Author: Jennifer Brazer

It only takes a few Google searches to become overwhelmed by abundant information about entrepreneurial start-ups. Numerous stories exist on how this or that start-up transitioned into a victorious, reputable business. But, in various cases, you will be left trying to fill in the blanks or still searching for case studies significant to your industry or business model.

There is only one dependable method to get your industry to the next level. And that involves putting your faith in tried-and-tested ways other entrepreneurs have used to leap.

Focus on Productivity and Not Only on Activity

Shun the busyness trap and question what you must focus on today or in the future. Plan so that you know what your next steps are. Leadership expert and Coach Leah Wultschik has distinguished that when leaders engage in all ways of business, the never-ending center to get things done results in decreased creativity. You will constantly be in a reactionary state, leaving you unable to make strategic decisions.

Hire the Best Talent Possible

Surround yourself with world-class workers who bring priceless ideas rather than trying to squeeze what you can from second-rate employees. Aislinn Malszecki, who oversees content strategy and community at MaRS, suggests the following steps to be a focus for finding the best talent possible:

1. Avoid reactionary hiring: Founders frequently find themselves badly needing help and may hire without looking for the right fit and skill set.
2. Create a buzz for your company: Use your reputation and personal network to draw the right people to your business.
3. Tap into your network: In addition to posting jobs on your website and LinkedIn, influence your network as well as the networks of your employees to find like-minded candidates.
4. Building your team is not a subject to be taken lightly: Neighboring yourself with the right people can mean the difference between breaking through and remaining stagnant as a business. Work with people who motivate you.

Partner with an Agency

The opportunity cost of doing the whole thing alone can add up fast. Work with an agency. The up-front cost of outsourced work will eventually be less costly than trying to do it all yourself.

Patrick Woods, director of customer success at Keen IO, notes the challenges of working with an agency. To overcome these hurdles, he suggests:

1. Build a relationship with the agency: Take time to get to know the people you’ll be working with. Determine fit as well as expectations.
2. Communicate: As start-ups tend to move fast, converse regularly and clearly with the agency to ensure you’re on the same page.
3. Understand what the agency can do for you: Elucidate its staffers’ core strengths and competencies. Establish what tasks you’d like them to take over and which you want to handle in-house.

Beware of Negativity

Lack of enthusiasm can poison the waters of your entire company. On the other hand, being confident will instill a sense of confidence in your employees. They will follow you more eagerly. Best-selling author and keynote speaker Jon Gordon has pointed out that negativity can affect your team’s morale, presentation, and output. Negativity can also lead to decreased energy and increased stress. When creating a positive work environment, the responsibility lies with the leader. You need to set the tone for your team to draw the best out of them.

Avoid Burnout

James Schramko of SuperFastBusiness is an advocate for getting more rest and sleep. Schramko points out that good rest can help you boost your performance. The cost of losing sleep is important and can include depression, a weaker immune system, memory issues, obesity, and more. The cost of burnout can be particularly high if you make yourself incapable of working for an extended period. Consider the costs before letting yourself get to that point.

Prioritize

You will only be able to do some of it. No one has more than twenty-four hours in their day, and we are all very busy. Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, has said that he lives by the “Hell, yeah!” or “No” philosophy. He explains that saying no to most things leaves room in your life for the few things that get you genuinely excited. If you find yourself wavering between a “yes” and a “no,” he suggests choosing “no.” Only say “yes” to opportunities that you cannot pass up.

Conclusion

Transitioning from a start-up to an established business can take time. Take your time with the process. When all the right pieces are in place, you can shift easily from one stage to another. If you try to force the issue, you may have more troubles than you bargained for.

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.

Restaurants have two primary costs that make up their total prime cost – labor and food. In seasonal adjustments in restaurants, it is essential to control the prime costs to survive the sales plunge. During the off-season, sales tend to experience a slump, which leads to rising labor costs. It is because, despite lower sales, labor has to be paid (fixed cost incurred regardless of the number of units sold) and incorporated in the bookkeeping process, no matter what.

Moreover, prime costs comprise approximately 55-65 percent of the restaurant’s total cost. Regression adjustments will require a stringent cost-control drill for all restaurant businesses. Five ways to control costs during seasonal restaurant adjustments have been discussed in the following paragraphs.

