Advertise on podcast: Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

You built a budget at the start of the year. A few months later, it was sitting in a folder nobody opened. That's a habit problem, and habits can be built. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I close out my three-part 2027 budget reset series with the five habits that turn a small business budget from a one-time spreadsheet into a system you use all year. I walk through the budgeting habits our team uses with clients: a monthly budget review that compares your plan to actual results, remembering the goals behind your budget, checking your financials before you commit to spending, building a contingency fund from a set percentage of revenue, and bringing your team into the budget. I also share a client story where a live reforecast let our team confirm within days that she could afford a large conference, plus the 48-hour rule I follow before any new business spending. The result is a budget you can rely on for spending decisions throughout 2027. You will learn how to catch a revenue shortfall before it turns into a crisis, and how to tell whether you can afford a new investment mid-year. If you have ever built a budget and stopped looking at it a few months in, this episode gives you the habits to keep it working through year-end.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can keep your 2027 budget on track all year: here   Key Takeaways: 0:00 Intro to Budgeting Habits 1:57 Reviewing Your Budget Monthly 3:10 Remembering Your Original Goals 4:06 Checking Finances Before Spending 5:06 Building a Contingency Fund 5:36 Involving Your Team 6:38 Recap and Conclusion   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next: 👉 The 2027 Budget Reset, Part 1 of 3: Start With the Right Mindset 👉 The 2027 Budget Reset, Part 2 of 3: Start With Your Pay

A copied template or aspirational numbers can sink a business budget by February. This one starts with your own pay and your own history. In part two of my 2027 Budget Reset series on CEO Numbers Network, I walk through year-end budget planning for small business owners and why a CEO budgets to invest while an owner in survival mode budgets to avoid running out of money. I start with owner's pay and three personal numbers to set first: what you want to pay yourself, what you need to feel secure, and what would make you feel free. Then I show how to define your business season from past growth and create a spending plan from your monthly profit and loss statement for the last 12 months. You'll leave with clear action steps and a budget template for 2027. You will learn how to set realistic revenue growth goals and decide what your spending plan should fund or trim to protect profit margin. If you have ever set a budget and stopped using it, this episode gives you a plan built around your goals.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you build a 2027 budget around your goals: here   Key Takeaways 0:00 Introduction to Business Budgeting 1:34 Defining Your Personal Numbers 3:50 Assessing Your Business Season 4:47 Building Your Spending Plan 7:27 Action Steps and Resources   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 The 2027 Budget Reset, Part 1 of 3: Start With the Right Mindset 👉 The 3-Part IRS Test for Every Contractor on Your Team

Every budget I've seen fail over the last 11 years failed for the same reason. It was built like a diet, and a diet only lasts so long. In part one of this three-part small business budgeting series, I cover the budget mindset reset that comes before annual budget planning. I explain why restrictive budgets built around cutting expenses fall apart, and how cutting software, contractors, and support shifts work back onto the CEO and raises the risk of burnout. I share a client case study where a year of flat revenue traced back to underspending on advertising, marketing campaigns, conferences, and PR, and how a growth-focused budget brought momentum back within a few months. I also introduce the goal-oriented budget approach our team uses with clients, including how to set business goals for the year ahead, why owner pay belongs in the budget, and the question that separates reactive spending from strategic spending. Listen to this episode of CEO Numbers Network before you touch next year's numbers. Then pull your last 12 months of financials and note which growth areas have gone without investment. That list is your starting point for part two. 👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you build your 2027 budget: here   Key Takeaways 0:00 Why traditional budgets fail 2:35 Case study on underspending 4:44 Aligning your budget with goals 5:34 Shifting to a CEO mindset   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 Why Your Contractor's W-9 Can't Wait Until January 👉 The 3-Part IRS Test for Every Contractor on Your Team

