Tracking Your Money

Simple systems to know if you're actually making money.

The Profitable Business Owner vs. The Busy Broke Person

Here's a scenario that happens too often:

Someone starts a service business. They're busy all the time. Money comes in. Money goes out. At the end of the year, they have nothing saved and a surprise tax bill.

"I worked so hard—where did all the money go?"

The answer: They never tracked it.

Tracking your money isn't complicated. But it's essential. You need to know:

How much you're bringing in
How much you're spending
What's left (your actual profit)
Whether individual jobs are profitable

The Basic Numbers

Revenue (Money In)

Every dollar that customers pay you.

This is NOT your profit—it's just the total coming in before expenses.

Expenses (Money Out)

Everything you spend to run the business:

Gas and vehicle costs
Equipment and supplies
Insurance
Phone and software
Marketing
Repairs and maintenance
Any other business costs

Profit (What's Left)

Revenue minus Expenses = Profit

This is your actual earnings—what you can pay yourself.

Simple example:

Monthly revenue: $4,000
Monthly expenses: $1,200
Monthly profit: $2,800

That $2,800 is yours. But remember, taxes come out of that too.

Net Income (After Taxes)

Profit minus Taxes = What you actually keep

If your tax rate is 25%:

Profit: $2,800
Taxes: $700
Net income: $2,100

That's your real take-home from a $4,000 revenue month.

The Minimum Tracking System

Even if you hate bookkeeping, do at least this much:

Track All Income

Every payment goes in a list:

Date
Customer
Amount
Service type

You can use:

A spreadsheet
A notes app
A paper notebook
Home Guild Pro (recommended—it happens automatically)

Track All Expenses

Keep every receipt. Log every purchase:

Date
What you bought
Amount
Category (gas, supplies, insurance, etc.)

Easy method: Take a photo of every receipt and save to a "Business Receipts" folder. Log the expense in your tracker.

Monthly Check-In

Once a month, add it up:

Total income
Total expenses
Profit

Takes 30 minutes. Tells you if you're actually making money.

Understanding Job Profitability

Not all jobs are equally profitable. Tracking helps you see which ones are worth taking.

Job Profit Calculation

Revenue from job: What the customer paid Direct costs: Gas to get there, supplies used Time invested: Hours spent (travel + work) Hourly profit: (Revenue - Direct costs) ÷ Hours

Example: Two Lawn Jobs

Job A:

Price: $55
Drive time: 10 minutes
Job time: 40 minutes
Gas: $3
Profit: $52 for 50 minutes = $62/hour

Job B:

Price: $65
Drive time: 35 minutes
Job time: 55 minutes
Gas: $8
Profit: $57 for 90 minutes = $38/hour

Job A pays less but is more profitable per hour!

This is why tracking matters. Without the data, you might think Job B is better because the price is higher.

What This Tells You

Geographic density matters (less driving = more profit)
Some services are more profitable than others
Bigger jobs aren't always better
Time is your most limited resource

Categories to Track

Organize expenses into categories for clarity:

Vehicle/Transportation

Gas
Maintenance and repairs
Insurance (vehicle portion)
Registration

Equipment

Purchases
Repairs
Replacement parts
Rental costs

Supplies

Consumables (cleaning products, string trimmer line, etc.)
Small tools
Safety equipment

Marketing

Advertising
Flyers/door hangers
Business cards
Website costs

Professional Services

Insurance (business liability)
Accounting/tax prep
Legal (if any)
Software subscriptions

Administrative

Phone/data plan
Bank fees
Office supplies

Simple Bookkeeping Options

Option 1: Spreadsheet (Free)

Google Sheets or Excel with two tabs:

Income (date, customer, amount, service)
Expenses (date, description, amount, category)

Add formulas to total each. Works fine for simple businesses.

Pros: Free, flexible, you control it Cons: Manual entry, easy to forget, no automation

Option 2: Wave Accounting (Free)

Free accounting software designed for small businesses.

