We Don't Talk Enough About Financial Shame in Entrepreneurship
How hiring a bookkeeper may relieve your burden and help you refocus on your mission.
Starting a business often feels like running a marathon while juggling flaming torches. As an entrepreneur, you’re responsible for everything—from marketing and operations to client relations and, yes, bookkeeping. That last one can feel incredibly daunting, and at HigherRing, we see it all the time: hard-working entrepreneurs who come to us feeling overwhelmed and even a bit embarrassed about the state of their books.
But here’s the thing—you’re not alone. Bookkeeping is one of the trickiest aspects of building a business, especially if numbers aren’t where your passion lies. It’s also vital to ensure you have a clear view of your cash flow, expenses, and profits, which is critical for growing your company sustainably.
Why Bookkeeping Feels So Overwhelming
As a business owner, you have to wear many hats, often managing every aspect of your business with limited time and resources. Bookkeeping can quickly slip down the list of priorities. When focused on delivering your product or service, bookkeeping tasks—like reconciling bank statements, categorizing expenses, or managing payroll—may seem like a distraction from the “real” work. And let’s face it; they can be intimidating!
In our experience at HigherRing, entrepreneurs often come to us feeling deeply ashamed about the state of their books. When problems pile up, it can be tempting to avoid dealing with them altogether.
Bookkeeping Systems Alone May Not Be Enough
There’s no question that bookkeeping software has come a long way. Many business owners are turning to these AI-powered tools to help manage their books; at first, it may feel like things are under control. However, in our work with entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, we’ve seen how these tools can quickly fall short, especially when it comes to the nuanced aspects of accounting.
These systems make starting easy yet have shockingly little guidance around generally accepted principles, good practices, and common bookkeeping scenarios like the following:
Did a client bounce a check or send partial payments? You need skilled human expertise to handle these less common scenarios.
Trying to set up a process around your receivables? You’ll need a system where you can quickly note one-off expenses and anomalies and double-check your automated processes.
Are you dealing with inputs from overseas? Bookkeeping software can easily neglect to translate measurements and currencies. Your inventory's value can quickly become inflated or understated, causing real problems when your accountants prepare your taxes for the year or when your investors review your books.
Does your Chart of Accounts reflect the reality of your business so it can serve as a solid structure from which to accurately build your budgeting and financial statements?
Are you reconciling your bank statements to your books each month? Bookkeeping software's posting practices make it seem like this isn’t necessary. Yet reconciliation is key to catching duplicate or missing transactions, which are common when bank feeds are disrupted.
Confused about cash or accrual accounting? This makes a real difference in how your revenue is shown.
AI has come a long way, yet we’ve noticed a fundamental shortcoming in how bookkeeping systems categorize expenses. Many automated matchings are incorrect or assume the transaction should be categorized as they were previously. These mistakes can add up, causing errors that can impact your understanding of your financial health, and even risk compliance issues when the information is not ready to file tax reports on time.
Entrepreneurs without training in accounting practices can quickly become overwhelmed and spend way too much time trying to understand their books. To make matters worse, software help lines are overwhelmed, and it can take long hours on hold to reach a support person.
How HigherRing Can Help
HigherRing provides an experienced, professional team to handle your bookkeeping accurately and efficiently. We know you didn’t start your business to spend hours categorizing transactions or combing through expense reports. That’s why we ensure our clients feel comfortable, understood, and well cared for. We know that bookkeeping can feel daunting, so we work in a friendly and collaborative way, never passing judgment on where your books stand.
HigherRing’s Financial Operations team combines expert knowledge with industry best practices and tools (and yes, we integrate the best AI while carefully double-checking for accuracy). Our team brings a personal, human touch to your financials so you can relax, knowing your books are in great hands.
If you’ve been in business for a while, our experienced team can perform cleanup tasks and projects, including systems migrations. We work with you to ensure your chart of accounts represents the complete picture of your business, and financial reports provide the information needed to make budgeting or opportunity decisions.
Our Process—Built Around You
When you work with HigherRing, you’ll have access to a customized, client-centered approach to free up your time and relieve your bookkeeping stress. We handle the details, ensuring your books are up-to-date and error-free, all while providing regular reports to keep you in the loop. And because we’re more than just your bookkeeping team—we’re your ethical outsourcing partner—you can trust that we’re invested in helping your business succeed.
Reclaim Your Passion and Your Time
Our goal is simple: to free you from the distractions of the mundane daily aspects of bookkeeping so you can do more of what you’re passionate about. Whether that’s designing products, building client relationships, or scaling your business, we’ll make sure the financial details are covered. Imagine the time and energy you’ll regain when you know you have a team taking care of your books, freeing you to focus on growth.
Let HigherRing lighten your load. Together, we’ll get your financials back on track so you can confidently focus on doing what you do best.
Author Bio
Hiya! I’m Heather, and I’m the Marketing Manager here at HigherRing. I enjoy bringing my marketing expertise to a brand focused on balancing the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. I’m passionate about storytelling around corporate social responsibility. When I’m not supporting HigherRing with our communications I’m listening to a political podcast, taking a hot yoga class or tending to my (many) plants.