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Are You up to Speed on Your Business Finances?

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Running a business means you wear many hats and have a lot on your plate to deal with.

That said the biggest focus should be on how your business is doing financially. If you lose focus here, you could in fact end up losing your business if not careful.

So, how up to speed are you on your business finances?

Don’t Let Financial Issues Cost You Your Business

In looking at the impact various financial matters can have on your business, here are a few to focus on:

1. Bringing in enough revenue – How good of a job are you doing bringing in revenue? If you have been in business for a few years now, it is wise to compare revenue numbers from prior years. This can give you a good sense of if your business is headed in the right or wrong direction. If you see indications that revenue is heading south, you can at least be aware of it and try to turn things around. Figure out if it is only your business having financial issues or more a sense of the industry you are in. If the former, you need to put a stop to the bleeding sooner than later.

2. Knowing the financial rules you face – From taxes to commission revenues, be up to speed on rules you face. For instance, if someone asked you what is ASC 606, could you answer that question rather quick? ASC 606 involves the accounting of commissions and how they are tracked and reported. Things like this you need to be aware of and any changes that come with it. This is why having a top-notch accountant for your business proves crucial. Small financial mistakes at a company can oftentimes be overcome. What you do not want to have happen is having major ones put you on the brink.

3. Erasing debt – One of the worst things you can have hanging over your head as a business owner is a large amount of debt. With that being the case; are you dealing with sizable debt? If so, are you taking any action to deal with it? Not dealing with it can leave you in financial rough waters for years to come. An example here would be credit card debt. While it is fine to use a business credit card for some needs, do not rely on it all too often. If you do, you could see that balance become rather high in a short amount of time. In the event you only pay the minimum each month, think of those interest fees. Those fees are in essence like throwing money out the window. This is why using cash more often and paying down any credit card debt makes a lot more sense. If you do have sizable credit card debt, look to see about doing a balance transfer. You may discover another bank with better financing rates.

As you go about reviewing your company finances, be sure to look for any red flags.

If you find red flags with your finances, do all you can to lower them.

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Account for Your Business Needs

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Businesswoman Calculating TaxIf you could name one thing as a business owner keeping you awake at night, what would it be?

Some business owners may say it is the challenge of putting together consistent marketing and advertising campaigns for their brands.

Others, meantime, may point to whether or not they are making the right hires.

For others, it is the financial aspect of running a business, being able to make sure the company stays in the black and avoids dipping into the red zone too often.

No matter what might have you awake at night in running a company, there are means available to lessen those fears.

Most importantly, are you able to account for your business needs?

Getting the Right People in the Right Places

One of your biggest challenges in overseeing a company is making sure you have the right people in the right places.

You can look at your business as operating a bus, having each occupant in a certain seat.

While you should never downplay the time and effort each employee brings to your business, most employees have a specific role within your company. That means having the most talented and experienced people in the most important positions.

One such position is the person or persons handling your accounting needs.

Stop for a moment and think about how important having good finances in place is for a business, especially if you are a small business owner.

Unlike larger operations that typically have extra financial capital to help them survive the tough times, smaller companies are oftentimes playing with a smaller margin of error. As a result, just one or two financial mistakes can cause a major ripple effect through the entire company.

For those individuals overseeing your accounting, they may have come into the position at an early period for your company, perhaps even when you opened up.

Over time, financial matters and needs change, meaning your accounting folks need to stay on top of things at all times.

If you feel they may need some additional education, consider the idea of online accounting degree programs.

By taking and completing such coursework, your accounting professionals are better suited to serve you and your staff.

Taking such coursework in today’s world is made even easier by the fact that the materials can be studied and completed online. Instead of employees having to worry about commuting to and from classes after work, they can do much of their studying and testing from the comforts of home.

Employers Have Role to Play

While you want your employees to be as educated as possible, you also have a role to play as their employer.

Keep in mind that many workers in today’s economic climate are oftentimes juggling more than one job. They may work for you in a full-time capacity, but they might also leave after work to go to a part-time job. Meantime, some of your employees go straight home after work to care for families.

No matter what the circumstances may be, you likely have a fair number of workers that must juggle expenses on a regular basis, expenses that may deter them from wanting to expand their levels of education.

In those cases, this is where you as an employer can step in and contribute.

As more business owners have discovered over time, it is worth paying for a portion or even all of an employee’s education during their employ with you.

Not only do you get a better employee in most cases, but it serves as an incentive for people to want to come and join your company. Seeing that you care about things like more education can be the difference when a potential employee is looking at taking a job with you or a competitor. They can see that with more education, there will likely be more chances to advance in the company, ultimately leading to more income.

If you have been thinking about contributing to an employee’s education during their time with you, areas such as accounting, departmental management, sales and marketing etc. are all key components of a successful business.

Is it time for you to account for your business needs?

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

How Much Education Do Your Employees Need?

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Business Woman Executive ManagementYour employees are the engine that helps run your business.

With that being the case, do you feel your employees have the right amount of education at the time of hire and while they are doing their jobs?

