 1, 2026Is Remote Bookkeeping As Good As Local?
What changes with a remote bookkeeper, and what you give up.
September 1, 2026Signs Your Small Business Needs a Bookkeeper
The specific moments when doing it yourself stops being the cheaper option.
September 1, 2026How to Clean Up Months of Messy QuickBooks
The order to do it in. Do these out of order and you will redo the work.
September 1, 2026The 1099 Rule Changed in 2026. Here’s the New Number.
The threshold went from $600 to $2,000, and it is not the rule you have been reading about.
September 1, 2026How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost in Colorado? Here Are Real Numbers.
My prices, the three things that set the number, and when hiring a bookkeeper can wait.
August 30, 2026The Point of Clean Books Isn’t the Numbers
The point of bookkeeping is being able to trust your own numbers. Here’s what that looks like, and how to check where you stand.
August 26, 2026What I Found the First Time I Opened a Client’s Real Books
You look at the number at the top of QuickBooks and some part of you doesn’t quite trust it. Here’s why that feeling is worth taking seriously.