What should I look at in my reports each month if I only have ten minutes?
Ten minutes is plenty. There are four things worth your attention, and you can look at them in this order.
Start with revenue. Compare the month to the month before it, and then compare it to the same month a year ago. That second comparison is the one most practice owners skip, and it is usually the more honest one. Practices have seasons. Late December and much of the summer often run light. January and September often run heavy. If you only compare to last month, a normal seasonal dip can feel like something is wrong. Comparing to the same month last year tells you whether the practice is actually growing.
Second, look at the expense lines that move. Plenty of your costs sit still every month, so you can skim right past rent and liability insurance. What changes is your software and EHR stack, contractor and associate payments, payroll if you have staff, and payment processing fees. Subscriptions creep quietly. I have opened books and found a practice paying for two scheduling tools and a note app nobody had logged into since spring.
Third, profit for the month. Revenue minus expenses, one number, and it answers the real question of whether the month worked.
Fourth, cash on hand. Profit and cash are two different things. A month can look profitable on paper and still feel tight because payments landed late or two payroll runs hit inside the same thirty days. Look at what is actually in the account and ask whether it covers what is coming.
You do not need to read the whole balance sheet every month, and you do not need to estimate what you owe in taxes while you are at it. That belongs with your tax preparer, and clean books are what makes their job simple. The purpose of your ten minutes is knowing whether the practice is steady, growing, or drifting.
This is the standard I hold myself to with full-service bookkeeping. Reports go out already reconciled, with the comparisons in place and a short note on what changed, so you can read them between sessions. If a number looks strange, send me a message and I will walk through it with you. Good bookkeeping for mental health professionals should give you back your attention rather than ask for more of it.
If you would like your monthly numbers to be that quick to read, book a consultation with me and we can talk about how your practice is set up right now.
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More Questions
What's the difference between catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping?
Catch-up is for books that were never done, meaning months or years with nothing recorded. Clean-up is for books that exist but cannot be trusted because things are miscategorized, unreconciled, or duplicated. Both end the same way, with accurate current books and a monthly rhythm going forward.
Read answerI offer sliding scale to a good share of my caseload. What should my books show me about it?
Your books should show your effective rate per session, the gap between your posted fee and what you actually collect, and how much of your weekly caseload sits at a reduced rate. Those three numbers tell you what sliding scale really costs and how much of it your practice can carry.
Read answerWhy don't my SimplePractice deposits match my session income?
Your platform pays out after processing fees come off the top, and it batches those payouts on the processor's schedule rather than one per session. That means the bank will never match your session ledger on its own. Good books record the gross revenue and the fees separately so both numbers are real.
Read answerWhat has to happen before January so contractor 1099s are easy?
Almost everything. Collect a W-9 from every contractor before the first payment, record payments by payee all year long, and review the totals in December. Do that and January is nothing more than paperwork.
Read answerHow should insurance payments show up in my books if you don't do billing?
I don't do insurance billing, claims, ERA posting, or credentialing. That work stays in your practice management system or with your biller. What bookkeeping does is reconcile what that process produces, matching every payer deposit that reaches your bank against what your records say you were paid.
Read answerWhere do my payment processing fees actually go in my books?
Processing fees belong in their own expense account, with your session revenue recorded at the full amount clients paid. If you only record the smaller net deposit that lands in your bank, both your revenue and your fees disappear from view.
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