Common Elements of Supply Chain Management

Posted on August 29, 2021September 3, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

The department of supply chain management holds great importance within an organization. People often see much of it since it is at the backend of business and has lesser or no interaction with the market or consumers. But often, entrepreneurs consider this department as the backbone of an organization. Supply chain management refers to bringing in the raw materials to create products, finished goods to placing those finished on the shelf of a sale store. There are a few major and unique elements of supply chain management. Following is a brief discussion on all those SCM elements.

Planning

It is fundamental to plan the procedures and set them up since it is the essential stage. Checking the interest for the item or administration, checking the suitability, costing, benefit, and labor, and so forth. Are essential. Without a legitimate arrangement or system set up, it will be well-near outlandish for the business to accomplish assertive and long-haul benefits. In this way, you must give enough time to this stage. Simply after the conclusion of the plans and thought all things considered and cons, would one be able to continue further. Each business needs an arrangement or outline or a guide dependent on which the systems are made. Planning and accounts help recognize the interest and gracefully slants in the market, thus assisting with creating a practical supply chain management framework.

Integration

Planning is the most vital and fundamental part of doing something. Before someone begins with any task, you should plan first if succeeding is the only goal. Without planning, the chances of success are reduced significantly. But before starting to plan for something, especially within an organization, the first step that leaders take is integration. By integration, it is meant that everyone on board takes part in the cause. Everyone who is part of the project gets a say in it and communicates and shares their ideas. In this way, they collaborate on the task and add value to it. Instead of working separately, when people work in teams, the outcome improves, and the odds of success increase.

Operations

One of the strategies for keeping the supply chain management department of an organization strong throughout its tenure is to keep the daily routine operations of the organization up and running and in a proper flow. Especially for manufacturing organizations, operations serve as the foundation of the whole structure. Higher management level assigns supervisors and mid-level managers to check on the processes that they are going smoothly. One of the strategies in the present-day business is a lean manufacturing strategy where managers keep on evaluating the day-to-day operations and keep on checking where You can make improvements.

Purchasing

Purchasing sits at the heart of an organization’s supply chain management department since nothing can be created out of nothing. Managers must keep track of the raw material purchases that they are sufficient at the production satellite. Their sufficiency ensures that the manufacturing sector will keep on working and operating. A proactive approach is required in this regard, and managers responsible for checking this department must arrange raw materials in advance. Hence, the production never stops due to a lack of resources.

Distribution

The distribution process sits at the end of supply chain management, and it occurs when the product is ready to be released into the marketing. Many companies have their distribution channels, while some also outsource this department to external distributors. The final distribution stage is when a product lands on the retailer’s shelf, waiting for the customers to make a purchase.

There are two of the most significant parts of a business, namely supply and demand. For any business to be fruitful, requests and flexibility patterns should be concentrated while actualizing a viable execution arrangement. A suitable framework related to supply chain management is required not only for the timely production of merchandise; it is likewise a basic framework for guaranteeing those customer necessities are met successfully.

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Causes of a Recession

Posted on August 28, 2021September 3, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

Economic recession refers to an uncertain situation when people start losing their faith in the credibility of the financial market. It usually happens when few market players start using bogus monetary schemes to make some quick money. This way, people start losing their money and feel shy about making investments. The decline in confidence of the consumers adds up to the decrease in demand. That is where the money regulation within an economy comes to a halt, and the whole economic system begins to freeze.

The mechanism behind the economic recession

An economic system works like a well-oiled machine, and if even one of the factors stops working, the whole system crashes. The lack of money regulation saturates all the money in one place, and businesses start to go bankrupt due to a lack of sales. Consequently, GDPs go through a decline, and so does the global economy. This phenomenon is known as the economic recession. An economic slowdown occurs by the saturation in the growth of businesses. When they don’t keep up with the changing market trends and fall behind, that is where they start seeing a decline. That is the downfall of a business, which can lead to its failure. A country experiences an economic recession when multiple companies fail.

Here are a few causes of the economic recession discussed.

Piquing interest rates

High-interest rates in a monetary system are considered the primary cause of an economic recession. Due to high-interest rates, companies refrain from making investments in the money markets, and the money flow in an economy slows down. In many cases, certain financial institutions owned by the state are responsible for such abnormal fluctuations in the interest rates. They control the interest rates as per the requirement of evaluation or devaluation of the state currency. Such events might be helpful in some ways, but it mainly creates grounds for the economic recession in the bigger picture.

Stock market bubble

One of the leading causes of stock market bubbles is the rise in the demand for equity investments, and the costs of stocks are driven higher than a target valuation would direct. With no evident advantages for back the elevated prices, the stock costs, in the long run, can’t hold up to themselves, and the whole market rectifies back to a sensible valuation. Financial specialists pull back cash out of the question needs when this occurs over an expansive range of stocks, destabilizing them further. Farther along in the cycle, certainty will gradually return once speculators accept that the stocks have hit their least possible point.

Decreased confidence for investment

According to the theories of consumer behavior, sometimes, consumers don’t feel like spending or investing their money. This behavior arises due to decreased confidence in making investments in the market. Different market uncertainties are usually behind this lack of confidence in people. When people are uncertain about returns, they will never invest and will keep their money with them. Lesser investments mean lesser circulation of money in the market, which creates a lock within an economy. As a result, the whole system begins to crumble, and an economic recession begins.

