Erin Standefer, Accounting Consultant

Accounting — Your Management Controls

webadmin — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Your Own Accounting System

webadmin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:13:03 +0000

You want an accounting system that gives you peace of mind and more profits with less work. We’re guessing that you also want to reduce taxes, improve cash flow, and manage your business more profitably.

That’s what we do best! Work with us and choose which of the following systems you would prefer:

1. Receive training to use a system exclusively designed for your business, OR
2. Have us completely manage the custom-designed system at an affordable cost

What Can We Do for Your Business

Wholesale / Retail / Service
Have complete control systems for Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Inventory.

TV / Automotive / Furniture
Properly account for Contracts in Transit, Bank Reserve Accounts, and Flooring of products for resale (inventory financing). Maintain control of income and expenses.

Manufacturing
Control Raw Materials, Direct Labor, Work in Progress, and Finished Goods. Keep expenses categorized into Manufacturing and General Overhead areas.

Construction
Easily track profits or losses on each job in progress. Control cash flow based on percentages of completion. Minimize losses from under-billings created through change orders.

Professional
Control expenses and income for year-end savings. Take advantage of conversion from cash-to-accrual accounting. Manage Accounts Receivable and improve Collections.

Food / Cafe / Beauty
Utilize a combination of Cash and Accrual statements. Have a low-cost, low-maintenance accounting system.

Enjoy an accounting system designed specifically for your business that shows where you stand at all times. Simplify the books that maintain it all:

Cash Receipts
Deposits
Charge Accounts
Credit Purchases
Cash Purchases
Bank Reconciliation
Depreciation
Adjusting Entries
Inventory Control
Reconciliations
Income Statements
Balance Sheets
Individual Accounts Receivable Records
Individual Accounts Payable Records
Payroll Journal
Individual Payroll Records
Property, Plant and Equipment Records

Incredible Benefits You Will Enjoy

Your accounting system will be tailored to your business. You can do it, I can do it, or we can do it together.

Your bookkeeping/accounting costs will be substantially reduced.

Your personnel will be free to produce more profits for you.

We can help you acquire funding for your business through financing, investors, and other means.

You will receive properly-designed financial statements that will allow you to manage your business efficiently and help you to better plan for the future.

Choose from hand-posted or computerized programs specifically tailored to meet your accounting needs.

Streamline the accounting task, and free up your valuable time. [Consider this: the average small business owner spends over 10 hours personally, each month, accounting for the business. If your average billing rate is $50 per hour, you may be spending more than $500 per month of your time.]

How Would You Describe Your Business?

Steady and stable
Growing fast
Hanging in there
Brand new

If your business is steady and stable, or growing fast, then congratulations! But IT IS POSSIBLE for your business to improve, and generate more profits!

If you’re just hanging in there, you can turn things around . . . FAST!

If your business is brand new, don’t make the expensive mistakes that can be the difference between success and failure!

No matter which of these groups describes your business, you can benefit from these small business services that can save you both time and money!

Why Outsource Your Accounting

webadmin — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:50:05 +0000

Accounting is a core business function. Without accounting, a business is sure to fail. With accounting, a business might survive. With accounting managed by a Profit Center Expert, a business is certain to succeed.

You’re probably already familiar with the bleak forecast for new small businesses. While failure rates have decreased considerably in the last few years, recent studies from the Small Business Administration (SBA) indicate that one third of new employer establishments fail within the first two years, and 56% fail within four years.

Poor financial management is often cited as the reason for most small business failures. Often the business owner or a member of the business team manages this crucial function because they want to maintain complete control of their business, they’re afraid that outsourcing the accounting would be too expensive, or a combination of the two. What they don’t realize is that outsourcing is a useful management tool that can save a business both time and money while preventing potential failure. And when you outsource to the right accountant, it can be the difference between base survival and profitable success.

The Benefits

There are countless benefits you enjoy when outsourcing your accounting. Here are just a few:

Save Yourself Time. You’re in business because you’re good at what you do. Your expertise involves the product and/or service you offer. And we’re guessing your expertise is not accounting. So if you, or anyone on your team, spend time managing your business’s finances, that’s time that could be better spent building your business.

In order to be competitive you must constantly be looking for ways to improve and expand your products and/or services, better market your business, and stay ahead of your competition. When you and your team focus time and attention on the accounting, that’s time not spent on these crucial tasks. When you outsource the accounting to a trusted professional, you can use that time to make your business the best it can be.

Save Yourself Money. We all know time is money. The average small business owner spends over 10 hours personally, each month, accounting for the business. If your average billing rate is $50 per hour, you may be spending more than five hundred dollars’ worth of your time! Chances are you can pay for a good accountant and then some with all that money.

Gain Access to Valuable Accounting Expertise, Equipment, and Technology. Reputable accountants have the expertise to not only save you money, but to make your business more profitable. In addition to that, they have access to equipment and technology that most small businesses can’t afford. They will use their resources to your advantage, and save you the time and headache of doing it yourself.

