All About Performance Evaluation

Each quarter or semester at school, they received grades indicating how well they met the teacher’s goals and standards to learn the material. These may have been happy times, with rates that genuinely reflect your performance, or may have been fraught with tension as to whether you would move into a class. In any case, these first experiences of being classified are not so different from the performance evaluation, an occurrence in the workplace where a manager or supervisor formally or informally judges their work performance over a period specified. In some cases, favorable performance reviews can be met with increases or promotions.

Generally, it is standard for a performance evaluation that is carried out on an annual basis. Some companies may have less formality more frequently. These monthly or quarterly reviews can be beneficial for employees who have problems in the work environment. It provides them with consistent information about the areas in which they need improvement. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

For employees who do not perform at their maximum capacity, the annual performance review may be too long to wait for change areas. Sometimes employers will perform performance tests on an “as needed” basis. Thus, an employee who is doing something that requires correction will get feedback beforehand, so adapt their skills to improve performance.

A review of the results can evaluate several aspects of your work, such as:

As employers prepare for performance evaluation, employees must qualify as well. If the revision is a year, it is good to think and make a list of concrete examples that show where your performance has reached or exceeded the company’s standards in the last year. It is also probably beneficial to recognize your mistakes to prepare for these if mentioned in a review. It is possible to think in ways if you have made mistakes that have improved since then since they can help you defend yourself against a very negative perception of performance. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

It can be challenging to receive negative performance criticism. Although you are tempted to react immediately to it, you should give yourself a cooling time before responding or offering any defense of your actions. It is too easy to be angry and sounds reasonable if you immediately begin to defend yourself. Instead, take a day or two to read about the review and do a little self-search to decide if any criticism is warranted.

If the criticisms still do not reflect their performance at work in a day or two, write a reasoned defense citing concrete examples of their performance. Keep the tone professional and not confrontational. Your argument is mainly through concrete examples of how specific criticisms were not true. In a large company, sometimes a person does not receive excessive negative criticism. It matters how to professionally declare your objections to unfair criticism if you hope to change an employer’s opinion of you. When complaints are justified, please do not take this in the way they are offered: a learning opportunity to improve work performance. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

  • In performance evaluation, an employee’s work during a given period is evaluated and presented to them.
  • Evaluations of good job performance can lead to a pay rise.
  • A review of an upcoming performance can cause feelings of anticipatory anxiety.
  • Evaluate your business performance or employee performance through two-way discussion and negotiation. It includes how your workers handle and manage all assigned tasks that are productive for the company. There is a discussion between employees and managers for confidence-building measures. 
  • Use worker’s self-appraisals for the evaluation of the company’s staff leads evaluation. For this, conduct a work review meetings in which there must be a relevant performance-related questions and answers session for workers. Make sure it must be a smooth discussion. 
  • Clear and constructive reviews are an integral part of performance evaluation. It would be best to have 360-degree reviews of the company workers from their team leaders, bosses, and employers. Reporting staff must elaborate and spread them on employee performance to make it more efficient and better. 

Performance evaluation and its objectives 

  • It makes your promotions competent and able for performance. 
  • It helps to complete the probationary period for the related service of the employee. 
  • It helps in accessing the worker’s development requirements and training. 
Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

What is a Personal Brand and How is it Developed?

A personal brand or Personal Branding is the concept that develops people as would be done with a trademark. It began with a technique to facilitate the job search, but nowadays, it is almost essential for any entrepreneur.

A personal brand requires a strategy that seeks an advantage or quality that separates you from the rest. This is accompanied by a concept of the individual: style, appearance, online presence, etc. Personal brands, as well as trademarks, have:

  • A defined communication tones
  • Objectives to be achieved
  • A portfolio of products and services
  • Differential values that allow you to stand out from your competition

Why should I develop my brand?

Due to the generous offer in the market, we must use all the tools that we can count on to boost our business or company. The personal brand is just that, a tool that will help us position ourselves as opinion leaders on a particular topic. Being the representatives of our company, we will be another attribute for it. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

What qualities should I have?

