Author: Jennifer Brazer

QuickBooks is a fantastic tool for accounting and bookkeeping and is essential for any owner of a small business. It can help any business owner who is looking for an accounting and management software for keeping their books in order. QuickBooks has added online features that will make accounting and bookkeeping functions even more user-friendly. Here are 5 QuickBooks Online Features That Will Make Your Life Easier:

 

Online Payment of Bill

QuickBooks announced their first in-product integration recently, which is providing the customers with a facility of online bill payment. By using an application, QuickBooks is now able to provide the customers with the ability to pay their bills online quickly. This facility is making it easy to manage the cash flow of business because the outgoing and incoming cash is tracked in just one place. Various credit verification questions may be asked if paying the bill through the app. These questions are mostly private questions that only the person using the app knows. Once a person has signed up, then vendor bills can be paid online, and their progress can be tracked too.

 

Time Tracking

The second-best feature of QuickBooks can be time racking. Time tracking in QuickBooks online essential is one of the most used features these days. The feature of time tracking can let you track very easily and bill customers for your time.

 

Partial Purchase Orders

QuickBooks is continuously rolling out features that support inventory management. However, partial purchase orders are the latest update for an inventory-centric business. Partial purchase orders are the feature, which is easy to use. In addition to this, no preference and no setups are needed to be put in place. If you have QuickBooks Online Plus with the purchase orders turned on, you can easily receive partial purchase orders.

 

Project Tracking

Project tracking is still in beta, technically. Therefore, it is an amazing feature, and it can also be turned on by using QuickBooks Labs. Besides, it is not a full-on job costing. There is much more to come, but it better to turn it on and to get used to it.

 

Bank Reconcile

Bank Reconcile is another amazing feature of QuickBooks. You can easily reconcile your bank using QuickBooks, and all the bank account work can be done effectively. Moreover, it is also essential to work with an accountant for the reconciliation of the bank and bank cards. In addition to this, it is important to know that, since the chart of accounts and payment terms are supported in QuickBooks, the warehouse operations automatically replace the account entries and the term QuickBooks import records. 

 

QuickBooks has been a well-respected and often used accounting and bookkeeping software used by business owners and individuals. The added online features have made QuickBooks even more valuable. These five features are the most used, but more features may be useful. Explore and discover what works best for you or your business.

 

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.

Growing cybersecurity threats are leading companies from all across the globe into problems. From small-scale business startups to well-established IT conglomerates, there wouldn’t be any organization in the entire world that is immune to the threats of cybercrime. Cyber-attacks are an increasing phenomenon in today’s corporate world, and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are increasingly targeted due to their lack of cyber defense. Arguably, cyber-attacks on SMEs have increased over the past decade or so, and small businesses are still getting fooled at the hands of cybercriminals. Small business owners need to change their perception that their company is too small to be a playground for cybercriminals. They need to understand the fact that small businesses are vulnerable to cybercrimes, and the prevention of cybercrime is a MUST!

Digitalization and Cybersecurity Threats

The age of digitalization is leading into a world where business data is exchanged across the board and transmitted through different internal and external communication channels and platforms and perhaps saved in database servers or the cloud or both. This indicates that businesses are likely to see intrusions and infiltrations into their servers by unknown parties, predominantly known as hackers, spies, digital thieves, scammers, or whatever you name online criminals. Unfortunately, cybercrime or hacking has become a very lucrative profession, and those who know the art of stealing from the company’s databases and servers are making a lot of money. Although larger companies and corporations may have taken some preventive measures for their businesses, SMEs mostly lack in the cyber defense department.

Due to weak cyber defense mechanisms, SMEs are an attractive target for cybercriminals. It is no secret that fraudsters use sneaky tactics to steal from companies and try their latest tricks to hurt businesses financially. “Cybercrime is a curse that will last forever,” said one of the top industry veterans associated with a multinational IT firm. Well, this industry has something for everybody–from solo-playing con artists to organized crime syndicates. Regardless of the size and scale, companies need to come up with a sound crime prevention plan for protecting themselves in a world of cybercrime.

What Can SMEs Do Defend Against Cybercrime?

Cybercriminals these days are equipped with wider hacking knowing and expertise that help them to steal important business data such as vendor details, bank, and financial statements, bookkeeping and accounting records, trade secrets, stakeholders’ information, and other sensitive data. SMEs need to protect themselves against cybercrime and make serious efforts to prevent confidential information leaking from the company’s servers.