A signed contractor agreement only protects you if the way you work with that person matches it. The IRS has a clear test for this, and it's better to run it now than to find out during an audit. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I walk through the IRS three-part test for deciding whether someone on your team is a contractor or an employee. The three factors are behavioral control, financial control, and the working relationship. Getting the classification wrong can mean back payroll taxes and back benefits, plus penalties and interest. Since we're heading into the fourth quarter, this is also the time to plan for moving team members onto payroll as of January 1. You will learn how to test each working relationship against the three factors and how payroll taxes change for you and your team when a contractor moves onto payroll. If you have ever wondered whether someone on your team should be a contractor or an employee, this episode gives you a clear way to decide before year-end.   👉 Discover how our bookkeeping services can help you make team decisions with confidence: here   Key Takeaways 0:00 Intro 2:21 The Three-Part IRS Test 4:31 The Auditor Test and Next Steps 7:35 Tax Impacts and Payroll Changes 9:02 Recap and Final Advice    Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 Why Your Contractor's W-9 Can't Wait Until January 👉 3 Questions That Separate a CEO From a Business Owner

Waiting until tax season to think about contractor paperwork is exactly what makes it so stressful. Every January, my team fields the same kind of call: a business owner needs a contractor's Social Security number, and that contractor already stopped answering. Find out what changed with 1099 reporting for 2026, including the new dollar threshold that determines when a contractor needs one. I break down what actually counts as a contractor for tax purposes, what a W-9 collects, and why the timing of gathering it matters more than most business owners realize. By the end, you'll know exactly what to check and request now, well before the January deadline. This is one of the few tasks where being early costs you nothing and being late costs you real money.   👉 Discover how our tax team can help you get ahead of IRS deadlines: ksataxpartners.com    Key Takeaways 00:00 The January 1099 Scramble 00:43 Contractors and 1099 Series 02:26 New 2026 Contractor Threshold 03:09 What a W9 Collects 04:52 When to Request a W9 06:21 Building Your 1099 List    Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 The 30-Day Burnout Diagnosis Every CEO Needs to Run 👉 3 Questions That Separate a CEO From a Business Owner

Revenue and team size get the attention, but neither tells you if you're running your business like a CEO. It comes down to three specific numbers, and whether you know them without guessing. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I get into three questions I ask every CEO about her own numbers: her year to date profit and profit percentage, what her business owns compared to what it owes, and whether her cash reserves are enough. I also cover three bookkeeping errors our team sees during onboarding that throw off each answer: draws coded as payroll or duplicated revenue, old loans still sitting on the balance sheet years after they were paid off, and point of sale systems that double record a sale with QuickBooks. I explain why a clean QuickBooks dashboard or a quick AI summary can't replace an actual review of your books. You will learn to recognize the errors that distort your numbers, and how to make decisions from data instead of a gut feeling. If you've ever felt confident about your numbers until someone asked a specific question, this episode shows you where that confidence was coming from.   👉 Find out if your books are accurate here.   Key Takeaways 0:00 Introduction to the CEO Test 1:25 Question One: Year-to-Date Profit 3:02 Question Two: Assets Versus Liabilities 4:31 Question Three: Cash Reserves 7:11 The Dangers of AI and Misleading Data 8:47 How to Get Accurate Books   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 The 30-Day Burnout Diagnosis Every CEO Needs to Run  👉 How to Know If You Can Afford to Hire Your First Employee

A team member once asked me how we help clients who show up to their financial review calls completely burnt out. My answer surprised even me, and it led to a 30-day exercise I now recommend to every business owner I work with. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I talk about why burnout gets misdiagnosed so often in business ownership, and I walk through a real client example of growth mode colliding with family obligations. I also push back on trending labels like burnout and soft girl era, and I share five specific strategies for reframing pressure into something you actually have control over, starting with a 30-day energy audit. You will learn how to tell the difference between real exhaustion and simply being in a demanding season of your business, how to delegate what was never yours to carry in the first place, and how to make decisions from intention instead of guilt. If you have ever labeled yourself as burnt out without actually checking what was going on underneath it, this episode will give you a clearer way to look at it.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you build a plan around the season you're actually in: here.   Key Takeaways 00:47 Burnout Isn't a Badge 10:14 Step 1: Run Your Energy Audit 11:00 Step 2: Delegate What Isn't Yours 11:54 Step 3: Build a Real Budget 12:24 Step 4: Do the Mindset Work 13:00 Step 5: Act Like the CEO   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 How to Know If You Can Afford to Hire Your First Employee 👉 The 4 Step CEO Reset Method for a Stronger Fourth Quarter