Increased unemployment

Increased levels of unemployment can result from a monetary crisis in real life or can be one of the reasons for it. A financial emergency can happen when high loan fees, tight loaning, and reduced customer spending bring organizations relinquishing representatives to endure the monetary downturn. It transforms into an awful descending winding as jobless shoppers don’t spend openly, affecting organizations further and prompting more cutbacks. Expanding joblessness can likewise be secured when organizations redistribute positions to different nations. This kind of joblessness is progressively lasting in nature and can produce long-term monetary insecurity.

There are other causes for the economic recession, such as the stock market crash, deregulation, lack of manufacturing orders slowing down the process

E-Commerce: How to Manage the Sending of Parcels Around the World?

Posted on August 28, 2021September 3, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

E-commerce has been a thriving market for several decades. Several individuals and professionals have also chosen to join this type of business. For a successful online sale, delivery is essential. However, things start to get worse when the recipient lives abroad. The seller must ensure the delivery of the article or product relatively quickly to ensure its sustainability. Here, you will learn everything that helps you manage the transferring parcels around the globe.

Package preparations

After the conclusion of a sale, it is necessary to pack your products before shipping the package. The sender can choose boxes or envelopes, padded or not. To protect the item, the shipper should also consider incorporating padding equipment. The size of the packaging should be as small as possible to save. For information, the cost of the packaging must add to the number of items sold. Otherwise, the seller’s profit margins will be lower.

Sending the parcel to the postal services

The sender can choose to send the parcel through the postal services. However, the package must be light. The postal services carry out the weighing to know the weight before sending the package to its destination. Once at the destination, the postman puts the package in the receiver’s mailbox. The customer can also come to the post office to pick up his package. The solution does not require signing a receipt document. Postal services allow you to track your parcels using various mobile applications.

General terms related to global shipping

Trading invoice – Exporter makes this document that proves your ownership.

Customs – It tells us the government assesses imports, export, and lets you know the transit-related laws of the country.

De minimis value – is a threshold that means you will have to pay duties for imported goods.

Duties – payment of tax or tax

Fulfillment center – you can receive all your incoming orders from affiliated locations. This center process or fill your orders and work independently with the specific industries.

HS – It is the Harmonized System (HS) by which you can apply for duties, implement trade agreements, and gather trade statistics.

HS classification code – With it, you get fundamental product parameters to evaluate customs duties and taxes.

Zone for free trade – traders have ports that allow them to enter non-prohibited products without paying their duties.

What products prohibit international delivery?

Several products are not allowed for national or international delivery. You can consult the prohibited products with delivery companies or postal services. Specific rules govern each country in terms of sending parcels. In principle, analgesic products and animals do not permit delivery. Likewise, sellers cannot also ship chemicals and explosives. Concretely, it is forbidden to send products that present health or safety risks.

How to secure the product?

When delivery happens abroad, it is important to ensure the package. It will make it possible to recover compensation in the case of loss of the package. For information, the postal services only reimburse the amount of postage. Also, products must be packaged with the unique packaging of certain postal services to receive a refund. Therefore, it is important to know the conditions of sending to posts or courier companies. To ensure the article, you would need to take out additional insurance. Indeed, the amount of compensation is much lower than the actual price of the product on the market. Taking out insurance will also depend on the delivery method.

Customs declarations

Once the goods have arrived on the soil of a foreign country, packages must receive approval by customs before delivery to the customer. Customs clearance procedures are not compulsory when deliveries happen in the European Union and overseas countries. Otherwise, you should include customs documentation with your package. Customs documentation is available online or at post offices. It is enough to give information concerning the product to facilitate the work of the customs agents. Payment of customs fees is the responsibility of the customers. The seller must include this information in his online sales site.

Warehouse management and order fulfillment option

Order management and fulfillment warehouses also become possible solutions for ensuring delivery. The method consists of entrusting the delivery management to a partner. The goods stay at partner warehouses. Therefore, the seller will not need to have a physical warehouse to save on storage costs when the seller receives an order from a customer. The order will be transferred automatically to the partner. The seller will receive the amount of the article. For its part, the partner will prepare the package and send it through its delivery channels on your behalf. However, handling and shipping costs are first collected.

One of the challenges that many E-commerce retail shops face when dealing worldwide is broken packages and damages to the goods while transporting them overseas. Make sure you manage the inventory and ensure their safety while handling. Many users end up leaving complaints about the packages after receiving them and eventually ask for chargebacks. Chargebacks cause an additional cost burden on your company and may even drive losses to your business if your products are not insured.

Effective Ways to Bootstrap Your Way Back to Business

Posted on August 28, 2021September 3, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

The enchanting world of business is touching new skies with each passing day. Who and what have businesspeople in the industry do? There are a lot of questions in the minds of the people who are facing unemployment. The answer is that these businessmen bootstrap. They create their own business. Most of them had no means to earn a single coin, but the only way they use is “hard work.” It’s not an easy way. Of course, it isn’t easy.

Many of us have no means to earn money. Even people do not have a single source of income that can support them. Their hands are tied, and they are tired. Where there is disappointment everywhere, there is a way of hope, and that is “bootstrap the business.”

