Consider Jody, a whiz at landscaping, but terrible at recordkeeping.
One of Jody’s first jobs was for a contact from the local chamber of commerce. The client had a double-sized lot and wanted to give it an English garden feel. Jody rented a tractor and a tiller, purchased the necessary plants, and hired a day laborer. It was a lucrative job, and the client referred Jody to others.
Unfortunately, Jody misplaced the invoices and receipts for the job. That left Jody unable to compute whether the job was profitable. This led to inaccurate bids for referral clients, who expected the same pricing. Jody wound up carrying a large credit card debt at a high-interest rate. Missing receipts, Jody had underpaid estimated taxes for the business, which led to penalties when tax time came.
