Author: Jennifer Brazer

Household Finance is the act of borrowing that takes place within family members. Household finances are available from several sources, and to meet the borrowed money needs, families are looking for economical solutions. Household finance is different, compared to business finance. Business finance is all about taking out loans to meet the needs of company-related purchases. Individuals or families utilize household finances for multiple reasons, and the most common is purchasing a home. Buying a home includes a mortgage loan that becomes a long term part of your monthly budget. 

It is essential to know how to manage, spend, and invest money because money plays a crucial role in your life. There may be some cases when you have said to yourself, “if I could ever have lots of money, then I would never have to worry about finances again.” Or “if I get X amount, then all my financial problems will be solved.” When you’re going through financial crises, everyone thinks more money is the solution to all their problems. This way, they might get freedom from financial crises. You start believing that if you could ever get X amount, your life will become much different from what it is now.

But one needs to understand that more money is not the solution to all their problems. If you properly manage your current household finances, your life will move in the right direction. It’s vital to learn the basics of finance. It includes skills such as; how to create and manage a budget, how to invest money to secure your future, and how to budget expenses?

Following some basic principles of finance can lead to a more sustainable and secure financial future.

First, one needs to ask themselves these basic questions relating to their current financial situation:

• Do you believe that debt is now a part of your life?
• Do you face spending problems?
• Do you track your money, where are you spending? Or you’re lazy to do that.
• Are you using credit cards to balance your finance issues?
• Do you know whether you’re spending more than you earn?
• Do you think enough amounts are a solution to your debt problem?

 

Golden Household Finance Rules: 

Household financial management is an essential practice and involves nothing more than working with numbers and paperwork. Suppose you have X amount, and you are spending Y amount. You have to make sure that the Y amount is always less than X amount. Following these basic rules will help you change your thinking of how best to manage household finances best:

Spend fewer amounts than you earn: If you are making $2,000/month and you are spending $3,000/month, then you start building up debt that can get out of control very quickly. In most cases, it would be difficult for you to walk away from accumulated debt. Suppose you are spending the entire amount you have earned. In that case, you need to start thinking of curtailing expenses or increasing income to ensure that excess money is available in case of any emergencies. If you spend less than you earn, it will allow you to save, prepare for your future, and deal with inevitable crises.  

Plan your future: This doesn’t only involve your retirement plans. Planning your future requires you to pre-plan financial responsibilities to prepare for unforeseen circumstances and future financial burdens. For example, if you are going to have a child, it is essential to start planning for their economic dependence immediately. You need to have money for emergency purposes, education, medical bills, and other necessities saved. A retirement plan is also essential for you to have income in your hand even when you are not able to work.

Investment: Do you want to know the secret behind how rich people get richer? It’s because they have made the right choices in where to invest their money.  One should not just invest money in low-interest savings accounts and bonds as these do not give a high enough ROI to be worthwhile. One should look to invest in slightly riskier options such as commodities, mutual funds, stocks, and real estate. Investing is just like starting your own business. You invest in your education so that in the future you may get a better job. And you save and invest your earnings so that at one point your money makes you more money.

Conclusion:

Every household needs to take financial decisions very carefully and fix them into your budget. You need to understand that more money alone will not solve all your financial problems. It is like you are using more drugs to fix a drug issue. Making more money is great, but ensuring that that money is utilized correctly is what differentiates savvy investors and disciplined financial investors from the general public.  

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.

Deficiencies in capital, business experience, resources, planning, and management structure are a few of the leading factors in business failures. An entrepreneur, having ample liquidity, but no idea of how to make and use a business model will have little to no success in running and keeping a business.

According to studies conducted by leading management experts, 90% of start-up businesses fail to surpass the three-year mark. This failure is often the result of poor planning and implementation. To combat this, the first step is developing a realistic feasibility plan and a balanced budget or forecast. Without a feasibility plan, one cannot be a successful entrepreneur. The inception of a business plan is essential when initiating any business and helps the business adhere to the roadmap laid out in the business model.

