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The Switch Personalized bookkeeping, finance solutions and coaching specifically tailored to Dance Studios.

Week 11, get your books caught up through September.Last Friday you pulled your 2026 numbers, and those numbers are only...
10/16/2026

Week 11, get your books caught up through September.

Last Friday you pulled your 2026 numbers, and those numbers are only as good as the books behind them. This week's step is making sure every transaction in your accounting software is matched to your bank statement, month by month. That matching is called reconciling.

If your books are behind, it's okay, we can help. The first step is a free discovery call with Shannon.

On Sunday, we’ll walk through it step by step.

Next Friday, Week 10.

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Somewhere around back-to-school, the books may have slid to the bottom of the list, and now it's October. That happens, ...
10/14/2026

Somewhere around back-to-school, the books may have slid to the bottom of the list, and now it's October. That happens, and it doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Nobody opens a studio to do bookkeeping.

Being caught up means every transaction that went through your bank account is in your accounting software, in the right category. The word for matching the two is reconciling, which is checking your bank statement against your books, one month at a time. Do that through September 30 and the profit and loss report you pulled in Week 12 starts showing a number you can trust.

If your books are behind, it's okay, we can help. The first step is a free discovery call with Shannon. This Friday is Week 11 of our countdown, and on Sunday we'll walk through the step together.

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On Tuesday we talked about the difference between revenue and profit, and on Friday you pulled your 2026 numbers. Today ...
10/11/2026

On Tuesday we talked about the difference between revenue and profit, and on Friday you pulled your 2026 numbers. Today you’re going to find your profit margin, and all you need is your P&L (your profit and loss report, the one that shows what came in and what went out).

Open your accounting software, go to Reports, and pull up Profit and Loss for September. Find Total Income near the top and Net Income at the bottom, then divide Net Income by Total Income. In our example, $3,780 divided by $42,000 gives you 9%. Those are example numbers, so yours will look different, and that’s the whole point.

One month can swing a lot in a studio, with registration fees landing in the fall and recital money landing in the spring. Once you’ve done it for September, run the same report for the last 12 months and you’ll see the bigger picture.

If your books are behind or the totals look off, it’s okay, we can help. The first step is a free discovery call with Shannon.

Work with us →

This Friday starts our countdown, 12 weeks to close out 2026.One small money move every Friday, so January starts calm i...
10/09/2026

This Friday starts our countdown, 12 weeks to close out 2026.

One small money move every Friday, so January starts calm instead of scrambled. No catching up on a whole year in one weekend, just one step at a time.

Week 12, pull your 2026 numbers so far.

Open your Profit and Loss, the report of what came in and what went out. Set the dates to January 1 through today, and write down two lines.
Total Income is what came in.
Net Income is what's left after the bills.

If that second number surprises you, it's okay. Looking is the first step, and now you know where you're starting.

If your books are behind and the report doesn't look right, we can help. The first step is a free discovery call with Shannon.

On Sunday, we’ll use these two numbers to find your profit margin, one step at a time.

Next Friday, Week 11.

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Your fall enrollment is the strongest it’s been, tuition is landing every week, and the bank account still looks a lot l...
10/07/2026

Your fall enrollment is the strongest it’s been, tuition is landing every week, and the bank account still looks a lot like it did in August. That gap has a name, and it isn’t a sign you did something wrong.

Revenue is everything that came in. Profit is what’s left once teacher pay, rent, software, and every other bill is paid. Your profit margin is the share of each dollar you keep, and it’s the number that tells you whether all that busy is paying you back.

If you’ve never looked at yours, it’s okay. Shannon wasn’t doing this work either when she ran her own studio, which is a big part of why The Switch exists. On Sunday we’ll walk through finding yours, one step at a time.

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On Monday we talked about restricted funds, the costume money sitting in your account that already belongs to your costu...
09/30/2026

On Monday we talked about restricted funds, the costume money sitting in your account that already belongs to your costume vendor. Today is the how.

Step one, open a second checking account just for costume and recital money and give it a plain name, like Costume Holding. Step two, set up costume deposits as their own category in QuickBooks Online so your Profit and Loss (the report of what came in and what went out) keeps tuition and costumes apart. Step three, every Friday pull the deposit report from Jackrabbit, Studio Director, or StudioPro and move that exact amount over.

When the costume invoice arrives in January, you pay it from Costume Holding and your operating account doesn't move. Recital season works the same way in the spring, with ticket sales covering production costs.

If your books are months behind and this feels like one more thing on your plate, it's okay, we can help you get caught up before the deposits start.

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Costume deposits start landing in October, and for a lot of owner-operators that's the month the bank balance finally lo...
09/28/2026

Costume deposits start landing in October, and for a lot of owner-operators that's the month the bank balance finally looks good. Then the costume invoice shows up in January or February, and the money you thought you had is already gone.

That money has a name. Restricted funds, which means money you're holding for a bill that hasn't arrived yet. Your costume deposits are in your account, and they belong to your costume vendor until the invoice is paid.

If you've ever felt rich in November and tight in March, it's okay. That's the dance calendar at work, and it happens in studios of every size. Separate the money that's already spoken for and your balance starts showing you what's yours.

On Wednesday we'll walk through the setup step by step, so it's done before the first deposit clears.

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"Since joining The Switch, we've added $250,000 in revenue while expanding profit margins and building a cushion that le...
09/25/2026

"Since joining The Switch, we've added $250,000 in revenue while expanding profit margins and building a cushion that lets us grow without overextending ourselves."

That's a studio owner in Chicago, IL, describing what happens once you know exactly where your money is. Not a bigger number sitting in the same undifferentiated account, a cushion built on purpose, there when the costume vendor invoice lands or recital production costs hit.

It starts the same way Monday and Wednesday's posts did this week, knowing which dollars are already spoken for and which ones are yours.

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Here's how you keep October's costume money from disappearing by March.Open QuickBooks and add one new account to your C...
09/23/2026

Here's how you keep October's costume money from disappearing by March.

Open QuickBooks and add one new account to your Chart of Accounts, a liability account called something like Costume Fees Held. Liability just means money you owe, not money you've earned, and that's exactly what a costume deposit is the moment it lands.

Every costume payment goes into that account instead of into income. When the vendor invoice comes due, you pay it from there too. Whatever's left over is real, and it's yours to decide what happens to it next.

One new account in your Chart of Accounts, and you'll know your actual operating income before March instead of after.

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09/22/2026

Happy Tuesday, Studio CEOs. 🧡

Shannon asks the question in the video, so here is where you go to find your answer.

Open QuickBooks Online, go to Reports, and run your Profit and Loss, the report that lists what came in and what went out. Set the date range to your season, from your first day of fall classes through the end of your summer programming. The top section is Income, and the total at the bottom of that section is your number. One line, and you have it.

If your books are behind, pull it from your studio software instead. Jackrabbit, Studio Director, and StudioPro will each give you a revenue report for a date range, and tuition plus costume fees plus recital fees gets you close enough to start.

Run it twice while you are in there, once for your season and once for your fiscal year, the 12 months your taxes are filed on. Those two rarely line up, and the space between them is where a lot of owners learn something about their own studio they did not know.

That number is your starting line, and every decision after it gets easier.

Comment NUMBERS and we will set you up with Shannon.

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PO Box 4535
Breckenridge, CO
80424

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm

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