Automated Accounting Services, LLC

06/04/2026

What happens if your bookkeeper quits tomorrow?

If you can’t answer that confidently, it’s time to take a closer look at your internal controls.

In our article, we discuss this and more to help business owners spot the hidden vulnerabilities that could shut everything down. Think fraud, locked accounts, or financial decisions made without checks and balances.

Your business depends on more than just good people—it depends on smart systems.

Read more here:

Most Small Businesses Have Weak Internal Controls—Here’s How to Fix Things Before It’s Too Late by Monique Swansen | May 19, 2025 | Business | 0 comments Running a business of any size is no small feat. When it’s a small business, the buck stops with you— you’re in charge of all decision...

06/02/2026

When women lead, industries shift and cannabis is no exception.

This piece breaks down how women‑owned cannabis companies are outperforming through collaboration, customer‑centric strategy, and operational discipline.

These are the same leadership traits that build strong accounting teams, strong businesses, and strong communities.

If you’re watching the evolution of this industry, this is a powerful read. Link to article in first comment.

05/28/2026

This new research pulls together data from McKinsey, Harvard, and CCL... and the message is clear: women’s participation isn’t a DEI initiative. It’s an economic engine.

What leadership traits do companies need most right now?

Collaboration, crisis management, and strategic thinking top the list... and good news, women already excel at them.

This article breaks down the data behind why organizations with women in leadership outperform, and what it means for the future of work. Link to the article in the comments.

05/27/2026

Online ordering sounds like a win for cannabis operators: more convenience, more sales, better customer data.

But it immediately raises a question most businesses take for granted: how does the customer actually pay?

Cannabis businesses can't rely on traditional card processing. Major credit card networks won't touch federally controlled substances, so most operators turn to workarounds: cashless ATMs, ACH transfers, or third-party platforms that operate in regulatory gray areas.

These aren't just inconveniences. They're cash flow risks.

Workaround payment systems can be shut down with little notice. Some have been. That means a dispensary built around cashless transactions can suddenly find itself scrambling to operate cash-only, affecting staffing, security, reconciliation, and customer experience overnight.

As your advisors, we factor payment processing stability into how we assess financial health. That means:
→ Understanding which systems you rely on and how exposed you are if they disappear
→ Making sure your cash management practices can hold up if digital payments go dark
→ Keeping an eye on banking relationships and any compliance triggers that could affect access

The digital tools that grow your business need to be built on a payment foundation that can actually hold the weight.

Is yours? Read the article linked in the comments.

05/21/2026

Persistence is cultural -- or it should be.

The best organizations that I've seen instill a growth mindset in the team -- finding new, and better ways to do what we do.

That's why every team meeting I lead includes an aspect of professional development. Sometimes it's an accounting how-to. Sometimes it's more focused on topics like strategy, time management, or leadership skills.

But here's what I've found matters most: I don't just lead those sessions. I invite my team to lead them too.

When people are encouraged to share what they know, build their confidence, and learn from each other, resilience stops being a crisis response. It becomes part of how we operate every single day.

A team that learns together grows together.

05/20/2026

I didn't build this firm by trying to lead like someone else.

The most meaningful research coming out of 2026 confirms what many of us already knew. The qualities often called "soft" (empathy, collaboration, and emotional intelligence) are actually the most powerful leadership tools in a complex business environment.

Women aren't succeeding despite how we lead. We're succeeding because of it -- and our teams are thriving.

Sharing this for every woman who's been told to be more assertive when what they really needed was more support. It might just be the validation you need to remind you there's not just one right way to grow.

Link to the article in the comments

05/19/2026

May 2026 QuickBooks updates are live!

What's new this month:

> Tax prep in Intuit Accountant Suite (Beta) — accounting and tax workflows now in one place, powered by Intuit ProConnect Tax, with the ability to assign, track, and complete tax tasks across your firm without switching into client files.
> Client Requests (Beta) — centralize client communications inside Intuit Accountant Suite to clarify data, share documents, and guide outcomes without extra meetings.
> AI-powered bank feed is now the default — faster transaction processing with 50%+ speed improvements, and modern reports become the only available view after May 22.
> Bill Pay Autopay with free standard ACH — automate recurring vendor payments at no transaction cost, available across all Bill Pay tiers.
> QuickBooks Workforce Payroll — payroll is evolving into a full employee lifecycle platform covering recruiting, onboarding, benefits, performance, and more.
> Chart of Accounts locking — lock parent accounts to prevent accidental postings and maintain cleaner books.

If your firm is focused on unifying tax and accounting workflows, reducing client back-and-forth, and tightening up payroll and bill pay — these updates are worth exploring.

Read more about the updates in the article in the comments.

05/13/2026

What does success actually look like for a women-owned business?

A new 2026 study from QuickBooks challenges the assumption that "bigger, faster, more funded" is the only winning model. Women entrepreneurs are building differently and thriving differently.

Women are doing it differently by:

> Building lean and intentional — 42% are choosing solopreneurship or small teams to stay agile and reduce risk.
> Leveraging tech and AI early — over half are using automation to lower startup costs and work smarter, not harder.
> Prioritizing values‑aligned growth — nearly 70% are focused on community impact, stability, and autonomy over traditional “scale at all costs."

As someone who runs a firm where women make up the majority of the team, I think about this a lot. How do we define success on our own terms?

Would love to hear from others, how do you measure yours?

Link to the article in comments.

05/12/2026

As a woman who works with cannabis business owners, I find this data both exciting and overdue.

Women now make up the largest share of cannabis consumers, and they spend more per transaction than men.

So what does that mean?

If you run a cannabis business and you haven't rethought your customer experience for a female-majority audience, the numbers say you're leaving money on the table.

Cannabis is no longer a niche. It has become mainstream and, in many cases, socially acceptable. Here's the data that every cannabis operator should be looking at. Link to the article in the comments.