Accounting & Bookkeeping Guide
Master your business finances with StratBear's Financial Command Center
Accounting & Bookkeeping Guide
Your complete guide to managing your business finances with StratBear's Financial Command Center.
Overview
StratBear's Accounting & Bookkeeping tools are designed specifically for small business owners who want visibility into their numbers without needing an accounting degree. Our system uses double-entry bookkeeping under the hood while presenting everything in simple, actionable terms.
What You'll Learn:
- How to navigate the Financial Command Center
- Setting up and managing your Chart of Accounts
- Connecting bank accounts with Plaid
- Running monthly bank reconciliations
- Creating and managing invoices
- Understanding your financial statements
- Preparing for tax time
Getting Started: Financial Command Center
Accessing the Dashboard
Navigate to Financial Command Center from your main dashboard. This is your home base for all things financial.
What You'll See:
- Cash Position - How much cash you have across all accounts
- Revenue (MTD) - Month-to-date income
- Cash Runway - How many days of expenses your cash covers
- Profit Margin - Your profitability percentage
Quick Actions
From the dashboard, you can quickly access:
- Chart of Accounts
- P&L Statement (Income Statement)
- Balance Sheet
- Cash Flow Statement
- Bank Reconciliation (NEW)
- Invoices & Payments
- Custom Dashboard
- Tax & Compliance Forms
Chart of Accounts
What Is It?
Your Chart of Accounts is the master list of all financial categories in your business. Think of it as the "filing system" for every dollar that flows through your company.
Account Types
| Type | Description | Examples |
|------|-------------|----------|
| Assets | What you own | Cash, Accounts Receivable, Equipment |
| Liabilities | What you owe | Accounts Payable, Credit Cards, Loans |
| Equity | Owner's stake | Owner's Capital, Retained Earnings |
| Revenue | Money coming in | Sales, Service Income, Interest |
| Expenses | Money going out | Rent, Payroll, Marketing, Supplies |
| COGS | Cost of Goods Sold | Materials, Direct Labor, Shipping |
Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts
Option 1: Connect Your Bank (Recommended)
When you connect your bank via Plaid, we automatically create common accounts and link them to your bank feeds.
Option 2: Import Existing Accounts
If you're switching from QuickBooks or another system:
1. Go to Chart of Accounts
2. Click Import Accounts
3. Upload your CSV file or enter accounts manually
Option 3: Start Fresh
We provide a standard chart of accounts that works for most small businesses. You can customize as needed.
Account Codes
Each account has a code (e.g., 1000 for Cash, 4000 for Revenue). These codes help organize accounts and are used in financial reports.
Standard Code Ranges:
1000-1999 - Assets2000-2999 - Liabilities3000-3999 - Equity4000-4999 - Revenue5000-5999 - Cost of Goods Sold6000-6999 - Operating Expenses
Connecting Your Bank (Plaid Integration)
Why Connect Your Bank?
- Automatic Transaction Import - No manual data entry
- Real-Time Balance Updates - Know your cash position instantly
- Faster Reconciliation - Match transactions with one click
- Categorization Suggestions - We learn your spending patterns
How to Connect
1. Navigate to Connect Bank Account or click Link Accounts in your Chart of Accounts
2. Search for your bank in the Plaid connection window
3. Enter your online banking credentials (secure, encrypted)
4. Select which accounts to link (checking, savings, credit cards)
5. Wait for the initial sync (may take a few minutes)
What Gets Imported?
- All transactions from the past 90 days
- Daily balance updates
- Merchant names and categories
- Transaction dates and amounts
Security
Your banking credentials are never stored on our servers. Plaid acts as a secure intermediary, using the same encryption as banks themselves.
POS Integrations (Point of Sale)
Supported POS Systems
StratBear integrates with popular point-of-sale systems to automatically import your sales data:
| POS System | Data Imported | Sync Frequency |
|------------|---------------|----------------|
| Lightspeed | Sales, refunds, payments, inventory | Real-time |
| Square | Transactions, deposits, fees | Daily |
| Shopify | Orders, refunds, payouts | Daily |
| Clover | Sales, tips, deposits | Daily |
How POS Data Flows
1. Sales Transaction - Customer pays at your POS
2. Data Sync - Transaction syncs to StratBear (usually within minutes to hours)
3. Categorization - We auto-categorize based on your settings
4. Bank Deposit - When the deposit hits your bank (via Plaid), we match it
Setting Up POS Integration
1. Go to Settings > Integrations
2. Select your POS system
3. Authorize the connection
4. Map your POS categories to your Chart of Accounts
5. Set your default revenue and fee accounts
POS vs. Bank Data
Important: When you have both POS and bank connections, you'll see transactions from both sources. Here's how they differ:
| POS Data | Bank Data |
|----------|-----------|
| Individual sales transactions | Batched daily deposits |
| Real-time (or near real-time) | 1-2 day delay |
| Itemized detail (products sold) | Lump sum amounts |
| Gross sales amount | Net deposit (after fees) |
Example: You sell 50 items totaling $1,500 gross. Your POS shows 50 transactions. Your bank shows one deposit of $1,456.25 (after processing fees).