 

The purpose of the business must be evident in the planning process. It is also vital that the business owner’s experience is relevant to the use of the company. This experience will help the owner evaluate the business’s economic health during the phases of a downturn or market boom. It is equally important to stick to the budget numbers and forecast in the business plan. The owner should be familiar with the concept of project management and capital budgeting techniques. The plan should include the breakeven point of business operations and proper numbers allocated to expenses and revenue. Most businesses that fail do so because the owner did not factor in all the budgeting expenses. The incurred losses eat up the capital, and the owner has to shut down the business.

 

Careful and proper planning (non-financial) should also be kept in mind to avoid any business hiccups. Management structure plays a vital role in augmenting the purpose of the business. The business owner must ensure that the management structure comes equipped with the experience relevant to the company. A proper management structure in the organization accounts for adequate human resources in finance, inventory management, production, operation, production, and recruitment.  It is entirely up to the business owner whether the decision-making has to be centralized or decentralized. This function of the decision-making process has to be part of the management structure and in conjunction with the business model. If the numbers fall within the anticipated forecast, there is no reason for management to worry even if operations are running into losses. The core competency of management anticipates that initial failures in capturing the desired market share and wallet size will eventually lead to profit.

 

SWOT analysis is another feature that can help the business in preparing itself against any unforeseen circumstances. It helps in identifying the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Understanding the market share, competitive environment, socio-cultural influence, and distribution accounts for success in any business. A business owner needs to be a visionary and exhibit positive behavior traits, both on the micro and macro level. Control over every aspect of business operation and financial expenditure should be of the utmost priority. If a business owner successfully manages to envisage the potential of business growth swiftly and aggressively, then the business operations can capture a sizeable market share.

 

To establish a business with the purpose of only existence, without a proper feasibility plan is just a sketch on paper. As earlier mentioned, a cash-rich person, without any business model, the purpose of business, and poor management structure, is just another example of business failure.

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.

QuickBooks is the top recognized accounting software used to manage customers, inventory, vendors, and finances. It is necessary to keep precise financial records, whether running a small business or a large organization. People are adopting this new technology to make their finance system more efficient, but it is essential to know whether QuickBooks will be beneficial for your business or not? There are some pros and cons of using QuickBooks, and they are as follows:

Pros:

• User-Friendly:

QuickBooks is well renowned for being the most user-friendly accounting software for beginners and advanced accountants alike. This software can be easily used by people who do not have an accounting background while also containing all the functionalities and features that a pro accountant needs.

• Integration:

QuickBooks can combine with other applications to handle accounting records efficiently. Also, a CSV or Excel file integrates into QuickBooks without any difficulty. The use of this feature allows you to make accurate accounts by creating several reports for multiple organizations.

• Cost Efficient:

QuickBooks can be a great choice, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It can be a less expensive approach instead of hiring a bookkeeper or accountant. The use of QuickBooks will help you to minimize your organization’s expenses.

• The best option for Small Businesses:

For small businesses, QuickBooks can be an ideal choice and integrate with other programs. When your business is at its initial stage, it doesn’t require complex accounting. For such reasons, QuickBooks can be the ideal choice to opt for the following:

• Supporting Network:

QuickBooks is considered a popular software for accounting purposes and has an extensive support network. This support network means that if you are facing any difficulty or any accounting issue, you can log into QuickBooks forums where you have access to experienced members. They can guide you through the stuff you don’t quite understand. They will help you to sort out your problems instead of contacting the manufacturer to resolve your issue.

• Basics:

The first or initial version of QuickBooks offers various accounting features as per the requirements of small businesses. These features include accounts payable and receivables, inventory, payroll, and invoices. Also, you can process credit cards and create checks using QuickBooks software. Moreover, to check whether QuickBooks is perfect for your business or not, they offer a free trial period, so you don’t need to spend any money upfront.

Now let’s discuss some of the cons of using QuickBooks:

• Not a perfect choice for Larger Businesses:

QuickBooks is not a perfect choice if you are running a large organization. If you have a company with more than 100 employees, then surely QuickBooks will not be able to serve you in the best way. For large organizations, there’s a need to develop internal software that can easily handle intricate reports and interlink to other departments within the organization.

