I've been doing bookkeeping for small businesses and freelancers for a while now, and the same mistakes keep showing up. These aren't edge cases — almost every new client I take on has at least 2 of these.

1. Mixing personal and business expenses. This is the #1 issue. If you're running business purchases through your personal card, you're creating a nightmare at tax time and leaving deductions on the table.

2. Not reconciling monthly. If you only look at your books once a year (usually in a panic before April), you're flying blind. Monthly reconciliation catches errors early and gives you a real picture of your cash flow.

3. Forgetting to track cash transactions. That $40 lunch with a client? The $200 in supplies you paid cash for? If it's not recorded, it doesn't exist to the IRS — and you can't deduct it.

4. Misclassifying expenses. Putting everything under "office supplies" or "miscellaneous" might feel easier, but it inflates certain categories and hides your real spending patterns. Proper categorization = better decisions.

5. DIY-ing it when you've outgrown spreadsheets. There's a point where the time you spend on bookkeeping costs more than hiring someone. If your monthly revenue is over $5K and you're still doing it yourself, you're probably past that point.

If any of these sound familiar, that's exactly what we fix at Sk Creations. We handle the books so you can focus on growing.