I’ve been helping small businesses fix their accounting problems and redesign their systems for over 25 years now and during this time I’ve picked up a few lessons about how the accounting job works. With that in mind, here are five quick things I think every business owner should know:

Tip #1: Every business needs a strong accounting function in order to be successful. Sorry if this sounds harsh but you’re not going to get very far without it.

Tip #2: Building a solid, smoothly-functioning accounting system is a lot harder than most people think. You can’t just buy a copy of QuickBooks and hire a cheap bookkeeper on Craigslist (although I’ve seen many people try that exact approach). It takes a lot more work than that.

Tip #3: The accounting job is now 50% accounting and 50% tech. It didn’t used to be this way but it definitely is now. In other words, choosing the right tools and configuring everything correctly (ideally right from the start) is crucial.

Tip #4: Running a business without looking at your financials is like driving in the dark without headlights. I’ve met many business owners who “hate accounting” and “don’t have time” to look at their financials. If those phrases sound familiar, I encourage you to get over that mindset as quickly as possible. If you’re a business owner or CEO, accounting needs to be in your to-do list all the time.

Tip #5: The secret to great accounting is repetition. Accounting can be confusing as heck for non-accountants at first but it’s not brain surgery. Big picture, great accounting is mostly about getting consistent, well-designed processes in place and then executing the fundamentals (over and over again).