What is ‘bootstrapping’

What is “bootstrap”? Many people don’t know what that means. Bootstrapping isn’t a machine that makes money, or neither can it earn money without any effort. It is a way of hardship. It is a self-preparatory course. People thinking about starting a business without any external aid can surely take advantage of this business-enhancing phenomenon called bootstrapping. Businesspeople who use this concept have a significantly higher success rate than those who don’t.

How one can bootstrap his business

It’s a famous proverb, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” According to experts, a person doesn’t need capital to start a business, but how? Even though it is complicated but certainly not impossible. Anything is possible if a person is willing to put their willpower, tears, blood, and sweat into their work. History is full of examples of people who tried and found success. Many famous and huge business personalities in the world today started from scratch and got the unlimited win. They faced many challenges, but they didn’t give up until they finally bootstrapped their way towards an established business.

Try again

Nowadays, people are full of fear. They are afraid that they might fail. According to Guthery’s point of view, so what if they fail? Failing is a huge part of success. The key is to keep trying to succeed. When a person starts bootstrapping, they will face many problems at first. They may even have to bear a loss, but they will be successful one day if they continue to try.

Passion is one of the essential factors of bootstrapping

Only a person with a limitless amount of passion about there will never give up. According to experts, people who are more passionate about their business and work are often more successful than others.

Evade loan

If a person wants to start a business and is short of cash, they might consider taking a loan. However, that can translate into a mistake later. Most people who take loans are unable to pay them back, which leads to debt. People should avoid taking loans unless they have a stable income pattern or a proper backup plan.

Make phone calls

One who is going to bootstrap will face a lot of rejection. Rejection is a massive part of bootstrapping, especially in the first few months. Feel free to make countless phone calls and knock on as many doors as possible. Do whatever it takes to get your name out there.

Make relations with other successful business people

Joe Polish is another successful businessperson who thinks that one who wants to be successful should surround themselves with other triumphant public. According to a student, the human brain adapts a lot faster than we think. Having other successful and intelligent businessmen around will automatically enhance a person’s mindset.

Negotiation is the key to bootstrapping

Never be hesitant to the brain. People who ask the most question always have the most answers. Feel free to look at other prices and options when buying something. People who negotiate usually get the better deal.

How to Effectively Manage Business Cash Flow Statement

Posted on August 27, 2021September 1, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

Effective Management of Cash flow is essential for the smooth running of businesses because it determines how much money is coming in and going out of the company. It is crucial for all sorts of companies but is very central to the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. For SMEs, it is necessary to have enough money to pay their creditors and avoid extended cash shortages, mainly caused by a massive difference between cash inflows and cash outflows.

Cash flow issues generally arise when your payables are due before your receivables. In return, you won’t have enough cash to pay off your monthly payroll or subscriptions until your next payment arrives. Subscriptions are why it is crucial to managing cash flow in a small and medium-sized business.

Here are some of the top tips that will help you manage your business cash flow statement better.

Lease all the equipment from banks: Many business owners believe that leasing equipment, real estate, or supplies are more expensive than buying them. It is quite the opposite. While you might have to pay a bit extra markup over leased items, it usually doesn’t take a significant toll on the regular cash-flow statement since the payment breaks down into installments. By leasing, you pay in small increments, which helps improve cash flow. A bonus is that lease payments are a business expense.

Prioritize debts – Pay off debts with high interest rates first: One of the most common things that disrupt a new business’s cash flow is having debts with interest rates piling up. It would be best if you prioritized the repayment of your debts such that any debts with mounting interest rates paid off. Having high debts causes difficulty in managing the cash flows and is a common problem that a company faces especially new and small businesses. The leading cause of this problem is usually a high-priced loan with higher interest rates taken from the bank; because of this, the net inflows reduce, which causes you to pay the debts from your profits and retained earnings which can further lead your business to go in deficit. The best solution to having extensive debts can be refinancing your loans. Refinancing the loans means replacing the high-interest rate loan with a lower interest rate loan, reducing the payments by decreasing the interest rate. Moreover, if the business must make higher payments, you can also consider cutting other overhead expenses, such as finding a cheaper supplier to reduce your cost of sales.

Optimize your costs: Usually, for small businesses, debts aren’t too high either, or most likely, you are only spending on things you need to run your business. However, if your debts are getting out of control, it’s about time that you look at your financial statement and analyze your costs. Start by looking at the subscriptions you rarely use. Unsubscribe from all such subscriptions. Cut down the office decorations and other expenses that add to your budget. Negotiate the payment terms with vendors and agree on a discounted or flat rate to minimize outsourcing costs. You can also get rid of any assets, such as that delivery van that you rarely use. Another significant component that takes up a lot of additional budgets is the marketing costs. Optimize your advertising campaigns and switch to more cost-effective methods of marketing such as social media.

Reassess your customer payment terms: If your payment terms give your clients the leverage of several weeks in making payments for products/services purchased, now is the time when you might want to reassess those payment terms. Reduce the payment time by half, so you get payments earlier, thus helping you boost your company’s financial standing instantly.

Manage Accounting Function Smarter

Posted on August 27, 2021August 21, 2025 by Jennifer Brazer

Mastering Your Business’s Accounting Function Effectively

Managing your accounting function effectively requires implementing structured processes, leveraging appropriate technology, and establishing clear internal controls that create accuracy, compliance, and strategic financial visibility. The most successful businesses transform their accounting operations from reactive bookkeeping into proactive financial management systems that drive growth, maintain regulatory compliance, and optimize cash flow management through systematic approaches and modern tools.

