Details today lead to easier decisions later

I love my bookkeeper. She does amazing work. She reconciles my books each month, ensuring that all transactions have been properly recorded and accounted for. She sends me beautiful reports that summarize where things are moving up or down month over month and each quarter she points out where things have not been normal. She reduces my stress and ensures I have clean books to monitor progress and make decisions.

I am sure my bookkeeper would tell you that my attention to detail drives her crazy. Every month I review the books line by line, checking the transactions in each category of my P&L. Most months, I find a detail for her to change or update. Sometimes a transaction is not in the right category, which is not usually her fault because she does not know what each Amazon purchase. Sometimes I need greater detail on a transaction, so I can better understand an area of spending. Regardless, I pay attention to the details each month.

Because I pay attention to the details once a month, I do not worry about the details the rest of the month. Because I pay attention to the details once a month, the data I need is available when I need to make decisions.

A lot of business owners prefer not to deal with the details. They question the need when the numbers are not big, or when they know in their head what their expenses are. The challenge with that way of thinking is that it is a today mindset, not a future growth mindset.

When your business is small, you can keep details in your head. You know that transaction A was a pass-through expense for a specific client and transaction B was office supplies for your new employee. However, five years down the road, you likely will not remember which pass-through expenses were for which client, or what the many different expenses for employees are.

The details do not apply exclusively to financials. As a business owner, there are many different details that you may want access to for decision making. From lead source, to hours per project, there are countless pieces of data you could need for decision making. The key is to gather the information easily, in the moment, so you have it available when you need it in the future.

“Details today” does not require a data analyst on your team. It simply means that being specific in the systems where you do collect information will allow you to make stronger decisions as your business grows.

“Details today” means that when the time comes to make a decision, you will not need to spend considerable time gathering the data points through memory, old notes, emails, or guesses.

Detail orientation does not come easily for some people. With all the systems we have in place as business owners, you do not have to build new skills to maintain details. Your current systems, and likely some of your team members, are built to help with the specifics. Leverage what you have to make capturing the details easier and you will find that making decisions as you grow your business will also be easier.