[0:00] If your business money only gets your attention when your bank account feels really tight, you get a surprise bill, or your accountant asks you for something, then you don't need a more complicated system. What you need is a small money routine that still works even though you're busy. Because knowing your numbers isn't just about knowing what to do with them. And checking the bank account whenever you feel worried really isn't having a money system. So
[0:31] welcome to the Erin Davis Show. I am Erin Davis, a business money coach with an accounting background and 30 years of experience helping small business owners just like you to understand their numbers and make clearer money decisions without the shame, the panic or the financial jargon. So today what we're going to be talking about is helping you to build a simple monthly money system around three very specific questions.
[1:01] What happened, what's coming, and what do I do next? So you don't need perfect records. You don't need an entire AI dashboard system or an entire day set aside. All you need to do is have a really reliable place to begin, a few useful questions, and really one clear action before you finish out the month. So let's get into it. And I really want you to start to think about
[1:31] what is your routine with money. So if you only have a routine that works when you have lots of energy, um, when you are feeling like things are going really well, and you've got you know that high-vibe energy, then really that's not a system at all. The money system ends up getting pushed to the side when things get hard, when things get urgent, and you know, we have a really busy life,
[2:02] right? We're As women in business, we are carrying the load for a lot. Probably carrying the load for the kids, the house, everything that we've got going on. And you put money on top of that, and you know, when things are hard or overwhelming, that's when this type of work gets left to the side. Especially if money for you is something that is not something you enjoy doing, or you find challenging, or you find overwhelming, it
[2:32] is really the thing that gets pushed to the side. So if you're the owner who reacts to your bank account, or you have an unexpected bill or a deadline coming in, then this is really for you because the solution isn't more spreadsheets, it's not more software, it's not more complicated system. It actually really starts with a very simple routine that you can apply to every single month. Now the goal here is. Is
[3:02] useful information. It's not having a flawless system that is a thousand percent um perfect. It's about making sure that you just do the next step. And I find that if we can make our money less complicated, and if we can make the systems easier and more manageable, that's when we have a better chance of sticking to it. Because your money routine doesn't need to be impressive, it just needs to be repeatable.
[3:33] And we know that when you do small consistent steps and you are persistent, you just keep showing up and you keep doing those things, that's when you're going to get the momentum. So this is not about creating massive complicated systems, it's about creating something that you can actually stick to, and that is what we're going to be talking about today. So what I want you to These questions that I want you to focus your attention
[4:03] on. This is how you can start to create a system that works for you. And this regular rhythm of doing the same thing over and over again will strengthen your resilience, your ability to show up, and it will give you the confidence to know that you can do it. So the first question I want you to ask yourself, and what you need to think about is what happened. So gather all the
[4:33] best information you have. Maybe it's your current bank statements, look at your bills, look at your invoices, look at your profit and loss statement because we need to actually start using the reports that we have available to us. You have this accounting system, or you have a system of reporting your information to your accountant. Maybe that's once a quarter once a year to get your tax done. But as a business owner it's important that you start to learn how to read
[5:03] your profit and loss statement and start to understand what's coming in, what actually went in, what actually went out and notice anything that was unusual for the period. Now remember a profit and loss is for a period of time. So it can be from the 1st of July to the 30th of June, 1st of July to the 30th of September. It can be for any random period. It can be for a month. Now what is important is that you are noticing
[5:34] what's unexpected, what's larger than normal, what's smaller than normal, and what is out of character compared to say the same period last year, the same month. Start to notice some trends within your business. You will start to see what's usual and what we're looking for is what's unusual. So check what Income is outstanding, but it's expected to come in. Identify those one off
[6:04] unusual costs and don't immediately judge them, right? We need to start to have a look at how do they fall in context with the rest of your business. And you can start to do this when you become familiar with the actual numbers. Now this takes the guesswork out, it takes the mental load out of your head, and you can actually start to make some calm money decisions because you're not so emotional about it, you're not driven by the emotion
[6:35] behind it. It is really just about looking at the numbers. So what happened? What changed? What do I need to understand? Start to ask yourself some questions. What surprised you when I look at last month or when I look at last quarter? Now this is Um import. Important to know recording the transactions just keeps your information really current. But reviewing those transactions actually tell