An entrepreneur looking to create his brand must have the following qualities:

  • Patience: the process of creating a personal brand takes time and is continuous.
  • Planning: it must be very organized and constant.
  • Responsibility:  there will be deadlines, projects, and tasks to fulfill.
  • Perseverance:  a brand is not built overnight, and if you make a mistake, you must know how to take a step back to continue on another path.
  • Passion: a person passionate about what he does can easily share it with others.

Steps to follow:

If you are interested in developing your brand, this is an idea of ​​the steps you should take to ensure success. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Define your goals and expectations

Choose a name: will you use your full name, or would you prefer to choose a nickname or just your first name? Choose several keywords that define you as a brand, and remember to guide your actions under them.

Define the message to be transmitted: maybe you are a finance expert or know all the details about creating an advertising campaign. Choose a topic you know that is not yet thoroughly discussed in the market and about which you have something to say.

Choose the tone with which you will communicate with others: you can be yourself and use a conversational tone, or perhaps the theme requires more formality.

Select your media: maybe you start with your social networks, create a blog, or a microsite within your business website. Whichever channel you choose, you must be consistent in developing content for them.

Create a calendar: it establishes the dates on which you will perform specific actions such as writing an entry, scheduling your messages on social networks, giving an online conference, participating in a work table, etc. Define detailed steps: this can range from writing a book to organizing an event. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

What will be the result?

If you remain constant in developing your brand, you will gradually become a place in the niche of professionals in your field. It will bring benefits for your business because by establishing yourself as an opinion leader, you can talk about the products and services of your company, knowing that whoever reads or listens to you will take your opinion as valuable and essential. It will also bring new personal and job-level development opportunities and allow you to grow your business.

Top considerations while developing your brand

  • Figure out everything about you for building your branding identity in the market.
  • Identify the reason behind your popularity in the market. If you want to understand your current competencies, assess your strengths and skills as they relate to whichever industry or career you wish to break into next.
  • Describe everything about your audience, such as how much you would want to target them. In which category is your audience falling, and what are their needs? Only definite research can help you in getting answers to all of them. You will need to add your brand’s story that wishes to tell them. There are many platforms online by which you can quickly get access to your targeted audience, primarily social media platforms. Around 92% of people use social media channels for recruitment purposes.
Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Everything to Know About Mortgage Loan

The mortgage loan is the most common type of loan when buying a home. It is a loan granted by a financial entity that is guaranteed by the house itself to be acquired. Usually, the loan does not cover the entire property price but about 80% of its appraisal value.

When we need more money than the percentage that the bank is willing to offer us, we can call on guarantors of the operation, a person who intervenes as a guarantee in a loan and who assumes the payment responsibilities in case the borrower does not face the debt or your interests. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Maximum amount

It is the maximum amount that a financial entity provides based on different parameters. The value of the home would determine the first of these. An independent appraisal company must carry out the valuation.

Financial institutions consider that monthly installment should not exceed 35% of monthly net income unless other guarantees are used.

Loan Term

The period agreed to return the capital and interest can usually reach up to 30 years. Still, the usual is between fifteen and twenty, to prevent the payment of interest is excessive. Therefore, it is convenient to adjust the loan term as much as possible, avoiding unnecessary extension.

A short term implies higher fees, and a more extended period makes the loan charges more affordable. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Amortization

It is the payment of outstanding capital. The repayment of money is usually more significant as the life of the loan progresses.

We can make an outstanding repayment when we want to reduce the debt because we have specific capital. The money contributed outside the regular installments is a partial amortization of capital. If we paid all the debt at once, we would be talking about a total early repayment.

Share

It is the amount that promises to pay periodically who signs a mortgage loan to the financial institution that has granted it. It includes the initial capital plus interest and does not necessarily have to be monthly; there are also quarterly, semiannual, or annual.

