What You’ll Learn

• How to keep sales records accurate when processing fees affect deposits
• Which seasonal expenses deserve closer tracking
• How to keep holiday returns and refunds organized
  

A busy holiday season can fill your order queue, bring new customers through the door, and keep your team working at full speed. For small business owners across Tacoma and Pierce County, that activity often comes with longer days and a growing list of tasks. Bookkeeping can easily get pushed aside while you focus on serving customers.

Once things settle down, you need to understand what those weeks meant for your business. How much did you sell? What did it cost to handle those sales? Have you recorded fees, refunds, and seasonal purchases accurately?

A little preparation now can make those questions easier to answer. Here are three bookkeeping details to watch before holiday sales pick up.

Processing Fees Can Make Sales Deposits Confusing

When customers pay by card or through an online platform, the amount deposited into your bank account may already have processing fees and refunds deducted. A single deposit may also include several days of transactions.

If you record that deposit as your total sales, your books may understate revenue and leave expenses unaccounted for.

For example, a group of transactions totaling $1,000 might result in a $970 deposit after $30 in processing fees. Your records should capture the $1,000 in sales and the $30 fee, with the deposit matching the amount received.

Holiday volume can make these differences harder to follow, especially if you accept payments through several platforms.

Before the rush: Make sure you can access transaction reports from each payment processor. Set a regular schedule to match those reports to your bank deposits and confirm fees and refunds are recorded correctly. If your sales software connects to your bookkeeping system, review how it imports that information.

Seasonal Expenses Need Their Own Attention

Holiday preparation often starts well before the first seasonal sale. You might order extra inventory, buy shipping supplies, pay for advertising, or bring in temporary help.

During a busy week, those purchases can pile up across bank accounts, credit cards, and vendor invoices. Missing receipts or inconsistent expense categories can make it difficult to see what you spent supporting holiday sales.

For a South Sound shop offering gift wrapping, packaging costs may grow with every order. An online seller may spend more on shipping and fulfillment. A service business might add staff hours to handle seasonal demand.

Each expense contributes to the financial picture, and some purchases, including inventory, may need specific bookkeeping treatment.

Before the rush: Review the categories you use for seasonal costs and set up a reliable place to save receipts and invoices. Record purchases consistently throughout the season. If you are unsure how to handle inventory or another expense, ask your bookkeeping professional before transactions accumulate.

Returns and Refunds Can Carry Into January

A December sale may become a January return. Exchanges and partial refunds can continue after the holiday decorations come down, affecting your sales totals and inventory.

That makes a follow-up review useful once the holiday rush settles. Reviewing refunds alongside holiday sales helps you understand how much revenue you retained. Checking returned merchandise also helps you confirm what is available for resale.

Before the rush: Confirm how your sales platform handles refunds and inventory updates, including how those changes appear in your bookkeeping software. Schedule a January review with your bookkeeping professional to reconcile the activity and assess your holiday results.

Get Your Books Ready for the Holiday Season

Organized records help you understand a busy season’s results and plan for what comes next.

Regular reviews let you catch missing information while transactions are still fresh and supporting records are easy to find.

At J. Ott Business Solutions, we bring years of experience working with South Sound businesses to the everyday details of bookkeeping. If holiday sales are likely to add complexity to your records, reach out before activity picks up. We can help you establish a practical process for keeping your books accurate through the season and into the new year. Start here!