“Ask My Accountant”: Your Bookkeeping’s Junk Drawer (And How to Use It Like a Pro)

Spoiler: It’s not a substitute for knowing what you spent money on.

Let’s set the scene.
You’re doing your bookkeeping, logging expenses, assigning categories… and suddenly, BAM. A charge appears. It’s unfamiliar. Maybe it’s a weird name on the statement, maybe it was from your business partner’s random Starbucks run, or maybe it’s that subscription you forgot to cancel again. You panic. You sigh. You say: “I’ll just stick it in Ask My Accountant and deal with it later.”

Sound familiar?

Yeah. You’re not alone.

What Is “Ask My Accountant”?

“Ask My Accountant” is a temporary holding place in your accounting software. It’s like a digital sticky note that says, “I have no clue what this is right now—please don’t delete it, but we’ll figure it out later.”

Most small business accounting software—like QuickBooks, Xero, or Wave—comes with a version of this. It’s a catch-all expense category that keeps your books balanced even if you don’t yet know where something should go.

It’s not evil. It’s not lazy. It’s a tool.

But like most tools, it can be misused. Left unchecked, “Ask My Accountant” can become the junk drawer of doom—stuffed with receipts, mystery transactions, and who-knows-what from six months ago.

The Origin Story: Why It Exists

Bookkeepers and accountants have long used placeholder accounts to keep books accurate while waiting on more details. When software like QuickBooks came along, it gave users a specific spot to stick these “to be determined” transactions.

The idea was to flag and follow up. You didn’t delete the transaction. You didn’t miscategorize it. You acknowledged: “This matters—I just don’t know how yet.”

It’s supposed to be a lifeline for non-accountants. A safe zone. A place to say: “Help.”

When to Use It (The Right Way)

You should only use Ask My Accountant when:

• You’re genuinely unsure what a transaction is (like a confusing vendor name or combined payment)
• You know your accountant or bookkeeper will review it and reclassify it later
• You’re prepping for tax time and need a pro’s eyes on a few tricky items
• You’re auditing old transactions and don’t want to guess

Basically, it’s the “I’ll get back to this” drawer—but you actually do get back to it.

When Not to Use It

Don’t use it as a:

• Default for laziness – “I don’t feel like figuring this out.”
• Catch-all for personal spending – That Sephora haul? It’s not a deductible business expense, darling.
• Way to hide uncategorized mess from your future self
• Permanent home for unknown transactions (more on this royal scandal below)

If you’re dumping half your monthly transactions into Ask My Accountant, you’re not using your books as a tool—you’re using them as a shovel to dig a hole.

What Happens If You Ignore It?

If left unchecked, Ask My Accountant becomes the black hole of your financial data. Here’s what can go wrong:

• Your Profit & Loss statement is wrong (which means bad decisions follow)
• You might overstate or understate expenses
• You’ll miss tax deductions or claim the wrong ones (and get audited)
• You’ll waste precious time at year-end trying to retrace your steps
• Your accountant will either bill you more or quietly curse your name (or both)

It’s like ignoring the pile of unopened mail on your desk—you can do it, but you’ll regret it later.

Tips to Use It Wisely

1. Set a Monthly Review Reminder

Don’t wait until April. Set a 15-minute calendar reminder once a month to review Ask My Accountant. If you have a bookkeeper, meet regularly to go through it.

2. Add Notes and Descriptions

If you don’t know what the expense is today, leave yourself a breadcrumb trail. A memo like “Maybe printer ink?” is better than nothing.

3. Use Subaccounts (If You’re a Nerd Like Me)

In some software, you can create subcategories under Ask My Accountant like:

• “Needs Review – Income”
• “Needs Review – Expense”
  This can help sort by transaction type and make clean-up easier.

4. Follow Up Before Filing Taxes

Before your accountant prepares your return, review this account. Categorize everything you can. If you’re still unsure, ask—but make it easy for your accountant to help.

5. Treat It Like a Loan from the Royal Treasury

Borrow the category if you must—but pay it back with proper categorization as soon as you can.

Countess Wisdom: What to Do With Repeat Offenders

Keep seeing the same type of transaction land in Ask My Accountant? That’s your sign.

• If it’s recurring → create a rule or auto-categorize it
• If it’s unclear every time → stop using that vendor or clarify charges
• If it’s personal → use a separate personal account. Seriously.

Bottom Line

Ask My Accountant is a lifesaver—until it becomes a graveyard.

Used well, it helps you stay organized, avoid guesswork, and collaborate with your accountant or bookkeeper. But abuse it, and you’ll find yourself with a Profit & Loss full of question marks, tax stress, and an accountant who’s suddenly “unavailable until next fiscal year.”

Final Countess Decree: