Progress is measured in small doses

Last week I hunkered down and got my 2013 bookkeeping in order. Taxes have a way of doing that, don’t they?

I had finally gotten around to purchasing accordion envelopes to get my receipts situated, and that system works like a charm. 2013 was easy to sort out through its compartments and then put in chronological order without sifting through a pile. 2014 will be much easier to reference in retrospect as well.

The number of receipts has increased dramatically since 2012, which is why I suddenly needed the accordion file. It is interesting how receipts become a marker of how the business has grown and evolved, even if monetarily it all seems so miniscule.

Looking back through my financial reports on Etsy, Square and Paypal was also enlightening. We need to step back sometimes and look at the larger time frame rather than focusing on the month-to-month or week-by-week. A lot of things weren’t in place in Q2 2013 that have now become routine in the business.

My acceptance rate to shows was high, as was productivity. All good things to realize.

It also felt good to put on my bookkeeper hat and think about streamlining some of these tracking mechanisms so next year’s tax preparation is easier. Selling goods is far different from operating a service-oriented business, so the learning curve cannot be denied.

All in all, I am grateful we have to file taxes so you can get a bit of numerical perspective that I would otherwise have pushed until summer.

As a reward, I perused Ayla’s Originals’ annual bead show on Sunday and got some inspirational strands of loveliness that will soon be incorporated into collars, bracelets, earrings and pendants.