Learn why you need this book, what is in it and why every business owner must have it. Click here for link to the book https://amzn.to/32jf3fM
Learn why you need this book, what is in it and why every business owner must have it. Click here for link to the book https://amzn.to/32jf3fM
Thursday, September 10, 2020 in Books, Profit Maximizer Moment | Permalink | Comments (0)
Why you must concentrate in the next 90 days on gaining your independence from reduced cash flow, shrinking margins and evaporating customer base.
Tuesday, September 08, 2020 in Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Business Success Series, Profit Maximizer Moment | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, August 14, 2020 in Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips | Permalink | Comments (0)
I have read probably thousands of business books in my 40-year accounting career. Because of that, it is unusual for any book to be so innovative that I recommend it to all of my business owners. Profit First by Mike Michalowicz is one of those.
I have purchased and read all of Mr. Michalowicz’s previous books, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, The Pumpkin Plan, and Surge, so I had a pretty good idea what his take on business was. But Profit First surprised me. Here the author was offering a unique but simple explanation as to why most businesses don’t survive and those that do continue to struggle. More importantly, he gave a simple solution to the lack of profits.
As a profit coach I must admit that I was skeptical about the idea of taking my profits first and forcing the business to survive on what was left. I believed it was too simplistic an approach to fixing the problem. But as I continued to read, I started to “see” the change and the advantage the Profit First method offered to small business owners.
I tested it with a couple of my clients. Then I started using it in my business. The change that comes from taking your profit first rather than treating it like an afterthought has helped transform my business and those of my clients.
But that is not all he teaches!
I am recommending this book to all of my clients and strongly believe that every business owner should buy and read this book at least twice! But more importantly, start implementing the Profit First theories and watch your business grow.
Wednesday, June 06, 2018 in Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
With smartphones, tablets and even computers there is a range of different options available for financial management apps. Typically apps for financial issues are going to focus in on either personal finance or business, but some provide options for multiple types of entries with different possibilities.
If you are considering adding an app to help you with business or personal financial monitoring, budgeting and tracking, there are a few considerations to keep in mind. By choosing the best app you will have a very practical, handy and relevant way to keep up on financial issues.
Security
While this may seem evident, linking your accounts or linking apps to accounts poses a real security issue. In many cases, especially with apps containing personal and financial information, there is some level of security, but not often what you may expect.
Before you add any financial information or personal information to an app, be sure to check the security. This is particularly true if it is linked to your bank and your credit card or business accounts.
Practical Use
Not all apps are user-friendly, and not all offer the features you may want and need. Before taking all the time to input your information into the app, spend some time reading reviews and determining what other people experienced.
You should look for an app that allows some customization with regard to categories of income and expenditures or budget line items. Some apps also integrate with other types of accounting software, which can save time on double entries and having to manually transfer data.
Keep in mind, you may also have to have more than one app if you wish to manage your business and personal finances on the go. There are also apps for managing investments, stock market accounts and online trading services that can be helpful in keeping your finances up to date at all times.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Personal financial planning, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accountant, app, CPA, financial management, personal finances
If you have a home business or a home office, it can be difficult to know just what you can claim as a business expense and what you can’t. There are some common expenses that self-employed people working from home often miss claiming because they aren’t aware of the option.
To maximize your home business deductions make sure you are claiming the following:
If you have any questions about what you can or cannot claim, contact your accountant before you make the purchase or the decision. You should also keep accurate records of all purchases of supplies and materials you need including printer supplies and software purchases for your business.
Monday, November 13, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Income Taxes, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accountant, business, claim, deductions, expenses, home office, self-employed
The fair market value of property or services received in barter is taxable. But, it may not result in an increase in taxable income based on how what you received is used.
As an example, we trade accounting and tax services with an office supply company. We must include in income the fair market value of the office supplies received. But, we also get to deduct these costs as office supplies expense since they are used in our business.
But, when we trade accounting and tax services for a family photo we still have taxable income but we cannot deduct personal expenses. This results in an increase in taxable income in the amount of fair market value of the family photo.
Like all tax law there is an exception to the general rule. An informal exchange of similar services on a non-business basis is generally non-taxable. An example of this is carpooling.