Lack

The period in which the capital amortization part is not paid and only interest is paid.

Interests

The price for the capital that we have been lent and pay in our installment is calculated based on the outstanding money and the interest rate. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Commissions

Financial institutions usually charge some commissions on their mortgages. For granting the loan, the Law regulates that all expenses related to the study of the loan must be included in a single initial commission called the ‘opening commission.’

APR

The Annual Equivalent Rate is the actual annual cost of the loan. The interest rate, possible revisions, and the fees that apply are taken into account to calculate it.

Types of mortgage loans

When you decide to sell your house, the price is an essential element to consider. These are some references so you can assess your property.

The cadastral value. For the city council to charge you annually the tax on real estate, it has had to calculate your home’s cadastral value. For this, it has been based on the meters, the location, and the plant. Although this is lower than the market price, it can serve as a reference.

The bank’s appraisal if you applied for a mortgage. Although it is higher than the cadastral value, it is also lower than the market since banks tend to price downwards.

You can turn to real estate agencies. After giving you a price, you can work with them exclusively or not. You have to know that if you decide to work with them, the price will increase from 3% to 5%.

You can also orient yourself through a home in your area and with similar characteristics, which has been sold recently. The price will give you a fundamental orientation of how the market is.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Tips to Efficiently Manage Your Payroll

Payroll management can be challenging, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises when the cash flow isn’t settled. The payments to be received are usually earlier than the payments due.

Being in a professional organization means that some fixed regulations must be followed, but that is not always the case. As the workers are the stakeholders of the business, then it means that they are a part of the organization and know its situation too.

One of the challenges small and medium-sized businesses face is payroll management. Since SMEs usually function with monthly budgets and tight plans, a slight delay in a payment or a setback of any sort could severely impact the cash flow and, eventually, the payroll.

When setting up a salary, there are always wiggle rooms to negotiate from. A business needs some payroll wiggle room to manage its financial position more appropriately when facing any crisis and ensure they are not on a tight budget. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Payroll is a list created by the company that enlists the organization’s workers’ information and calculates their monthly or daily pay. Businesses find strategies to manage their expenses accordingly and find solutions for the issues caused. One of the solutions could potentially be finding wiggle rooms in their payrolls. To manage their payrolls thoughtfully, they should avoid some common mistakes.

  • Making mistakes and errors. This common mistake leads to a delay in payments, resulting in the owner making all of the payments of their expenses simultaneously. This will lead to no planning and no wiggle room to save extra money.
  • Untrained staff creating the payrolls. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers The firm should either get payroll software or train their staff to create a payroll, as the chances of overstatement and understatement are very high.
  • Saving up extra money. Instead of saving up so much money, the business should hire a team that provides you with the services of creating payrolls.

To find wiggle room in your payroll, you should try these strategies:

  • Create the payroll as soon as possible. This will motivate the employees, and their productivity might increase. You could take advantage of their excellent behaviors and suggest wiggle rooms by explaining the business situation and how extra funds will benefit them in the long run as the business will be more successful and get higher wages.
  • Try paying the wages through Check: Most companies use direct debit to pay their employees. However, going old school could be beneficial at this point as this could result in late withdrawal and will by the depositor some time, hence creating a wiggle room. This will only be applied if the withdrawals are not performed online or through ATMs. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers
  • Exceed payments of other expenses. Most of the additional expenses have room for delayed payments, such as trade payables. You should avoid late payments to the workers at all costs, as this will ruin the relationship between the employee and the employer. You can also find ways to cut down your unwanted expenses to obtain extra funds in the business for any potential emergencies.

If you have senior employees who have been in your business for a long time, then creating a wiggle room with them might not be as difficult. The best way for a business to create wiggle rooms is by communicating.