Your profit and loss statement can look fine, and your stomach can still drop when you think about hiring. I know that feeling, because it's exactly where I was the night I hired my first employee. I walk through the three methods I use to decide if a business can afford to hire: the look back method, the averages method, and the look forward budgeting method. I cover how profit and cash flow can tell two different stories, how much cash to have saved before hiring, and the real costs of bringing on a new employee beyond the paycheck. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I share exactly how to make that call with real numbers. You will learn what to look at before you hire, how to protect your cash flow, and how to move forward with confidence instead of guessing. If you have ever looked at a healthy profit number and still felt too scared to hire, this episode gives you the math to decide with confidence.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you build a hiring budget you can trust: here   Key Takeaways 00:00 Why You Should Hire Help 00:44 Danielle's First Hire Story 03:10 Method One: The Look Back 04:20 Method Two: Calculate Your Cash 06:54 Method Three: Build Your Budget 09:00 How Much Cash To Save 11:30 The Real Cost Of Hiring 12:22 Final Encouragement To Hire Confidently    Resources 📊 Download the free hiring worksheet from this episode. 💰 Build your own 12 month budget with the free template.    📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 The 4 Step CEO Reset Method for a Stronger Fourth Quarter 👉 Can AI Actually Replace Your Bookkeeper?

You made it through summer, and now the fourth quarter is staring you down. The instinct is to catch up on everything you let slide, but that's exactly what backfires. This episode shares the four step reset I use every fall to close out the year with focus instead of overwhelm. It's built for business owners who come out of summer feeling behind and try to fix everything in the business at once, which usually backfires by January. Instead of chasing every goal, this framework helps you pick one clear priority and build the rest of the quarter around it. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I walk through the exact reset I use every September before the fourth quarter hits. You will learn how to reset your CEO mindset, get clarity on your numbers, plan your spending with intention, and know what to do with the ideas that don't fit right now. If you have ever felt profitable on paper but still couldn't find the cash in your bank account, this episode shows you exactly where to look.   👉 Discover how our bookkeeping services can help you close out this year with clarity: here   Key Takeaways 00:51 The Four-Step Fall Reset Framework 02:54 Step One: Reset Your CEO Mindset 05:18 Step Two: Get Clarity On Numbers 07:20 What Your Balance Sheet Reveals 08:40 Step Three: Plan Q4 With Intention 11:11 Step Four: Build Your Wait List   Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 The S Corp Move to Stop Overpaying the IRS 👉 Can AI Actually Replace Your Bookkeeper?

I ran our own business financials through AI three different ways and got three completely different answers. What that revealed about trusting AI with your numbers might change how you use it in your own business. I share what happened when I fed our real financials into AI and changed only the tone of my prompt, from neutral to positive to negative, and watched the same numbers produce three completely different financial narratives. I talk about why AI won't push back on you unless you ask it to, and what that means if you're using it to make real financial decisions. I also share a story about an AI-run bookkeeping firm that undercut our pricing by two dollars, and why that pushed me to think about what business owners are actually paying for when they choose a financial partner. I close with two questions I think every business owner should ask before trusting anyone, human or AI, with their numbers. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I run an experiment on my own business and get honest about what it revealed. You will learn why a prompt is never neutral, what to watch for if you use AI on your own financials, and two questions to ask before trusting any financial partner with your numbers. If you have ever wondered whether the financial advice you're getting from AI is actually accurate, or just telling you what you want to hear, this episode will change how you think about it.   👉 Discover how our bookkeeping team can give your numbers the human judgment AI can't: here   Key Takeaways 00:36 Running an AI financial experiment 02:36 A positive prompt skews AI's read 03:02 A negative prompt flips the story 04:19 AI mirrors your mood, not reality 06:10 The $2 AI bookkeeping ad 11:46 Two questions before you hire    Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   👉 Why Your Tax Bill Keeps Growing (Even When You Pay On Time)  👉 The S Corp Move to Stop Overpaying the IRS