Like any good CPA, I need to add a disclaimer: unfortunately, it is impossible to offer comprehensive tax info over the internet, no matter how well researched or written. And remember, I love my readers but having me bookmarked on your computer doesn’t make you a client: before relying on any information given on this site, contact a tax professional to discuss your particular situation.
Wednesday, November 01, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Cost Cutting, Small Business Owners, Tax Tip of The Week | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: deductions, market value, small business, taxes
One of the main differences between a business owner who has created for themselves a “job” and an entrepreneur who has created a “business” often can be traced to one thing – the entrepreneur never stops learning!
Most start-up business owners don't know what they don't know. Confusing I know so let me explain. Most new business owners don’t understand taxes, bookkeeping and the law so they hire CPA’s (like myself), lawyer and other professionals to handle these issues for them. But, they don’t even have a clue that they need to learn how to market, manage employees, handle growth, the importance of knowing and understanding the metrics of their business, the importance of systems, etc, etc, etc, ……….
So when a new business owner comes in to see me I try to help by recommending the following three books that I feel that every business owner should own, read and re-read.
First would be The EMyth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. All wealth is a result of the creation of a system by the business owner. This book goes into the importance of systems in order for the business owner to succeed and grow while still keeping their sanity. I have used the chapter on the importance of an Organization Chart for every business to save a couple of marriages between husband/wife ownership teams.
Second would be Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. The theory of guerrilla marketing is that your primary investment is not money (a scarce commodity in most small businesses) but, rather time, energy and imagination.
Finally, any book by Dan Kennedy. I guess I would start with his No B.S. Direct Marketing. He has so many key concepts it is very hard to pick just one. But, if forced to, I choose his statement that every business owner is in the business of getting and keeping customers!
These are my favorite three. Drop me a line and let me know if there is a business book that you think I should have put on the list.
Thank you for your continued support and let's make this year our most profitable year ever!
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Business Success Series, Sales & Marketing, Small Business Owners, Small Business Success Series, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: education, entrepreneur, startup, training
As a small business owner or an entrepreneur you should be talking to your accountant at least once or twice a year, and ideally more often, to make sure that you are taking full advantage of any tax deductions or opportunities that you may have.
The Small Business Advantage
Often small businesses have significant tax opportunities that are missed simply because the small business owner didn’t realize the deduction or tax credit was even possible.
Some of the most commonly missed money-saving ideas that accountants can help small businesses with include:
Talking to your accountant well before the end of the year is always a good strategy. You can learn about your options and then make the best choices to help to lower your taxable income while maximizing your ability to take advantage of services and purchases that you may need.
Monday, July 10, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Income Taxes, QuickBooks, Small Business Owners, Tax Tip of The Week | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: expenses, small business, taxes
If you’ve been thrust into the role of accountant in your business and have been assigned the unpleasant task of performing an audit, there’s no need for stress. Performing a basic accounting audit isn’t as scary as one may seem.
Once you’ve determined the area that needs to be audited, you’ll need to follow the organization’s standard auditing procedures, especially those that pertain to the division or department being audited. In the beginning of this phase, you want to also analyze any risks that could come up during the audit and make sure you have all the necessary resources you’ll need to complete the audit: staff, reports, financial information, laptops, overhead projectors, etc.
Now it’s time to begin the audit – this Is where the “fun” begins. You’ll begin analyzing flow charts and accounting systems among other items in order to discover and correct any weaknesses in the accounting process.
Analyze transactions and records for accuracy and notate all of the information you gather in order to be able to make changes and recommendations to policies and procedures that need them.
The purpose of the audit is to identify weaknesses in the accounting systems and processes the company has in place, as well as any questionable transactions or activities. It’s important to be thorough, gather evidence and then produce an audit report that can be presented to upper management and department heads for review, examination and analysis.
Once your report has been prepared and distributed to all parties involved, schedule and hold an after-audit meeting. The meeting should include the key members of your audit team as well as key members of management and department heads.
The meeting should discuss findings from the audit including strengths and weaknesses as well as recommendations for improvement.
