Step By Step Accounting

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Step By Step Accounting Not your typical accounting team! We take the time to really dive-deep into our customer's finances

I used to think being a good leader meant being the one who could handle anything. The one who never dropped the ball. T...
09/28/2026

I used to think being a good leader meant being the one who could handle anything. The one who never dropped the ball. The one everyone could count on for everything.

What that actually built was a bottleneck. Me.

Leaders who delegate well free up 20 to 30 percent more time for the work that actually grows the business, and their teams are more engaged and less burned out because of it.

But knowing that does not make it easier. Most of us do not avoid delegating because we do not trust our team. We avoid it because we get a little dopamine hit from being the one who fixes things. Because we are afraid something will slip. Because it feels faster to just do it ourselves.

Here is the reframe I keep coming back to. You are not offloading work when you delegate. You are offering someone else the chance to grow.

If there is one task on your plate this week that someone else could do, even if they would not do it exactly your way, that is worth a second look. Start small. Ten percent more delegated this month is still progress.

What is one thing your team could grow by doing that you are currently doing yourself?

POV: You finally hired an Executive Assistant before you hit your breaking point.Your inbox isn't running your day.Follo...
09/04/2026

POV: You finally hired an Executive Assistant before you hit your breaking point.

Your inbox isn't running your day.
Follow-ups actually happen on time.
The little tasks that used to eat up your entire morning are handled.
You have space on your calendar to think, plan, and lead.
And for the first time in a while, you're working on the business instead of constantly reacting inside of it.

The best part?

You didn't hire because you were desperate.

You looked at the numbers, recognized where your time was going, and made the hire your business was actually ready for.

And when you are ready to make that hire, you don't have to figure it out alone. A shoutout to Rock Solid Virtual Assistants for helping business owners get connected with skilled assistants who can step in and provide the support they need.

Hiring based on stress is expensive.

Hiring based on your numbers is strategy.

A client came to us profitable on paper and still couldn't pay her bills. Here's what was actually happening.When we pul...
09/02/2026

A client came to us profitable on paper and still couldn't pay her bills. Here's what was actually happening.

When we pulled her Accounts Receivable aging report, there was over $38,000 sitting in unpaid invoices, some more than 90 days old. Not because clients refused to pay. Because there was no system catching it.

We cleaned up the aging report, turned on reminders, and built a simple 15-minute weekly review habit. Within two months, her cash flow steadied out. No loan. No new debt. Just visibility into money that was already hers.

This is more common than you think. Profit and cash are not the same thing, and unpaid invoices are one of the quietest ways that gap grows.

Swipe through to see what we found and what we changed.

Tip Tuesday 💡August isn't over yet. Here are 5 things worth doing before September 1st:1. Pull your July P&L and check w...
08/25/2026

Tip Tuesday 💡

August isn't over yet. Here are 5 things worth doing before September 1st:

1. Pull your July P&L and check where you landed vs. expectations
2. Review your top 5 expense categories — anything unexpected?
3. Confirm your AR: any invoices unpaid from July that need follow-up?
4. Add up your owner pay for the month — is it what you planned?
5. Set one financial intention for September before the month begins

None of these take more than 30 minutes total. But doing them consistently is what separates businesses that feel in control from the ones that always feel behind.

Save this and work through it before the end of the month.

Tip Tuesday 💡Paid for a business expense with your personal card? Here's how to keep your books clean.In QuickBooks Onli...
08/18/2026

Tip Tuesday 💡

Paid for a business expense with your personal card? Here's how to keep your books clean.

In QuickBooks Online, record it as a journal entry with the debit to the expense category you want and the credit to "Owner Contributions" if you don't the money back or "Due to Owner," if you do want to pay it back to yourself. Then, if you are paying yourself back, reimburse yourself from the business account and code it against Due to Owner to zero the account out.

What you want to avoid: leaving it uncategorized, or worse, forgetting it happened at all. Both create messy books and missed deductions.

A two-minute fix now saves a bigger headache come tax season.

Save this for the next time it happens, because it will happen again.