I’ve spent over 20 years as CEO of Complete Controller, working alongside businesses across every sector imaginable—from tech startups to manufacturing giants—and I’ve witnessed firsthand how proper accounting management separates thriving companies from those barely surviving. Here’s a sobering reality: 82% of business failures stem directly from cash flow problems that better accounting function management could have prevented. This guide reveals the exact strategies, tools, and processes that transformed our clients’ chaotic financial operations into streamlined engines of business intelligence. You’ll discover how to build scalable accounting systems, implement automation that saves 25+ hours weekly, and create financial visibility that empowers confident decision-making.

What does it mean to manage your accounting function effectively?

Managing your accounting function effectively means establishing systematic processes, controls, and technologies that deliver accurate financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and strategic business insights
It involves implementing proper organizational structure with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and segregation of duties to prevent errors and fraud
Effective management requires leveraging appropriate accounting software solutions and automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks and improve accuracy
The process includes establishing regular financial review cycles, cash flow monitoring, and performance measurement systems that support informed decision-making
Success depends on maintaining strong internal controls, creating timely reconciliations, and building scalable processes that grow with your business

Building the Foundation: Essential Components of Effective Accounting Management

Establishing a robust accounting function begins with understanding the core components that form the backbone of financial management. Every successful accounting operation relies on clearly defined processes, appropriate technology infrastructure, and well-trained personnel working within an organized framework.

The foundation of effective accounting management starts with implementing proper internal controls and segregation of duties. Research shows that businesses with strong internal control systems experience significantly fewer financial discrepancies and fraud incidents. This involves separating key functions such as authorization, recording, and custody of assets to create natural checks and balances within your system.

Implementing core accounting processes

Your accounting management process must encompass all critical financial functions, including accounts payable and receivable, payroll processing, inventory management, and financial reporting. Each process should have documented procedures, clear timelines, and designated responsible parties for consistency and accountability.

Establishing regular reconciliation schedules forms another cornerstone of effective management. Weekly bank reconciliations and monthly account reviews help identify discrepancies early, preventing small issues from becoming major problems. This proactive approach to financial monitoring creates the visibility needed for informed decision-making.

Creating organizational structure and clear roles

The structure of your accounting department directly impacts its efficiency and effectiveness. Small businesses typically require a simplified structure with cross-functional responsibilities, while larger organizations benefit from specialized roles and hierarchical management.

For businesses with revenues between $5-25 million, the optimal structure typically includes:

A controller or accounting manager for oversight
Senior accountants handling complex transactions
Specialized clerks for accounts payable and receivable
Support staff for administrative functions

This structure provides adequate coverage of all functions while maintaining appropriate oversight and control.

Strategic Technology Integration for Accounting Function Management

Modern accounting function management relies heavily on technology solutions that automate routine tasks, improve accuracy, and provide real-time financial visibility. The right technology stack transforms manual processes into streamlined operations that free up resources for strategic activities.

Cloud-based accounting software has become the standard for effective financial management, offering benefits including real-time data access, automatic updates, and seamless integration with banking systems. Popular solutions like QuickBooks Online, Xero, and similar platforms provide comprehensive functionality for most business needs while offering scalability for growth.

Automating key accounting functions

Accounting automation delivers significant benefits, including time savings, improved accuracy, and enhanced reporting capabilities. Modern automated accounting systems slash bookkeeping workloads by 40-70%, with many businesses reporting savings of 25 hours per week through automation implementation.

Goldman Sachs research reveals that manual invoice processing costs $16.00 for medium-sized businesses and $22.26 for small businesses per invoice. Automated systems reduce these costs to just $5.89 and $6.89, respectively—delivering 60-70% cost savings. This dramatic reduction in processing costs directly impacts bottom-line profitability while freeing staff for higher-value activities.

Selecting and implementing accounting software solutions

Choosing the right accounting software solutions requires careful evaluation of your business needs, growth plans, and integration requirements. Key factors to consider include:

User capacity and scalability options
Feature comprehensiveness for your industry
Reporting capabilities and customization
Integration compatibility with existing systems
Total cost of ownership, including training

Implementation success depends on proper data migration, comprehensive staff training, and phased rollout strategies. The most effective approaches involve starting with core functions and gradually expanding to advanced features as team proficiency increases.

Optimizing Cash Flow Through Effective Accounting Management

Cash flow management represents one of the most critical aspects of accounting function oversight, directly impacting business sustainability and growth potential. Effective management involves implementing systems for accurate forecasting, monitoring receivables and payables, and maintaining optimal working capital levels.

Successful cash flow optimization requires establishing clear processes for invoicing, collections, and payment scheduling. Businesses that implement automated invoicing and payment reminder systems typically see a 15% improvement in collection times and reduced days sales outstanding.

Implementing cash flow forecasting and monitoring

Accurate cash flow forecasting enables proactive financial management and helps prevent liquidity crises. This involves analyzing historical data, identifying seasonal patterns, and projecting future cash needs based on business plans and market conditions.

Weekly cash flow monitoring provides early warning signals for potential shortfalls, allowing time for corrective action. Effective monitoring systems track key metrics, including:

Days sales outstanding (DSO)
Inventory turnover ratios
Payment cycle analysis
Working capital trends
Cash conversion cycles

Managing accounts receivable and payable efficiently

Optimizing accounts receivable management involves establishing clear credit policies, implementing efficient invoicing processes, and maintaining proactive collections procedures. Companies with well-managed receivables typically maintain DSO ratios 20-30% below industry averages.

