The appeal of having your own business is often associated with being your own boss, having financial independence, and working on your own clock. Once the opportunity comes your way and you start your “business dream,” there are added responsibilities to account for to ensure that you and your future employees are successful in this venture.

As the owner of a small business, one invests a tremendous amount of time and or energy to ensure that the company is successful. We spend our lives worrying about ROI (Return on Investment figures) and trying to maintain a good financial record.

You need to take the time to ensure that you keep a record of your finances and expenses throughout the lifespan of your business. The unfortunate reality is that most small businesses battle to stay afloat or even make it off the ground … so you need to give it every chance to succeed.

If your business takes off rapidly, there is a good chance that time devoted to record keeping is minimized, simply to meet demands. Do not fall into this trap! If starting your own business was an “out” to try to escape paperwork, then you will need to hire someone to do your record keeping for you.

Efficient record keeping will not only help to keep everything in order but could help you analyze your company’s financial health in the future too.

Beginning in April, the local Florida Small Business Development Council will hold QuickBooks round tables. It will be a small group where you can come with your specific questions for your business. There will be separate sessions for the desktop version and the online version. Contact me at (904) 209-1295 if you are interested.

Marge Cirillo is the Florida Small Business Development Council consultant for St. Johns County. She can be reached at m.cirillo@unf.edu or (904) 209-1295.