You've built a profitable business, and you're still handing more of it to the IRS than you need to. The real reason usually traces back to your structure. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I'm continuing our mid-year tax check-in series with a deep dive into business structure. Profitable business owners often keep paying self-employment tax long after their structure has stopped making sense. I break down the three signs that tell you you're ready for an S corp and the reasonable compensation rule the IRS requires once you make that switch. I also share a client story about what it actually took to get her ready, because the profit number alone wasn't enough. You will learn the three signs that tell you you're ready for an S corp, plus the reasonable compensation rule the IRS enforces once you make the switch. If you have ever wondered why your CPA never brought up an S corp, or worried you might be underpaying yourself the wrong way, this episode shows you exactly where to look.   👉 Discover how our tax team can help you know if you're ready for an S corp: here   Key Takeaways 00:00 The cost of delaying decisions 1:54 Why self-employment tax costs more 3:19 How S Corp changes taxes 5:02 The $75,000 net profit benchmark 6:40 Why finances must stay separate 7:53 The reasonable compensation rule    Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 Why Your Tax Bill Keeps Growing (Even When You Pay On Time) 👉 Your CPA Did Everything Right, and It's Still Costing You

Safe harbor protects you from an IRS penalty, but it doesn't protect you from a bigger tax bill when your business grows. This episode of CEO Numbers Network explains the difference, and what to do about it before next April. I explain safe harbor, the IRS rule that protects business owners from an underpayment penalty, and why it's often mistaken for a complete tax plan. I walk through the exact math the IRS uses to calculate what you owe throughout the year, and I share two real client stories, one who paid faithfully and still got a surprise bill, and one who had never paid estimated taxes at all. I also break down the tax reserve, a separate number based on this year's income that safe harbor alone doesn't cover, and I give you three concrete steps to close that gap before your next tax season. You will learn what safe harbor actually protects you from and how the tax reserve closes the gap it leaves behind. If you have ever paid every estimated tax payment on time and still gotten a bill you didn't expect, this episode will show you exactly why, and what to do differently before next April. 👉 Discover how our tax team can build your tax reserve alongside your safe harbor payments: here.   Key Takeaways 00:00 Why paying on time still bites 02:18 What Safe Harbor covers 04:28 Growing faster than your tax plan 05:18 The Safe Harbor floor mistake 05:29 Two client stories on the gap 07:24 The tax reserve formula 10:29 The CEO question to ask 11:44 Three steps to close the gap   Resources 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 Your CPA Did Everything Right, and It's Still Costing You 👉 The CEO Strategy For Building A Full Money Team

