Are Your Finances In Shape?

We are almost halfway through the year. I am starting to see clients who are in need of cleanup bookkeeping help to be ready for the tax extended deadline in October. I am here and ready to help. 

It is always good to stay ahead of making sure that the books are in shape to take advantage of opportunities in addition to making sure you are ready for tax time. Last year, I wrote a blog post about this that has tips to help you navigate staying on track with your finances. 

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Are You Managing Finances Successfully In Your Small Business?

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The life of a business owner is so hectic. If you are working solo or with a small team, it can become completely overwhelming to stop and take stock of the health of the business finances. Many owners feel comfortable with managing their business finances with a quick glance at their business checking account and maybe a brief glance at the P&L. But that is not enough. It is important that owners go further to make sure that their business is going in the right direction financially before it is too late. The two areas below will help you to get on the right foot.

Hire a bookkeeping/accounting professional - This is the first step in the right direction. I have seen numerous clean-up projects from clients that decided to D.I.Y. their bookkeeping at some point in their business journey and it didn’t end well.

Use professional accounting software - This is important to put into place so that you are ready to file taxes in an organized manner. Additionally, software like QuickBooks Online will enable you to run management reports that help you to run your business better.

Read your financial reports - This is crucial. There is no point in doing monthly bookkeeping for your business and making the monetary investment if you don’t read your reports. A strategic partner like a bookkeeping/accounting professional can help you to make sense of your reports. To get a jump start check out this post I wrote about the Statement of Cash Flows report.

The life of a small business owner is not boring. It is filled with constant activity but if you are not on top of your business finances then all the sales in the world will not stop your business from ceasing to exist.

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3 Tips To Stay On Top Of Your Finances!

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Greenback,Moolah & Dinero. These are all references to money. For many of us the profit and loss report is the most important financial statement that we want to see on a regular basis. Why? Because it tells the story of how much we made, how much we spent and what is left over affectionately known as the bottom-line. So how can we stay on top of our finances so that we can know how much money our business is making?

1. Use a bookkeeping system on a regular basis to keep fresh data flowing into your reports.

2. Look at your reports on a regular basis. If you have monthly bookkeeping done and don’t review your reports on a monthly basis then you won’t be able to measure how well financially your business is doing. If you don’t understand your reports a good bookkeeper can help you with that roadblock.

3. Spend some money on a good CPA who will help you to create tax planning goals for your business.

We are all in business for different reasons BUT the one neutralizer is that we want to make money. The bottom-line is the reason and by applying the tips above you will be on the road to financial success.

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More Reasons Why You Should Use Accounting Software To Track Finances

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The life of an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. The word busy is something that just comes with the territory. Nothing is more frustrating than working yourself to the bone but not having the information you need to make important business decisions. Here are a few more reasons why using an accounting software program like QuickBooks Online to track your hard-earned finances makes financial sense:

• It will arm you with information to determine if you can pay yourself

• It will help you to determine if you can start bringing on team members

• It will help you to pull reports to see if you are on the right track for your annual revenue goals

• It will help you to stay compliant with the taxman

If you have a special spreadsheet that you like to use to track your finances keep on using it BUT also use a professional accounting software system to track your finances so that you can pull reports to help you to make important business decisions. One day you might just decide it is time to ditch the spreadsheet.

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I Have No Idea How Much Money I Made Last Month!!!

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Have you ever said this to yourself?

It is a common mantra among entrepreneurs who are so busy doing the daily work in their business that managing the financial performance of it gets lost in the sauce. This month we are taking a look at why it is important to track your business bookkeeping inside of an accounting software. One of the main reasons is to have the ability to answer the question: How Much Did I Make In My Business?

The best way to get this answer is to keep your books reconciled on a monthly basis. The art of reconciling the books just means grabbing your bank statement and literally matching it line by line item to what is showing in the accounting software. Once everything has been accounted for then you know that your books have been reconciled and can close the month and start fresh in the next month. Now bookkeeping and accounting is way more complex than pulling out a statement to match transactions but doing this aspect of it is necessary to pull reports that answer questions like the one above. 

So if you have no idea how much money you made last month then head over to the reports section in your accounting software and find the profit and loss statement or what it is known as in the accounting world, income statement. The income statement or profit & loss will tell you the story of how much you made by selling your services or products, what you spent on expenses and what was left over. The “what is left over” part will tell you how much you made in your business last month. 

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Welcome To The Month Of August! & It's My Birthday Month:)

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I can’t believe it is August. Where did the time go??? I love this month that is filled with a change in season (depending on where you live) and a start to new beginnings like taking classes or taking a fresh look at your business. 

This month I want to take a practical look at why it is important to have your books in order and tracked within an accounting software like QuickBooks Online. There are many reasons why it is crucial that your business finances are managed in an organized manner outside of just using an Excel spreadsheet that can help you to be more successful within your business.  I think that sometimes we just need to be reminded of the reasons why we are going through all the effort to manage the business bookkeeping in the first place.

It’s August & my birthday month - It is time to get busy!!

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Wrapping Up The Month of April

The month of April is over and we took a look at a variety of things to help us run our business better. The covid-19 virus has put many of us in precarious situations. The sudden order to shut down our business if it was not essential in accordance with our local government has put a strain on our business and personal finances. Although these are trying times there are many resources that came to light in an effort to help us survive these challenging times. We took a look at what financial capital resources were available to help us weather the storm until we can get back to business as usual. We learned that it was a good time to take a business financial and service offering pulse check to make sure we know where we stand in our business and how we can work differently to deliver new services to our customers.

Yes, this challenging world event has put us all in a tailspin BUT we also learned that we are tough and can come out on the other side of this event stronger than ever.

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How To Keep Your Business Finances Afloat In The Midst Of The Storm

The Covid -19 virus has wreaked havoc on all of our lives in more ways than one. Outside of the world health crisis that is unfolding before our eyes, it has put many businesses in financial jeopardy that has lingering consequences.

According to a survey from PwC, “The findings show that businesses are prioritizing cash spending, while assessing options for financing and/or deeper pullbacks as they look forward toward a recovery time frame.”

• 67% of finance leaders surveyed have already taken steps to contain costs as a result of COVID-19.

•  64% are considering the need for taking further actions on costs or investments.

•  76% of respondents expect that their business would be back to normal within three months if COVID-19 were to end immediately. 

What does this all mean for you?

Find ways to reserve cash on hand by cut expenses that are not necessary - Now is a good time to take a look at your business expenses to see which ones are absolutely necessary to run your business operations and which ones are just “wants.” If you have your bookkeeping accounts organized this will enable you to see all of your expenses in one quick snapshot so that you can make these types of decisions.

Look for alternative ways to get capital - There are a variety of ways to get financial help during this time of crisis like applying for the much talked about small business assistance loan offered by the government called the Small Business Paycheck Protection Program. This program is a part of the Cares Act and is designed to, “Provide small businesses with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. Small businesses with 500 or fewer employees—including nonprofits, veterans organizations, tribal concerns, self-employed individuals, sole proprietorships, and independent contractors— are eligible.” Check out the top-line overview of the program on the US Department Of The Treasury website here. I also shared another great resource for obtaining capital in my previous blog post called BlueVine.com.

We are in very troubling times. But the good news is that we have resources to help us to get through this storm together.

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