As more and more companies are discovering, paying in full or in part to send employees back to school to further their educations can be a very beneficial move.

With technology ever-changing, many employers see a need to give their employees additional educational opportunities, allowing them to stay abreast of what is needed in contributing to businesses in today’s technological world.

So, how much education do your employees need?

Encouraging Workers to Grow

As an employer, you have myriad of responsibilities sitting on your plate day and night.

One of those responsibilities is making sure that you not only hired the best possible workforce, but that you make sure they remain on top of their work responsibilities each and every day.

But what if they’re falling behind as far as education? What happens when competitors have employees who are more advanced, especially in the area of technology? Do you run the risk as a business owner of letting the competition get the better of you?

One means whereby employers can stay on top of the latest in technology, accounting and other areas is by offering their employees the ability to continue their educations while working.

Although there can be issues with employees having enough time to work and go to school at the same time, letting workers study and gain more education online can be just the answer.

Through online accounting degree programs, employees can not only master skills necessary in the accounting field, but they can do so while not having to let their workplace responsibilities take a backseat.

If your business is open to such possibilities, there are several factors to keep in mind.

These include:

  • Support – First and foremost, make sure your employees know you fully support their efforts to further educate themselves while under your employ (whether you encourage the workers to gain more knowledge or they want to do it on their own). Some employees may feel like you will worry about them being able to juggle both work and school at the same time; this is where your support for their initiatives becomes so important.
  • Initiative – Face it; some employees need a little push from time to time. With that being the case, encourage those requiring such support to want to further their skills and knowledge. Some companies will put in place incentives for workers to increase their educations. Whether it is the ability to move up the corporate ladder or to get additional education which is essentially free, the possibilities can be endless. When you have a motivated team of employees, your business tends to do better than those just seemingly going through the motions day after day.
  • Finances – Finally, who will pay for each and every employee who wants more education to receive it? Some companies will foot the entire bill, while others will cover a portion of the expenses. In some cases, employers won’t pay for added education, but will instead offer other amenities (opportunities for additional salary and job responsibilities etc.). No matter which option your business chooses, be sure to figure out the financial end of things before signing off on online or in-person educational opportunities for your staff.

In looking at the big picture as an employer, always remember that the work world is literally changing each and every day.

As a result of this, it is important that your business stays abreast of what is necessary to outshine the competition. If you don’t stay on top of what is needed to successfully run your operation, you could find yourself and your employees watching the competition pass you by.

Lastly, always be supportive of those employees looking to learn more.

It is easy for many workers to fall into a rut and just show up on a daily basis for work.

The key is finding those employees who want to learn everything possible and more about their specific jobs.

When they do that, everyone benefits.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

How to Streamline Your Business Routine in 2014

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By Ryan Harrison

Running a business requires certain skills and expertise that customers need and are willing to pay for. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to succeed. There are always routine tasks related to business operations that can be frustrating for business owners. For this reason, many small business owners turn to outside help to handle everything from payroll to office services.

Use Tools That Support and Improve Your Overhead

If you’ve been outsourcing routine work for a few years, you should have picked up some basic skills by now that will enable to handle some of these tasks. Don’t underestimate what you’ve learned in all those meetings with your accountant. Before you spend your entire outsourcing budget for 2014, investigate the potential of using business automation tools.

Online Accounting Tools Integrate Your Current Project Data

You probably already handle some aspects of your company’s financial tasks, such as invoicing and tracking projects. And these are probably handled in entirely separate programs on your desktop, with no way to easily access and integrate both functions. Programs like Quickbook’s online accounting keep everything in one place that has to do with operating your business. A basic package gives you wizards and tools to help with these functions:

  • Payroll, including tax withholding
  • Project estimates
  • Project time and expense tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Bank transactions

Many online accounting programs also provide automatic data backups and integrate data you’ve stored in programs like Outlook, Gmail, and Excel. Quickbooks online accounting is one of the cloud-based services that also automate tasks like system updates, which can save a lot of your time. Cloud-based accounts can be accessed from virtually anywhere with a secure Internet connection to your desktop, smartphone, or tablet.

Stop Struggling with Paper!

If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, you’re inquisitive and acquire a lot of paper that ends up in disorganized piles around your office. Put an end to this and start scanning everything you bring to the office. Scan your important documents and save the files digitally; encourage employees to do so as well. If you have a lot of paper you want to access electronically, there are services that will handle the document conversion for you. Or you can invest in a sheet-feed or portable scanner that scans more quickly than printer-scanners. Some scanners integrate with other documentation systems, including Quickbooks.

Take Advantage of Free Trial Offers

Many vendors offer free product trials, some for as long as 60 days with money-back guarantees. Try out a few to see how many functions you can take over yourself. If you decide to take the plunge, keep in mind that the costs are likely to be much lower than outsourcing. Best of all, these tools can help you gain a deeper understanding of your business’s operations and identify more opportunities to save time and money.