Gain Access to Profit-Building Information. A truly valuable accountant is also a Profit Center Expert. They analyze financial data in order to assist you in making profitable decisions for your business. A Profit Center Expert can inform you which products and/or services to expand, which to eliminate, whether your marketing attempts are successful, where you’re loosing money, and where to cut back in order to save and redirect funds in order to become more profitable.

Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation. We can customize a package of services that is competitively priced and designed to save you time, energy, and headache. We offer the following services:

Accounts Payable

Input vendor invoices to payable system

Classify invoices to the proper G/L account

Request and maintain vendor W-9 information

Maintain vendor master files

Respond to vendor inquiries about payment status

Retrieve copies of payments as necessary

Prepare and file required 1099 forms

Process requests for stop payments when necessary

Cut checks to vendors based on due dates or client instruction

Reconcile vendor statements to accounts payable ledger

Reporting to organization on detailed aged payables and cash requirements

Year end 1099 forms

Accounts Receivable

Billings prepared as needed by TAD and mailed out (all billings provided to Client for approval prior to mailing)

Record and account for revenue

Input receivable transactions into the accounting system

Prepare and deliver periodic statements

Issue client-approved credit memos and refund checks

Maintain subsidiary receivables ledger

Process client-approved adjustments

Apply cash received to customer accounts and resolve “short pays”

Light phone collections as needed by client

Client to photocopy checks and provide to TAD

Client to prepare deposit slips (provide to TAD) and make bank deposits

Cash management

Process daily sales and deposit reports

Verify daily deposits and report variances

Reconcile and verify credit card deposits

Reconcile monthly bank statements

Journal entry and general ledger

Account reconciliations

Payroll

Time cards, after approval, will be scanned and uploaded to TAD prior to payday

TAD completes payroll and client prints, signs and distributes paychecks

Prepare employee earnings statements complete with current pay period and year-to-date wages, taxes, and adjustments

Prepare department summaries of month-to-date payroll data in addition to customized reports specific to Client

Prepares timely and accurate notifications of tax liabilities and deposits

Completes Year end W-2 forms

Respond to requests for employee verifications

Process and submit garnishment payments

Respond to employee payroll inquiries

Prepare and file new hire reporting to state

Prepare, file, and pay all Federal, State, and local payroll taxes

Reconcile health insurance payments and make payroll deductions when required

Prepare necessary HR reports such as turnover

Allocate payroll expenses for multi-store employees

Prepare and process payroll accruals when necessary

Monthly Closing

Fixed assets accounting & depreciation

Monthly financial analysis and reports

Yearly Business Assessments

Don’t wait another day to partner with a Profit Center Expert (PCE) and make your business more successful. Do what you love to do more; let your PCE take care of the rest. Call now for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Profit and Growth Expert

webadmin — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:24:54 +0000

We trust that if you were forming a foursome for an upcoming golf tournament, you would want to have a golf expert like Tiger Woods on your team.

Although we may not be the golfer Tiger Woods is, we do take our job to be your Profit and Growth Expert just as seriously. Our goal has nothing to do with helping minimize the number of golf swings, but instead to maximize your profit dollars. This entails monthly analysis of your financial results, consultation in areas of profit improvement, and directions of how to take advantage of lower tax strategies.

Together, we will examine past experiences, map out where you want to go with your business, and discuss how that can happen. That’s our role as your Profit and Growth Expert.

Being In the Black

webadmin — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:18:27 +0000

Being in the black can mean a lot of different things. Most business owners, it stands for being profitable. When a business owner sets out on a new venture, establishing a profitable business is one, if not the only, primary driver. Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs get lost in the day-to-day chores of running the business, and forget their main purpose.

When we, as your accounting professional and Profit and Growth Expert, apply The Universal Business Model we see our primary role as helping you maximize the profitability of your business. With financial skills in hand, combined with access to a variety of analytical tools, each month we will focus our attention on your business’s financial position and progress.

Here’s just a short list of those things you will be able to do with our help as we use The Wisdom Pyramid to ensure that we improve your business’s financial position:

You will know how your business stacks up against the competition with the information we provide you in a professional business assessment.
You will understand the areas where your business is strong and where it can improve, and we will regularly provide you with suggestions on how to do it. Consider this a Day with your CFO.
You will be able to identify trends that expose the helps and hindrances to your business.
You will take advantage of tax benefits through regular reviews of your tax position.

By gathering the necessary information through the bookkeeping and accounting process, we will be able to analyze the data and help you make the changes required to improve the profitability of your business. Whether you require an audit or a review of your finances, we can help move your business forward.

Bookkeeping

webadmin — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:17:49 +0000

Too often business owners are so preoccupied with select parts of the accounting process that they don’t realize just how valuable all that financial information can be. Some business owners focus on preparing the yearly tax statement. Others may worry about that and their cash flow. And others still may just balance their check books. If you choose to have us do your accounting, we can do all that and more. And most importantly, we can help you become more profitable.

It really is quite simple. First you need a reputable accountant, what we like to call a Profit and Growth Expert, to determine your business goals. These goals may include, but are not limited to, growth expectations, marketing plans, profit margins, and overall labor expenses. We ask important questions, like what do you want? And why do you want it?

