🧾 Mid-Year, Full Picture: How to Do a Quick Financial Check-Up for Your Business

Can you believe we’re already halfway through the year?

If you’re like most business owners, the first six months probably flew by—and your books may not have gotten as much attention as you intended. July is the perfect time to pause, take a breath, and do a quick check-in on your finances. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and no, you don’t need to spend hours buried in spreadsheets.

Here’s a simple guide to help you get a clear picture of where things stand—what’s working, what’s not, and where you might want to shift gears heading into the second half of the year.

1. Start with Your Profit & Loss Statement

Run a Year-to-Date Profit & Loss Report (January through June) in QuickBooks Online.

What are you looking for?

• Are you earning more or less than you expected?

• Are your expenses creeping up in any areas?

• How’s your net income looking?

If you have goals, this is a great time to check your progress. If you don’t have goals, now’s the time to set a few based on what the numbers are telling you.

Tip: If revenue is up but profit is flat, dig into where the money’s going. You might have a pricing issue or expenses that need trimming.

2. Reconcile All Accounts Through June

Bank accounts, credit cards, PayPal, Square… if money flows through it, it should be reconciled.

Reconciling just means comparing your records to your statements to make sure everything matches. If something’s off, you’ll catch it now instead of scrambling at year-end.

Why this matters:
Clean reconciliations = accurate reports = smarter business decisions.

3. Tidy Up Your Categories

Uncategorized expenses piling up? Personal purchases accidentally mixed in with business? July is a great time to fix it.

Look for:

• Transactions still sitting in “Uncategorized Expense” or “Ask My Accountant”

• Duplicates or personal charges

• Consistency in your categories (especially if more than one person does your books)

This cleanup saves you time and stress later—and gives you better insight now.

4. Check Your Cash Flow and Goals

Do you know how much cash is coming in and going out each month?

Take a look at your monthly averages. Do you have enough of a cushion to cover a slow season? Are you hitting the revenue numbers you hoped for? If not, what might need to shift?

Sometimes a quick cash flow review can help you decide whether it’s time to raise prices, outsource a task, or hit pause on a big spend.

5. Optional—but Awesome: Clean Up Your QBO File

This one isn’t required, but it feels really good:

• Archive or merge unused vendors or customers

• Rename confusing accounts in your chart of accounts

• Set up bank rules to automate repeat transactions

• If you’re managing multiple projects or programs, consider turning on Projects or Classes in QuickBooks to track profitability by job or area

Need Help with a Mid-Year Checkup?

If you’re reading this and thinking, “This sounds great, but I don’t have time for all of it,” I get it. That’s what I’m here for.

I offer mid-year financial reviews to help you:

• Get caught up

• Understand your numbers

• Feel confident heading into Q3

If your books feel messy, behind, or just confusing, let’s clean them up together. No shame, no overwhelm—just progress.