Features:

Connect bank account (transactions import automatically)
Categorize expenses
Generate reports (profit/loss, tax summaries)
Send invoices (covered in previous lesson)

Pros: Free, automated bank imports, real accounting reports Cons: Learning curve, need to categorize transactions

Option 3: QuickBooks Self-Employed ($15/month)

Popular small business accounting.

Features:

Bank connection
Mileage tracking
Tax category sorting
Receipt capture

Pros: Industry standard, lots of features, good reports Cons: Monthly cost, can be overkill for simple businesses

Option 4: Home Guild Pro

Pro isn't just for invoices—it tracks your whole business.

Features:

Income tracked automatically (from your invoices)
Expense logging with receipt photos
Job profitability reports
See exactly which services make you money
Tax-ready summaries

Pros: Built for service businesses, everything in one place, mobile-first Cons: Part of your Guild membership (so you're already paying for it)

The Pro advantage: Because your estimates, invoices, and payments all happen in Pro, your income tracking is automatic. Add your expenses, and you have complete financial visibility without juggling multiple apps.

The Tax Set-Aside System

Don't get crushed by taxes at year end.

The Simple Rule

Every time money comes in, move 25-30% to a separate savings account labeled "Taxes."

Don't touch it until quarterly tax payments are due.

Quarterly Estimated Taxes

As a self-employed business owner, you pay taxes quarterly:

April 15
June 15
September 15
January 15

Your actual tax rate depends on total income, but 25-30% is a safe estimate.

What If You've Been Setting Aside Too Much?

Great! You'll either get a refund or have a nice savings buffer.

What if you've been setting aside too little? You'll owe money at tax time. That's painful. Err on the side of setting aside more.

Monthly Financial Review

Schedule 30-60 minutes monthly to review your numbers.

What to Review

Total revenue: How much came in?
Total expenses: How much went out?
Profit: What's left?
Comparison: Better or worse than last month?
Job mix: Which services were most profitable?
Trends: Any concerning patterns?

Questions to Ask

Am I making enough to pay myself?
Are any expense categories growing too fast?
Which types of jobs should I pursue more?
Which should I phase out?
Am I on track for my annual income goal?

Adjustments to Make

Based on your review:

Raise prices on low-profit services
Focus marketing on high-profit services
Cut unnecessary expenses
Pursue more work in dense, profitable areas

Financial Milestones

Track your progress toward these goals:

Survival (Months 1-3)

Revenue covers expenses
You're not losing money
Some profit, even if small

Stability (Months 4-6)

Consistent monthly profit
Building small cash reserve
Paying yourself regularly

Growth (Months 7-12)

Profit increasing month over month
3+ months expenses in reserve
Taxes are covered and organized
Thinking about expansion

Established (Year 2+)

Predictable, reliable income
6+ months expenses in reserve
Organized books, easy tax time
Data-driven business decisions

What Good Looks Like

After a year of tracking, you should know:

Your average monthly revenue
Your average monthly profit
Your effective hourly rate
Your most profitable services
Your most profitable customer types
Your biggest expense categories
Your tax liability (no surprises)

This knowledge lets you make smart decisions instead of guessing.

Action Steps

Choose a tracking system (spreadsheet, Wave, or Home Guild Pro)
Set up income tracking starting today
Collect every receipt and log expenses weekly
Open a "Taxes" savings account and start the 25-30% set-aside
Schedule monthly review (put it on your calendar)
Calculate profitability for your last 5 jobs

Module Wrap-Up: You're in Control

If you've applied this module, you now have:

Pricing that makes sense for your market and your needs
Quoting systems that win jobs and protect your margins
Payment collection that's professional and consistent
Financial tracking so you know if you're actually making money

You're not just doing jobs anymore. You're running a business.

Next up: Module 6—Running the Business. The day-to-day operations that keep customers happy and your schedule full.