Getting Your Financial House in Order
Look, we work with business owners across Australia who come to us in all sorts of situations. Some have meticulous records going back years. Others bring in a shoebox of receipts and a hopeful smile.
Neither approach is wrong, but the conversation goes differently depending on where you're starting from.
We've seen clients waste the first three meetings just gathering paperwork. Then we've watched others walk in prepared and leave with a clear action plan the same day. The preparation part isn't glamorous, but it changes everything about how useful our time together becomes.
Four Things Worth Sorting Out
Not a comprehensive list, just the areas where being prepared makes the biggest difference
Bank Statement Trail
We need to understand cash flow patterns, and that means looking at what's actually happening in your accounts. Most banking platforms let you export statements going back 12 months.
- Business accounts (all of them, including that PayPal one)
- Any personal accounts you use for business expenses
- Credit cards used for business purchases
Pro tip from our client Linnea Torbergsen: Set up a dedicated folder in your email and have statements auto-forward there. She wishes she'd done it years earlier.
Revenue Documentation
How money comes in varies wildly depending on your business. Some clients have neat invoice systems, others get paid through five different platforms.
- Sales records or invoices from the past year
- Payment processor reports (Stripe, Square, whatever you use)
- Any cash transactions you've tracked
We're not judging your system. We just need to see the full picture of what's coming in so we can help optimise it.
Expense Records
This is where things get messy for a lot of businesses. You're spending money to make money, but tracking it all feels like extra work when you're busy.
- Regular supplier invoices and receipts
- Subscription services (they add up faster than you think)
- Equipment purchases and major expenses
- Travel and client entertainment costs
Even partial records help. We've worked with worse, believe me.
Tax Situation Overview
Your last tax return tells us a lot about where you've been. It's not about judging past decisions — it's about understanding your starting point.
- Previous year's tax return
- Any correspondence with the ATO
- Current GST or PAYG arrangements
- Outstanding payment plans or issues
If you're behind on something, that's actually important information. We can't help if we don't know.
What This Actually Looks Like
Right, so you're probably wondering what "getting organised" means in practice. Let me walk you through what we see from clients who come prepared versus those who don't.
The Calendar Reality
Most business owners underestimate how long gathering this information takes. Not because it's hard, but because it's scattered across different systems and you're busy running an actual business.
The Missing Pieces Problem
You'll probably discover gaps in your records. Everyone does. The question is whether you find them before our meeting or during it.
When you find missing information early, you have time to request it from your bank or track down that vendor invoice. When you discover it during our session, we're stuck waiting or working with incomplete data.
The First Meeting Difference
Here's the honest truth: When you show up prepared, we can spend our time together on strategy instead of data gathering. That means you walk out with actual insights rather than a homework list.
Prepared clients typically identify 2-3 immediate opportunities in their first session. Unprepared clients usually spend that time just getting their baseline established.