Strategic accounts payable management balances cash flow optimization with vendor relationship maintenance. This includes taking advantage of early payment discounts when beneficial, while maintaining payment schedules that optimize working capital utilization.

Best Practices for Accounting Management Strategies

Implementing proven best practices transforms your accounting function operations to peak efficiency while maintaining accuracy and compliance. These strategies encompass everything from daily operational procedures to strategic planning and performance measurement.

Regular financial analysis and reporting form the foundation of strategic accounting management. This involves preparing standard reports while analyzing trends, identifying variances, and providing actionable insights that support business decision-making.

Establishing regular review and analysis cycles

Effective accounting management requires implementing structured review cycles that maintain ongoing accuracy and identify improvement opportunities. Monthly financial reviews should include:

Variance analysis against budgets and forecasts
Trend identification across key metrics
Performance measurement against established benchmarks
Process efficiency evaluation
Staff productivity assessment

Quarterly comprehensive assessments provide opportunities for process evaluation and strategic planning. These reviews examine system effectiveness, staff performance, and alignment with business objectives while identifying areas for optimization or additional investment.

Maintaining compliance and internal controls

Strong internal controls protect against fraud, maintain regulatory compliance, and preserve financial data integrity. The COSO framework provides a comprehensive approach to internal control implementation encompassing control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities.

A public life sciences company successfully reduced their accounting function costs by 20% while improving financial reporting timeliness through comprehensive operational assessment and transformation. The company had struggled with an accounting function that represented nearly one-third of their total headcount but provided limited forward-focused insights. Their transformation focused on streamlining processes, implementing automation, and restructuring roles to align with strategic objectives.

Tools and Solutions for Managing Accounting Functions

The modern accounting function relies on a comprehensive toolkit of software solutions, automated processes, and integrated systems that work together to deliver efficient, accurate financial management. Selecting and implementing the right combination of tools dramatically improves productivity while reducing errors and compliance risks.

Document management systems have become essential for maintaining organized, accessible financial records while supporting remote work and collaboration requirements. These systems integrate with accounting software to provide comprehensive audit trails and streamlined access to financial documentation.

Evaluating accounting software and integration options

Modern accounting software platforms offer extensive integration capabilities that connect with banking systems, payment processors, CRM platforms, and other business applications. These integrations eliminate manual data entry while maintaining consistency across all business systems.

The evaluation process should consider:

Scalability for future growth
User capacity requirements
Reporting flexibility and customization
Integration capabilities
Total cost of ownership
Vendor support and training resources

Implementing automation for routine tasks

Strategic automation implementation focuses on high-volume, routine tasks that consume significant time while offering standardized processes. Priority areas include invoice processing, bank reconciliation, payroll calculation, and report generation.

Successful automation projects require careful planning, staff training, and phased implementation approaches. The most effective strategies start with simple, high-impact processes before expanding to more complex functions as system proficiency develops.

Building a Scalable Accounting Function for Growth

Creating an accounting function that scales with business growth requires thoughtful planning, flexible systems, and adaptable organizational structures. This involves designing processes that handle increasing transaction volumes while maintaining accuracy and control standards.

The current accounting talent shortage adds urgency to scalability planning—58% of CFOs and 62% of controllers report experiencing a shortage of qualified accounting talent. This reality makes building efficient, scalable systems even more critical for sustainable growth.

Planning for organizational growth and change

Effective scaling strategies anticipate future needs while building flexibility into current operations. This includes implementing systems with excess capacity, cross-training staff on multiple functions, and establishing clear procedures that support consistent operations regardless of personnel changes.

Organizational development should follow proven structures appropriate to business size and complexity. Small businesses benefit from flexible, cross-functional roles while larger organizations require specialized positions and formal reporting hierarchies.

Evaluating outsourcing vs. in-house management options

The decision between outsourcing and in-house accounting management depends on factors including business size, complexity, control requirements, and cost considerations. Outsourcing provides access to specialized expertise and advanced systems while potentially reducing overall costs.

In-house management offers greater control, immediate communication, and customized solutions tailored to specific business needs. Many successful businesses implement hybrid approaches that combine in-house strategic oversight with outsourced transaction processing and specialized services.

Final Thoughts

Mastering your business’s accounting function requires a strategic approach that combines proper organizational structure, appropriate technology solutions, and proven best practices for financial management. The most successful businesses treat their accounting function as a strategic asset that provides the visibility, control, and insights needed for informed decision-making and sustainable growth.

Throughout my years helping businesses transform their accounting operations, I’ve consistently seen that companies with well-managed accounting functions outperform their peers in profitability, cash flow management, and strategic agility. The investment in proper systems, processes, and personnel pays dividends through improved financial performance, reduced risks, and enhanced stakeholder confidence.

The key to success lies in implementing these strategies systematically while maintaining focus on continuous improvement and adaptation to changing business needs. Whether you choose to build internal capabilities or partner with external experts, the principles outlined in this guide will help you create an accounting function that truly serves your business objectives. Ready to transform your accounting function into a strategic business asset? Visit Complete Controller to discover how our expert team can guide your financial management transformation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Managing Your Accounting Function

What are the most important components of an effective accounting function?