Friday, June 23, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: analyze, audit, business
Dealing with a billing error can be frustrating. But giving up too quickly will only cost you money. If you’ve got an erroneous bills to settle, here’s what to do:
Friday, June 09, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Cost Cutting, Other, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: billing, bookkeeping, disputes, finances
For 35+ years I have worked with small business owners and watched them. This has allowed me to learn many things that worked and a whole bunch of things that don’t. This is my 20th year running my own CPA firm and I have to confess I have repeated many of the mistakes I watched others make. Heck, since I tend to be creative, I even made a few new ones of my own.
This is the first in a new series sharing some of these lessons with you. I will start with the “myth” that most startup business owners believe and follow that with the “hidden truth” that successful business owners learn the hard way. Finally, I will finish with a business lesson to be learned.
So, let’s start ………………
Budgets – The secret to survival!
The myth most business owners believe: If you know your business, budgets are only needed by the bank when you are applying for a loan.
The truth successful business owners learn the hard way: Running a successful business requires attention to a huge amount of moving parts that seldom fall together correctly. Even the smallest business will run into cash flow problems because of the business cycle. Large growing companies are almost guaranteed to run into cashflow problems at one time or another.
In the past three years, I have met with many small construction companies who learned the “business cycle” the hard way when they won a contract at Ft. Bliss. Once they started the contract, they quickly learned that they had to pay upfront for materials and labor and that it often took 45-90 days to get paid. A quick budget would have helped them see this problem ahead of time.
What they didn’t understand is that budgets are critical to every business owner’s success! Operating without a budget is like starting off on a journey without any idea how to get to where you are going. Sounds like fun but often ends up as a disaster. A budget helps you plan to be a success rather than hoping for success.
When you budget (and I mean real-life budgeting – not Government pretend budgeting!) you actually sit down and figure out:
Finally, a budget helps you stay on track. Successful business owner’s review every month what actually happened against their budget and then make the necessary adjustments needed to reach their goals. You would be amazed how many business owners only discover that they made a profit when I do the tax return after the year end. By then it is way too late to adjust for changing business circumstances.
Lesson learned: Budgeting is a waste of time only if you don’t plan on making money!
Friday, April 14, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Business Success Series, Cash Flow, Cost Cutting, Small Business Owners, Small Business Success Series | Permalink | Comments (2)
Tags: budget, finances, planning, small business
As the tax deadline nears...our final set of reminders for your 2016 return.
Returns are due by Tuesday, April 18 this year. Even though Because April 15 falls on a Saturday, on Easter weekend, Washington, D.C. will observe its Emancipation Day holiday that day.
You have two options to get a six-month extension if you need more time:
If you can’t pay with your extension or when filing your return, file anyway.
Doing so avoids the 5%-a-month penalty for failing to file. This penalty is capped at 25% of the unpaid balance. The failure-to-pay penalty is far less...½% a month.
You can arrange for installment payments by filing Form 9465. The fee is $105 ($52 if you agree to wire payments). Low incomers will be charged $43. Of course, you still will have to pay interest plus the penalty for late payment.
Your IRA contribution for 2016 is due April 18, even if a filing extension has been requested. Payins by mail are OK if they are postmarked before April 19.
Thursday, April 13, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Current Affairs, Income Taxes, Tax Tip of The Week | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accountant, financial planning, tax deadline, taxes
When you decided to start your business, was your first priority concerned with setting up your filing system for recording your expenses? I seriously doubt it. This simple task (yes it is simple) is usually the item that is the last thing on the new business owner’s mind. The more “important” issues of what product to sell, how am I going to advertise, how much money is it going to cost me, and how much money can I make are the first questions we consider when going into business.
The task of recordkeeping is usually procrastinated until the very last minute, when it is required. It is time to file your tax return, or time to go to the bank to get a loan for the business and the banker wants to see some financial records for the business. This can be a very daunting and cumbersome task if you have to dig through receipts and expenses for the whole year! No wonder we hate keeping records. That’s no fun!
Well, guess what? If you aren’t keeping good, timely, and up-to-date records monthly, you don’t need to be in business. That’s right. I said it. Here are the top five reasons why I truly believe this statement.
