How One Bank Account Led to a Payroll Crisis - A Bookkeeper's Tale

Darius operated his business with one bank account and one credit card. He ran a busy home renovation company, bringing in over $800K a year. He had clients booked out for months, solid word of mouth, and sub contractors that loved working with him. But every payroll felt like a scramble to have enough funds to pay his crew and himself. Plus, it was a nightmare figuring out what was owed in taxes and zeroing out his credit card.

Rinse and repeat every two weeks.

When he had to take out a short-term loan just to cover payroll, Darius knew he was in trouble. The interest rates were brutal, and the repayment terms didn’t leave room to breathe. Every night, after his family went to bed, he’d sit at the kitchen table Googling financial strategies and trying to figure out where the money was going. With all the fancy accounting terms, he realized he had no idea what he was  doing when it came to budgeting and forecasting for his business. He had no idea what his burn rate was or what he dollar amount he needed to maintain in his bank account to avoid taking out another loan.

That’s when we set up the STOP Method™, four separate bank accounts for his Savings, Taxes, Operations, and Profit Sharing. We calculated his burn rate, mapped out his baseline cash needs for the Operations account, and used the EPI formula to reverse-engineer how much revenue he actually needed each month. Within one year, he paid off the loan, stabilized payroll, and watched his Savings and Profit Sharing grow and grow.

If you’re running your business with one bank account and crossing your fingers every payroll cycle, it’s time to realize that one bank account isn’t simple, it’s sabotage to your cash flow.

Lub you,
Crystal 🦄