This is not the only way a wiggle room can be created; you can also find ways through which the money in your bank account, which is supposed to be paid, stays longer in the business. A business should try to look for other ways to save their costs, like cutting down their expenses to have extra credit.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

5 Steps to Planning Your Dream Career

When you were a child, you may have dreamed of what you wanted to be when you grew up. While some do grow up to obtain their dream career, most end up in jobs they didn’t expect to have. However, if you decide you want to pursue a career, it will take planning and decision-making.

Beginning a career can start in high school when you are looking to get your first job. It can also begin to take shape after you attend college. Some others may not search out their career until they are older and have some worldly experience under their belt.

No matter your age or circumstances, you have to start planning once you decide to have a career. Planning takes discipline, dedication, and a desire to make moves to what you do for a living. Here are five steps to planning your career moves. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Identify your Passion

Identifying your passion should be the first step in career planning. Anyone can get a job to pay the bills, most working adults have done that, and many have gotten stuck there. However, to plan a career, you must search for what you want to contribute to the world through your chosen career. Skills can be learned, but passion is something that gets embedded in your DNA.

Prioritize Interests and Skills

The next step in choosing and planning your career is to prioritize interests and skills. Making a list of interests may seem like a waste of time, but it is one of the keys to your career choices. Prioritizing your skills helps identify what training or education you need. Even if you have attended college, you may find there is a need for other training opportunities. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Assess Your Current Job

As mentioned before, many working people are in jobs they took to make ends meet. Others may be in their chosen career but want to take it further. It is essential to take an inventory of what you are currently doing to earn a living.

Make a list of pros and cons and ask yourself if you love what you do. If you are starting a new career or furthering your current one, assessing what you are doing for a living is vital to the career planning process.

Research

Research is the most critical step in choosing and planning for your career. When we daydream about our perfect job and how it will be, those lofty scenarios often don’t include many realities. Learn everything you can about what the career you’re considering entails.

There could be aspects of the career that are not for you. It is better to know this before investing time and education in a career you won’t stick with or are miserable in once you obtain it. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Education

While you don’t necessarily need to further your education to obtain the career you would like, it should be considered when planning your career. Whether you need to attend college and get a degree or attend a trade school, you should consider if higher education is needed and how you will finance it.

You may also get training through your workplace if your career aspirations are within the place you currently work. Many businesses will provide or pay for your education if you obtain your degree or certifications related to the business. These companies consider it an investment.

Conclusion

Planning your career is a necessary process. Your job often spends most of your waking hours, so if you love what you do because of careful planning, that time will be well spent.

Identifying your passion, prioritizing your interests and skills, assessing your current job, and researching the career or careers you are considering are part of the planning process. Make planning for your career a priority using these steps, and you will never work another day in your life because you will love what you do.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

The Biggest Bookkeeping Challenges for Small Businesses

Bookkeeping is crucial to the smooth running of business operations. Most business experts recommend hiring professional bookkeeping experts in-house or outsourcing the company’s bookkeeping to ensure that the business is always audit-ready and the financials are kept under check.

Bookkeeping also helps businesses stay on the track set by budget and identify weaknesses, allowing business owners to rectify them before it is too late. Additionally, bookkeeping is also essential if the business model includes stockholders or investors who might want periodical reports on the company’s finances. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Regular bookkeeping helps secure the company’s financial future and aids in bringing more investors on board. In addition, bookkeeping and accounting also help with making realistic projections and studying business trends factually.

Given all the benefits and crucial aid the regular bookkeeping offers, many SME owners still ignore the significance of bookkeeping and end up making mistakes that can cost them the business itself.

Here we have listed some of the top bookkeeping challenges that small business owners face and overcome these challenges.

Not having an Efficient Bookkeeper/Accountant: While accounting and bookkeeping differ significantly and each has expertise with bookkeepers, chiefly data recorders and accountants being data analysis experts & business projection specialists, small and medium-sized enterprises can do so well with either. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

While bookkeepers can be anybody with a high school or graduate degree but a computer-learned mindset, an accountant needs to have a degree in finance at least. Depending on the size of the business and the requirements, it is essential to have an efficient bookkeeper or accountant in your business to maintain a timely track record of all your finances, keeping your business audit and tax filing ready at all times.

