Rescue 000 - Bookkeeping series

I love this time of year. Many people are just back from a break reconnecting with family, maybe at the beach, and most people are still feeling the holiday vibe. The office is quiet, people are relaxed, and I have time to think and plan. Well, that is what January is usually like in Appy Books world. But this year, boy oh boy, did I bite off a whole lot more than expected and I am chewing like crazy.

We were approached in December to complete a rescue for a not so small business. They had two and a half years of data that needed to be processed to get up to date and compliant. You may ask, “How could that happen?” and to be honest, I was thinking the same thing. But when you have been in this industry for a lengthy period, you see some unusual sights and we try very hard not to judge the reasons that cause a rescue like this. So, I said yes to the rescue.

I preface this next sentence with the disclaimer “I know that I am a numbers nerd and wear that badge with pride”. This rescue has been really hard work with long hours, and I have had a lot of help, but I have flippin’ loved it! Completing a bookkeeping rescue is like pulling a thread to unravel a knitted sweater. Every row you unravel, you find and fix another error. The satisfaction of creating order from 3 archive boxes full of receipts/invoices and reconciling 16,000 bank transactions is quite exhilarating. Yes, I am not going into the new year after two weeks of R and R. But I did I learn that there is an upper limit on the number of documents you can load into Hubdoc in one day (1000) and the sense of achievement of helping this family business get on track has definitely been worth it. That is how I know I am where I am supposed to be. I was born for this challenge.

This realisation made me think of that scary time when you first leave high school, and you don’t know what the next chapter of life holds. In my case, I was 18 and was desperate to be a journalist. Instead, I was offered a place studying a business degree. At the time, I was devastated. I thought my life was over. I had never met many interesting accountants so how could it be a satisfying career for an 18-year-old that wanted to meet boys? Oh, how wrong I was. I meet interesting and passionate accountants and bookkeepers every week (many that are very good-looking) and this has been the perfect career choice for me. And ironically, I get to use my journalistic communication tendencies on a daily basis informing and mentoring clients.

I guess the point I am trying to make is even though we all take some twists and turns, I think we end up where we are supposed to be. With age, we work out what is important to us and choose that path. Whether it is choosing to work over the Christmas break or starting a new career at 40. Do what inspires you and makes you sparkle. Life is short, you may as well be happy.

Happy New Year and stay ‘Appy in 2024!