• QuickBooks is not a Robust Software:

QuickBooks does not come equipped with advanced features related to bookkeeping, which is the basic need for any considerable organization. These advanced features will help organizations run their businesses smoothly, but QuickBooks fails to provide such services.  

• Limitations:

QuickBooks’ basic form is designed especially for the user who has limited needs both for finance and accounts. Hence QuickBooks do not propose all types of accounting processes that are being used by a qualified accountant. Also, QuickBooks has area limitations, including the number of items you can add to inventory drives.

If your business has complex accounting procedures and methods to manage inventory systems, then QuickBooks, for sure, is not a good choice as it may fail to meet your requirements.

Here are summarized Pros of using QuickBooks:

• Efficient
• Easy to use
• Account reports regenerate easily
• Flexible
• Large support network
• Low cost

Cons:

• File size issues
• Security
• Upgrade costs
• Limitations
• Missing business-specific features

 

QuickBooks is user-friendly and well-known. It is used primarily for small businesses as it lacks advanced business features. The software has limited support for large organizations as far as sophisticated accounting methods are concerned. We hope that these pros and cons will help you to decide how to use QuickBooks in a way that meets your particular business needs. 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.

The term “Bank” is associated with the concept of commercial banking. It originated in Germany though few people link its origin with the Italian word “Banca” or French word “Banqui.” The word means to own a bench to keep, lend, or exchange money in the market by money changers or money lenders. Before 1640, there was no such concept of banking. People used to practice keeping their money in the temple of Babylon as early as 2000 B.C. Chanakya has mentioned the existence of powerful guilds. They used to receive deposits along with advanced loans and in return letter of transfer was issued. Jain scriptures have said the names of two bankers famous for building Delaware Temples of Mount Abu. This temple was built during 1197 and 1247 A.D.

First Bank:

• “Bank of Venice” is known to be the first bank and was established in 1157 in Venice, Italy. The prime reason to start this bank was to provide financial help to the monarchs.
• In England, “Bankers of Lombardy” were well-known, but contemporary banking started with the collaboration of English Goldsmith after 1640.
• In India, their first bank, “Bank of Hindustan,” was initiated by Alexander & Co. in 1770. It was started when the English agency house failed in 1782 in Calcutta.
• In the true modern sense, in 1806, the first bank was established in Bengal named “Bank of Bengal.”
• A merchant banker is the first person who evolved the concept of banking. He used to conduct trading in merchandise using deposit money of others to make a profit. It was essential to have transmittals from one place to another to execute trade activities. For this purpose, “hundis” (letters of transfer) were issued to remit the funds. Such type of merchant bankers in India is known as “Seths.”

Next phase:

Goldsmith was the next stage in the growth of the banking sector. In this type of business, special measures were taken against the theft of jewelry and gold. If that individual proves to be an honest person, traders in the district started to leave their precious metal and other financial expenses in his care. As more and more people adopted this approach, Goldsmith began to charge a nominal fee when he used to take care of bullion and money.

 

Goldsmith issued a receipt for goods delivered as proof. Subsequently, silver and gold had no symbols of the holder, so Goldsmith started circulating them. Goldsmith used to provide the receipt to the holder along with an equal amount on-demand, so the Goldsmith’s receipt was a check at that time. This check was a standard of exchange and a resource of payment.

Money Lender:

The next step in the evolution of the banking sector was “moneylender.” Goldsmith noted that withdrawals of coins were less in number as compared to the deposits. To deal with this situation, Goldsmith started to give coins on loan, and in return, they began to charge a fee in the form of interest.

Therefore, “Goldsmith-money-lender” became, in theory, the first bank that performed two significant functions of the modern banking system. The first one was ‘accepting deposits’ while the second function was related to advance loans based on interest payments.