There are countless ways SMEs can protect themselves from cybercrime or cyber attackers. Here’s what you can do

Install Anti-virus

Those SMEs that cannot afford to buy expensive antivirus software can download free antivirus solutions as they can also protect them from malicious cyber-attacks. Of course, free antiviruses can work too, but it’s better to have a more robust antivirus solution. Most cyber-attacks happen when SMEs fail to understand the notable worth of such antivirus software and ignore its incorporation in the company’s system and servers. So, this makes me feel safe to say that cybercrime is a menace that needs to be dealt with wisely!

One thing is for sure, cybercriminals have become smarter than ever and use sneaky tactics to break into the company’s accounts and servers. Some of them even have the hacking knowledge and expertise that allow them to surpass antivirus software. So, SMEs need not rely on free antivirus software and purchase more robust solutions for protecting their company against potential cyber threats and dangers.

BYOD Device Policy

Bring your device (BYOD) policy may help companies to keep their operational costs lean. This is the strategy that is common in startup business ventures that help companies to prevent the leakage of important business data from day one. BYOD policy can help businesses, as this is a convenient and cost-effective way to cut business costs. But the lack of a clear BYOD policy can be an open invitation for cybercriminals to hack into your systems and networks through unprotected devices. SMEs need to address this issue in companies that allow BYOD with its employees.

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.

Let’s face it; external threats of fraud are getting worse, and some organizations don’t have a clue what to do about it!

With the growing influence of the internet and dependency on employees in the modern-day workplace, theft of confidential data and trade secrets is more common. Monitoring employee activities and tracking their performance and conduct is easy.  But monitoring day-to-day external operations is more difficult because they are multifaceted. Getting in control of your core business operations, whether financial or managerial, is critical to your long-term success. Perhaps it’s the first thing that determines your company’s profitability and productivity. Guarding against external threats of fraud can help identify and protect your company from fraud, vandalism, libel, hacking, and other inappropriate behavior or misconduct.

Small Organizations Are Vulnerable to External Threats of Fraud!

According to a survey, more than half of the corporate houses around the globe or two-third of companies have experienced and suffered one or more instances of fraud. Surprisingly, the US tops the list of the most severe level financial crimes ever recorded in a corporate world. This indicates that fraud is an ongoing and most widespread activity that costs businesses billions of dollars each year. Small and mid-sized businesses are more vulnerable to external threats of fraud, as they usually lack resources and an adequate level of checks and balances. As per the ACFE Report to the nations, the typical organization loses a significant 5% annual revenue and profit due to occupational fraud. Also, the cases of fraud are far less likely to be committed by a team of individuals and more likely to be committed by a single individual or in an individual capacity.

External Threats of Fraud Possess Risk That Impacts Company Profitability

The need to have a secure and reliable way to manage your company’s finances is essential for putting your business in the right direction and expecting to have long-term growth and success. In a digital world full of fraudsters, computer hackers, data breaches, and spies, you and your company can expect to get affected in one form or another as identity thieves can easily get a hold on your company’s sensitive data and secrets. This makes it clear that external threats of fraud can significantly hurt companies making them get out of the competitive business race. So, having proper checks and balance systems and mechanisms in place can help you reduce costly errors or mistakes.

Types of External Threats of Frauds

External fraud can cause serious damage to your bottom line. It commonly involves your customers and external parties, such as your vendors, banks, etc. Some of the most common types of frauds include vendor and telemarketing fraud or scam, corporate espionage, check and credit card fraud, tax scams, shoplifting, ID theft, insurance fraud, bookkeeping or accounting fraud when hired for services, mortgage, and investment fraud, internet or cybercrime, etc.

Protecting Your Company Against External Threats of Fraud

Create a Code of Conduct and Sound Management Plan

It is ideal for documenting everything appropriately and maintaining a file of important business transactions and financial records. The data saved in your computer is more vulnerable to theft and an easy target for spies and hackers. This also includes the list of duties that who is going to manage which work. Also, it is quite effective to create and document procedures and create a disaster recovery plan in case of data theft. Moreover, training of employees and implementation of effective procedures, coupled with activities like maintaining and auditing the program, is a big plus for minimizing external threats of fraud.

Shore up Your Site’s Security

There is no denying the fact that creating and implementing security measures and ensuring all the data security network protocols can be a nightmare. Especially when you have piles of business records, files, and documents all in one place, to prevent leakage of sensitive data, you need to classify each file. This allows you to have control over your company’s data. 

