Bookkeeping for designers
Designers don't learn business skills and that's a problem because most designers are small business owners at some stage in their career.
And it’s a problem because we know design businesses don’t fail from lack of design skills.
The majority of design businesses fail because they don't manage their finances well enough to remain viable.
Why we wrote this book
We want to build designer’s knowledge and confidence in finance, and position their design business for growth. Growth is vital for viability and sustainability. It’s not just about head-count, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Better growth in skill, in clients and in projects.
To grow, founders need solid financial knowledge. That’s where we can help. This ebook shares what we know about bookkeeping for a creative business. It’s written from a designers point of view, by design practitioners, for designers. It’s about sharing our knowledge, not accountancy advice.
Defining bookkeeping
There is often confusion around what a bookkeeper does, where their role in a design studio begins, where it ends and where an accountant’s role begins. We understand that. It can be confusing.
The overlap depends on the skill, competency and frankly, interest level of the studio owner, the credentials of the bookkeeper and how hands-on your accountant wants to be.
Many designers do their own bookkeeping to begin with, then employ a bookkeeper to continue the job and free up their time. Others just continue as they began. Neither decision is wrong, this ebook is about understanding the bookkeeping needs of a design studio, and how best to accomplish them.
I feel this book deep in my non-financially-fluent bones.
It’s the swift kick up the butt we needed at this point in our studio’s life. A must-read for any owner/founder. Big, big thanks, Carol and Greg
Samuel Byrnes Creative Director (and former Bookkeeper), Rome Design Studio
This is such a great resource! Genuinely wish I had something like this a year ago. Although even now, I’m still learning and got a lot out of the read. Being tailored to design business owners, this will certainly help those who take the time to engage with it.
Like anything, it’s nearly impossible to do better when we don’t know what better looks like. Bookkeeping for Designers helps to bridge the knowledge gap on what a healthy design business looks like, what we should understand as business owners, and how to engage external help.
Jack O’Sullivan Founder and Designer Side By Side Studio
What's included?
Bookkeeping for Designers includes topics like:
- defining a bookkeeper role
- pros / cons of a designer doing their books
- what it costs to hire bookkeeper
- how to hire a bookkeeper
- the difference between a sole trader, a company and a partnership
- descriptions of commonly used spreadsheets and why they’re valuable
- definitions and handy checklists.
What is bookkeeping?
Like many roles there’s a spectrum of tasks needed to manage a creative business ranging from the very simple (data entry) to the more complex (compliance reporting). The more complex, the more time consuming.
And currency is key. It’s much easier to invoice when the memory of a job is fresh. Ditto for tallying purchase orders. Remedial work always takes longer, and many financial decisions are much better done proactively rather than reactively. When simple tasks are not done properly everything just takes more time, leaving less time for doing what you do best – designing.
So there’s no formula for when you might need a bookkeeper but one rule of thum is when you get too busy to do your own bookkeeping within working hours, in a timely manner, it’s time to delegate.
An ebook written for designers
This is an ebook about bookkeeping but not about how to do bookkeeping. We explain the type of tasks, spreadsheets and terminology needed to maintain the books of a sustainable creative business. We use diagrams and designer-speak, not accountancy-speak to explain common spreadsheets and definitions. And we talk about understanding when hiring a bookkeeper is right for your business:
“In the second year of our agency, I decided to let go of my not-so-expert hold on bookkeeping, and it was a tremendous relief. Outsourcing this aspect allowed me to concentrate on areas where my skills could turn the needle of our agency’s success. Our bookkeeper has been invaluable—keeping us aligned with our financial goals, managing payments to suppliers, and ensuring our tax and super obligations are met. She also prepares all the accounts for our accountant at the end of the year, making his process more straightforward and economical. She’s not just a behind-the-scenes supporter; she’s become our quiet champion, helping us stay on track and grow sustainably.”
Julie Corbett, General Manager Studio Hoopla