Author’s Bio:Ryan Harrison writes about business, marketing, operations, and more at www.producersweb.com. He also finds time to write at yfsmagazine.com. You can find him on Twitter as @RyanHar13790076.

Invoice Factoring for New Business Needs

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By Tina Hamilton

If you are an entrepreneur in your start-up year, you are still learning the ropes. You may have tenacity, family support, passion, and past experience in the industry. However, you can’t be managing every aspect of the business at once and all too often young companies find unpaid contracts and invoices piled on the desk.

In worse case scenarios unpaid invoices can sit around for months and cause companies to fail to meet payroll or face challenges in ordering inventory. Knowing your options is vital to keeping your head above water. One of the best solutions to this all-too-common problem is Invoice Factoring due to its successful record in helping businesses continue to flourish by providing instant cash. Continue reading to learn how it works, and what to look out for.

Cash Flow problems

Getting a cash advance on your unpaid invoices can be what saves your starting business. But finding the right invoice factoring company is equally vital to protecting your assets, as is the ability to get paid off your unpaid contracts.

Fee

When paying a company to collect on your Factoring Accounts Receivables you want to find one that will charge you zero money upfront and take no more than 10 percent of your recovered unpaid invoices. Asking a business to pay upfront is counter-productive and defeats the purpose of getting a cash advance.

Reputation

A factoring company’s reputation is extremely important. It is paramount that businesses take the needed time to do thorough research on any company they consider working with. If there are a lot of negative remarks surrounding a company is it best to keep looking for another provider. It is completely normal to find one or two bad reviews on any business in any industry. Perhaps your business even has a bad review. Do not let one bad review shake your faith in a company, but if the negative feedback stifles the positive, dealing with them is not worth it.

Terms

Make sure the terms are just as agreeable as the rates. You may not be buying a used car, but you can still try haggling a bit to get the terms to an appropriate arrangement. If you find a company with excellent rates but the terms need some improvement, try doing a little research until you do find a company with better terms and present your finding to the provider you are trying to work with. Often they will try to save face by matching or beating a competitor’s terms. When it comes to negotiating terms you can follow advise from online articles that help entrepreneurs negotiate traditional bank loans. Although the products are totally opposite from one another, the art of negotiating is not.

Moving forward

Once you have been paid out on your invoices be sure you learn from the experience so not to repeat the same action from happening again. Perhaps hiring someone to manage accounts is in order. This would also free up some of your time to spend elsewhere in the business.

Finally, positive thinking is a powerful, contagious force that helps drive business forward. Be sure that when you finally nail down your business processes, you line them in a silver layer of positivity.

Author’s Bio: Author Tina Hamilton is a veteran journalist currently researching invoice factoring as an option for her family’s business. You can follow her on Google+.

Does Your Accounting Software Account for Success?

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While saving money is a great thing for the small business owner, trying to do that at the cost of service to your company can come with a price. Unfortunately, that price over time can be lost business.

For those owners who are looking for an accounting software program, be it for the first time or to replace the one they currently have, a number of factors should always go into the decision making process.

Meantime, those business owners looking to outsource their accounting needs should do so with the idea that such a decision should be well researched. If you choose the wrong accounting provider, you could be left with more than just financial headaches.

In searching for the right accounting provider at the right price, remember to:

* Determine your needs – What got you to consider outsourcing your accounting needs in the first place? For many small business owners, their workforce size is manageable enough that they can hire an in-house accounting person and/or even oversee it themselves. In the event the company grows over time, then they can outsource the need if it becomes too big a responsibility for the person on staff. Take a look at your current needs, your projected growth in the next year or two, and if you will save more money by keeping the task in-house;

* Shop around – If you pick and choose the first accounting company you come across, you may get lucky, then again you may not. Just as in shopping for other important needs for your company, choosing an accounting provider demands the right amount of time too. Look at each company’s financial stability, customer service record, any issues with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), rates, and its ability to meet your needs. At minimum, get anywhere from 3 to 6 quotes, giving you a number of providers to choose from;

* Look at more time in the office – In the event you do go with outsourcing your accounting needs, think of the time and manpower you free up in your office. Presumably, one or more of your workers has been or would have been doing accounting tasks for you. With the need outsourced, that person or persons can direct their efforts to other responsibilities. You also presumably put your accounting needs in the hands of a company that does this on a regular basis, meaning you should get quality service in turn for your monetary agreement with them. By outsourcing, you also lessen the need by one employee (at least) to have someone on hand strictly do accounting. You not only save on salary, but also health benefits, etc.;

* Impress upon security – Finally, whether your accounting needs are handled in-house or outsourced, security should never be taken for granted. Given you are dealing with personal information of employees including incomes, Social Security numbers, addresses and more, security needs to be prioritized. Make sure any outside provider makes security a priority, preventing you and themselves from running into any potential legal issues.

If this is the year you decide to outsource your company’s accounting responsibilities, make it your business to run the numbers on which provider best fits your needs.

Photo credit: Zodiacproedge.com

Dave Thomas covers a wide array of topics for various websites, including gray hair treatment.