If the sensitive data is housed online, you must assign different layers of security, perhaps by putting firewalls on the server. If the data is stored in-house, you need to shore up your on-site security to reduce external threats of fraud. This includes locking everything down, installing fire and security alarms, and limiting access to your critical documents. This also includes labeling all records, files, and documents appropriately, conducting regular bookkeeping audits, and other similar tasks.

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 food and beverage industry is a tough nut to crack when it comes to generating comprehensive revenue. The competition in the industry is always increasing, which means you must come up with a differentiating strategy to up your percentage of revenue. However, it is still a lucrative industry for new start up’s and also for seasoned restaurant owners who have the expertise to cut labor costs and other overheads, which tend to take up most of the percentage in revenue.

 

The high percentage of labor costs in revenue is due to the high dependence on labor in the industry. From cooking to serving and then after-sale services, all jobs are labor-intensive. Even the back end of your operations highly depends on skilled labor and their efficiency to carry out the designated tasks.

Labor costs

According to research, labor costs in the food and beverage industry take up around 20 -40% in the percentage of revenue. The percentage varies from restaurant to restaurant as well as other factors such as level of automation, target market, location, and type of offered services. This is a high percentage when we observe that it is a single cost, and we have not added other costs, which would result in a higher number, leaving business owners with little margins.

 

Food and labor costs differ from the kind of food service provider. As a fantastic restaurant, you will incur and higher food and labor cost percentages than if you are running a fast food or casual dine-in restaurant. The product itself, quality, service, pricing operating hours will influence the percentage of revenue. States have minimum wage limits for jobs, so you will incur a minimum cost as soon as you hire a worker. The amount of beverage sales, as a part of the food mix, has a substantial effect on the cost percentage as a whole.

Calculating labor costs

The biggest and most obvious cost would include the wages paid to your workers for the work they are performing for your business. Some of them are paid on an hourly basis, while others would be permanent staff. Businesses often are careless about factoring in other labor-related costs, which are related to benefits, leaves, vacations, health care, and so on. It is not easy to calculate all these costs accurately, and you would require proper bookkeeping set up to account for them at their closest.

Labor costs as a percentage of revenue substantially rise as you add the obscured costs, which are not so obvious. 

Other costs

Once you have calculated all the costs, the job is not done because other costs are still to be calculated, which have complications of their own. The cost of acquiring the raw material for food before it is prepared and served or sold is another significant cost that cannot be ignored. Logistics, overheads, and utility bills are some other costs that you should keep in mind while operating in the food and beverage industry.

How to reduce labor costs?

The survival of your business depends on your ability to reduce costs and bring them to an optimum level. While reducing all costs is important, costs related to labor are perilous because they take up a significant share of the percentage of revenue. The staff for food and beverage businesses should be hired on a need basis. There will be instances when your restaurant would appear understaffed because it’s full, and at times it would appear to be overstaffed because there is no one to serve. Striking an optimum balance in between is the key to reduce labor costs. One way is to keep a specific number of permanent employees and hire the rest on an hourly basis if the demand arises. There are ways to work around the high costs and reduce its effect on the percentage of revenue. You need a bit of creativity and common sense.

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.

Securing your servers and networks and protecting your privacy from online criminals has become an onerous task these days. Hackers and scammers have been inventing new ways to break into the company’s accounts and system, for the money. The thing is hacking has turned into a profitable business, and people from all across the globe have been trying their luck in this ‘profession’. From SMEs to big tech conglomerates, privacy has more or less become an increasingly rare commodity, and hackers are exploiting personal and business information.

According to a study, online criminals will exploit any opportunity at hand and hurt people by manipulating their identities. Typically, most cybercriminals steal sensitive data for money that would be acquired either through taking ransom or selling the information on the dark web for money, which accounts for 77% of total online security breaches. You may be surprised to know that 15% of cases were reported in 2016 against cybercriminals who went on stealing others’ information for personal reasons.

The Growing Use of Social Media Apps and Cybersecurity

The growing popularity of social media and tempting social apps such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc. where have brought people together and provided a playground to interact with each other seamlessly have also created a lot of troubles from them. The internet and social media, where are a blessing, are also a curse! How?  They have a dark side that can hurt people’s image and reputation and damage them both emotionally and physically, which is why there should not be any compromises on one’s online security. Also, people have to realize that they need to prevent shady individuals, online con artists, and cybercriminals from entering their system and networks.

The fact is the bad guys want to steal from you no matter how they are going to make that possible. Once, they had to hold on to your personal data only when they are going to be in a position to manipulate you for ransom or anything else. Giving you the reality check, never fill out your social media profile with legit or accurate information as it can lead you to real trouble. It’s better to restrict your social media activity and limit your online presence as much as possible. Or else, it can pose a threat to your online security.

