The Business: Finances

One of the things I want to do more of in 2007 is blog about my business. How I manage it, problems I encounter, and some tools I use to help me. With the redesign, I will have a page that showcases some articles of mine (much like Alex King), and series will be there. Today, since it is the beginning of the year, I want to talk about some tools that help me manage Finances.

I think I have biggest problem with money. Up until last year, JLC Web Design was a very small operation, getting a client here or there. Since the summer, I have been working on multiple projects pretty steadily. This means I need to keep track of who is paying me, when, what they owe, and what their account consists of. Since I often offer server space and purchasing the domain, I will need to bill my clients annually. To keep track of these things, I use a simple excel document, with a sheet for each year, domains I pay for and servers I pay for. I use the simple adding and subtracting formulas to automatically display how much I have paying and making, and the profit so far. I have also started using Wesabe for my finances. I simply upload an online bank statement, and it shows up on Wesabe for me to tag and edit. This means I can make more meaningful names for “Deposit” and “Domain Rebels #0997.” And I tag all my expenses and revenue as such, as well as JLC Web Design for all transactions. Wesabe automatically calculates spending for the month, total spending, and the money I have made or lost based on the tag. It creates spending and earning reports and allows you to set goals for yourself. I can also upload multiple bank accounts, so my business and personal finances are in the same place. It’s easy, it’s free and it’s web based. For me, it’s everything I need.

In the coming days I would also like to talk about project tracking, deadlines and sending the invoices, and contracts.