Run accounting yourself

What accounting is responsible for#

Accounting answers three practical questions:

How much money came in?
How much money went out or is still owed?
Can the business trust the numbers enough to make decisions?

Good accounting is not just tax prep. It is the daily record of customers, vendors, cash, payroll, inventory, loans, taxes, and owner activity. The goal is to keep the books accurate enough that the business can collect money, pay bills, plan cash, file taxes, and explain every report number.

The core records#

Record	What it means	Why it matters
Chart of accounts	The list of buckets used to organize every transaction.	Reports only make sense when transactions go to the right bucket.
Customer invoice	Money a customer owes the business.	Creates revenue and accounts receivable.
Customer payment	Money received from a customer.	Clears receivables and increases cash.
Vendor bill	Money the business owes a vendor.	Creates expenses or assets and accounts payable.
Vendor payment	Money paid to a vendor.	Clears payables and reduces cash.
Bank transaction	Activity imported from a bank or card account.	Confirms what actually happened in cash.
Journal entry	A manual debit and credit used for adjustments.	Handles payroll, depreciation, owner activity, accruals, corrections, and close entries.
Attachment	A receipt, invoice, statement, contract, or note tied to a record.	Provides evidence when someone reviews the books later.

The accounting equation#

Every complete set of books follows this equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

Assets are what the business owns or is owed, like cash, inventory, equipment, and customer balances. Liabilities are what the business owes, like bills, loans, credit cards, payroll taxes, and sales tax. Equity is the owner or shareholder claim on the business after liabilities.

Income increases equity. Expenses reduce equity. That is why revenue and expense accounts eventually roll into equity at year end.

Cash basis and accrual basis#

Cash basis records income when money is received and expenses when money is paid. This is simpler, but it can hide work that has been billed and not paid or bills that have arrived and not been paid.

Accrual basis records income when it is earned and expenses when they are owed. This gives a better operating picture because invoices and bills appear before cash moves.

Most growing teams should think in accrual terms day to day, even if a tax professional later files taxes on a different basis.

Debits and credits without jargon#

Debits and credits are the two sides of a transaction. They are not good or bad. They are just directions.

Use this plain rule:

If the business receives value, one account usually increases.
If the business gives value or creates an obligation, another account changes.
The total debit side must equal the total credit side.

Example: when a customer pays a $500 invoice, cash increases by $500 and accounts receivable decreases by $500. The books stay balanced.

What to do every day#

Open Accounting > Overview first. Use it to see the period, action queue, receivables, reimbursements, cash risk, and close exposure.

Then work this daily loop:

Review new bank and card activity.
Match deposits to customer invoices or sales.
Match withdrawals to bills, payroll, subscriptions, loan payments, or owner draws.
Follow up on overdue invoices.
Review upcoming bills and payment runs.
Attach receipts, invoices, or statements while the details are fresh.
Clear any unusual activity before it becomes a month-end problem.

If the cash balance looks wrong, start in Money work. Check bank connection health, sync status, unmatched transactions, and payment runs before changing reports.

What to do every week#

Weekly accounting keeps the month-end close small.

Send invoices for completed work.
Review unpaid customer invoices and send reminders.
Enter vendor bills before paying them.
Approve reimbursements and employee expense claims.
Check subscription and recurring vendor changes.
Review payroll, contractor payments, and tax liabilities.
Confirm large purchases are recorded correctly as expenses, inventory, or fixed assets.
Look at runway before adding new spending.

Runway means how long the business can keep operating with current cash, even if no new money comes in. Bills, payroll, subscriptions, debt payments, and planned spending shorten runway.

What to do every month#

Month-end close is the process of turning activity into trusted reports.

Confirm the period you are closing.
Reconcile every bank and credit card account to the statement.
Review accounts receivable for overdue invoices, credits, deposits, and bad debt.
Review accounts payable for unpaid bills, vendor credits, and duplicate bills.
Review payroll, benefits, sales tax, loan payments, and owner activity.
Record depreciation, accruals, deferrals, inventory adjustments, and other journal entries.
Review the trial balance.
Run the profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
Compare this month to last month and to budget.
Lock or mark the period complete when the reports are ready.