One thing is clear; the more information you share online–it will become easier for someone to get their hands dirty and damage your reputation. So, never provide essential pieces of personal information such as contact number, email address, complete bios, D/O/B on social media platforms. Well, that’s precisely the point of providing accurate details on your profile and share everything you and your family in your Facebook profile? Come one—you need to understand the bitter realities of the internet, and if you care about your privacy, you need to change yourself!

What Else Can You Do?

Besides restricting your online presence on social media apps, you need to keep your system and networks safe from cyber-attacks. For that, you need to come up with a well-thought-out plan and clear-cut prevention strategy for protecting your data. This includes bookkeeping records and personal and business details. What you can do is create your security policy or hire an IT professional to get this right for you. By setting up strong passwords, it would be troublesome for cybercriminals to break into your computer or network.

Moreover, you need to be careful with software installation and keep your software, browsers, and operating systems updated. Robust anti-virus software can help prevent cyber-attacks and keep cybercriminals from infiltrating your system. A layer or layers of firewall can be a stepping stone for a greater and more robust online security.

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.

Addiction and Rehabilitation Centers

Dependence and Addiction is a complex illness, which affects the patient and their relatives. For this reason, in rehabilitation centers, much attention is paid to working with co-addicts. To make sure a long-term remission occurs, relatives also participate in recovery and change their habits in communicating with the dependent. This is being taught to them at specialized training and seminars, which are arranged for co-dependents. Rehabilitation is always aimed at awakening the body’s forces and restoring lost functions after the illness. In the process, it is important to teach a person to move again, to speak, and to allow him of psychological adaptation to help him find his place in society. To achieve this, the process of rehab must be early, active, consistent, continuous, and comprehensive. The process of bookkeeping is also involved in some rehab centers for keeping the patient’s record and details.

Severe injuries, strokes, oncology – these are just a few types of diseases, after which a person needs rehab help. Unfortunately, often after hospital treatment, the patient is discharged home, where he remains left to himself. Relatives, too, do not always know how to help them in restoring vital activity. The way out of this situation can be staying in a good center of rehab medicine and rehabilitation, where this process takes place under the supervision of specialists and using advanced techniques.

Today, the level of private treatment and rehab centers is in no way inferior to foreign analogs: neither technical equipment nor personnel qualifications, but from the cultural and linguistic environment, climatic conditions, social integration is certainly the preferred solution. The preconceived stereotyped view that treatment abroad is always better cannot be considered well-off even for the reason that foreign clinics cannot provide those social conditions, the adaptation to which is so necessary during rehabilitation.

 

Rehabilitation Process

Rehabilitation, depending on the rehabilitation program, can last from a few weeks to 2 years or more (more often six months.) In addition to working with rehabilitators, specialists from rehab centers provide counseling and help to their relatives – it is believed that relatives of drug and alcohol addicts suffer from co-addiction and just need help.

Some rehab centers for dependent people help their rehabilitators to return to society and strengthen social ties (re-socialization), as well as in restoring the person’s fitness for specific working and living conditions (re-adaptation). The rehabilitation process in the rehabilitation center is carried out in a group of 5 to 25 people (usually 10-12), who for a certain period of time (generally from 1 to 6 months) are voluntarily isolated from the outside world (more often a country house is rented for this) and under the leadership specialists (psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, consultants from among rehabilitated with a long period of soberness, teachers) through individual and group classes gradually move away from the dependent model of life and return to complete sobriety. Thus, the rehabilitation process is a long-term psycho- and social therapy in the therapeutic community.

 

Benefits of Rehab Centers

According to studies, with the right choice of a rehabilitation program, the effectiveness of treatment increases by more than 50%. For such severe varieties of addictions, like alcoholism and drug addiction, this indicator is even higher.

Modern research has convincingly proved that the root cause of dependence is not psychotropic substances or the corresponding behavior, for example, purchase or play, but the immaturity of a person’s personality.

The rehabilitation course aimed at correcting personality traits, psychological support, working out complexes, and forming habits of a healthy lifestyle, at times, increases the chances of prolonged remission.

The process of rehab under the guidance of experienced professionals helps identify the causes that led to the formation of dependence and eliminate them.