Your CPA can file a perfectly accurate return every year and still never once ask you the question that actually changes what you owe. That's how the entire accounting industry built the job, and I think it's the wrong way to run a business. I've spent my career watching business owners treat tax filing and tax planning as the same job. They're not, and that confusion is exactly why I built an entire second practice, KSA Tax Partners, around the difference. In this episode, I walk through the six-area mid-year check-in we run with every client there, business structure, benefits, retirement contributions, tax projections, estimated payments, and deductions, plus a real client story where three of those areas were missed entirely because no one was looking forward on their behalf. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I make the case for a standard I think every business owner should hold their advisors to, one that goes beyond filing and into real planning. You will learn exactly what that standard looks like in practice, and how to tell whether your current advisor is meeting it. If you have ever sensed that your CPA is doing everything right and something is still missing, this is the conversation that closes that gap before the year runs out. 👉 Discover how our tax support can help you plan ahead, not just file on time, start here! Key Takeaways: 00:00 The CPA Question Nobody Asks 1:21 Filing vs Planning 2:37 Why Fall, Not April 3:04 The Six-Part Tax Snapshot 5:39 Three Missed Tax Moves 7:03 The Boardroom Standard Resources: 📥 Download our free mid-year tax check-in checklist: here 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram Listen Next: 👉 Maximizing Tax Deductions: The Smart Owner's Guide to Business Expenses – Ep. 214 👉 Avoid THESE Costly Mistakes from Mixing Business & Personal Expenses – Episode 196

You have your financial statements. But do you actually know what to do with them? Most of us were taught to check our numbers after the month is already over. That's the moment I want to change for you. In this episode, I walk through the four ways business owners make decisions and why most of us default to reacting instead of planning. I share the three shifts I use in my own business. Two of them are about your numbers: using them instead of just knowing them, and looking ahead instead of only looking back. The third is about your role, moving from expert to CEO. I also break down the four roles every money team needs and share what happened when one of our clients built her ten year vision and finally felt confident enough to hire. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, I break down why your budget alone isn't enough to guide your decisions. You will learn the four decision making styles I see most often, plus the three shifts that move you from reactive to strategic. I also walk through the four roles you need on your money team. If you have ever made a big decision off pure gut instinct or panicked after one bad month, this episode will help you build a process you can actually trust.   👉 Discover how our Tteam can help you build a budget you actually use, start here!   Key Takeaways 00:00 Four decision-making styles for CEOs 02:38 Bookkeeping and budget drive decisions 04:11 Financial whiplash kills business confidence 07:46 Build your 10-year vision first 10:26 Growing past $800K by hiring 13:32 Building a strong money team   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen Next 👉 What Outgrowing Your Business Actually Looks Like 👉 The Reforecast Mistake Costing You the Rest of the Year

After eleven years, we admitted the business we had on paper wasn't the business we had actually built. This episode is what outgrowing your own business actually looks like, from the inside. We rebranded Kickstart Accounting into three divisions, Kickstart Bookkeeping, Nvision CFO, and KSA Tax Partners, and in this episode I explain why, starting with the one thing I want to clear up immediately: we did not sell the business. Our VP of Operations Victoria joins me to talk through how we knew it was time to rebrand, the three financial phases every business owner moves through on the way to building real value, and why bookkeeping still has to be the foundation of every other financial decision. We also get into what a done-with-you model looks like compared to done-for-you, and why building something that can survive without you matters more than staying profitable alone. In this episode of CEO Numbers Network, Victoria and I walk through the real story behind our rebrand and what building a valuable business actually requires. You will learn the three financial phases every business owner moves through and why bookkeeping still has to be the foundation before you can build real value. If you have ever felt like your business outgrew the brand you built it under, this episode will show you what it actually takes to build something that can run without you.   👉 Discover how our CFO services can help you plan your next 10 years, not just last month: start here!   Key Takeaways 00:00 No Sale, No New Ownership 04:00 The Designer Note Behind the Rebrand 06:00 No Budget Without Bookkeeping 08:00 Envision CFO's 1, 3, and 10-Year Plans 10:00 A 10-Year Recommitment to Kickstart 11:00 Building a Business That Could Be Sold 13:00 Confirming the Same Leadership Team 15:00 Kickstart Kit and the Done-With-You Model   Resources 📈 Book a strategy call with Danielle's team at Kickstart: here    👉 Check your books here  👉 Visit the Kickstart website 👉 Follow us on Instagram   Listen next 👉 How to Audit Business Expenses Like a CFO (5-Step Method) 👉 The Reforecast Mistake Costing You the Rest of the Year