The most critical components include proper internal controls with segregation of duties, appropriate technology systems for automation and reporting, clearly defined processes and procedures, regular reconciliation and review cycles, and qualified personnel with appropriate training and oversight.

How do I know when it’s time to upgrade my accounting systems or processes?

Key indicators include increasing transaction volumes that strain current systems, frequent manual errors or reconciliation issues, difficulty generating timely reports, compliance challenges, or staff spending excessive time on routine tasks that could be automated.

Should I handle accounting in-house or outsource to external providers?

The decision depends on your business size, complexity, budget, and control preferences. In-house management offers greater control and immediate communication but requires significant investment in staff and systems. Outsourcing provides access to expertise and advanced systems but with less direct control.

What accounting software is best for small to medium-sized businesses?

Popular options include QuickBooks Online for comprehensive functionality and wide CPA support, Xero for strong automation and international capabilities, and FreshBooks for service-based businesses. The best choice depends on your specific needs, integration requirements, and growth plans.

How can I improve cash flow management through better accounting practices?

Implement automated invoicing and payment reminders, establish clear collection procedures, negotiate favorable payment terms with vendors, maintain accurate cash flow forecasting, and regularly monitor key metrics like days sales outstanding and inventory turnover ratios.

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US Chamber of Commerce. (2025, March 6). “Small Business Accounting Basics: A Step-by-Step Guide.” www.uschamber.com/co/start/strategy/small-business-accounting-setup

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 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.

Jennifer Brazer Founder/CEO

Jennifer is the author of From Cubicle to Cloud and Founder/CEO of Complete Controller, a pioneering financial services firm that helps entrepreneurs break free of traditional constraints and scale their businesses to new heights.

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How AI is Taking Brand Marketing to the Next Level

Posted on August 27, 2021September 1, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

After the technological advancements and pandemic last year, the entire world has switched to the digital realm. Businesses now prefer digital marketing over traditional. The divergent variety of innovations is taking digital brand marketing to the next level. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed the concept of branding and enhanced it effectively.

Now, companies leverage AI to enhance data-driven branding as their primary goal and mission of digital marketing. With the help of AI, companies want to ensure a great customer experience. It is cost-friendly and more effective as compared to high costly branding campaigns.

Artificial Intelligence helps in interacting with customers to optimize the best future of the company. In addition, companies with AI strategies report that they saw a 39% boost in revenue in 2020, and it also deducted their 37% cost.

Let’s glance at the reasons briefly how AI plays the role of game-changer to take brand marketing to the next level.

AI Enables Best Product/Content Recommendations

Some renowned companies like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Spotify, and many others have utilized AI technology. These brands have provided the best product offerings in terms of produce and content recommendations. AI-based customer data creates genuine customer profiles that include their likes, dislikes, interests, and preferences.

With the use of AI, companies provide a personalized experience to customers. When customers experience a personalized approach from the brands, they take more interest and purchase more.

Smart Search Functionality

A decade ago, when you searched something on a search engine, it wouldn’t appear authentic results quickly. You needed to insert correct spelling, or else searching on the internet would be a difficult task. This complexity no longer disturbs today. With the use of AI, marketers utilize way more intelligent and more advanced search functionality.

Google is the top search engine that has advanced searching experience. After Google, e-commerce websites have also advanced their search features by incorporating modified auto-suggest corrections. When you type something on Amazon, you might have noticed that various suggestions pop up on your screen.

AI has improved the experience of AI, due to which brands are more likely to get more leads, higher number of sales, and ideal online visibility.

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising is one of the advanced choices of marketers. It is due to buying and selling ads. The launch of AI in the marketing industry has made programmatic advertising more efficient and advanced. Now advertisers and publishers are connected to exchange their advertisements for a specific price.

Additionally, AI strategies also identify customers’ behavior, and marketers may effectively utilize this data. For instance, customers who provide a better chance of conversion are our targeted clients. AI also determines the best time to post an ad. As a consequence, the impressions will convert to effective leads.

Enhanced Targeting and Segmentation

The first step of marketing includes better targeting and segmentation. Marketers effectively want to reach their target audience and provide them personalized offers that they might need or want. You need accurate data to segment your audience and target efficiently. However, AI technology can make it possible and easy.

With advanced AI segmentation, you can classify your audience in simple variables, such as gender, age, locality, and complex ones, such as past interests, buying personas, etc. In addition, AI has also developed dynamic segmentation, which can identify customers’ constantly changing behaviors.

For instance, a person may want to buy a gift for his parents, and he may also be interested in purchasing a car. So, the dynamic segmentation may quickly identify accurate data with constantly changing buying behaviors.

Sales Forecasting

Artificial Intelligence also helps predict sales, including important information, such as past sales data, customer base expansion, economic trends, and industry-wide comparison.

Consequently, companies can easily track their performance and predict future analysis in the short and the long run.

Real-Time Customer Support

Customer support is the essential need of companies to escalate the height of success. Quick responses and fast resolution have become the main requirement of the customers. However, Artificial Intelligence also provides an excellent customer support service with the help of AI-driver chatbots. As a consequence, companies may offer excellent customer service.

Chatbots are crucial in modern-day marketing. It works in both efficient ways – keeps customers engaged and responds quickly to the customers’ concerns.

The Bottom Line

AI is the new way to targeting customers and provide the best customer service. Artificial Intelligence is the future. It can lead digital marketing to the next level.