 In a model of a rehab center, a person should never feel helpless and redundant but should feel that the stay here is welcome. This is true for nurses since, most of the time, they are who communicate with patients. In some cases, addicts need 24-hour supervision and care. A distinctive feature of a good rehab center is the provision of personalized care. Such a center should not look like a hospital in the classical sense. Patients are provided with all conditions for a comfortable stay. Thanks to a specially organized space, people with disabilities can move without problems from the office to the office. It is possible to relax or concentrate on the procedures and restore your strength in a comfortable space.

 

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.

Handling your startup’s finances might sound like a scary task for a business, which is not an accounting firm. Professionals advise businesses to avoid managing their finances unless they are proficient in the task. Businesses often still try to cope up with budgets, expenses, and revenues on their own to save costs associated with hiring an accounting firm or specialist. Staying on top of the cash flows is highly significant for business as their day to day operations depend on it. Businesses should not worry as tools and tips exist that can help them cater to their financial needs. 

Managing startup’s finances

Set up a bookkeeping system

Every business, either new or old, requires an accounting system, which enables them to stay on top of its finances. Therefore, setting up a bookkeeping system must be the priority for all the entrepreneurs looking to mark their name.

Before you come down to selecting an accounting system, you should sit down and brainstorm your key business needs and how the system can cater to them? Monitoring your inventory, managing employee payrolls, accounts payable, and aging invoices and other functions all must combine to form the basis of your bookkeeping system.

Whether you implement an advanced accounting software or are using excel spreadsheets, you need to indulge in thorough research before selecting the right medium according to your needs. Proper management of a startup’s finances depends on your ability to recognize your key business needs and then handling them appropriately.

Institute banking relationship

The basic rule of running a new business refers to the separation of personal and business finances, right from the start. Some of you may make a mistake to operate your business with a personal account. However, that can turn out against you in no time. Filing your yearend taxes could result in an absolute disaster with a combined account. Therefore, your startup’s finances should, at all times, be controlled by a separate business account.

Open up a business checking account and apply for a credit card so that you can start building up your business credit. If you are using accounting software, integrate it with your bank account so that you can handle the invoices and payments in an appropriate time. This can be of huge benefit as you have access to real-time balances in all your accounts as well as being able to make automated payments for situations that are of utmost importance.

Building a solid and healthy relationship with your bank will ensure that your business stays out of any financial distress. Keeping a good history with your bank will make you eligible for loans and funding required for expansion.

Set a budget

A comprehensive budget plan is essential to manage your startup’s finances as it will act as a guideline for you to make key strategic decisions. During the early stages of your business, it can be quite hard to maintain a positive cash flow. However, it should be the ultimate goal of your business. Sitting down and analyzing your revenues and expenses would offer you a clear picture of your current business standing. Identify a breakeven point so that you have a clear picture of where your income and expenses meet. A budget plan with all these details is of great value to the organization.

Setting up a budget also helps you determine your pricing strategy. A fair and competitive pricing strategy if what will set you apart from the competition, and that is only possible once you have your budget right in front of you. All the other needs related to your startup’s finances are listed down in a budget, enhancing its importance.

Don’t forget taxes

Tax season is the most stressful time of the year for any business. Paying taxes as a business owner is different from being a tax-paying individual. You have to account for your invoices, payments, payroll expenses, and other aspects of the business. The IRS will thoroughly audit your business for any discrepancies, so you must prepare your startup’s finances for tax season from the beginning.

Implementation of these guidelines will ensure that your finances are for the tough times ahead.

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.

No denying the fact that the gaming industry has turned into a multibillion-dollar revenue-generating business and hackers and cybercriminals have every reason to salivate at the chance to snip a cut of the pie. Online gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries in the entire world, with nearly 9.2 million active online users every day. According to research conducted by Entertainment Software Association, there’s at least one dedicated gaming console, smartphone, or PC owned by an average US household. The increase in the popularity of online gaming is due to increased bandwidth, faster global connectivity, growing gaming platforms, and improved cybersecurity. While online gaming can provide you a good time-killing opportunity and great social interaction, it could also be dangerous for your online security.

Identity Theft Means A Compromise On Your Cybersecurity!

Identity theft has become a regular activity these days, and yet we don’t do anything to prevent or stop it. We rarely make efforts to secure our systems and networks. This is why we often compromise on our cybersecurity and start believing that we’re not going to fall prey to cybercriminals or cybercriminal activities. This approach usually lands us into facing real troubles, along with financial and emotional traumas that start to bother us mentally. Well, identity theft is real, and we should do whatever we possibly can to ensure that our systems and networks are secured and well-protected against all potential cyber threats.

What’s More?