Inappropriate Software: There is countless bookkeeping software available in the market, both free and paid. While it is best to invest in a good paid accounting tool, you can find many free versions. However, they are not as efficient.

One of the biggest challenges faced by small and medium-sized business owners is deciding whether to invest in good accounting software or not. While good software may not cost you a fortune, but not investing in it might literally.

Consult with an expert, most preferably your bookkeeper, and buy a tool that syncs well with inventory management systems, ERPs, and WMS and is equally efficient for invoice generation, sales tracking, and budget planning as well as financial statement generation. This will make the bookkeeping job much more accessible and reduce the risk of errors in data entry.

Not Recording Finances Regularly: It is essential to record financial transactions promptly. Piling up financial bookkeeping can not only cause errors but also impact the regular functions of your organization. You must emphasize recording financial data every day and tally it with all other synced systems to identify any error beforehand. Otherwise, you will face a lot of difficulty at the time of taxes. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Separating Personal & Business Finances: At the start of the business, many business owners make the mistake of keeping personal and business finances merged by operating from a single bank account. This can be critical and lead to the decline of business.

Experts suggest that keeping business and personal accounts separate is the key to the success of any business. Doing this will improve your financial management, streamline your tax filing, and make it easier to withhold business outlays. When you keep your business and personal banking discrete, you’ll be in a better situation to manage your finances and file your taxes.

It is not only crucial for a professional image of the company but also helps you follow the budget immaculately.

Sticking to the Budget: You might feel excited about a particular campaign or product and might feel like spending an extra amount from your budget on this particular project which excites you. Prioritize beginning a project after carefully considering your budget?

Starting up a project without contemplating the cost will make you remorse as you’ll be spending far more than you intended to do. Without a proper budget from the initial level of the project, you can be in a trivial situation by spending limited funds on a single project that might not reciprocate the amount of investment.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

5 Reasons a Financial Planner is Important

A financial planner is a professional individual who helps manage finances and solves credit crunches on your behalf. They interpret financial information for the decision-makers in the business and ensure its financial health.

When it comes to investment projections, budgeting, and permanent monetary benefits, crafting stable strategies becomes necessary, especially if you’re an entrepreneur who has just started. You might be having limited knowledge about financial matters, but your financial planner is a skilled individual that handles money-related matters. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

A financial planner processes financial matters for you and helps you achieve the business’s objectives faster. However, a financial therapist combines finance with emotional support to help entrepreneurs cope with financial stress. These advisors often provide therapy to their clients to help them make logical decisions and deal with any financial issues.

There are numerous reasons why a business owner would seek out financial therapy, but the management of financial affairs is more important. Undoubtedly, a financial planner is responsible for multi-tasking, including collecting data, recording, analyzing, and the company’s financial operations.

According to a survey, money is the leading cause of stress among business owners, and it has been recognized that successful companies often compromise due to financial pressure. However, a financial planner can be considered as “one-army-man.” Recent research by APA concludes that 39% out of 5,000 individuals from the accounting field find it highly challenging to tackle money-related matters.

Over the years, the task of financial therapists has been included in the duties of financial planners. Specifically, financial planners have replaced the therapists due to the following reasons. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

  1. Financial data management:

The accounting structure of a business is a significant component for multiple operations. One of the primary roles of a financial planner includes collecting and maintaining the financial data of the under lawful and accepted processes on the corporate level. The financial data of every business must be kept in a new system because it is a keystone for business management.

  1. Advice and analysis:

As analysts, financial planners might perform specific types of analysis utilizing financial data for assistance in decision making. From selecting the vendors, amount of payroll taxes, the planners handle various intricate details regularly. Moreover, advising on business operations includes revenue, expenditures, and profitability expectations. These individuals also analyze financial info to resolve irregularities that might arise.