As a business owner, you need to realize the importance of a good recordkeeping system. This should also be a task that the business owner performs for at least three to six months before delegating the job to someone else. You will be able to run your business more effectively, determine possible cycles in the business year, and know where your money is going. Your business will be much more successful if you keep a simple recordkeeping system.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Current Affairs, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accounting, business, CPA, deductions, expenses, financial statements, receipts, record keeping, recording, software
Every year millions of taxpayers overpay their income taxes because they failed to take a deduction they were legally allowed to claim. The biggest reasons for missed deductions are not knowing what deductions are available, and having a tax preparer who fails to properly determine eligibility. Here are some of the most overlooked deductions.
Monday, December 05, 2016 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Income Taxes | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: auto, charity, child care, deductions, depreciation, dividends, eligibility, employment, expenses, home, improvement, insurance, student loan, tax, taxpayers
If you go by the SBA (Small Business Association) definition of a small business being under 500 employees there are 28 million businesses in this category. However, if you look at businesses that just employ one person, a sole owner/employee combination, then you have a total of 22 million, leaving just 6 million businesses having more than one and less than five hundred employees.
With all these self-employed businesses it isn’t surprising that accounting mistakes are a big problem. The following are the most common errors that small businesses make with their accounting that can result in serious risk of not earning the profits you need to stay open past that critical first year.
To avoid any of these issues start working with an accountant. You can meet with him or her a few times and year and ensure you are on track for meeting your financial business goals and taking full advantage of tax incentives.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accountant, accounting, business, employee, expense records, financial, goals, investing, mistakes, owner, taxes
As a small business owner or an entrepreneur you should be talking to your accountant at least once or twice a year, and ideally more often, to make sure that you are taking full advantage of any tax deductions or opportunities that you may have.
The Small Business Advantage
Often small businesses have significant tax opportunities that are missed simply because the small business owner didn’t realize the deduction or tax credit was even possible.
Some of the most commonly missed money-saving ideas that accountants can help small businesses with include:
Talking to your accountant well before the end of the year is always a good strategy. You can learn about your options and then make the best choices to help to lower your taxable income while maximizing your ability to take advantage of services and purchases that you may need.
Monday, October 17, 2016 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accountant, accounting, advantage, business, checklist, deductions, donations, expenses, hiring, repairs, retirement, strategy, tax credit
What I didn’t understand when I started my CPA firm is that every business is a marketing business! A business without customers is called a hobby. This leads to the major problem that most new business owners discover: They may be good at what they do, but they must become experts at marketing and selling if they want to have a successful business.
I think Bill Glazer (the author of Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful) explained best when he said,
“I have a two thing business—Getting new customers and keeping them as long as possible.”
The question I usually get is, “How do I become a sales and marketing expert?” The following are the steps I have used over the last 20+ years to teach myself.
Remember, every business is a sales business first! That means that every business owner must become an expert marketing and sales professional in order to be successful.
Friday, October 07, 2016 in Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Sales & Marketing, Small Business Owners, Small Business Success Series, Social Media Marketing, Web/Tech, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: budget, business, marketing, mindset, owner, plan, sales
If you have a home business or a home office, it can be difficult to know just what you can claim as a business expense and what you can’t. There are some common expenses that self-employed people working from home often miss claiming because they aren’t aware of the option.
To maximize your home business deductions make sure you are claiming the following:
If you have any questions about what you can or cannot claim, contact your accountant before you make the purchase or the decision. You should also keep accurate records of all purchases of supplies and materials you need including printer supplies and software purchases for your business.
Tuesday, August 09, 2016 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Income Taxes, Personal financial planning, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: business, expenses, home
Forming a working relationship with your accountant, either as a business owner or as an individual who wants to take control of your financial future, is perhaps one of the most important partnerships you can build.
Unfortunately, a lot of people fail to do this and only spend a few minutes talking with their accountant at tax season. If this is the only time you talk to your accountant, here are just a few of the many important aspects of your finances you may be missing out on:
In addition, an accountant is a great person to consult when you are thinking about starting a business, growing an existing business or perhaps in buying a new home or making a large purchase. Having a professional to go to for specific information, and a big picture look at all options, is a great asset for anyone to consider.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 in Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Personal financial planning, Small Business Owners | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: accountant, partnership, relationship
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. It is distributed with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or financial services. If you require such advice, please seek the services of an attorney, CPA or a financial professional. We are only responsible for advice in written form that is a result of a fact finding meeting in regards to your particular situation.