Adjust Labor Budget

As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, labor costs tend to shoot off-season due to lower sales. You can control costs by making adjustments to the labor budget. When setting and allocating budgets for the restaurant, the labor budget for off-seasons must be higher and vice-versa. This ensures that the prime costs are managed during seasonal adjustments, where sales fluctuate drastically.

Multiple Suppliers

Having multiple suppliers is a good idea for several reasons. For instance, in case of supply shortages from any of the suppliers, the alternative may always be available for backup support. This is crucial for restaurant businesses as raw material supply tends to oscillate during seasonal adjustments for the restaurant industry. 

Moreover, suppliers may transfer the cost of crops onto the restaurant if they face a poor crop harvest. Switching the raw material supply under such circumstances will likely induce cost control for a restaurant business. Moreover, having multiple suppliers will help save unnecessary hikes in the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) during restaurant seasonal adjustments. 

Menu Adjustments

Another go-to tip to control costs during seasonal changes for a restaurant business is to make adjustments to the menu. Mixing and matching food items to incorporate the most popular and profitable items into the menu can lower food costs. Ensure that all items on the menu have high-profit margins. Items that are neither popular nor have higher margins will be eliminated from the menu as soon as possible.

Not just food costs but labor costs may also be reduced by making changes to the menu. For instance, more workers must prepare a burger than those required to prepare a steak. It means that menu items can be swapped during restaurant seasonal adjustments depending on labor requirements to control labor costs.

Inventory Management

Keeping inventory estimates is necessary to ensure cost control during seasonal adjustments in restaurants. It would help if you estimated how much inventory will be maintained for the off-season and the on-season demand. Inventory orders must be placed based on these estimated figures. 
This type of inventory management is essential if wastage is to be reduced, leading to lower food costs. As for peak seasons, ample quantities should be available in stock to meet higher than ever in restaurants. Therefore, premium prices for raw materials may effectively be avoided.

Reduce Wastage

Lastly, restaurant businesses must ensure wastage control as this will eventually control costs (food costs). In an attempt to ensure perfection in food, a lot of wastage takes place within restaurant kitchens. This must be reduced to avoid wastage because wasted food is costly.

If wastage is prevalent in a restaurant, more raw materials are being ordered. This additional cost may be saved, especially during restaurant season adjustments when inventory management estimates are in place. A wastage sheet or a food wastage log must be maintained to cater to this issue.

Conclusion

In conclusion, managing prime costs, mainly labor and food, is imperative for restaurant survival amid seasonal fluctuations. With labor adjustments, diversified suppliers, strategic menu changes, meticulous inventory management, and stringent wastage control, restaurants can navigate seasonal challenges, ensuring financial resilience and sustained profitability.

The commitment to cost control measures becomes even more crucial, given that prime costs constitute a significant portion of a restaurant’s total expenses. By implementing these strategies, businesses can fortify their resilience and successfully weather the dynamic shifts inherent in the restaurant industry during seasonal adjustments.

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.

What is the Utilization Ratio?

The utilization rate is an essential ratio companies can use to charge their clients. The ratios are used to maximize the productivity time for employees. It can reflect the billing effectiveness and the company’s overall productivity. Two different bookkeeping methods exist for calculating indirect and direct labor expense utilization ratios.

Method One

The first method calculates the total billable hours divided by the number of hours recorded in a particular period. For example, if the total hours are 60 but the hours billable are 30, then the utilization rate would be 30/60 = 50%. Using this utilization ratio, if the company is willing to cease recording its non-billable time, the ratio will always be equal to 100%. Easy enough?

Method Two

The second method for calculating the labor utilization rate uses the total billable hours divided by a fixed number of hours each week. An example will help elaborate and explain this formula. If there are 22 billable hours recorded in a predetermined 40 hours per week, then the utilization ratio will be calculated as 22/40 = 55%.

Why are Labor Utilization Ratios Important?

Company leaders rely on utilization ratios to significantly identify how much the company’s workforce is currently employed and productive. It provides how the current workforce is performing and the required performance from current employees. If the ratio indicates an overproduction, the company must hire more people to improve and balance productivity based on utilization rates.

Direct Labor Utilization

A company’s payroll is considered the most significant organizational expense. Companies want to make sure that their payroll costs are generating sufficient income. The direct labor utilization ratio indicates how much a company spends each year on direct labor.