As per the Justice Department, approximately 17 million people became victims of identity theft, out of which 5 million were directly or indirectly linked to online gaming. From cyberbullying or identity theft to emotional distraction, there are many security and safety concerns when it comes to online gaming. A teenager or gaming enthusiasts are usually more inclined towards playing games online and have little or no knowledge about their cybersecurity. This dilemma often leads them to click on hoax links that lead them to downloading games from unrecognized or unprotected websites. Online predators will exploit any opportunity at hand and steal gamers’ credentials and accounts for money or personal reasons.

Improve Your Cybersecurity!

While catering to the limitless needs of gamers, social media enthusiasts, and other techies that love being online for vast amounts of time, they also need to be provided safety and security for securing their devices against dangerous cyber threats. Perhaps you may agree that modern cybersecurity systems have created safe havens for cybercriminals. Outdated or obsolete system and network security protocols open windows of opportunity for cybercriminals to break into your gaming accounts.

Online Gamers –Just Be Careful!

Those high-leveled accounts that are ranked high on the list of specific categories and have rare items are tempting targets for cybercriminals. Such gaming accounts are valued on the dark web as they are sold for higher prices. So, you need to protect your online gaming accounts from online predators because they can also explore sensitive information such as your address, your family details, your email address, etc. Moreover, cybercriminals can exploit your personal information and bookkeeping records saved on your computer that may lead them to know about your data.

Topmost Cybersecurity Concern to Worry About!

Countless ways exist by which cybercriminals can break into your computers and smartphone devices. Cybercriminals find it easy to use Phishing scamming techniques to get information about online gamers through their credentials via emails. It seems to online gaming enthusiasts that emails are sent by official companies or platforms, inviting them to be part of the gaming community. The link that is mentioned in the email is a hoax address that lures you into giving your personal details. This is how your cybersecurity is compromised, and your information was stolen.

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.

Imagine that you see your accountant at year-end to examine your taxes along with profit versus cash, and you receive great news. Your business has made a substantial profit, but you’re dumbfounded because there’s no cash in the bank account, and you have no idea about how your income tax will be paid. You must be wondering about the possibility of this happening as it’s strange for a business to make profits while not having any cash at the year-end. You might not believe it, but businesses face this scenario regularly.

 

Profit versus cash: Basic difference

All the cash withdrawals and deposits in a business collectively form its cash flow. The profit for any business is the variance between income and sales, including the expenses that were incurred to make that sale. There are ways a company can have positive cash flow but will show no profit for it, such as in cases involving the acquisition of loans or owners’ equity in the form of cash. If this happens, this would not be counted as an asset of a business. Rather it’s a liability that needs to be paid off.

Contrariwise, a business would incur negative cash flows while making profits at the same time, if the owner takes money out of the business for personal use or make other investments. The essential difference between profit versus cash resides in the source of the transaction as for what purpose the money is coming in or going out of the business.

Cash

Cash, which is referred to as cash flow in business terms, is the amount that flows in and out of the firm in lieu of its operations, funding, and investing activities. This is the money that is a requirement for a business to meet it’s current and future obligations. There are two main things about profit versus cash flows that must be kept in mind.

• As discussed above, even a profitable business may have satisfactory cash to meet its daily demands. In the worst cases, inadequate cash flow can also lead businesses to bankruptcy. For example, you’re a manufacturer and have sold off your product at a profit. However, there is a long sales chain, which means that you would not receive the payment for the next 2, 3 months. It may sound like a lot of time, but such periods are quite normal among large businesses. Since your business is not yet established, you may not get enough time to pay your suppliers.
• Your sales may be rising, and you keep receiving the cash. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are making profits. In case you had borrowed the money to solve the cash situation, the increasing debt expenses can raise your costs above the breakeven, ultimately drying your cash flow and resulting in catastrophe for your business.

Profits

Profits are also known as net income and are the amount that remains after subtracting all the expenses from sales. It is a known fact that no business can sustain without profits. However, sometimes as your product starts selling, the expenses can rise even further. While analyzing profit versus cash, we see that they are similar in specific ways as well as different in others. Unless you have a clear understanding of all your costs and expenses, you cannot have a clear picture of your profits.

Often at times of rapid profits, the operational costs and other expenses increase at such a rapid rate that you are not able to cope up with the pace, therefore, leading to business failure. And this does not even include issues related to customer service, human resources, and leadership.

In an emerging business, keeping track of profit versus cash also entails catering to these related issues. At times it may even become essential to restrict the growth rate to assure long-term success.

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