The Bookkeeping Mistakes That Kill Deals
A field guide to the issues that cause investors to walk — and how to prevent each one.
Commingling
Personal expenses on the business card, or vice versa. Investors see lack of discipline and worry about the rest of your operation. Separate accounts, separate cards, no exceptions.
Revenue games
Recognizing annual contracts upfront, booking non-recurring as recurring, ignoring refunds. Investors find it and lose trust permanently. Just be clean.
Stale books
Books more than 30 days behind in diligence is a red flag. More than 60 days and most investors pause. Monthly close discipline solves this.
Key takeaways
- Never commingle personal and business.
- Revenue recognition is not creative writing.
- Stale books pause deals; fresh books close them.