How I stay organized while juggling a 9-5 and a six-figure side hustle

Let’s be honest, tax season hits different when you’re running a business. If you can relate, this blog post is for you! 

Hi, I'm Cinneah, a personal finance educator and entrepreneur running a six-figure business while working full-time. Tax season is crazy as it is. That's why I'm here to share strategies that have helped me keep my small business afloat and how I actually stay organized while balancing it all.

Like so many small business owners, I'm juggling two jobs. By day, I'm working my 9-to-5 as a Senior Product Manager, but by night (and weekends, and early mornings), I'm running Flynanced, where I teach millennial professionals how to grow their skills and their salaries to achieve financial freedom. If you had asked me a few years ago where I thought this would take me, I would have said it was just a passion project. Now, I've been consistently hitting six figures since 2022, and I'm building a community of 300,000+ people who are rewriting their financial stories. 

But let me be real with you: staying organized used to feel impossible.

How staying organized changed everything

When you're juggling multiple jobs, including your small business, organization isn't optional: it's survival. You're managing your W-2 from your day job, tracking business income, categorizing deductible expenses, planning for quarterly estimates, and somehow keeping track of receipts that seem to multiply overnight. 

When I first fell into entrepreneurship, I wasn't organized AT ALL when it came to my growing small business finances. I am a first-generation entrepreneur, and there were few people in my family, community, and close circle I could turn to for help on finances, accounting, or general business advice. I was that person who would be scrambling to find invoices, trying to remember what that random charge was for, and feeling constant low-level anxiety about whether I was forgetting something important.

The shift happened when I realized that staying organized isn't about being perfect. It's about having systems that work for you. I believe we all need systems that make running our small businesses feel manageable instead of overwhelming, especially when tax season rolls around.

The foundation: QuickBooks as my command center

I'm not exaggerating when I say QuickBooks transformed how I run my business. Before I started using it, my "system" was a chaotic mix of spreadsheets, bank statements, and hoping for the best. Now everything lives in one centralized place, and I can access it from anywhere. My experience isn’t unique from that of many other small business owners across the U.S.; in fact, 40% of small business owners say that accounting apps/software is the most useful digital tool that they use in their business.

I've been using QuickBooks consistently since 2022 and haven't looked back. QuickBooks automatically categorizes every business purchase once I connect my business bank accounts and credit cards. Transactions flow in without manual entry, and I never have to wonder if that coffee meeting was personal or business. I categorize it once, and QuickBooks remembers it for next time. I create and send professional invoices directly through the platform, track which clients have paid, send automatic payment reminders, and see my cash flow at a glance. As someone who's juggling a full-time job, this automation alone is a lifesaver.

But here's the biggest game-changer: my accountant has real-time access to everything she needs through QuickBooks. No more endless email chains, no more "can you send me that report again?" messages. She logs in, sees what she needs, and can advise me based on current, accurate information. When tax season hits, I can pull profit and loss statements, expense reports, and everything else in just a few clicks.

The habits that make the difference

Beyond the software, certain habits have been crucial for staying organized. Every Sunday, I "book time with myself" and set a calendar invite for 10 to 15 minutes with the express purpose of reviewing my QuickBooks dashboard and my business banking. I make sure all transactions are categorized correctly, follow up on any unpaid invoices, and check that nothing looks off. This weekly habit prevents small issues from becoming big problems.

I handle expenses immediately now instead of saving receipts that I may or may not deal with later. I snap the receipt using the QuickBooks mobile app, categorize it on the spot, and it's stored forever attached to the corresponding transaction. It takes 30 seconds and saves me hours of stress later. I've also set up a system to pay myself across my business, especially when large invoices come in. 

How to use the 50-25-15-10 formula

I use a 50-25-15-10 formula to pay myself first and ensure that I'm not only building a sustainable business, but also ensuring that I can meet my tax obligations throughout the year. 

Here's the formula: 50% towards business debt or major expenses, 25% towards taxes, 15% as a buffer, and 10% as owner's pay. Since the beginning of the year, I've been using this formula and am loving how confident it makes me feel in my finances — for the first time, I'm not stressing about tax season and genuinely feel my business profits are going to good use.

Having completely separate bank accounts and credit cards for my business was another game-changer. Everything in that account is business-related, which means simplified tracking, easier tax preparation, and QuickBooks connects directly to these accounts for automatic transaction import. I don't have to sort through mixed transactions or wonder what was personal versus business.

My advice: start small

If you're feeling overwhelmed, start with QuickBooks. Set up an account, connect your bank accounts, and start tracking your income and expenses. Even if your side hustle is brand new, establishing good habits now will serve you for years. Next, if you haven't already, is to open a separate business bank account and get a business credit card. This single step will make organization exponentially easier.

Find an accountant who understands small business owners and side hustlers. Don't wait until you're "making enough money" to justify it. As small business owners, we're 73% more likely to report good financial health when we work with an accountant. Trust me: a good accountant pays for themselves through tax savings and strategic advice, and working with one through QuickBooks makes the collaboration seamless.

I won't sugarcoat it. Running a six-figure business while working full-time is a lot. There are early mornings, late nights, and weekends when I'm working on Flynanced instead of relaxing. But staying organized makes it sustainable. When your systems work, you're not constantly stressed about what you're forgetting or scrambling to find information. You're building something meaningful in a way that actually works with your life. Here's to building businesses that support our lives, not consume them. You've got this!