Top-Rated Accounting Tools for Small Businesses and Enterprises

Posted on August 26, 2021September 1, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

Accounting can be a time-consuming and crucial chore for business owners. Still, it is also a mandatory task for managing, operating, and optimizing your company’s growth with time. Eventually, you’ll need to invest in a business accounting tool to regulate your cash flow and formulate income taxes. From bookkeeping to tracking expenses, there are several pointers to consider when choosing the righteous accounting tool for the comprehensive financial management of your business.

Accounting tools are essential to get for your business. The best accounting tools help you create invoices, record internal and external payments, follow up with the past due to account receivables, and manage reports that help you examine the financial health of your business.

The choice of an accounting tool is a critical yet significant one because it can effortlessly simplify your business finances. Every business has different requirements and several employees. Here’s our list of top-rated accounting tools for small businesses and enterprises.

QuickBooks: While mentioning the most productive and functional accounting tool of all time, one can never forget mentioning the QuickBooks online. Suppose you’re an entrepreneur who despises financial management and would get on the rollercoaster with the newness of being a fresh business owner. In that case, QuickBooks online will surely help you with that. Moreover, even if you’re a professional accountant who deals with the balance sheet, invoicing, and profit and loss statements, QuickBooks online can still meet your requirements. QuickBooks Online also allows cash transactions, including billing from the suppliers, payroll, expense tracking, and inventory tracking.
Fresh-Books: FreshBooks is another well-known accounting tool with built-in outlay management, time tracking features, and the facility of accepting incoming cash or account receivables. It is easy to use but doesn’t have anything to do with the payroll and inventory. This tool is for freelance agencies or solo business proprietors. It is an affordable tool with a relatively low subscription fee if you ever consider extending your business with a few additional employees.
Xero: The exceptional feature of maintaining the accounts, Xero tool carries out from bookkeeping to virtual expense management and contains the ability to get paid in more than 160 currencies with updated exchange rates. Xero app also keeps the purchasing records and mechanically reconciles your accounts, as you’d already expected from a proper accounting tool. Xero app is efficient in tracking money and the time spent on a particular project to provide the complete cost analysis. Xero app is generally a monthly subscription accounting system. However, the cost will vary depending on whether you get the premium features or not.
Expensify: Expensify is an accounting tool used to manage expenses and money transactions through realistic data and reporting processes. The accounting operations performed by this user-friendly application solve numerous cash-related issues. It also permits the companies to maintain a summary of various accounts along with the calendar. Expensify also supports the travel expenses based on the miles cover, including the payment of an ongoing project. You can also modify the currencies while using this exceptional accounting tool.
Neat: Neat application is slightly like Expensify. Excellent is proficient with extracting the information from your receipts and financial documents. You can use any digital device to operate this tool, including a smartphone, a desktop, or an actual scanner, and you can easily access your important files from any device. Another great feature of the neat tool is that it can effortlessly link up with other accounting tools, and you can directly transfer the expense transactions. With the help of this tool, you can share your financial statements with your accountants and co-owners. With Neat, you can quickly get rid of the slow and laborious manually added transactions and instead receives an optimized virtual process.

Regardless of your business’s stage and requirements, there is always an accounting tool available that fits your company’s needs. Whether you opt for a desktop version or a cloud-based tool, the most important is to consider a righteous accounting tool for your business finance. No matter how brilliant your services are, your business will always be at risk if you failed to keep a sound accounting system. Keep researching for the accurate accounting tool until you get the one for your business’s purpose.

The Benefits of Going Paperless in Your Business

Posted on August 26, 2021September 1, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

For the longest time, paper documents have been the way to store and manage information in businesses and offices. However, in recent years, organizations have started to realize the disadvantages of relying upon physical documents.

Many businesses are now undergoing a transitional process alleviating the need for paper documents and instead rely upon digital methods for information management. A paperless office has minimized or completely removed the need for physical documents and instead utilized digital documents.

Daily, Organizations and businesses will produce hundreds, if not thousands, of documents due to a wide variety of internal processes such as production, sales, payroll, etc. These documents are handled by the organization’s accounting department, often creating headaches for employees who have to manually organize and store these documents for future retrieval.

Not to mention the fact that disposing and proper management of these documents incurs significant financial losses. As paperless offices have been gaining traction, the accounting sector has greatly benefitted from the transition to digital documents. There are several significant advantages for adopting paperless practices, including;

Improved Time Management and Retrieval of Information

According to statistics, office employees in accounting will take up to 30 to 40% of their time retrieving documents manually. In the world of business, time is money. Reducing the time spent looking for documents will significantly benefit the organization and its employees.

Paperless offices will allow employees to store digital documents in an organized and adequately indexed manner and retrieve documents significantly faster than manual retrieval methods. In turn, this will allow employees to focus on other value-laden tasks and become more productive.

Minimize Security Risks

Research suggests that up to 62 percent of data breaches in SMEs and large-scale organizations directly result from dependency upon paper records in accounting. Paper documents are vulnerable to accidents and mishaps, including theft, misappropriation, falsifying records, natural disasters, etc.

Many of these vulnerabilities can be removed entirely by transitioning towards digital documents and paperless methods. In Paperless offices, digital documents can be stored alongside access rights. This way, only select individuals with the proper authorization can view the documents.