The banking sector has evolved into a multi-scale financial body that deals with everything from deposits, investments, lending, financing, and many more services. Understanding the evolution of the banking sector is of the utmost importance when learning finance. It shows how this evolution took place at a micro-level and now at a macro level. Today, banks are global realities that record billions of transactions each day. Even though the fundamental concepts of banking have not changed since its early inception, modern technology and individuals’ needs have exfoliated to a complex framework. A bank’s primary functions are still the same as they were almost a thousand years ago; it safeguards an individual’s finances and acts as a lending institution for debtors.

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.

Usually, when people set out for a vacation, they prepare a budget that they can stick to during their trip. However, since most of us cannot resist purchasing everything we want, there is a tendency to spend more than we initially budgeted. This is known as big-spending, which comes from mismanagement of your finances and budgeting incorrectly.

 

Big-spending or not managing finances properly can lead to a spending hangover. This feeling comes from your finances taking their toll on after spending too much. These are some helpful tips to help you recover if you ever experience a spending hangover. 

Detox

Once you have been through over-spending, prepare for a detox plan. This plan will ensure that you do not use your credit cards or carry cash with you for a while. By doing so, you will be able to resist the temptation to spend more. To succeed with this detox plan, you will have to buy some essentials in advance so you can pause spending for several days. The timeframe you need to refrain from spending will depend on how much over-spending you did.

 

Evaluate Your Binge Spending

When you are recovering from your spending hangover, it’s essential to look back on the spending that got you there. List everything that you have spent money on and against each item, write down whether it was a need or a want. If you have a long list of wants in front of you, you are a big spender! This exercise isn’t to make you feel bad. It is to help evaluate what you are doing wrong so you can make the necessary changes in your spending habits.

 

Forgive, Forget and Learn

If you are feeling bad about what you have done, don’t let it drag you down. Instead, try to forgive yourself for what you have done. Once you have fixed the problem, let it go because not doing so will only hold you back. Finally, make sure that this never occurs in the future by learning a lesson from your mistake of spending heavily.

 

The Bottom Line

Are you still wondering whether following these simple steps will take you out of your big spending habits? We can, for a fact, state that this is a tried and tested therapy that works to get money is back in your hands, give you better self-control, and ensure there are no more spending hangovers.

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.

Being a parent means that you have to coach your children in many areas of life, including financial management skills. These skills will help them move forward with their life. When it comes to teaching responsibility skills, it becomes challenging to mold them. Financial management is one of these responsibilities that is important for the child to understand but can be challenging to teach.

Every parent hopes to guide their children in the best possible way. Being educated, smart and well-informed citizens and living their lives comfortably and responsibly are of great importance. To accomplish this, parents must put ample time and funds into their education to help them learn the essentials of life in the best way possible. Although children can pick up the basic concept of money and how to use it by observing, parents must teach children how to spend money wisely.

Below are three basic concepts of finance that are important for you to teach your children. 

Money does not grow on trees:

The first idea that your child needs to understand is that money is hard-earned and not acquired easily. This concept will help your children be careful about spending money, as they will get a better idea that money is not a never-ending resource. Children sometimes think that money grows on trees. This misconception is because parents try to fulfill all of their children’s demands without making them realize this is possible because of the parent’s hard work. 

The difference between need and a whim:

As a parent, a useful lesson they can teach the child is how to differentiate between need and a whim. A whim is an act of spending money on something that is not a need. It is essential to teach the child to spend more on something the person needs rather than spend the entire amount on unnecessary things.  

Budgeting:

The term “Budgeting” refers to the idea that you are to live within your means. When teaching financial management, the most critical aspect the parent should cover is budgeting. Putting restrictions on the amount of allowance can teach the kids how the budgeting mechanism works. Parents should teach their children the importance of savings, as it plays a significant role in budgeting. 

It can take years for children to realize the importance of money. As a parent, sharing financial management is a gift that will have positive results for years to come.

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.

When a person wants to know their personal worth, they either look at their bank statements or rely on their balance sheet. While a bank statement may not provide comprehensive information, your balance sheet can give you a rough idea about the amount of debt you have in terms of your car payments, loans, mortgage, and other debts. It will also give you a general picture of the equity you have in your name, the sort of savings you have accumulated, and the value of your retirement accounts. However, the concern that arises is whether you can trust your personal balance sheet.