  1. Financial statement preparation:

Financial planners prepare financial reports that are based on monthly and annual revenue while excluding all expenditures. The financial documents include accurate quarterly and annual closing documents. Later, these financial reports might be utilized by the company director and financial management. Besides this, the planners also provide valuable suggestions for improving business health. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers Ultimately, the business owner doesn’t have to appoint a financial therapist separately. 

  1. Strengthen and control financial matters wisely:

Regardless of the cause, the consequences are often emotional and depressed. In any financial crisis, regaining strength and composure is mandatory for the reduction of financial issues. However, with the expertise of a financial planner, you can effortlessly recognize the significant difference in the quality of suggestions. Additionally, you can assign him to practical implement his suggestions.

  1. Regulatory and Punctuality:

A financial planner is responsible for ensuring that every deadline for financial reporting is done regularly. For instance, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports have particular deadlines and some tax implications. Supporting and monitoring taxation issues are another significant responsibility of a financial planner. Usually, he carries out the audit procedure by utilizing financial data preparation.

 Just like psychologist keenly listens to their patients and understand them before proceeding the therapeutic session. An accounting counselor does the same for a business. For every company, financial crises cause a great deal of emotional turmoil.

In such circumstances, financial advisors provide worthy ideas to their clients for sound management of the finances. However, in present times, financial planners have overhauled the responsibilities of therapists or advisors. When businesses are getting an advisor and a financial planner, why would they appoint them separately? 

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

6 Reasons Every Company Should Use the Cloud-Based Storage

Technology and its advancements have been growing over the last few decades when it comes to digitizing. Companies are now finding they will need to embrace the digital age and implement technological advancements to grow and thrive. Cloud technology is one such advancement that every company will eventually need to consider to keep up with the rest of the world.

Most leaders would believe that delivering a big goal can be a harrowing experience in a realistic scenario. However, the leaders at Silicon Valley proposed a solution, i.e., adopting quick and flexible working methods. In other words, they want them to initiate quick implementations and simultaneously perform user testing in the process. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

They provided the example of Amazon’s “two-pizza” rule of thumb, which focuses on handling a small team structure for effective communication, delivering effective results. It also enables innovators to manage the scope, scale, and objectives of the projects. They explained that managers who spearhead these elements carefully tend to implement value-driven methods for delivering projects.

One of the profound technological implementations is the cloud-based systems which are the future of storage for different enterprises. Here are six reasons your company should use the cloud for storage.

Flexibility

Presently, businesses require mobility and flexibility to run their operations. Cloud-based systems assist them in achieving flexibility and catering to the fluctuating demands of bandwidth. Moreover, cloud systems are extensively agile; hence, you can get an edge over your rival companies with a good strategy. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Reduced Costs

Believe it or not, large data centers are expensive, especially for small-sized businesses. Moreover, it also needs the right equipment and technicians to manage them. However, cloud systems only enable you to pay the cost of services and let the service providers do their thing. You have the leniency to select a package that can fulfill your needs as per your budget.

Compliance

If you own a business that offers financial or healthcare services, data compliance is mandatory for your business operations. Cloud-based tools and services already provide the necessary compliance, which lessens the burden on IT teams extensively.

Collaboration

Collaboration is vital if you want your business to succeed in the contemporary era. Cloud systems have the tools and services that help business owners connect their employees’ operations and improve productivity.

In this age of cybercrimes, there are federal laws that IT systems must comply with before acquiring essential data from their consumers. Thus, before adopting modernized cloud systems for your organization, you must ensure that your compliance strategy can adapt to the new system. It’s best advised that you consult legal experts to tackle all the necessary regulatory steps.   Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Disaster Management

The biggest hurdle that business owners face when transitioning to the cloud is devising a practical solution during disasters. However, the continuous availability of resources is one of the primary drivers of implementing cloud-based platforms.

