Friday, February 19, 2016


7 Bookkeeping Habits Everyone Should Adopt



Badly tracked finances can cause your business a world of problems—from poor cash flow to improper tax filings and beyond. These kinds of problems can put a young business at serious risk.
Good bookkeeping habits, on the other hand, can help a business thrive—and not just survive.
Dallas-based financial writer and founder of Careful Cents, Carrie Smith, shared her advice on what good bookkeeping means for entrepreneurs, and the good habits to adopt that will guide your business to success.

1. Get professional help to prepare tax returns

Business owners are pulled in a dozen different directions. That’s why it makes sense to outsource work you don’t have the expertise or time to do. If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you likely went into business to pursue a passion, not to become an accountant.
“Sometimes outsourcing the job to somebody who can do a quicker and better job is much smarter than trying to tackle it yourself,” Smith says.
Professional accountants can do more than just ensure your returns pass muster. A trained financial eye can spot ways that your bookkeeping processes—and perhaps your business itself—can be improved.
For example, most businesses aren’t aware of all the tax deductions they can claim to ultimately reduce their overall tax burden. With a trained eye, Smith was able to able to help one of her past clients save over $1,000 on her return, which took her from owing money to the IRS to receiving a small refund.

2. Don’t go entirely “hands-off”

Outsourcing your bookkeeping doesn’t mean you should leave it entirely to somebody else. “You’ll want to review reports, understand what’s happening with your business, and ask the right questions (when you don’t),” Smith says.
No matter your level of accounting expertise, it is beneficial to your business for you to understand as owner some of the basic business numbers, including profit, trend in expenses, accounts receivable, profit per customer, and how your client funnel works. Here is an article that summarizes why these five numbers matter and how you can use them to monitor the health of your business.

3. Get the right software

“You don’t want to skimp on the program that you use,” Smith advises, noting that a good system is worth the money. These days there is more choice than ever, so businesses no longer have to use accounting software designed for accountants.
There are many different options out there, so look for a system that best meets your business needs—and one that you’ll actually use. If you’re not an accountant by training, then avoid systems that require a telephone book sized manual to get started.
If you’re looking for a shortcut, ask for recommendations from friends who run businesses similar to yours.

4. Document your processes

For her own business, Smith has written documents that explain how bookkeeping processes should run. “No matter who looks at it, it’s done my way,” she says, noting these processes prevent confusion and answer questions before they’re asked.
Consistency is key for good bookkeeping and can help you spot errors later on, since you’ll have a good idea of what may have gone wrong.

5. Keep expense receipts

You can’t know how much you’re spending on your business if you don’t keep receipts. This is somewhat straightforward for credit card purchases, since you’ll have both receipts and monthly statements against which to check them.
Where things can get tricky is if you aren’t careful with cash expenses. These receipts matter even more since there are no backup statements. Some people keep a small notebook with them to log cash expenses as they’re incurred. Better yet, entrepreneurs could follow Smith’s lead—she uses an accounting app on her phone to snap pictures of her receipts as she goes, and doesn’t keep the paper copies.

6. Track your receivables

It’s one thing to issue invoices, but it’s another to ensure your invoices are paid. Keep up-to-date logs of your invoices and the status of each—sent, received, paid, partially paid, and late. Some accounting solutions can even keep track of invoices and flag late and unpaid invoices automatically.

7. Ask your accountant how you can work as a team

Business owners often look at their accountants as just another expense, and only visit during tax crunch time. A trusted accountant, however, can be a key ally in your business, helping to guide its path to success, shaping it to provide better returns, and helping spot potential issues in the business before they arise.
Entrepreneurs should approach their accountants as business partners, not just tax prep, and find someone who can offer insight into the business. A great accountant can help take a business to the next level.

For full article follow the link below

http://articles.bplans.com/7-bookkeeping-habits-every-entrepreneur-adopt/

Friday, December 18, 2015

Is Your Book Keeping All Ready For 2015 Year End ?

It's Not To Late To Make Adjustments To Your 2015 Expenses To Maximize Your Tax Situation


Give us a call for quick consultation and help with your company's books and preparing your information for your CPA !!!

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Online Bookkeeping Benefits for Business Firms

For accounting firms that are responsible for
bookkeeping, it has been quite a monotonous job. It
will take long hours of tedious work just to maintain
the processing of accounts properly. Bookkeeping can
also hurt the pockets of companies-in-charge because a.
job like this requires massive patience. Several.
companies have already tried to train accountants on.
being adept on their job. The downside is, the amount.
of salary that is asked is way too high for the.
company to continue their employment. In cases of.
small businesses, hiring several efficient people that.
will compose the competent staff fit for bookkeeping.
is a very good option that can also fit the budget.
perfectly.

