1: Check your goals. How much did I gross? How much did I pay myself? Is it in line with what I was expecting? If not, why not? Is it a slow month or is there some other factor?

2: Dig a little deeper. How much did I spend on inventory? How did my other expenses compare to past months, or this time last year? Am I seeing an ROI (return on investment) on marketing expenses such as ads or giveaways? Are there charges I thought were coming from a business account but accidentally went through personal?

3: Look at margins. You may have felt like you had a great month because you had an increase in enrollment, but you may not have profited if your rates have not increased and expenses have.

4: Make a game plan If your numbers don’t match your needs or expectations, what can do differently to change that? If you see an expense category that’s higher than it should be, how can you fix it for next month?

5: Relax and know that your books are done for the month, and because of that, you have a clear picture of where you are headed and how to get there!