BENCH SMALL BUSINESS GUIDES Intro- duction To all the entrepreneurs rolling up their sleeves to do their own bookkeeping, we salute you! This guide is for you. Bookkeeping can be tedious work, but the sweat equity buys you something priceless: financial insight into your business. Without bookkeeping, you’re driving blind like a car without a gas gauge. Sure, the car is driving fine, but who knows how long before you have to pull over and wait for a friend to bring a jerrycan? In this guide, we’ll walk you through the basics of what bookkeeping is, why it matters, and the seven key steps to getting your own bookkeeping process off the ground. 2