Common Business Bookkeeping Mistakes
Posted On: 28/10/25 - 0

If you run a growing business in Edmonton, you likely didn’t start a business because you love bookkeeping. We see business owners of revenue with $400K+ and with 20 employees or less make many costly bookkeeping mistakes. Here are common business bookkeeping mistakes Edmonton entrepreneurs make.

Treating Bookkeeping Like A Year End Task

Firstly, waiting till tax time to sort things out is very stressful and costly. Often owners forget what explanations belong to certain expenses. Some unpaid invoices are even forgotten by the time year end arrives and possibly overlooked all together. Annual bookkeeping can hide inefficiencies for a long period of time. You potentially lose control over your company’s financial destiny witout having current up to date records. We offer our clients peace of mind by offering monthly bookkeeping services, this eliminates a lot of stress for you and allows you to do what you do best, grow your business.

Mixing Personal Finances With Business

Secondly, it is tempting to swipe your personal card “just this once”, but this creates a royal nightmare for you to discern if this is business or personal. Especally if it becomes a habit, or if your bookkeeping is only done once a year. Our goal is to keep you informed, compliant and focused on what is a legitimate business transaction.

Not Reviewing Reports Regularly

Thirdly, your bookkeeping records should be up to date so they can help you make informed decisons about your business. This is not about doing the books once a year to file taxes. We help our clients actually understand what their current financial status is. We stay on top of the numbers to ensure the business is growing, but more importantly, the business is profitable. This is all gone over with our clients monthly to ensure good financial health of the business.

Hiring A Friend Of A Friend

Fourthly, your bookkeeping is not the place to cut corners. Hiring a friend to do your bookkeeping is introducing significant conflict not only to your business but also to the friendship. A friend may take constructive criticism for underperformance harder than a professional. You may also find it difficult to provide honest feedback for fear of harming the friendship which can eventually lead to a resentment. Work issues can result in personal arguments, or vice versa. Do you know if your friend is current on all of the tax laws and accounting principles? We here at Padgettnw are committed to keeping up with all of the everchanging tax laws, Plus, our practice is open to random audits that are performed by our governing body which results in higher quality and more accurate and timely work.

Not Planning for Profit

Finally, here at Padgettnw we are big fans of the profit first model. This helps with cash flow management and simplifies budgeting in your business on a monthly basis. It provides financial discipline and reassurance that there will be enough income each month to cover the expenses. Planning for profit also helps you to plan and actually set aside money in your bank account for the future.

Want a smarter approach to business bookkeeping in Edmonton? Want to avoid common business bookkeeping mistakes?Let’s have a conversation about growing your business profitably and getting you back to focusing on what you do best.

12203-107 Avenue.
Edmonton, Alberta.
T5M 1Y9

Call us:
780.482.7297