Tax season is over. You filed. You swore you would never wait that long again. You told yourself this year would be different.
And then… May hits.
You glance at your books, shrug, and say, “We’ll get to it later.” That is exactly how the chaos starts all over again.
If you want clean books and zero panic come next April, you’ve got to dodge these common May screw-ups.
1. Thinking You Can Coast Until Q4
May feels like a “break” after tax season. But it is also when bad habits creep back in.
You delay categorizing expenses. You skip reconciling the bank. You stop checking reports. Fast forward to October and it is a mess again.
If you do nothing else this month, at least review Q1 and start fresh for Q2. Trust us… your future self will owe you dinner.
2. Ignoring That “Suspense” Account
You know the one. That weird junk drawer in your books where uncategorized transactions go to die.
If you’ve got mystery charges or “ask accountant” notes piling up, now is the time to handle them.
Letting that stuff sit only makes your reports more useless and your tax prep more painful.
3. Mixing Business and Personal
Look, we all swipe the wrong card sometimes. But if you are still using one account for both personal and business? That is not a mistake… that’s a full-on liability.
It messes up your deductions, makes you look sloppy, and if the IRS ever audits you? Good luck explaining that Amazon order for “miscellaneous home goods.”
4. Overcomplicating the Chart of Accounts
Just because QuickBooks lets you create 47 categories for “Marketing” does not mean you should.
Keep your Chart of Accounts lean and useful. If your P&L report looks like a Cheesecake Factory menu, you are doing it wrong.
One account for software. One for advertising. One for subscriptions. That is it. Do not make it weird.
5. Waiting Too Long to Ask for Help
If your books are already out of control, hoping it magically sorts itself out is not a strategy.
You do not have to suffer through DIY QuickBooks tutorials or wait until next tax season to fix it.
Get it cleaned up now, while Q2 is still young and the damage is still fixable.
Your books are not going to clean themselves.
If things are already slipping, now is the time to fix it. Not next March when everything is on fire.
Grab a spot with us and we will help you clean up the mess before it spreads.
