A 5 Part Series on Business Plans: Part I- The Summary

I want you to try and remember back to your days in junior high, high school and, if you attended, college. One of the things you probably dreaded most was a research paper. Do you remember doing all the reading and researching?  Writing and corrections?  The outline? In my last blog, we discussed the importance of having a business plan and business goals. For the …

A Business Plan- Make It Your Own

Imagine building a house with no plans!  The construction crew would have to guess where the foundation is supposed to go and  the plumbers would have no idea where to lay pipes, so they could potentially put a bathroom in the middle of your kitchen.  Not to mention what would happen with elecrical work or the sheetrocking. What a recipe …

Bad Debts and Accounts Receivable

Two things happen when you, a seller, offer credit to your vendors or customers: you raise your potential to increase revenue or you increase your chances for potential loss.  By extending credit, your buyers will appreciate the convenience, as well as the ability to pay the debt at a later date.  On the flip side of this appreciation, is that some of your customers may not pay …

Depreciation

Here’s a cute joke about our topic for the day:  What do accountants suffer from that ordinary people don’t? Depreciation. The definition of depreciation according to Webster’s Dictionary is: 1: A reduction in value, writing down the capital value of an asset over a period of time in a company’s accounts. Source: European Union. 2: The decline in the value …

Outsourcing Your Accounting Needs

Outsourcing. What exactly does that mean?  It can’t possibly be like the TV show “Outsourced”, or can it?  Nope! That is not what we mean by outsourcing.  Outsourcing is when you, the  business owner, use an accounting firm to record your financial information, such as check stubs, bank statements, and credit card statements.  All this information is then turned into a financial statement. …

4 Factors to Consider when Hiring an In-House Bookkeeper

Are you one of the many business owners struggling with the idea of hiring a bookkeeper? Have your accounting and taxes become more complicated over the last few years? Are you tired of not being able to work on growing your business? Would it make better sense…and cents, to hire someone to do the everyday bookkeeping for you? Are you beginning …

Bookkeeping: Who’s in Charge?

  Good record keeping is important to any business!  Ã‚ Actually, it is one of the most important pieces to running a successful and profitable business! Who is doing your accounting? Are you doing the bookkeeping, or is an in-house accountant, or an accounting firm? Whomever is doing your bookkeeping Ã‚ should be experienced and knowledgeable in tax accounting rules and accounting software…whether it is a …

Does Your Business Cash Flow Have You in Shock?

Are you in âہ“shock” over your business’s cash flow? Are you wondering,âہ“What do I do with too much cash?” or âہ“How do I make MORE money?” Experienced professional accountants can help you overcome the shock! In a medical situation, treating for shock includes the lifesaving steps of providing food, rest and encouraging words.In business,shock treatment includes analyzing gross profit margins. You must …

Protect Your Wounded Cash Flow

Once you have the “tax bleeding“  under control, take action and protect the wound. “Protecting the wound” in business involves looking at the cash balance in your company’s checking account. Cash is the lifeblood of a company!  Just as the human body requires a certain amount of blood for proper functioning, your business needs a certain amount of cash to …

Does Your Business Cash Flow Need a Tourniquet?

Ok, you’ve stopped the bleeding from high overhead cost. So why are you still hemorrhaging cash? It could be due to TAXES.  The typical business pays most of these taxes: Income Tax (highest rate of 39%) State Income Tax FICA, or self-employment, taxes (highest 15.3%) Property Tax (about .1% of assessed value) Unemployment Tax (6.2%) Sales Tax (about 9% in LA) …