In Zelio, use Close & books for this work. The close page should tell you what blocks reports, what still needs tie-out, and which records support the numbers.

The reports to understand#

Report	What it answers	What to check
Profit and loss	Did the business earn more than it spent during the period?	Revenue, cost of goods sold, payroll, rent, software, repairs, meals, interest, and one-time costs.
Balance sheet	What does the business own and owe at a point in time?	Cash, receivables, inventory, fixed assets, credit cards, loans, taxes, and equity.
Cash flow statement	Why did cash change?	Operating cash, investing cash, financing cash, debt payments, owner draws, and large purchases.
Trial balance	Do all account balances tie together?	Debits and credits should balance. Unusual balances need review.
Accounts receivable aging	Which customers owe money and how late is it?	Old balances, partial payments, credits, and collection follow-up.
Accounts payable aging	Which vendors need payment and when?	Due dates, duplicate bills, credits, and cash timing.
General ledger detail	What transactions make up an account balance?	Missing attachments, wrong accounts, duplicate entries, and manual adjustments.

How to use the four accounting tabs#

Tab	Use it when	Good outcome
Overview	You need the operating picture.	You know the highest-risk accounting work for the period.
Money work	Cash, bank feeds, payments, or transaction matching need attention.	Bank activity is connected, matched, and ready for close.
Close & books	You are preparing reports or closing the month.	Reports are backed by reconciled cash, reviewed ledgers, and close evidence.
Planning	You are deciding whether the business can afford a commitment.	Runway includes known bills, recurring spend, manual assumptions, and funding scenarios.

Controls that prevent bad books#

Controls are habits that stop small mistakes from becoming expensive problems.

Do not pay a vendor bill unless the vendor, amount, due date, and evidence make sense.
Do not mark an invoice paid until the payment is real.
Do not delete old transactions to fix reports. Reverse or adjust them with a clear note.
Keep business and personal spending separate.
Attach support for large or unusual transactions.
Review who can create vendors, approve payments, export reports, and close periods.
Lock closed periods so later changes do not silently rewrite history.

Common mistakes#

Recording customer deposits as income before the work is earned.
Treating loan proceeds as revenue.
Recording loan payments entirely as expenses instead of splitting principal and interest.
Posting payroll net pay but missing payroll taxes and benefits.
Duplicating income by recording both an invoice and the matching bank deposit as revenue.
Expensing equipment that should be tracked as a fixed asset.
Forgetting sales tax, 1099 vendors, owner draws, and credit card liabilities.
Closing the month before bank accounts are reconciled.

What business owners should watch#

Owners do not need to do every accounting task, but they should understand the numbers that affect decisions:

cash on hand
runway
overdue receivables
unpaid vendor bills
gross margin
payroll as a share of revenue
debt payments
sales tax and payroll tax liabilities
profit by month
budget vs actual

If one of these looks wrong, drill into the transactions before making a business decision.

What finance team members should own#

Team members should keep the records clean and explain exceptions:

classify transactions
maintain customer and vendor records
reconcile accounts
prepare payment runs
maintain attachments
review aging reports
prepare close tasks
document adjustments
export reports for owners, tax preparers, lenders, or auditors

Every adjustment should answer: what changed, why it changed, who changed it, and what evidence supports it.

When to ask an accountant#

Ask a bookkeeper, accountant, or tax professional before handling:

business formation and equity structure
income tax filing
sales tax nexus and returns
payroll tax setup
inventory costing
depreciation schedules
revenue recognition rules
multi-entity consolidation
complex loans or leases
year-end tax planning
audits, reviews, or lender reporting

Zelio can help organize the accounting work. It does not replace professional tax or legal advice.

Simple operating rhythm#

Use this rhythm if you are starting from scratch:

Daily: match cash, collect invoices, and clear unusual activity.
Weekly: review payables, reimbursements, subscriptions, payroll, and runway.
Monthly: reconcile, close, run reports, and lock the period.
Quarterly: review taxes, budget, debt, pricing, margin, and owner distributions.
Yearly: clean up the chart of accounts, finish tax work, review controls, and plan the next year.

The business is in good shape when cash is reconciled, invoices and bills are current, reports explain the month, and every important number can be traced back to a real transaction.