Open a separate business bank account. That is the single most important financial step and everything else builds on top of it. Without a clear separation between personal and business money, tracking income and expenses becomes a tangled mess that only gets worse over time.

Before you can open that account, you’ll need an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. It’s free and takes about five minutes on their website. Even sole proprietors who could technically use their Social Security number should get an EIN. It protects your personal information and most banks require one to open a business account anyway.

If you haven’t settled on your entity structure yet, don’t let that delay things. Start as a sole proprietor and open the bank account now. You can always form an LLC or elect S-corp status later. The longer you run business transactions through personal accounts, the more cleanup you’ll need down the road.

Once the bank account is open, get a business credit card and route every business purchase through these two accounts. No exceptions. Buying supplies with your personal card because it’s in your pocket creates tracking problems that compound month after month.

Next, set up accounting software. QuickBooks Online is the standard for small businesses and for good reason. Connect your bank account and credit card so transactions flow in automatically. Set up a chart of accounts with categories that match your industry. If the setup feels overwhelming, QuickBooks Online setup and training can get you started on the right foundation so you’re not guessing at how things should be organized.

Start recording transactions from day one. Even if your business isn’t generating revenue yet, you’re spending money on setup costs, licenses, equipment, and supplies. All of those are potentially deductible, but only if you track them. Startup costs that happen before you officially open for business have specific tax treatment, and you don’t want to lose those deductions because you weren’t keeping records.

Set up a simple system for saving receipts too. Take photos with your phone and store them in a folder organized by month. You don’t need anything fancy at the beginning, but you do need something consistent. A $200 charge at Staples three months ago means nothing without context.

If you plan to hire employees or pay contractors, register with the Tennessee Department of Revenue and set up withholding accounts before you pay anyone. Paying workers without proper tax setup creates problems that are expensive to fix after the fact.

The pattern is straightforward. Separate your money, track everything, and start organized. Business owners who wait six months to “get serious about the books” almost always spend more time and money cleaning things up than they would have spent doing it right from the start. Working with a bookkeeper in Franklin from the beginning means your financial foundation is solid before the daily complexity of running a business takes over your attention.