Considering that most documents in accounting contain sensitive information, paperless offices provide a significant security boost to the sector. Documents can also be digitally tracked and monitored for any tampering or hacking, minimizing the risk of theft and falsification of records.

Reduces Operational Costs

By converting your work environment into a paperless office, organizations can significantly reduce their operational costs and budget assigned to document management. With physical documents out of the way, there is no further need for filing cabinets and other storage mediums that may take up valuable office space.

Removing these storage mediums will provide plenty of space for renovation, likely bringing a smile to employees’ faces. Furthermore, digital documents altogether remove the need for printers as they can be copied and distributed digitally to other employees throughout the organization.

This method of distribution will reduce printing costs and the costs associated with purchasing and managing printers. As a result of going paperless, businesses will have adopted an automated workflow that will significantly improve business continuity and save financial capital. Improved and automated workflows will speed up other business processes and lead to further financial benefits and reduced costs.

Improved Response Time to Queries

One of the significant problems associated with using physical documents in the accounting sector is the delayed response time to queries. Often customers or clients will demand specific answers to their queries.

With a paper-based document management system, employees will have to manually find and retrieve the document from thousands of other similar documents. However, a digital document management system will allow employees to retrieve documents instantly without going through the hassle of manually finding a piece of information.

Minimize Environmental Impact

Physical documents and materials such as ink and plastic files carry with them severe environmental effects. Organizations harm the environment by utilizing physical paper documents, contributing to other environmental phenomena such as global warming and deforestation. By Adopting paperless practices, organizations can significantly reduce their impact on the environment and promote eco-friendly policies in offices.

First SEO Steps to Take After You Launch a New Website

Posted on August 26, 2021September 1, 2021 by Jennifer Brazer

Congratulations, you have successfully launched your new website. Now, what’s next? First, ask yourself what you expect from your site? You surely want a handsome number of digital traffic and stimulate more and more audience towards your site, right? However, you need to follow the first SEO step to escalate your site’s productivity and efficiency.

For ensuring the success of your site, you must follow the first SEO steps for better results. SEO tips for launching a new website can enhance your site’s appearance on the digital platform. You might have many business ideas to stimulate digital customers. Keep in mind; your ideas don’t mean anything if not incorporated effectively on the website launching.

It would be best if you implemented SEO tactics from the beginning stage. The sooner you incorporate an efficient SEO game plan, the less effort you will require to invest in the future. In addition, SEO from the initial stage develops your website fit to rank on Google search engine.

Every second you count after launching a new website can be productive to boost your website rank, providing that you come up with a robust SEO strategy. Here are the essential first SEO steps that you need to implement:

Ensure Recognized Domain Name

Picking a domain name is something you should do before launching a website, but you need to think about it after launching too. The most suitable domain name that aligns with your brand and represents your niche always enhances your SEO approach. Keep in mind; your every SEO game plan can be useless if you don’t pick the right name.

The name shouldn’t be general. Instead, please make it a bit personal. Also, make sure the title also includes your main short-tail keyword. If you pick the right domain name that fits your keyword, your SEO strategy and content creation will eventually be more manageable.

Do Your Keyword Homework

Many website owners make two big mistakes that decrease the productivity and efficiency of the website. Make sure you don’t follow their path and do your keyword homework. Many web owners take one of these two routes:

They don’t focus on the keywords. Instead, the main focus of these people is on leads and sales. They incorporate aggressive PPC and social media campaigns to generate more leads and sales. Although this strategy leads to a successful approach, it only remains for the honeymoon period. The results decline with time.
They include keywords with every bit of content. It isn’t the best approach. There’s a specific density of keywords, and you are not supposed to cross the limit. Extra keywords spoil your rankings and make your website and content less appealing to the audience.

You must avoid these two routes for a successful SEO game plan. Neither ignore keywords nor incorporate excess keywords. Always go for the middle ground. Implement a comprehensive keyword strategy, but don’t compromise on your content. Make it readable and attractive to the readers. The enhanced ranking is necessary, but the quality of the content is also essential.

Outline an Effective Website Structure

Google prefers an organized website, and you must not forget this fact. You must implement effective architecture for your website because it makes your site eye-catchy also impacts your SEO approach.

How does a well-structured website look? Keep in mind; less is more. The simpler your website is, the more effective results it will give. Similarly, the fewer pages your website has, the faster your loader time will be. As a consequence, your website becomes user-friendly. Did you know? A higher number of organic visits also impact SEO for your new website.

You must keep your content concise and eye-catchy. Compressed content makes your site readable and pleasant for both search engines crawlers and readers.

Ensure Consistency in the Content

Content and SEO strategy go hand in hand. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that content is the backbone of website and SEO. Moreover, content stimulates your audience’s attention and ensures engagement with them. However, website engagements and activity are the matrices to decide if your website is SEO-friendly.

So, the strategy is simple, the more content you post, the more audience will reach your site. So, it would help if you were consistent when it comes to posting content. You can create a content calendar so that you may go on with consistency. Keep in mind; content affects your ranking.

The Bottom Line

The first SEO steps include your domain name, keyword homework, website structure, and content with consistency. However, you also need to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly.

Most people use Google from mobile, and therefore Google has brought a change in the ranking elements. So, it’s better to incorporate a mobile-friendly design for better SEO. In addition, you can also optimize URLs for a successful SEO approach.