Quick question: if I asked you right now who owes your business money, could you answer without opening three different ...
08/17/2026

Quick question: if I asked you right now who owes your business money, could you answer without opening three different apps?

Most business owners can't. And it's not because they're careless. It's because Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable are two of the most avoided reports in QuickBooks, even though they're two of the most useful.

Accounts Receivable tells you who owes you. Accounts Payable tells you who you owe. Simple in theory. Easy to lose track of in practice, especially when you're juggling clients, projects, and everything else that comes with running a business.

Here's the relief part: once these two reports are current, a lot of the background financial anxiety just quiets down. You stop guessing about cash flow and start knowing.

If you've been avoiding this one, this week is a good week to open it back up. You can't manage what you can't see.

Save this if you needed the nudge.

He had been in business for years and every single January he was guessing.Guess how much to raise prices. Hope he didn'...
08/13/2026

He had been in business for years and every single January he was guessing.

Guess how much to raise prices. Hope he didn't lose too many clients. Cross his fingers that the raises, the insurance increases, and the supply costs wouldn't quietly eat him alive.

One year he raised prices too high and lost clients he didn't have to lose. The next year he went conservative and still felt sick about it.

When we started working together, we built him a revenue model from scratch.

We went line by line through every employee and what raise they deserved. We looked at his marketing spend and gave his team an actual authorized number to work with. We built in donations, supplies, insurance projections, and a profit target he actually wanted to hit.

And then we backed into the sales activity he needed such as how many calls a week, how many client visits, how many new signups to make the whole thing work.

No more guessing. Just a number he could defend, a plan he understood, and a team that finally knew what they were working toward.

This is what budgeting is actually for.

If you've been guessing on your pricing every year, DM me the word BUDGET and let's talk.

Meet Camille!👋We're excited to welcome Camille to the Step By Step Accounting team as our newest Senior Accountant!With ...
08/12/2026

Meet Camille!👋

We're excited to welcome Camille to the Step By Step Accounting team as our newest Senior Accountant!

With more than 20 years of accounting experience, including eight years in public accounting, Camille loves helping small business owners gain confidence in their finances. Her favorite part of the job is building genuine relationships with clients, understanding what they're working toward, and helping create a financial roadmap to get them there.

When she's not working, you'll likely find her cheering on the Minnesota Twins, planning her next trip to another MLB ballpark, or spending time with her six kids and four grandkids. (Let's just say family gatherings are never small!)

We're so excited to have Camille on the team. Help us give her a warm welcome! 💙

Tip Tuesday 💡If you're manually following up on unpaid invoices, QuickBooks Online can take that off your plate.Under in...
08/12/2026

Tip Tuesday 💡

If you're manually following up on unpaid invoices, QuickBooks Online can take that off your plate.

Under invoice settings, you can turn on automatic reminders that email your client before the due date, on the due date, and after it's overdue. You choose the timing. QuickBooks sends the nudge.

This does two things. It gets you paid faster, because most late payments are simply forgotten ones. And it takes the awkward "just following up" email off your to-do list.

Here's where to find it: Settings → Sales → Reminders → turn on Automatic Invoice Reminders.

Small setting. Real impact on your cash flow. Save this for your next QuickBooks session.

Nobody talks about this enough:You can love your business deeply and still be tired. You can be proud of what you've bui...
07/27/2026

Nobody talks about this enough:

You can love your business deeply and still be tired. You can be proud of what you've built and still feel stretched thin. You can be grateful for your clients and still feel like you're running on empty.

Both things can be true at the same time. And if you're feeling that right now, you're not ungrateful. You're human.

One of the things I've noticed over the years is that financial stress is almost always underneath business burnout. When you don't have a clear picture of where you stand financially, the uncertainty sits in the background of everything. It takes up mental space. It makes everything feel heavier.

That's not a character flaw. That's just what happens when you're carrying too much uncertainty.

If you're tired, I hope you give yourself some grace this week. And if you're ready to reduce some of that weight, link in bio.

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West Fargo, ND
58078

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