Data Integrity & Deduplication
How We Prevent Duplicate Transactions
With multiple data sources (bank feeds, POS systems, manual entries), duplicates can occur. StratBear uses multiple layers of deduplication:
Layer 1: Transaction ID Matching
- Each transaction has a unique ID from its source
- If we've already imported a transaction ID, we skip it
Layer 2: Intelligent Matching
When IDs don't match (e.g., POS sale vs. bank deposit), we use:
- Date matching (within +/- 2 days)
- Amount matching (exact or within tolerance for fees)
- Merchant/source matching
- Reference number matching
Layer 3: User Confirmation
For uncertain matches, we flag them in your Review Queue and ask you to confirm.
Matching POS Sales to Bank Deposits
This is a common scenario that requires special handling:
The Challenge:
- POS shows: 50 individual sales = $1,500.00 gross
- Bank shows: 1 deposit = $1,456.25 net (after $43.75 in fees)
How StratBear Handles It:
1. We group POS transactions by deposit batch date
2. We calculate expected net deposit (gross - expected fees)
3. We match the bank deposit to the POS batch
4. We auto-create a journal entry for processing fees
Result: Your books show:
- Revenue: $1,500.00 (from POS detail)
- Processing Fees: $43.75 (expense)
- Cash: $1,456.25 (bank deposit)
Review Queue
Transactions that need your attention appear in the Review Queue:
- Potential Duplicates - "This looks similar to an existing transaction"
- Unmatched POS Batches - "We couldn't match this deposit to POS sales"
- Categorization Needed - "We're not sure how to categorize this"
- Amount Discrepancies - "The amounts don't match exactly"
Manual Deduplication
If duplicates slip through:
1. Go to Chart of Accounts > [Account] > Activity
2. Find the duplicate transactions
3. Select both transactions
4. Click Mark as Duplicate
5. Choose which to keep (usually the one with more detail)
Best Practices for Clean Data
1. Connect Bank First - Set up Plaid before POS integrations
2. Map Categories Carefully - Take time during POS setup to map correctly
3. Review Weekly - Check the Review Queue at least weekly
4. Don't Double-Enter - If it's coming from an integration, don't enter it manually
5. Use Reference Numbers - When entering manual transactions, include check numbers or invoice numbers
Data Source Priority
When the same transaction appears from multiple sources, we prioritize:
1. Manual Entry - You entered it, so it's likely most accurate
2. POS Data - Has itemized detail
3. Bank Feed - Confirmation that money moved
You can adjust these priorities in Settings > Data Sources.
Bank Reconciliation
What Is Bank Reconciliation?
Reconciliation is the process of verifying that your books match your bank statement. It's how you catch errors, identify fraudulent charges, and ensure your financial records are accurate.
How Often: Monthly (at minimum), ideally after each bank statement arrives.
Starting a Reconciliation
1. Go to Financial Command Center > Bank Reconciliation
2. Select the account you want to reconcile
3. Enter the Statement Date (usually the last day of the month)
4. Enter your Statement Balance (ending balance from your bank statement)
- Or let Plaid fetch it automatically!
The Reconciliation Screen
The main reconciliation screen has three columns:
Left: Summary
- Statement Balance (what the bank shows)
- Book Balance (what your records show)
- Outstanding Items (checks/deposits not yet cleared)
- Difference (should be $0.00 when done)
Center: Cleared Transactions
- Transactions that have been verified as matching the bank
Right: Uncleared Transactions
- Transactions in your books that haven't cleared the bank yet
Reconciling Step by Step
1. Review Uncleared Transactions
- Click each transaction that appears on your bank statement
- This moves it to the "Cleared" column
2. Check for Missing Transactions
- If something is on your bank statement but not in your books, you need to record it
- Common: bank fees, interest earned, automatic payments
3. Verify the Difference
- Your goal is to get the Difference to $0.00
- If not zero, something is missing or incorrect
4. Complete the Reconciliation
- Once balanced, click Complete Reconciliation
- This locks the period and creates an audit trail
Suggested Matches
When you have Plaid connected, we automatically suggest matches between:
- Your recorded transactions
- Bank-imported transactions
Click Clear All Matches to quickly reconcile transactions that match perfectly.
Outstanding Items
Outstanding Checks: Payments you've written that haven't cleared the bank yet
- These reduce your book balance but aren't at the bank yet
Deposits in Transit: Deposits you've recorded that haven't hit the bank yet
- These increase your book balance but aren't at the bank yet
Troubleshooting
Difference won't go to zero?
- Check for duplicate transactions
- Verify all bank fees are recorded
- Look for transactions posted in the wrong amount
- Check for transactions in the wrong account
Can I edit a reconciled period?
