Now that I have my new accounting system in place, when checks arrive I open ‘em up and record them right away. I’m also much more aware of when I’m waiting on funds, and what payments I can expect to be coming in, when.

This is all very good. It’s almost like being a real grown-up, or something. Wild.

Anyway, yesterday I was expecting some checks (and also had a pile of bills on my desk, here, waiting to be paid, and so was hoping to get my money in), and wouldn’t you know it, of course that ends up being the day that the mail lady is MIA. I checked the mailbox before the kids got home from school; nothing. They checked on their way in from the bus; nothing. I checked again at 3:30 and then again at 4:30, and nothing.

Hmph. Read the rest of this entry »

… at least until tomorrow. Hey, baby steps.

Over the last few months I’ve written about a number of organization issues that plague me, so I thought I’d do a little round-up on how I’m handling some of them. And what better time to do that than today, when I just happen to be completely on top of everything. Lookit me! I’m awesome! For heaven’s sake, do not put that down on my desk! Ahem. I mean, um, well, oh, nevermind….

Every now and then I reach a point of clarity and—rarer still—that point happens to intersect with the time and space where I’ve actually done what I meant to do, and everything is as planned. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Seriously.

Okay, listen up: Read the rest of this entry »

True to my word, I’ve begun my endeavor of making 2008 better organized, financially. After careful consideration (and reviewing all of your thoughtful input on this post where I commenced freaking out over my bookkeeping), I took a deep breath and bought myself a copy of Quicken for the Mac. I know. It seems to stupid, that I wasn’t tracking things properly, before. And Quicken really does everything I need it to.

At least, I think it does. I am still somewhat Quicken-challenged. But this morning I set up my business account and after just an hour or so I was finally able to enter an invoice I’d sent out and set it as a pending payment. I think. (Greater financial organization, now with bonus feelings of inadequacy!) Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, the things I am learning.

Sometimes I look back and laugh at my prior naïveté. Hahaha! I thought all I needed to do was find some work and then write stuff! I thought that was going to be the hard part! Heehee. Oh, don’t you just want to go back in time and smack me? I sure do.

Whether or not you call it “running your own business,” I have news for the newbies out there: Freelancing is running your own business. And while I suppose that if you can’t accomplish the job for which you were hired, things like revenue tracking are greatly simplified (e.g., you have no revenue), as time goes on your skill set needs to expand into things that start to sound a lot like “office management,” whether you’re working from an office or not. Read the rest of this entry »