Bookkeeping answers from a coffee roaster
Your bookkeeping question, answered first.
I roast coffee. The beans sell through my own Shopify store and on Amazon, and the café where it all started is still open. Each of the three has its own set of books, and I keep all of them myself.
Shopify, Amazon and the café each bring in money in a different shape, and the café adds cash and tips across a counter.
I have priced out bookkeeping services and have not hired one, so the cost of handing the books off is a question I keep returning to.
Nell Hartwell Some vendors pay us to be included on Clean Books Report. That payment never affects the rankings or the review itself.
Questions
Questions people ask about their books
- What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting? Bookkeeping basics
- What is ecommerce bookkeeping? Bookkeeping basics
- How does bookkeeping work for a restaurant or café? Bookkeeping basics
- Should each business have its own set of books? Bookkeeping basics
- What is bookkeeping? Bookkeeping basics
- How do you catch up on months of bookkeeping? Catch-up and cleanup
- What is a typical hourly rate for a bookkeeper? Hiring a bookkeeper and what it costs
- How much does a bookkeeper cost per month? Hiring a bookkeeper and what it costs
- How much is Xero? Xero, Wave, Zoho Books and FreshBooks questions
- How much does Wave accounting cost? Xero, Wave, Zoho Books and FreshBooks questions
- Is the Zoho Books free plan really free? Xero, Wave, Zoho Books and FreshBooks questions
- How much does QuickBooks Online cost? QuickBooks questions
- How do you do a bank reconciliation? Reconciliation and bank feeds
No question matches that search.
Top picks
Accounting software ranked
| Tool | Picked for | Type | Free plan | Starting price | Rating | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Zoho Books | Owners who want a free plan for a micro business and paid plans that add inventory and multi currency. | Software | Yes | Freezoho.com/us/books/pricing | 4.4 (Capterra) | 71 |
| 2 QuickBooks Online | Small businesses that want full bookkeeping with four priced plans and connected store, POS and payment apps. | Software | Yes | Freequickbooks.intuit.com/pricing | 4.3 (Capterra) | 66 |
| 3 Wave | Owners who want free invoicing and bookkeeping for one business, with a paid plan for bank import. | Software | Yes | Freewaveapps.com/pricing | 4.4 (Capterra) | 61 |
| 4 Xero | Owners who want bank reconciliation on every plan, with store and POS apps from partners. | Software | No | $27 a monthxero.com/us/pricing-plans | 4.1 (Trustpilot) | 52 |
| 5 FreshBooks | Service businesses that invoice clients and track time, with billing features on every plan. | Software | No | $23 a monthfreshbooks.com/pricing | 4.5 (Capterra) | 52 |
Where my questions come from
Real jobs behind the questions
- Shopify and Amazon payouts arrive after fees and refunds, so the deposit never matches the sales.
- Beans ship to customers in many states, and each state can want its own sales tax filing.
- The café brings a till, tips and food cost, and those need their own habits.
- Three businesses mean three sets of books, and a second or third company can change what the software costs.
- Handing the books to a service keeps coming up. I have priced services out and have not hired one.
I roast coffee. The beans sell through my own Shopify store and on Amazon, and the café where it all started is still open. Each of the three has its own set of books, and I keep all of them myself.
Shopify, Amazon and the café each bring in money in a different shape, and the café adds cash and tips across a counter.
I have priced out bookkeeping services and have not hired one, so the cost of handing the books off is a question I keep returning to.
- Shopify and Amazon payouts arrive after fees and refunds, so the deposit never matches the sales.
- Beans ship to customers in many states, and each state can want its own sales tax filing.
- The café brings a till, tips and food cost, and those need their own habits.