- Yes, but you'll see a warning
- The reconciliation status changes to "Needs Review"
- We recommend investigating before making changes
Invoices & Payments
Creating an Invoice
1. Go to Invoices & Payments
2. Click Create Invoice
3. Fill in:
- Customer information
- Line items (products/services)
- Payment terms
- Due date
4. Click Save or Send
Invoice Features
- Professional PDF Generation - Branded with your business info
- Online Payment - Customers can pay via credit card (Stripe)
- Automatic Reminders - Nudge late payers
- Status Tracking - Draft, Sent, Viewed, Paid, Overdue
Recording Payments
When a customer pays:
1. The invoice status updates to Paid
2. The payment records in your ledger
3. Accounts Receivable decreases
4. Cash increases
AR Intelligence
Our AR Intelligence feature shows you:
- Aging report (who owes you money and for how long)
- Payment patterns by customer
- Cash flow projections based on outstanding invoices
Financial Statements
Income Statement (P&L)
The Profit & Loss Statement shows your business performance over a period.
What It Shows:
- Revenue - Total money earned
- Cost of Goods Sold - Direct costs to deliver products/services
- Gross Profit - Revenue minus COGS
- Operating Expenses - Rent, payroll, marketing, etc.
- Net Income - Your bottom line profit (or loss)
How to Read It:
- Positive net income = profitable
- Negative net income = loss
- Compare to previous periods to see trends
Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet is a snapshot of your financial position at a specific moment.
The Equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity
Sections:
- Assets - What you own (cash, equipment, receivables)
- Liabilities - What you owe (loans, payables, credit cards)
- Equity - Owner's stake in the business
Why It Matters:
- Shows your business's net worth
- Reveals if you're overleveraged (too much debt)
- Banks look at this when you apply for loans
Cash Flow Statement
The Cash Flow Statement shows how cash moved in and out.
Three Sections:
- Operating Activities - Cash from running the business
- Investing Activities - Cash for buying/selling assets
- Financing Activities - Cash from loans, investments, dividends
Why It Matters:
- Profit doesn't equal cash (you can be profitable and broke)
- Shows if you're generating or burning cash
- Critical for cash flow forecasting
Tax & Compliance Forms
Available Forms
| Form | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| Schedule C | Sole proprietor income/expenses for personal tax return |
| W-9 | Collect contractor tax info |
| 1099-NEC | Report contractor payments over $600 |
| CPA Package | Complete package for your accountant |
Schedule C Preparation
1. Go to Tax & Compliance Forms > Schedule C
2. Review auto-populated data from your books
3. Verify expense categories match IRS categories
4. Export or print for your tax preparer
1099 Contractor Management
1. Go to Contractors
2. Add contractors you've paid
3. Upload their W-9 information
4. We track payments throughout the year
5. Generate 1099-NEC forms at year-end
CPA Package
Preparing for your accountant? The CPA Package includes:
- Complete P&L for the year
- Balance Sheet
- General Ledger detail
- Bank reconciliation reports
- Accounts Receivable aging
- Accounts Payable aging
Best Practices
Weekly Tasks
- Review and categorize any unreviewed transactions
- Check AR aging and follow up on overdue invoices
- Quick scan of cash position
Monthly Tasks
- Complete bank reconciliation for all accounts
- Review P&L vs. budget
- Send monthly invoices
- Pay bills and reconcile credit cards
Quarterly Tasks
- Review financial statements in detail
- Make estimated tax payments (if applicable)
- Analyze cash flow trends
- Update cash flow forecast
Year-End Tasks
- Complete all reconciliations through December 31
- Review 1099 contractor list
- Generate CPA Package
- Backup all financial records
- Set budget for new year
Glossary
Accounts Payable (AP): Money you owe to vendors
Accounts Receivable (AR): Money customers owe you
Accrual Accounting: Recording transactions when they occur, not when cash changes hands
Cash Accounting: Recording transactions when cash is received or paid
Chart of Accounts: Master list of all financial categories
COGS: Cost of Goods Sold - direct costs to deliver your product/service
Double-Entry Bookkeeping: Every transaction affects at least two accounts
General Ledger: Complete record of all financial transactions
Journal Entry: A single recorded transaction
Net Income: Total revenue minus all expenses (profit or loss)
Outstanding Checks: Checks you've written that haven't cleared the bank
Reconciliation: Verifying your books match your bank statement
Retained Earnings: Accumulated profits kept in the business
Getting Help
Common Questions
Q: Do I need accounting experience?
A: No! StratBear is designed for business owners, not accountants. We handle the complexity behind the scenes.
Q: Can my accountant access my data?
A: Yes, you can generate a CPA Package or grant your accountant direct access (coming soon).
Q: What if I make a mistake?
A: Most entries can be corrected. For reconciled periods, we track changes and show you what was modified.
Q: Is my data safe?
A: Yes. We use bank-level encryption, and your data is backed up in real-time to secure AWS servers.
Support
Need help? Contact us:
- In-app: Use the Fusion Intelligence consultant for real-time guidance
- Email: support@stratbear.com
What's Next?
Now that you understand the accounting tools, explore these related features:
- Fusion Intelligence - Ask questions about your finances in plain English
- Custom Dashboard - Build personalized financial views
- Strategic Foundation - Connect financial performance to strategy
Last Updated: January 2026