blairwhite•1mo agoOG Member

An accountant told me to stop rounding my inventory numbers to the nearest dollar

Last month I was at a small biz meetup in Austin and a CPA named Mark pointed out I was off by $47 a month just from rounding. He said it messes up your COGS and throws off tax estimates. Has anyone else had a tiny habit like this cost them more than they thought?

2 comments

2 Comments

betty_reed611mo ago

That CPA Mark sounds like he knows his stuff. The $47 a month adds up to $564 a year just from rounding pennies. That's real money for a small business. The thing that stands out to me is him saying it throws off COGS. You're probably counting the same stuff twice or missing some entirely. That little habit can really mess up your inventory valuation over time. I'd say listen to the accountant on this one. He's not being nitpicky for no reason.

the_daniel1mo ago

Same thing happened at my shop a few years back. We had a guy rounding up on every transaction and pocketing the difference, thought it was harmless. $47 a month is actually on the low end from what I've seen a buddy of mine had a cashier skimming closer to $80 a month just by rounding down on credit tips. It adds up fast and you're right about the COGS thing once you get inventory out of whack you spend weeks trying to figure out where the numbers went wrong. Mark knows what he's talking about that little habit messes with your gross margin more than people realize. I'd dump that habit quick before it snowballs.