Holly is all about the numbers. She is a Certified Quickbooks ProAdvisor and holds an MBA in Accounting making her a true expert in her field. Earlier this year she started Accounting SPOT on Etsy in order to help other sellers learn how to get a hold of their finances, paperwork and business.

Tell us about yourself:

In January of 2008 I opened a stationery store on Etsy. After struggling through that for almost a year, I saw a market within Etsy that I felt I needed to fill. So, Accounting SPOT was born in early 2009. Now, I am able to do what I have a love and education for, all while helping other Etsy sellers with their business needs!

I have a BA and an MBA in accounting. I also have over 5 years of corporate experience. Once I had my first child, the corporate world became a distant memory. Once he was a bit older, I worked part time for a small mom-n-pop business. This is where I found my calling to work with small businesses.

My goal for Accounting SPOT is to grow and reach as many small business owners as possible. I’m very excited about my free product offerings! I hope to expand in that area.  I also hope to increase my number of ‘Done for you’ clients. This is a great service that offers you a low cost, maintenance free accounting option and brings me returning clientele.

Here are Holly’s Tips for Etsy Sellers:

1) Separate your business funds from your personal funds.
Bank, PayPal & Credit cards. The books are SO much easier to balance when there are only related transactions to deal with.

2) Accounting software: Start simple…& free.
Spreadsheets: (Free Spreadsheet from Holly’s website)
QuickBooks: Start with the free versions and work your way up as your business grows.

3) Reconcile your accounts.
Doing this assures you know what is coming and going from your bank/PayPal accounts.

4)Don’t do your bookkeeping FOR the IRS.
Many owners do their bookkeeping ‘for’ the tax man. This is backwards. You do your bookkeeping for YOU and as a result, can easily share the required info with the tax man.

5) Downloading detail is your friend.
Etsy, PayPal and probably your bank and credit cards have the option to download transaction detail in to excel and/or QuickBooks. USE THIS OPTION! The less data entry you have to do, the more time and accuracy you gain.

6) Keep your paper (and computer files) organized.
You don’t need to enter your transactions in to an accounting program daily. But, if you keep all the information organized in between entry points, entry will go much smoother.

7) Use the Schedule C as a guide for your expense categories.
It is not the end-all, be-all of expense categories, but it is a great starting point. Use these categories and then add in your own subcategories as necessary for your business. Click HERE.

Be sure to check out Holly’s official website for her helpful blog posts and tips on running your business. If you still are having trouble with your paperwork, let Holly help!