The remainder of payroll-associated costs are considered indirect labor costs. Examples of indirect labor costs are:

• Amount spent on training employees
• Administrative expenses
• Marketing expenses
• Paid vacations
• Taxes

How to Calculate Direct Labor Utilization Ratio

The calculation needed for the direct labor utilization ratio includes dividing the total payroll amount associated with direct labor by the total payroll cost for that specific period, giving the direct utilization ratio. For example, suppose your company is spending $4,000 on the payroll for a specific pay period and pays an additional $3,000 in direct labor expenses. In that case, the utilization ratio for direct labor is 75%. (3,000/4,000 = 75%)

On average, the direct labor utilization ratio must be around 65%. A value higher than 65% will indicate that the company is utilizing its labor force efficiently. Companies with fewer paid vacations and paid training will have a lower utilization cost.

Indirect Labor Utilization

Overhead costs are also called indirect labor costs. Labor overhead costs are directly associated with the different materials used for direct labor. Calculating indirect labor utilization is different, and here’s what we need:

• The number of hours an employee has worked: if the employee worked for 52 weeks per year * 40 hours per week, they worked for almost 2,080 hours.
• Deduct the total time spent on holidays per year: 45 days or 360 hours (including sick leaves, public holidays, training, and seminars) 360 – 2,080 =1,720 hours.

Hence, the 1,720 hours are our total hours spent by one employee as indirect labor utilization.

Conclusion

Labor costs can be costly for any business, so the calculations of labor costs are essential to ensure that the company’s accounting is accurate. Calculating labor costs through these methods will ensure your company has accurate accounting and bookkeeping information. A good accountant or bookkeeper can accurately calculate labor costs if you hire a professional to assist with accounting issues.

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.

Drop shipping is a great way to sell goods without carrying an inventory. Your designated product manufacturers produce packages and send the product out to your customers because you have provided them with a low-cost platform. It is great for entrepreneurs, as it is a low-risk, low-cost, and decidedly automated business model. You are not required to buy inventory in bulk for low costs because the costs are already pretty low. You can quickly sell the products at a market value with healthy profit margins.

Drop Shipping Tips

With drop shipping, you are ready to start the business as soon as you sign up. Products are imported pretty easily from different vendors with a simple click. As the process is highly automated, the processing time is also significantly reduced, and the product can be delivered to the customer in a considerably less amount of time. Because the business operations are pretty easy to handle, you can shift your focus to developing the other aspects of the business. Some of the tips below will guide you in this regard.

Focus on Marketing for Drop Shipping

As most aspects of this business are automated, you will have plenty of time to focus on the other elements, such as marketing. While basic marketing strategies suggest using logos, aesthetic websites, and graphics for the business model, you must attempt to gain deeper insights into SEO and customized videos to grow your traffic and customer base.

SEO and ads will drive most of the traffic to your website; about 1–2% of those visitors are involved in a sale. Therefore, if your drop shipping business has less than 100 visitors, you will likely not make any sales.

It is also great for your business in the future, as a higher SEO ranking means your website will appear among the top searches, which is pretty significant at these times. Similarly, blog posts can boost traffic and must be used alongside your other marketing strategies.

Videos have the highest conversion rate to sales among all marketing elements. They involve multiple senses of the onlooker at the same time, which generates solid emotional associations. Creating an association with the customer is key for any business. It is even more important for online businesses because it’s the closest real-time experience you can offer customers before they physically feel their product.

Make an Offer They can’t Refuse

Running a successful dropshipping business requires you to make a compelling offer to your customers. Sales and bundle offers are the most popular among consumers as they give them better value. Not having any of your products on sale may be bad for business. However, if your products are of greater quality, inspired by a compelling marketing campaign, you may not need to offer sales.

A bundle offer must consist of similar products as it is generally more persuasive. For example, if you offer hair products, try to include a variety in the bundle for the same category.

Don’t Under Price

The advantage of running a drop shipping business is that you can keep the production costs low. You are acquiring the products at a wholesale price, so the costs are already low. Now, you can price your products at market value or lower depending on your planned profit margin.

Many businesses make the mistake of keeping product prices too low because they think customers will not buy if they don’t. Although the costs of acquiring the products are low, you still need to cater for all of the indirect costs related to marketing, payrolls, and other business expenses.

