Bookkeeping, Banking, and Payroll

Good tax outcomes depend on good records, and good records depend on habits more than on software. This hub covers the operating layer of a small business: where money lives, how it is recorded, how owners are paid, and how payroll and worker classification are handled. None of it is glamorous, and most tax problems we see trace back to some part of it.

Begin with the foundation: separating personal and business finances and business bank account setup. These two guides protect liability, simplify the books, and make every later task easier. Then choose a system. Bookkeeping systems for small business covers software, routines, and who does what, while chart of accounts basics shows how to organize categories so reports answer real questions. The choice between cash and accrual accounting affects both taxes and how you read performance.

A monthly discipline holds it together. The month-end close checklist gives a repeatable sequence from reconciliations to locking the period. Owner money deserves its own attention: owner draws vs distributions vs salary explains the correct mechanism for each entity type, and business credit cards and personal guarantees explains what you are really signing when you borrow in the company's name.

Once you hire, payroll and classification enter the picture. Payroll for new employers is a first-hire checklist, payroll tax deposits and filings explains the forms and deadlines, and contractor vs employee explains how classification works and why the label in a contract does not decide it.

If your books are behind, do not despair. The guide to catching up in the cleanups hub lays out a recovery plan. For the tax deadlines these systems feed, see the tax basics hub.