Are you avoiding your bookkeeper?
Do you walk around with that cringey feeling when you remember that you haven’t responded to your bookkeeper’s last request in three weeks?
Do you wonder when you’ll ever get a report from them or be able to file your taxes because they’re waiting on an answer from you and you just can’t get to it?
I’m not here to judge.
We’ve all avoided people and things in one way or another.
And avoidance isn’t all bad.
Avoidance actually holds lots of juicy and helpful information if you just get curious.
While I’ve never avoided a bookkeeper, I spent a decade avoiding the eye doctor.
The last year of that decade included a slow and subtle decline of my close up eyesight that I convinced myself was fatigue and stress because I couldn’t face the hard truth that I was getting older and might need some support.
Before facing that truth though, I spent many months ending each day feeling exhausted and strained, feeling overwhelmed at what could possibly be wrong, and feeling too embarrassed to mention it to anyone.
When I finally accepted that my issue was likely due to me needing glasses and that this was not the end of the world (and I wouldn’t spontaneously need to move into a nursing home right this minute), I got the courage to try on some reading glasses in the grocery store and was horrified and relieved to find that I could see clearly.
With the insight of my true problem, I could then take action to find the support that I needed.
I still had to work through the feelings of fear, overwhelm, and shame to find an eye doctor, make the visit, get prescribed glasses, and then begin wearing them.
Several months later though, the results are clear (pun intended).
The support of these new glasses has left me with more energy, relaxed eyes, and acceptance of the adventure of aging.
I’m not the first person to need glasses and I won’t be the last. In a similar way, I share this to remind you that your avoidance can be a tool for growth if you allow it.
I won’t pretend to know all of the reasons that you might be avoiding your bookkeeper, but I’d like to share some possible ones to help you start to identify your own.
Possible reasons you might be avoiding your bookkeeper:
You're behind on all tasks
I’ve heard it said that how you do anything is how you do everything.
Are you avoiding other tasks too?
If replying to bookkeeping requests is not the only thing you’re putting off, perhaps it’s time to get some support managing your tasks.
- Do you need a better system?
- Do you need to delegate some work to a VA?
- Are you just overwhelmed with everything and need to take a break to help you come back to balance?
Financial shame or fear is lurking
Money is a sensitive topic for many of us.
It can bring up feelings like fear, low self-worth, shame, and more.
Bookkeeping is essentially organizing your business’s money and can bring up those same fears.
If you have painful feelings around money, it actually makes a lot of sense that you wouldn’t want to look too closely at your books.
- How do you feel about money in general?
- Could those feelings be coloring how you feel about your bookkeeper or your books?
The relationship isn’t working
Sometimes when we avoid people, it’s because something isn’t working in the relationship and we need to address that.
- Do you have a good vibe with your bookkeeper?
- Can you ask them questions?
- Do they explain things in a way that makes sense to you?
- Are they responsive when you make a request?
- Do you feel judged or misunderstood when you talk to them?
A bookkeeping relationship is like any relationship and if it’s not working, you can voice your concerns or find a better fit.
You can’t find what they need
Often bookkeepers request things like receipts, statements, or transaction explanations.
Are you delaying your response because you just can’t find what’s being asked of you?
- You might need to invest some time in creating a better system for tracking your day-to-day financial activity.
- You can also ask your bookkeeper for suggestions.
Just like my avoidance of getting my eyes checked turned into me facing my fear of aging and coming out on the other side more at ease and comfortable…
You can explore your bookkeeper avoidance, learn what it may be telling you, and come out on the other side feeling more empowered or organized or anything that the avoidance is trying to keep you from.
What I want most for you
Is a more supportive and collaborative relationship with your bookkeeper.
One where…
- You feel like you have a true partner on your team.
- You never feel the urge to avoid them because you know you can tell them what’s going on.
- You have the financial information you need to make decisions throughout the year and not just at tax time.
- Tax time is a breeze because your books are steady and not full of painful surprises.
- You’re able to take any worries about your books off your plate because running a business is hard enough as it is.
You deserve this. You can have this.
So get curious.
Until next time,
Varonica
Curious what a bookkeeping partnership with me might look like?