 

While it seems simple to prepare a personal balance sheet, there are areas that can be tricky. One of those is determining the real value of retirement funds because they can fluctuate and may be subject to taxation depending upon when you need to put them into use. As such, it’s essential that you update the balance of your savings and retirement funds each statement period.

Let’s suppose that, just like most individuals across the US, you have tied up your retirement funds and savings in traditional government-sponsored plans such as the IRAs or the 401(K). It would help if you figured how much tax you will be paying on that income and what will be in your hands. Since mutual funds, bonds, and stocks, are popular retirement fund investments, there is risk of value depletion right before you want to tap into them depending on the volatility of the market and the current economic situation. This situation is one reason you can’t trust your personal balance sheet to know your true net worth.

 

With constant fluctuations in the stock market, Americans need to ensure that they regularly check their statements carefully to understand the true and current value of their savings, such as the 401(K) and IRA. By doing so, they will be able to look at a much clearer picture, well at least on paper. Moreover, due to limited knowledge of financial management, most individuals are unable to differentiate between real wealth and paper wealth, and that is where the situation becomes slightly shaky. In such scenarios, most financial advisors suggest you maintain a personal balance sheet that you need to update at least once a year to keep a check on your progress in terms of achieving your financial goals.

 

By preparing a balance sheet, you will be able to review your true worth and get to know how much money is owed by you and what you own. The difference between the two will reveal your actual net worth. If net worth depicts a negative amount, you owe more than you own and prepare yourself for the financial problems you are about to face that may also open up the possibility of going bankrupt.

 

When you sit down to prepare your balance sheet, the current value might mislead you. To avoid being lulled into a false sense of comfort, take into account the unknowns and the impacts that will come when you are trying to access the funds, not only the current value in its current form. It is these factors that affect the reliability of your balance sheet.

 

The following listed are three factors backing up the statement on why an individual must not trust their balance sheet:

Facing an Unwelcomed Tax Hit

If you have $500,000 in 401(k), IRA, or any other traditional retirement account, you would be liable to pay tax on every penny that you withdraw. Yes, that’s correct, every penny! While your balance sheet may not account for this, this is a payable amount. Hence, on withdrawal of $500,000, you will be paying Big Uncle Sam $125,000 if you happen to fall under the tax bracket of 25%, which means you only keep $375,000.

Estate Impact

Let’s say you die before you were able to withdraw the entire amount from your retirement account; the amount left behind will be handed over to your beneficiaries. However, in this case, Uncle Sam will look to your beneficiaries to clear any tax amount which you may owe while also having to pay additional estate tax on the amount which they inherit.

Plunge/Soar in Market Value of Your Retirement Funds

The figures on your balance sheet in the assets column may not be available when you sell them at market value. The reason for this is that the market and economic conditions may either plunge or soar. There is no fixed certainty as to whether it will rise or plunge just when you need it.

Bottom Line

Therefore, the next time you wish to draft your personal balance sheet, don’t trust the stats that you have in front of you because the three factors listed above are enough to kill your hopes. Instead of facing a tough time in the future, it’s better to start devising a savings strategy today for which you can thank yourself in the future.

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.

The workplace is where employees perform their work. Typically workplace conditions are stipulated by regulatory agencies and technical documentation and controlled by the employer. But, with more staff members working from home, many times workplace control is no longer possible. Employers find themselves leaving it up to employees to decide their environment. 

In this article, we will discuss on-site workplace management that is controlled by the employer. Generally, the workplace should be designed or adapted to helping employees perform at the highest level possible. When evaluating a workspace one should consider both technical and ergonomic standards. 

Monitoring at workplaces

In order to standardize the work, automated processes may be used. These are fully mechanized processes. While automation will reduce the functions by employees, they will still need to be monitored to recognized and troubleshoot issues as they arise.