Here is a technical way of looking at bookkeeping:

Bookkeeping: The practice involved in the systematic recording of transactions affecting a company beginning with the data-entry process and ending with the preparation of financial statements. The art, practice, or labor involved in the systematic recording of the transactions affecting a business.
http://www.know-accounting.com/glossary/index.php?terml=b&termid=29

In layman’s terms, bookkeeping is the practice of determining which numbers are important to you and your business. Once that’s decided, we can set up a customized system that will organize the information you want and need. This is how we will come up with Your Accounting System.

Custom-Designed Small Business Accounting System

webadmin — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:17:38 +0000

In today’s competitive environment, information is power!

You’ll uncover a goldmine of profit-building information as you determine your financial standing, and when used properly, this information can help you better plan for the success of your business.

Call today for a free consultation. There is absolutely no obligation of any kind.

It will be well worth your time!

Do you have a customized accounting or bookkeeping system? Take This Quiz:

Can you answer these 10 questions about your business?

Were my total sales up or down last month? And where they designated by category?
What was my total gross profit last month? And was it designated by sales category?
What is my gross profit per item?
What were my expenses by category last month?
Who owes me money and how much?
Who’s behind in paying me and by how much?
How much inventory do I have: in total and by item?
To whom do I owe money and how much?
What was my profit last month?
How much do I OWN, and how much do I OWE?

Were my total sales up or down last month? And were they designated by sales category?
You need to know: If your sales are up, you’ll need extra cash to buy replacement inventory. If your sales are down, you’ll want to pull back on inventory purchases. Sales increases in a category can mean a new growth opportunity. Sales decreases need to be investigated to determine the reason for the loss.

Back to questions

What was my total gross profit last month? And was it designated by sales category?
You need to know: Gross profit shows the profit remaining from sales after subtracting the cost of the products or services you sold. Changes in gross profit show whether or not your pricing strategies are working. Cutting prices to increase sales can hurt you if it reduces your gross profit.

Back to questions

What is my gross profit per item?
You need to know: Pricing should be based on profit goals rather than simple conjecture. By raising the prices on some items and selling others near or below cost, you can change your inventory mix and increase gross profits. An increase of just 1% may add thousands of dollars to net profits. You can give sales incentives that will cause employees to sell the most profitable items instead of the easiest ones.

Back to questions

What were my expenses by category last month?
You need to know: Are payroll costs too high? What about other costs, such as insurance and utilities? In order to cut back on expenses, you must first know which costs are excessive. Also, recording your expenses each month ensures that you get the maximum tax deductions.

Back to questions

Who owes me money and how much?
You need to know: You can’t expect to get paid in full unless you tell customers exactly what they owe. An itemized, neatly printed, and up-to-date monthly statement tells customers that you expect to be paid on time and according to your payment terms.

Back to questions

Who’s behind in paying me and by how much?
You need to know: Customers who fall behind need to be contacted immediately and continuously so that it doesn’t become a habit. Also, before you approve a new order from a customer, you’ll want to know if that customer paid you on time for the last order.

Back to questions

How much inventory do I have: in total and by item?
You need to know: If you’re running low on an item, you can reorder in advance and never run out. Plus, you can avoid rush delivery charges. If you have too much of one item, or too much inventory in general, you can cut back on your inventory investment. Also, you can compare a physical count to the books and identify a shortage problem before it threatens to put you out of business.

Back to questions

To whom do I owe money and how much?
You need to know: Many vendors offer discounts for paying bills in less than 30 days, which can add up to big savings on an annual basis. Paying your bills on time will increase your chances of qualifying for business credit. Plus, you can plan for your cash requirements and reduce the need to borrow from a bank or your own funds.

Back to questions

What was my profit last month?
You need to know: A monthly profit figure gives you the financial bottom line, and lets you know where you’ve been and where you’re going. Plus, you can save thousands of dollars, on year-end tax return fees, and plan for taxes in advance.

Back to questions

How much do I OWN, and how much do I OWE?
You need to know: Keeping track of your current assets and liabilities allows you to plan for your cash needs, and helps you stay in compliance with loan agreements. Plus, you’ll be ready to respond to questions on demand from suppliers or potential customers.

Back to questions

Which of the following best describes Your Accounting System?

I do it myself
Your time is so much more valuable than that! You are the World’s #1 expert in running your business. While you are busy managing the books, your competitors are designing new products and services, preparing new advertising, collecting past-due accounts, and shopping for less expensive suppliers. These are essential to the growth of your business. Are you sure that your accounting system conforms to proper rules and procedures? Even more importantly, do you get all of the valuable information described here from your system?

I have an accountant
Does your accountant or bookkeeper provide you with all of the information described here? Does your accountant take the time to explain what the numbers mean, and how you can use them to manage your business more profitably? Do you feel you are getting the best possible value for the fees you are paying?

I don’t have a system
There isn’t a better time than right now to get started! Studies have shown that small businesses often fail because they don’t have a good accounting system in place. We will work with you to develop a system for your specific business that is so easy to use that you’ll be amazed. If you can drop a piece of paper into a file folder, you already have the necessary skills to use it! You can obtain all of the valuable information described here. Plus, you will understand what the numbers mean, and how you can use them to manage your business more profitably, and better control your future.