Also, consumers generally perceive low-cost products to be of lower quality. They don’t buy it just because the price is too low to be true. Don’t make that mistake. Price your products appropriately around their market value so that you can reap all drop shipping benefits.

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.

Inventory

Companies involved in manufacturing and selling physical goods must record them as assets in their books and expenses at the time of their sale. Manufacturing companies usually deal with three inventories: materials, work in process, and finished goods. Retailers only have to deal with one inventory, which is merchandise. In all cases, a company has to sell inventories to make profits. Before it is sold, it serves as an asset for the company. However, after merchandise is sold, the cost covers an expense called the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The cost is then transferred from a balance sheet to an income statement via journal entry in bookkeeping terms.

Companies maintain a significant amount of inventory to manage their day-to-day operations. However, it is an important asset that needs to be monitored closely. Storing too much inventory can cause issues related to decreasing cash flows, storage costs, and losses if the item turns archaic. Similarly, too little of it can result in lost sales and customers.

Indirect costs or overhead costs that cover depreciation, factory maintenance, cost of factory management, electricity, etc., are allocated to inventory, depending on the production levels. Overheads are frequently assigned based on direct labor hours or the number of machine hours.

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of Goods Sold represents the cost of goods or merchandise sold to customers. Unlike inventory, which is mentioned on the balance sheet, the cost of goods is reported on the income statement. All costs to get the merchandise into the inventory and then ready for sale are included in the goods’ cost. The cost of acquiring it from the supplier, shipping costs, and all other costs are included. Direct materials, labor, and overhead costs are also included in the goods sold.

For services, the cost of goods would account for labor, payrolls, and benefits. All of the direct costs associated with the production of the product are the cost of goods. It is essential to highlight that goods not sold during the year and still in inventory would not be included in calculating the COGS. Only the goods that were sold are included.

Cost Flow Assumptions

There are three methods that the IRS accepts to move the cost from the balance sheet to the income statement. The accepted methods are FIFO (First In, First Out), LIFO (Last In, First Out), and Average Cost. They are what the names suggest. First out means that goods that arrive first should be removed at an original cost. It doesn’t matter if the cost of goods sold has increased for the new batch. You would have to record at an actual price. Each cash flow assumption can be used in both systems mentioned below.

Periodic Inventory System

Under the periodic system, the inventory account amount is not updated at the time of purchase. The account is only updated at the end of the year. It means the account would show the cost of last year’s stock for the whole year.

All the purchases related to merchandise are recorded in either one or more purchase accounts. At the time of year-end, the purchase accounts are closed, and the stock account is matched with the cost of merchandise at hand. Under the periodic system, the cost of goods sold does not exist in the account to record merchandise sales. It is calculated as beginning stock + new purchases – ending stock. You could not figure it out while looking at a general ledger account.

Perpetual Inventory System

Under a perpetual system, the stock account is continuously updated. The cost of merchandise purchased from the suppliers is added to the account, while what is sold to the customers is constantly being reduced from the account. There is no room for purchase accounts under this system.

The cost of goods sold account is debited at the sale, precisely for the merchandise’s cost. There must be two recorded journal entries for the sale of any merchandise. Sales and accounts receivable are recorded as one entry, while the other caters to reducing inventory and increasing the cost of goods sold.

FIFO, LIFO, and Average cash flow assumptions are combined with either perpetual or periodic systems to account for the stock’s cost at hand. It is up to you to choose any one of them at your convenience.

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.

Every business owner knows that many aspects of running a company can get hectic. For example, bookkeeping can become a demanding task. Another serious business chore is keeping track of expenses, so many choose to use a credit card to conduct company transactions. Month-end statements make it much easier to track expenditures.

Many companies in the market offer business-oriented credit cards; however, business owners often avoid using such a card, thinking it may compromise many benefits offered on personal use cards.

Therefore, should entrepreneurs use their cards or move to business credit cards to make purchases for their company?

Using Personal Credit Cards for Business Purchases

Yes, it is possible to use a personal credit card for business transactions, and it even has some benefits. One of the most important reasons for using a personal card is the CARD Act of 2009. The act prevents credit card providers from charging higher fees and increasing interest rates than personal cards are subject to. Business credit cards do not enjoy these protections. The second reason relates to the rewards and benefits of using a personal credit card. There is almost always an incentive program to encourage the use of personal cards.