Monitoring the operations of the workplace is necessary and it’s advisable for larger businesses to establish an internal labor protection department. In various industries and for small businesses public agencies often fulfill this role. Its purpose is to monitor workplace safety and effectiveness:

• Establish operational guidelines for safety
• Provide a competent specialist as a resource to the company and employees
• Understand regulatory requirements for the industry or work being performed
• Recommend appropriate insurances and process to mana workplace injuries
• Planned modernization for weary processes
• Design appropriate schedules for optimal work production and staff performance

Creating a department for labor protection helps to comply with safety standards in a business. Only experienced and trained personnel will be able to manage people and monitor the implementation of safety regulations. Accounting and bookkeeping also oversee workplace operations from a financial standpoint.

Compliance with company policies and regulations is another reason monitoring is an important part of operations.  Complying with rules and regulations contributes to a significant reduction in the number of injuries in the workplace, improves the conditions for workers, increases efficiency, and regulates the climate.

Improving workplace operations

A process improvement plan can help in improving the internal functions of the company. This improvement plan can also increase operational efficiency and decrease operational costs. Some of the ways to improve workplace operations are:

• Create a friendly environment in the workplace. Every employee must be treated fairly with an open-door policy. Open communication is one of the fundamental elements in the workplace.
• It is essential to set the benchmark goals for every department. Setting the benchmark will help the employees performing their tasks efficiently and timely, which will eventually improve business operations.
• Involving every employee, in-process monitoring improves workplace operations. The managers of an organization can conduct service-level operations like desk-side observations and call monitoring. Moreover, a manager should also analyze the reports of a firm and the current operational procedures.
• Quality testing can also contribute a lot in improving the workplace operations, and low-level employees can conduct it.
• The managers should monitor the data regularly to look for any differences in the system.

One of the most common and effective ways to monitor customer service performance is for management to pose as a client and call in for service. By posing as a client, managers will be able to understand where there may be opportunities for improvement.

It is necessary to emphasize the need to create cost-effective jobs that provide the employee with an income level not lower than the subsistence minimum, tax revenues, and deductions to relevant funds. Workplaces with low earnings cannot be considered effective. It is possible to achieve the optimal standards by considering the internal production conditions, monitoring the workplace operations, and clients.

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.

Most often, individuals think they have their household finances all sorted, but more often, this area of household operations needs attention. While the concept of managing household finances may seem to be an easy task, the complexity of appropriately sorting your finances can be difficult. On average, an individual spends about five hours a month, tracking his total income, spending, and savings. This article will not help free up those five hours altogether but will provide much-needed relief to those individuals, couples, or families who are severely struggling to keep up. Here are some fantastic tips for managing your household finances.

Develop an Optimistic Mindset

As an individual, couple, or family, it would be in your best interest to develop an optimistic mindset. The primary reason for this is that every family member needs to ensure that they approach household finance-related concerns with a positive mindset rather than developing a pessimistic approach.

Establish a personal bookkeeping system

While this may seem a cumbersome task, believe it or not, this will help alleviate a big chunk of your stress. By establishing a personal bookkeeping system, you can regularly update your books regarding your day-to-day income and expenditures. In return, this bookkeeping will serve as a helping hand when you sit down to manage your household finances. 

Choosing a Program or a Process

Upon establishing a personal bookkeeping system, you would then need to choose between manual entries or high-tech software. This decision may vary from person to person, as some find it easy to keep a manual check while others may lean towards automation and have the desired information in front of them in a few clicks. 

Assess Your Lifestyle

While you are trying your hand at managing your household finances successfully, you must assess your current lifestyle. There are many things in our day-to-day lives that we, as individuals, do not realize whether we need them or not, i.e., spending without thinking. By evaluating your lifestyle, you will be able to cut down expenses, which may not be required to live a pleasant life.

Review Proportions

Once a month, review your total income and how much gets allocated to your savings and expenses. This means that you would know what chunk of your income will be allocated towards expenditure while leaving the rest to be saved or kept as collateral for a rainy day.

Consolidate Funds

It is a common debate in today’s society as to whether individuals must carry multiple credit cards in their pockets or stick to a single one. While having various options allows you the freedom to spend, it also comes with consequences, i.e., not being able to keep track of every expense. Hence, it would be advisable to consolidate all funds into one checking account so that your household finances can be kept under strict check and balance. 

