105. Michelle Patten on Farming Financials

Are you on top of the financial fitness of your farm? For today’s episode, we speak to Michelle Patten of Patten Bookkeeping and Consulting. Michelle Patten is a lover of agriculture and business. She combines her passions through Patten Bookkeeping & Consulting, which profited in the first year and has seen growth each year since. Michelle is a certified “ranch kid” with all the childhood memories of hard work and fun to go along with it. She raises farm-to-table grass fed beef at Fighting Butte Cattle Company with her husband, Matthew. Together, they are always looking for new opportunities to utilize their shared entrepreneurial spirit. Tune in today as we discuss the unsexy yet paramount role bookkeeping and numbers play in running a thriving farm!   You’ll hear: What led Michelle to a farm-related profession 1:21 How farmers should be doing their year end review 2:38  How farmers should deal with 1099 statements 5:29 Why you need to keep the books in order 9:24 How Michelle categorizes income reports 17:52 How often farmers should be tending to their books 20:16 How Michelle categorizes farm funding 21:43 What common questions Michelle gets asked regarding bookkeeping 27:16 What else farmers should be thinking about as they’re starting their farming business 37:55 How much cash reserve farmers should keep set aside for their business 39:28 What advice Michelle has for farmers who are frightened by the numbers 42:14   About the Guest:Michelle Patten is a lover of agriculture and business. She combines her passions through Patten Bookkeeping & Consulting. As a six-figure earner, Michelle knows how to grow a business in a way that ensures profitability. Michelle is a certified “ranch kid” with all the childhood memories of hard work and fun to go along with it.  She raises farm-to-table grass fed beef at Fighting Butte Cattle Company with her husband, Matthew. Together, they are always looking for new opportunities to utilize their shared entrepreneurial spirit.  Michelle has created a proven system to generate profitability and growth for agribusinesses. Together, Michelle and her clients collaborate to build a legacy for future generations. She has worked with farmers, ranchers and agribusiness owners throughout the United States and Canada. Michelle has been featured in several podcasts and newspapers, including Working Cows Podcast, Ag State of Mind Podcast, and the Tri-State Livestock News.   Michelle has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration & Accounting from Montana State University-Billings, where she graduated Cum Laude. She is a Certified QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor. She also proudly serves on the Montana Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Board. Serving her community is very important to Michelle and she is actively involved in the Powder River Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture. Michelle lives on the family ranch in Montana with her husband, Matthew, two daughters, Lillian (4), Abigail (2) and son, Henry (infant).   Resources:Website - https://pattenbookkeeping.com/, https://www.fightingbuttecattle.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pattenbookkeeping Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pattenbookkeeping/ LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/michellepatten https://www.linkedin.com/company/patten-bookkeeping-consulting