There are several aspects that you need to consider, such as flow symmetry and load balancing. On top of that, if you are dealing with legacy applications, you need to manage performance, availability, and protection significantly.

Bandwidth

As discussed extensively, present IT systems should be adept enough to understand and manipulate dataflows extensively. For a business owner like yourself, you must fulfill the bandwidth requirements so that your security solutions can meet performance standards. You must also remember that latency-sensitive services and new immersive applications require VPN tunnels to pass through them.

Conclusion

Every company should consider implementing cloud-based storage specifically for these six reasons. Flexibility, cost reduction, collaboration, compliance, disaster management, and bandwidth saving are all excellent reasons your company should consider using the cloud for storage.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Using Household Budgeting Software Vs. Using Management Accounting Software for Business

Having a budget allows a company to measure the financial performance against expenses and ensures that the resources are available to supports the business’s growth and development. Budgeting lays the foundation for a company’s success, and it helps in both creating and controlling the finances.

Fortunately, there are two methods available that work exceptionally well for creating a business’s budget. Many business owners get so wrapped up in business operations that they forget about creating a budget.

While it should be a part of the original business plan, it can be created later if one does not exist. When creating a budget, it is suggested that you use accounting or budgeting software. Here are two types of software that businesses can use to create a budget. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Household budgeting software:

The most significant misconceptions of household budgeting include spending less, compromising on our desires, and getting financial restrictions on our lifestyle, which means the absence of hangouts and vacations. Budgeting might be associated with a frugal lifestyle, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Although entrepreneurs might have different opinions about household budgeting, indeed, they can save a valuable amount of money if budgeting on monthly paychecks is done appropriately. Household must reconsider their priorities and adjust the resources accordingly to get a financially secured future.

Maintaining a household budget to limit extraneous expenses requires a lot of commitment and dedication. It is your wisdom and determination that motivates you to save for more challenging times. Here are the steps to create an effortless household budget. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Determine your revenue:

The primary step towards planning a budget is to calculate your monthly income. Examine your monthly expenses and see how much you can save for extracurricular activities.

Subtract your expenses:

Once you’re done calculating the monthly income, you should deduct your expenses from the total income. The expenses are mandatory and can’t be altered on short notice. This might include utility bills, insurance premiums, and car installments.

Make savings:

After you’ve deducted the expenses, you must set target saving goals out of the remaining income. The saved money can be utilized in achieving long-term financial objectives.

Managing debt:

Debt plays a significant role in budget allocation. If you’re not clearing the debts timely, you might end up with higher interest rates. Consider making the debts and bank loans a part of your expenses, or else you’ll be facing severe consequences.

Accounting software management:

Businesses often utilize accounting software as it helps them track accounts receivables, accounts payables, have an explicit acknowledgment of their profitability, and prepare them for the tax season.

In the world of online accounting software, an entrepreneur can apply newfangled software without requiring customizations. As a business grows, its accounting mechanism gets more complicated, and software becomes mandatory. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

There is numerous accounting software available for every scale of business with different abilities and price tags. Usually, the type of industry and workforce are the two major factors that assist a business owner in selecting appropriate accounting software. Some of the most productive accounting software includes,

QuickBooks:

QuickBooks is the best comprehensive accounting software for every business. The professional accountants utilize it, and several online training resources opt for to get support.

Xero App:

Xoro app is considered the most appropriate tool for micro-businesses who are in search of simple accounting software. This software has a straightforward interface and also entirely involves a third-party payroll service.

FreshBooks:

The most critical accounting required for the majority of service-based companies is invoicing. FreshBooks serves more customizations for invoicing compared to the other tools. Its primary function includes sending, receiving, and paying invoices. However, it also fulfills other bookkeeping requirements.

Household budgeting vs. accounting software:

Indeed, household budgeting and accounting are entirely different terms, and both offer the accurate obligations of their perspective domains. Accounting software helps entrepreneurs diminish costly errors, minimize the tax bills, and repay their debts.