Now that you have expanded your knowledge on managing household finances swiftly, it is inevitable not to drift off course. Hence, this is the phase in which you need to develop a positive habit that allows you to manage your funds better. However, most importantly, you need to ensure that you do not give up even if you fail to succeed in the first few initial months. The practice is what makes a person perfect. 

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.

An organization’s success primarily lies within the hands of its employees and staff since they have the responsibility of managing everyday operations of the business and moving it in the right direction.  This need means the recruitment of remote or overseas employees may become necessary. These remote or offshore employees enable the business to increase its functions when a company is expanding its operations. Thus, the following are the ten tips that may help to ensure successful remote or overseas recruiting:

Bring Social Media to Use

With the progression of time, new media has brought the world closer than ever and has helped eliminate physical distances through its virtual means. Moreover, the trend of social media has expanded to such far and wide areas that a higher proportion of the global population is active on these platforms. Consequently, the data of these users worldwide is readily available on social media accounts, such as those of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Thus, social media is useful in locating individuals or agencies in remote or overseas areas whose details match the job’s specifications.

Highlight Job’s Facilities

When hiring employees from remote or overseas areas, you should not only focus on your job demands but also pay some heed to the needs of these individuals looking for a job in distant locations. The most attractive element for such individuals that they seek such jobs is flexible job options. Flexible timing and daily benchmark are amongst the excellent job qualities for individuals. Highlighting these positive job attributes attracts a higher number of potential employees.

Communicate Openly with Recruitment Agencies

It is a great idea to get assistance from recruitment agencies when looking for large-scale recruitment with specific eligibility criteria. When using them, it is essential to communicate openly and adequately with these recruitment agencies and provide them with proper job criteria. It is also necessary for organizations to inform the recruitment agencies about its requirement for employees from remote or overseas areas, so that the agency may customize its search accordingly.

Make Use of Social Contacts with People and Agencies

With the use of social contacts with people and with agencies, organizations can integrate help from trusted sources to achieve follow up on potential job candidates. In most situations, it is difficult for organizations to track down the record of individuals in remote or overseas areas. Thus, social contacts and agencies can come in handy in providing a comprehensive history of individuals, so that businesses can eliminate the need for constant monitoring of these employees.

Consider Employee Referrals

The internal recruitment method, through employee referral, is a sure-fire procedure of enabling organizations to recruit employees from remote areas or overseas. Suppose an organization has no or limited contacts in the distance. In that case, regions it is likely for the employees of the organization to have connections with some people who live overseas and are suitable for the specific job. Thus, employee referrals may provide a trusted source for enhancing overseas recruitment procedures. 

Identify Critical Job Requirements

Working with employees from remote or overseas areas can present a difficult situation for some organizations as it is relatively tricky for managing employees from such distance. Companies must acknowledge that foreign employees must have practical communication skills, a sense of responsibility, and a sufficient amount of information about the job.  

Customize the Recruitment Procedure

Remote or overseas recruitment is not the same as regular recruitment. There is a physical barrier between recruiters and job applicants. Thus, the recruiter must customize the procedure as per the needs of the organization and that of the applicant. Acknowledge the time difference when scheduling an interview.

Acknowledge Differing Employment Law

Employment and recruitment laws vary significantly from place to place. Therefore, acknowledge these laws and other employment-related rules and regulations of different states and countries, so that the recruitment procedure has protection from any possible legal violation.  

Identify Local Recruitment Procedure and Employment Opportunities

Employment opportunities are usually different in different places, depending on the social, political, and economic conditions of the specific society. Similarly, the recruitment procedure also differs significantly based on the organization’s structure and job requirements. Thus, to grab the attention of individuals from remote or overseas areas, it is necessary to keep local recruitment and employment conditions.

Use Technology to Test Technological Capability of the Individual

Skype and other video conferencing tools provide an effective medium for interviewing individuals from remote or overseas areas.

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.