[7:05] you what's happened, and that's where you can start to make the information useful. So you could have a bookkeeper who allocates all your transactions, or you could be doing the that bookkeeping function where you're allocating the transactions. The next step is to actually review it. Ask the question, what happened? The next question, so this is question number two, what's coming? So look at the next month before it happens. What
[7:35] are your upcoming bills? What are your upcoming subscriptions, your payroll, your super, your renewals? What is it that is coming in this next month? So what notice what's annual, what's quarterly, what are those irregular expenses? Those are the things that can really feel like surprises. But if you are looking at well, what is expected. For next month. Now you can do this by looking at the same period last year. So say
[8:05] now we are almost at the end of October. Have a look at November 2025 and see what sort of expenses came through in that month. That will give you a bit of an idea for those annual costs, for those quarterly costs, for those monthly subscriptions that you should be expecting in this month. Now check any uh income. You know what have you got, what jobs have you got coming up? What are you expecting
[8:36] to bill? Make sure you have a look at your GST, your tax obligations, your other BAS requirements, and just start to take notice of what's expected to come in and out of your bank account for the next month. Now this is estimates, right? You are allowing for Estimates, it doesn't have to be 100% accurate. You can't be 100% accurate because the month hasn't happened yet. So don't get too
[9:06] caught up in having to have it perfect. But the more you start to look at this, the more you will start to actually pay attention to what's happening in your business. You will start to be able to predict reasonably well what are those expenses. Now the income is a bit variable, unless you're in a very um consistent regular business. Usually income is a bit all over the place. Expenses, though, tend to be
[9:36] very familiar, they tend to be regular. You will notice the patterns, you will know what is coming in and out of your account. And so this is where we start to um think about what do I need to do for this current month? How much cash do I need available? What Big bills have I got coming up so that you can start to plan for it. So this is not about um getting everything perfect perfect, as I said,
[10:06] uh, it's about having a look at what your bank account balance needs to be and what do you need to actually cover. So your bank account tells you where you are today. It doesn't automatically tell you what money has to do in the future. And so this is where you start to plan out and forecast what is coming. And this is a really handy question when you want to start
[10:36] to get in control of your money and start to make better decisions. It's uh it's about being forward thinking and planning what's coming rather than flying by the seat of your pants all the time and just being very reactive. So so far we've looked backwards, we've looked at what happened. And then we've looked forward about what's coming. And then you don't need to know every single number before you continue. Because what we're
[11:06] looking at next, that's the thing that actually determines your attention. And the question is, what do I do next? So that is that question is really handy and really useful because it leads you to some action. So after you've had a look at well, what happens last month, what do I expect to happen this month, choose one thing that you need to do for this coming month.
[11:37] Make it specific. I can't even speak. Make it specific, make it complete, give it a date, give it some examples. Maybe it's follow up your invoices, maybe you've let your debtor days. increase too much and that is cash that's not sitting in your bank. Maybe you need to cancel some subscriptions because you've reviewed what you're actually paying for, and you don't need all of those things. Maybe you need to check with your accountant or bookkeeper
[12:07] about upcoming obligations. You know, we're heading into November. That's when our BAS is due for the September quarter. Maybe you need to set some money aside and you need to start planning for these bigger bills. Maybe you need to add in a weekly reconciliation appointment with yourself. Maybe you need to start to investigate some costs that have increased. So this what do I do next comes from
[12:38] what did you discover when you looked backwards and what are you discovering or what's coming into your awareness when you're looking forward. So these things can seem pretty basic, and they are. They are really foundational work. But I find that we get so caught up in our everyday life in running the business and, you know, doing all the things within the business that we're not actually taking a step back and giving this the attention that it actually deserves.
[13:08] This will take away the money stress, it will take away the overwhelm. It will take away that fear of the unknown and the guessing. And when you can put this into a regular check in, it's not about solving every single problem, but it's about choosing what's the next action. And remember I said earlier that consistent, persistent action is what is going to move you forward. That is the that is the thing that
[13:38] is going to be the game changer with your money. It is these slow, consistent movements, never giving up, just keep moving, just keep. Going one foot in front of the other, as I like to say, this is where it will become easier. You will find that it won't take you all day to do this. And in reality, I reconcile my Xero file every single day. I don't have a heap of transactions going through my business, but I stay on top of it.