Charging an incredible amount to the companies by the.
employees of bookkeeping has forced outsourcing. These.
companies have made a strategy to give out entirely or.
a part of the work to the company that's outsourcing.
And the benefits has become large. Time was evenly.
given to different sections of their business and have.
the opportunity to expand. Aside from this,.
bookkeeping online can save a lot of a company's or a.
business owner's valuable time which could have been.
If they were still stuck on the idea about, wasted.
searching for professional firms responsible for.
bookkeeping.

Online bookkeeping has numerous benefits that even.
small businesses will agree on how they have been.
saved from tons of paperwork and long hours of finding.
When the IRS is on the loose to, the right documents.
nag them about their overdue. The benefits of online.
bookkeeping are as follows:.

Cost Efficient.

Being able to practice online bookkeeping can help.
accounting business firms to save a lot of dough and.
cut the cost of training an entire staff of.
bookkeepers. Hiring an accountant is already a pain.
and hiring several can hurt big time-- not only in the.
training but also in financial matters. It would.
If the budget would go with, really help the company.
less business capital expenditures. Money saved will.
help to invest on more areas that are also vital for.
business and will definitely boost business.
opportunities.

Efficiency Improved.

, if the person on the company itself couldn't cope up.
.
during emergencies, probable reason would be work.
overload. And when coping can no longer work, the.
entire venture is bound to fail. That's why accounting.
firms would prefer to outsource it to other companies.
that are willing to take part. Besides, it's safer and.
outsourcing firms lay emphasis on professionalism.
Numerous accounting firms have software that.
specializes on managing transactions.

Maintenance Shifting.

Small businesses don't have to worry about their.
bookkeeping problems. They've already invested so much.
on a lot of things and bookkeeping must not burden.
them anymore. Outsourced bookkeeping firms are like a.
cool breeze on their faces. Imagine, putting massive.
blocks of paperwork to other people can save you from.
a lot of stress, time and will help business owners to.
perform efficiently. Worries will be eliminated and.
fundamental thinking is enhanced. Thus shifting.
maintenance from several to just an effective one.

Save-a-lot.

You can freely cut on training, maintenance and.
stationary cost while forming a very advantageous.
business with all the benefits, why in the world would.
business ignore the opportunity? Only proves that.
online bookkeeping is good for you business no matter.
how small it is.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Top 5 Bookkeeping Secrets To Get Your Books In Shape


Now that year end and tax season is over, it's time to sit down and review your books and plans for the next year. I love tax time but not for the reasons you may expect. I love it because it gives me a chance to connect with my clients (I'm a virtual bookkeeper specializing in bookkeeping for Internet Marketers) and help them implement some simple tricks and strategize to help get their books in shape.

Here are my top 5 bookkeeping secrets:

1. Keep an audit trail: I know, fancy bookkeeping word (scary to some because of the word audit) but an audit trail is simply a record of all your invoices, checks and expenses in numeric order. Does it sound daunting? Don't worry - there are many options to choose from when it comes to bookkeeping software. My personal favorite: Quickbooks.

2. Due date reminders: Use your Outlook calendar, Trumba, Google calendar, wall calendar ... anything! Be sure to set reminders for bills that are due, tax remittance deadlines, payroll remittance deadlines. You could save thousands of dollars per year simply by paying your bills on time (not to mention keep your credit rating in check).

Bank statements: With the advent of the internet, e-bills are all the rage. Sure it's eco friendly but if you ever get audited, the auditor is going to want to see physical copies of everything, not digital.

Bookkeeping is the glue that keeps your business together. Without good books, you can't make financially sound decisions for your business.

5. Computer software: The biggest mistake people make is not taking the time to set up the software correctly when they install it on their computers. If you want a financial report you can trust, you will need to be sure it is set up correctly from the start.

Incorporating these simple strategies into your bookkeeping cycle will help streamline the books and make bookkeeping more enjoyable.

I love it because it gives me a chance to connect with my clients (I'm a virtual bookkeeper specializing in bookkeeping for Internet Marketers) and help them implement some simple tricks and strategize to help get their books in shape.

Keep an audit trail: I know, fancy bookkeeping word (scary to some because of the word audit) but an audit trail is simply a record of all your invoices, checks and expenses in numeric order. Don't worry - there are many options to choose from when it comes to bookkeeping software. Bookkeeping is the glue that keeps your business together.