How often should you review your numbers?

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:05:50 -0700

“I Only Look at My Numbers at Tax Time…”

(Let’s Fix That 😊)

One of the things I hear from business owners is:
“I only really look at my numbers during tax time.”

And honestly? I get it.

You’re busy. You’re running the business, taking care of customers, putting out fires, and trying to have some sort of life in between. Sitting down to “look at the books” usually ranks somewhere between cleaning out the junk drawer and going to the DMV.

But here’s what I’ve seen over and over again…

Some of the most stressed-out business owners I work with aren’t struggling because their business is failing. They’re struggling because they don’t have a clear picture of what’s actually going on.

And once we fix that? Everything starts to feel a whole lot easier.

So… how often should you be looking at your numbers?

Nothing overwhelming. No accounting degree required.

Think:
👉 a quick weekly check-in
👉 a slightly deeper monthly review
👉 and a simple quarterly check-up

Weekly Check-In (5–10 minutes… seriously)

This is your quick scan of the instrument panel.

You’re just looking for:

What came in?

What went out?

Does anything look off?

That’s it.

Maybe a client payment didn’t hit.
Maybe an expense looks higher than expected.
Maybe something just feels… weird.

Catching those things now instead of weeks (or months 😬) later can save you a lot of headaches.

Monthly Review (This is where things start to click)

This is where you step back and answer the real question:

👉 “Is this business actually making me money?”

You’ll look at your Profit & Loss and get a feel for:

Where your money is going

What’s working

What might need attention

One simple habit I love:
Don’t just look at this month by itself—line it up next to the last two months.

That’s where things start to get interesting.

You’ll begin to notice:

Are sales trending up or down?

Did something spike that shouldn’t have?

Are expenses slowly creeping up?

And over time, this is how you start to recognize your seasonal patterns.

Maybe things slow down every winter.
Maybe summer is always busy.
Maybe certain months are just naturally lighter or heavier.

When you can see that clearly, you stop guessing—and start planning.

Quarterly Check-In (Quick, but important)

Once a quarter, take a quick peek at your balance sheet.

Don’t worry—we’re not going full accounting mode here.

This is just a simple check of:
👉 What do I have?
👉 What do I owe?

Take a look at things like:

Cash balances

Credit cards

Loans

Anything that feels like it might be creeping in the wrong direction

You’re not trying to analyze every detail—you’re just making sure everything makes sense and nothing is quietly getting out of hand.

Want a simple checklist so you don’t have to remember all of this?
I created a quick weekly, monthly, and quarterly checklist you can actually use (no accounting jargon, I promise).

👉 Grab it here... it's FREE: Download the Simple Business Review Checklist

🚫 The “Once-a-Year” Problem

If you’re only looking at your numbers at tax time, it’s kind of like…

Trying to fly a plane by only checking your instruments after you’ve already landed.

Sure, you’ll know what happened.

But you missed every opportunity to adjust along the way.

Let’s Make This Easier (because it should be)

If all of this feels overwhelming, you are absolutely not alone.

The goal here isn’t to turn you into a bookkeeper.

The goal is:

Accurate numbers

Simple automated systems

Less stress

Better decisions

And ideally… something that doesn’t feel like a chore you keep putting off.

💬 If you want help…

If you’d like:

A simple system that makes your numbers easy to review

Help cleaning up and organizing your books

Training so you actually understand what you’re looking at

Or someone to just handle it for you so you don’t have to think about it

I’d love to help.