[14:08] I know what the reconciliations are, I know what the expected expenses and income is or are, so that when I run my reports, I just have a quick look over. This process now doesn't take me very long because I am familiar with it. I am always in my numbers, I'm always in my profit and loss and my balance sheet. Now, balance sheet is really important, and I am familiar with it. And so if you are at that stage where you're not familiar with it, just go steady. Just
[14:38] do what happened last month, what what is unusual, where do I need to start, what do I know is coming up this next month, and then what do I need to do next. Choose one thing. And this is about creating a simple routine that you can stick to. It doesn't need to be massive. Don't make it bigger than it has to be. Put the review time in your calendar. Make it a reoccurring appointment. You keep every single appointment for
[15:09] everybody else. You show up to the doctors on time. You show up to the dentist every six months. I presume you get your hair cut all the time. If you book an appointment, you stick to it. So do the same thing for yourself. Book the appointment because this is important. Use my end of month checklist. And if you haven't got that, um you can go to erindavis.com.au forward slash check in, and you can grab
[15:39] that, create some tools, some um uh I've got some tools that you can use, some checklists, and that is really handy for you to be able to review what's what's happened and what's coming up. Create some really simple systems, and if you don't know where to start, this is where I can help you because this is the work that I love to do. This is about creating the foundations. You know, get your information from those familiar places. Start to become familiar
[16:09] with it, start to learn. Money is something you can learn. It is not something that has to be foreign. And if you have a belief around well, money is hard, or I can't do it, or I don't understand numbers, I'm not good at maths, that is just a belief. And you know what? Beliefs can be changed. So I want you to finish this month. We are almost at end of month. I want you to book an appointment with yourself. Half an hour. It
[16:39] doesn't have to be huge, it doesn't have to be long. Uh, you just need to book it and you need to do it. Make yourself a note of what you need to look at. Ask these questions. What happened? What's coming? What do I do next? Have three sections in your notebook. Actually, and give these questions their they're appropriate time. Because what's one part of your business money that
[17:09] you'd like to make repeatable before end of year? What is one system that you want to get better at? What is one thing you want to understand? Start where you are now, and then you can start to increase it later. But this is just about not being hard on yourself because you haven't done it before, but what are you going to do going forward? You have the choice, you have the ability to change it. We are the ones that
[17:39] determine how we show up for ourselves. Now give this the importance that it is and realize that you can master your focus. You can um look at the words that you are using in relation to your money. And you can move your state. And if you find money big and overwhelming and stressful, go for a walk before you sit down and do this. Step outside, get some sunshine, ground yourself, regulate your
[18:10] nervous system. Rub your fingers together so you can start to slow down and breathe. So that when you sit down and you start to look at these numbers, you are in this calm state where you can just do one thing at a time. And so your monthly routine doesn't need to be complicated. I am all for simple. Let's just get it done, but make sure that we can build on it once we get those systems and routines happening. So you need to look at what happened,
[18:40] notice what's coming, and then choose one useful action before end of month. Do this on a repeatable cycle every single month, and you will feel yourself uh. The overwhelm and the stress with money will settle. You will ask better questions. And this is how your business numbers begin to become something that you can actually use rather than just information you look at when your accountant gives you your
[19:10] reports or when something feels wrong. And so if you'd like a really calm guided place to do that work, download my free end of money end of month money check-in, and that will help you to review the month. It will allow you to notice what needs attention and help you to make a clear plan for what comes next. So you will find this at erindavis.com.au forward slash check in. And I'll put the link
[19:40] in the show notes so you can grab that. But that is it for today. Thanks for listening to the Erin Davis show. I hope this episode helped you to make sense. of your monthly money routine and make it feel more manageable because I know that it can feel overwhelming and stressful and you don't know where to start and you're so busy running the business that you're just being very reactive. So let us turn this around. Let's start to become proactive and start to lead our money.
[20:10] So send this episode to somebody a woman in business who you know is feeling overwhelmed with their money and who might need a simple place to begin. This information is just general. Remember that I am an accountant I see this happening all the time but I know that you are here for more and money stress is not one of those things. So thanks for listening and I will see you next week.