Importance of Bookkeeping

Before we get into bookkeeping, let us first remember that my goal is to help you build systems so that you can turn your affiliate site into a business not just a side project.

Without proper bookkeeping, this isn’t possible.

The best way to share the importance of bookkeeping with you is by sharing a story about a good friend of mine.

Let's call him Steve.

Steve was one of my best friends and I traveled the world with him for years.

I enjoyed traveling with him because he was a bit chaotic and would push me to get out of my comfort zone.

See, I'm quite introverted and am bad at going out and exploring.

I love my routines but I also know that they hold me back at times.

What’s the point of traveling if the only places I visit are my office, the gym, and back home?

This is why I liked Steve.

He was the opposite.

He always wanted to try new things and get out of the office so that we could explore.

We would jump on a train with no destination in mind and half the time we didn't even know where we were sleeping that night.

As you can imagine, this sort of extreme travel gave my type-A personality some anxiety.

But I also found it good for me to embrace this.

It got me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to see beautiful parts of the world.

Alex, how tf does this relate to affiliate marketing and bookkeeping?

Glad you asked

Steve had a lot of success with business because he moved FAST and got shit done.

If he had an idea, he believed that the best way to figure out if it would work or not is to just test it.

Thanks to this nature in him, he was running a seven figure e-commerce brand and loving life.

However, he doesn't have that business today.

It died.

Nor does he have a lot of savings from it.

He's also been hit by the tax man a few times because of unpaid taxes.

See, the problem with Steve is that he had no realization of how much money he was actually making.

He used his business debit card as if it were his personal and there was no bookkeeping or accounting on his end.

Had he just paid someone $500 - $1,000 a month to do his books OR if he just sat down to do it himself for a few hours each week, he would still have a thriving business with more dinero in his pocket.

I view bookkeeping as a positive habit.

And just like building positive habits, you need to build a system that enables you to do it. Whether you want to or not.

I personally have a reminder hit me each week to review the books.

It only takes me about 30 mins.

Then at the end of every month, I download a CSV that shows me my profit and loss.

This allows me to see what's working and where I should be doubling down.

Simple. Yet. Effective.

If you’re worried about using the wrong software or screwing things up, don’t be.

Just pick a software below (don't worry, those aren't affiliate links) and get into the habit of tracking.

• QuickBooks

• Xero

• FreshBooks

These are all priced relatively the same so I wouldn't get hung up on that.

Just choose one that is easy for you to use.

OR hire someone. That's even easier.

I hope this article gets you to start bookkeeping if you aren't already so that you can make data-backed decisions and know your numbers

P.S. Steve keeps track of his books these days 🙂