Inventory and Bookkeeping
Inventory Mishaps Result in Confusion and Loss
At any given moment, are you able to pull reports (or better yet, have your bookkeeper provide you with the reports) on exactly what your inventory looks like? Does what your bookkeeping shows reflect the actual situation of your business? If the answer is no, then you're selling your business short. When you view your financials, in order to have an accurate picture of the future path for your company, you must know where your dollars are.
There can be a number of symptoms of inaccurate inventory tracking- expected items are not on the warehouse shelf when needed, items sitting too long and expiring, or inability to evaluate sales and forecast properly.... but all of these symptoms come back to one BIG, ugly, underlying problem. Your inventory process sucks. As experienced bookkeepers in Lexington, KY we can help you get this thing straightened out.
Problems with your processes
IGNORING THE PROBLEM: Do you have no system in place for inventory tracking? If you are not reporting your inventory in your accounting system, this can have huge impacts on the financial picture that lenders or investors see when they evaluate your business. It also prevents you from being able to manage cash flow appropriately, and make wise financial decisions for your business.
INEFFICIENT PROCESSES: You track inventory in your POS or CRM software... yay! But, does that information accurately integrate with your accounting software? Is your bookkeeper (maybe that's you?) doing double duty to manually import that information, or do you have instances of double entries or inaccurate data? Remember, many times- the best answer is to simplify your processes to make them easier and more efficient. This will save you time and frustration!
INVENTORY VS. NON-INVENTORY: It can be confusing.... what should be counted and what shouldn't? Which items run through the system from start to finish, and which ones go in and out with a Journal Entry? Where is the line between accurate reporting, and unnecessary work and data? A little extra effort in the development stage of your inventory process to think through how it effects your bookkeeping, your reporting, and your time management will make all the difference as you grow and scale your business.
Fix your shit!
FIND A MENTOR IN YOUR INDUSTRY! You'd be surprised how willing other business leaders are to help one another. When you reach out to another business owner and say "I see your success, and I want to be like you", it makes them feel good. Who doesn't like to feel proud of themselves and seen? And pride can cause us to do silly things, like giving input and advice to help a perfect stranger who respects us and values us. The worst thing that can happen is they say they don't have time, they aren't interested, or just no. The best thing that can happen is they take you under their wing and you have someone to bounce ideas off of and help you grow this thing!
HIRE A BUSINESS COACH! There are countless schools of thought and methodologies... and I can't tell you which one is best for you and your business. I have had experience with a few and highly recommend 2X coaching and EOS Worldwide. It's an investment in yourself as a leader, and in your business when you commit to working a system like these- and you can easily root out and fix these issues and more when you have a guide to help you and your team come together to solve these things.
ASK THE PROFESSIONALS! Look, if you don't have someone on your team who is watching your numbers closely and making suggestions about how to improve things- you are absolutely leaving money on the table and wasting time! Get your bookkeeper involved, ask your CFO and CPA to figure this monster out... You're an entrepreneur, not a god... you aren't supposed to know everything. But, you are supposed to ask for help when you need it and create a path to success. Call that dang support line for the software you are using for inventory and get their input and advice. They have a support team for a reason- to SUPPORT you.
If you are looking for bookkeeping in Lexington, KY…. we have you covered. But, we also serve businesses across the country because technology is awesome and makes it easy to work with you no matter your location.
