Stop the Bleed: How to Take Control of Your Operating Expenses Before They Take Control of You
Are you making money on paper… but still feel broke at the end of every month?
You’re not alone. At A&L Bookkeeping and Accounting, we hear this all the time from performance shop owners and other small business clients:
👉 You’re booked out
👉 You’re working nonstop
👉 But there’s still not enough in the bank
Nine times out of ten, the problem isn’t your pricing.
It’s not your sales.
It’s runaway operating expenses.
In this short video Ashley, from A&L Bookkeeping and Accounting gives a short overview of the common problems and how you can fix them:
The Hidden Danger of “The Bleed”
Here’s what happens when your business grows: your expenses tend to grow right alongside it.
You start saying yes to everything that might help—new tools, new hires, new software, a new truck, a marketing firm…
But if you’re not checking in regularly, these expenses can sneak up on you. Slowly, they start chipping away at your profit.
We call it “the bleed.”
And if you don’t plug it, it will drain you dry.
Common Ways Money Leaks Out
Not sure where your business might be bleeding cash?
Here are a few of the most common areas we see:
Subscriptions you forgot about (hello, $29/month software you haven’t used since February)
Inventory you’re over-ordering “just in case”
Rush shipping fees that could’ve been avoided with a little planning
Marketing campaigns that aren’t being tracked—or don’t convert
Equipment that was financed without a real budget in place
Hiring too many people (or too soon) for the workload you actually have
Some of those expenses might be necessary. But if you’re not reviewing them regularly, how do you know what’s helping you grow—and what’s just draining your cash?
How to Start Taking Control
The good news? You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. Here’s how to start:
✅ Run a simple expense audit.
Grab your last 1–2 months of bank and credit card statements. Highlight anything you don’t recognize or haven’t used lately.
✅ Categorize your spending.
Separate what directly helps you generate income (materials, labor, tools) from what’s just “nice to have.”
✅ Cut or adjust what you can.
You don’t need to slash everything. Start small—cancel one subscription, push out a purchase, renegotiate a contract.
✅ Track your spending from here on out.
Make reviewing your expenses a regular habit. Once a month or quarter is all it takes. And if you’re ready to get serious, we can help you set spending targets by category—built right into your books.
You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone
If your sales are up but your profit isn’t...
If your books say you’re fine but your bank account says otherwise...
You are not the problem.
You just need a better system.
Most business owners were never taught how to read their financials—let alone use them to make confident, day-to-day decisions.
That’s what we do.
We don’t just reconcile your transactions.
We help you understand them.
We help you stop the bleed—and take back control.
Book a free consultation, and let’s dig into your numbers together.
We’ll help you get clear, make a plan, and start building the kind of business that actually pays off.