On the contrary, household budgeting assists families in cutting down their costs save money, manage their paychecks, and assign their preciously earned money wisely.

Check out America's Best Bookkeepers About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity. Check out America's Best Bookkeepers

Low Gearing for SME’s

Gearing is a term widely used in finance. But it can perplex small business owners unfamiliar with it. In finance, gearing refers to the degree to which a company is financed by debt or equity. A highly geared-company has a high proportion of debt relative to equity. At the same time, a lowly geared company has more equity than debt. The gearing ratio is calculated by dividing the company’s debt by equity.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) can benefit from a low gearing ratio. This means they have more equity than debt. A low gearing ratio offers several advantages, including lower financial risk, greater flexibility, and increased control. By financing their operations with more equity than debt, SMEs can reduce their financial risk and avoid the high-interest payments associated with debt financing. Additionally, SMEs with low gearing ratios have more flexibility in their operations. They are not burdened by the strict covenants and obligations that often come with debt financing.

Moreover, statistical evidence supports the argument that low gearing is the best option for SMEs. According to a survey conducted by the National Small Business Association in 2019, only 25% of small businesses used debt financing. At the same time, 75% relied on personal funds, friends and family, or equity financing. The same survey found that 67% of small businesses reported being debt-free, suggesting they prefer to keep their debt levels low.

In conclusion, a low gearing ratio is favorable for SMEs as it reduces financial risk, provides greater flexibility, and offers increased control. Furthermore, the statistical evidence supports the notion that small businesses prefer to keep their debt levels low, further reinforcing the importance of maintaining a low gearing ratio.

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What is Gearing?

As a small business owner, you may be exploring options to raise capital for your business, like taking out a loan or issuing bonds. While these can provide the necessary funds to grow and expand your business, they can also increase your company’s gearing ratio. This ratio measures the level of debt to equity. It can be an important indicator of financial stability. 

Taking on more debt can be risky if your business is already highly geared. It may impact your ability to obtain future financing. It can cause financial strain. Therefore, it’s essential for SMEs to carefully consider the impact of gearing on their business before making any significant financial decisions. This can involve evaluating current debt levels, assessing the potential impact of new debt, and exploring other funding options to maintain a healthy financial position.

Why is Low Gearing Best?

Now, let’s explore why low gearing is the best option for SMEs. When a company has low gearing, it has more equity than debt. It can provide several benefits, including:

  1. Reduced financial risk: More equity than debt makes a company less likely to default on loans or bonds. This can reduce the financial risk associated with borrowing money.
  2. Improved creditworthiness: Lenders and investors view lowly geared companies as less risky and more creditworthy. It can make it easier for SMEs to obtain financing in the future.
  3. Increased flexibility: Lowly-geared companies have more financial flexibility than highly-geared companies. They can better weather economic downturns and adjust their financing strategies more easily as needed.Complete Controller. America’s Bookkeeping Experts

The Statistics

Having grasped the advantages of low gearing for SMEs, let’s delve into supporting statistics. Research by Sageworks reveals that companies with low gearing typically exhibit greater profitability and are less prone to closure.

The study found that the most profitable companies had less than 30% gearing ratios. The companies with the lowest gearing ratios also had the highest survival rates. This suggests that low gearing can increase SMEs’ profitability and sustainability.

A National Bureau of Economic Research study found high-gearing firms invest less in R&D and capital. This limits innovation and long-term growth. Conversely, low-gearing companies invest more, enhancing competitiveness and growth.

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Summary

In conclusion, gearing is essential for small business owners to understand. While taking on debt to fund growth and expansion may be tempting, low gearing is the best option for SMEs. It can reduce financial risk, improve creditworthiness, and increase flexibility. Furthermore, statistics show that low-gearing companies tend to be more profitable, sustainable, and innovative. By prioritizing low gearing, SMEs can set themselves up for long-term success.

Download A Free Financial ToolkitAbout Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.Cubicle to Cloud virtual business