On the other hand, business cards do not offer as many benefits as personal cards. Some offers might be intended to attract businesses, such as purchasing office supplies at a discounted rate. However, it might still not be a lot.

It would be best if you did some research to check and see what benefits suit your business and choose a credit card based upon those benefits, be it a personal or business card.

Don’t Count Out Business Credit Cards

Although the prospects of choosing a personal credit card sound desirable, you should not dismiss the possibility of getting a business card. There are certainly a lot of advantages associated with getting a business card. The additional services offered with many business cards might be just what your company needs.

A typical example is a business handing out credit cards to its employees. This need is facilitated by most credit card providers who provide multiple cards associated with a single account. On the other hand, personal credit cards are for individuals and do not offer these services.

Another advantage associated with business cards is spending more than one could on personal credit cards. It is useful, especially for companies with many monthly expenses they must put on their card.

Suggestions for Success

Now that you know both sides of the story, it is recommended that you take a close look at the structure of your business expenses. Once you’ve assessed your business’s needs, you can conclude which card (business or personal) is better for your company’s operations. Once you do get the card you want to use for business, keep the following suggestions in mind:

• Refrain from mixing business and personal cards, leading to messy bookkeeping.
• Use the tools provided by your credit card company to keep track of your business’s expenditures. It is the main reason enterprises go for credit cards. It is recommended that you don’t ignore this suggestion.
• Build healthy credit habits. These include paying the credit card bills when they are due and in full. Remember that you are using a credit card to keep track of your expenses and that it should be your priority to avoid interest payments and maintain a good credit score.

Conclusion

Using a credit card to keep track of business expenses is always a desirable option. When choosing a card, you will use it in your business operations. It is always wise to look around for what is offered and at what price. Having healthy credit habits to fully utilize the card without incurring unnecessary liabilities is also necessary.

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.

Positive cash flow is the lifeline of SMEs (small and medium enterprises). It is vital to supporting and raising a business. Cash flow is not just bookkeeping the amount of money coming in and going out of a business. SMEs can save money by adopting the strategic approach to control cash flow. This saved money can be invested in new markets and products from the bookkeeping. Loans can be paid off by controlling cash flow. SMEs will be in a much stronger situation with positive cash flow and can easily attract financiers and lenders with attractive funding conditions and at more excellent discount rates.

Steps to Positive Cash Flow

Targets for Cash Flow

Set targets for positive cash flow. Generate a forecast and update it every week to have better control over cash flow. Andrew Jhonson, a financial advisor, states that controlling the creditor’s setting is vital for the attention, satisfaction level, and ownership to succeed and rise. Bookkeeping of incoming and outgoing cash should be implemented to have better control.

Payment Terms are Clear

It is crucial for controlling cash flow to have clear terms for payment. It determines when and how you will be paid without delay. The National Specialist Construction Council CEO, Suzanne Nichol, pointed out that if the company doesn’t keep a record of overdue payments, they will not manage the cash flow.

Invoice Promptly

Pay invoices promptly to have positive cash flow in SMEs. Marion Thomson advised clearing invoices as soon as possible. Sending invoices through emails is more efficient as they are delivered quickly and automatically recorded in the emails. Bookkeeping will help you look at all of the transaction history.

Easy Payments for Customers

Payment schedules should facilitate the customer as much as possible. Thomson advises. “Try to avoid being paid by check as it will result in a delay before the money arrives in your bank account,” she says. “Online payments are a much better option.”

Offer Clients Payment Packages at Fixed Rates

To ensure positive and more substantial cash flow in SMEs, offer payment packages at fixed alerts and periodic intervals.

Establish Payment Schedules to Minimize Debtor Days

Many SMEs practice a long duration of payment and invoicing. It should be minimized to manage cash flow effectively.

Manage Cash Flow by Utilizing Technology

Cash flow management becomes relatively easy if we use technology. Entrepreneurs with limited management time have developed and adopted many accounting software programs.

Focusing on Cash Flow Rather than on Profit

Your profit will be in order if your cash flow is in order. “A lot of new businesses do not make it past six months. They might have been a profitable business eventually, but they need to have a good cash flow to survive,” Agnes Cserahti says. She estimated that 90% of SMEs never planned cash flow, though they have many years’ profit forecasts. It is one of the primary reasons for failure in an early stage of business.

The new business should work with reliable clients who pay quickly.

Training Employees Regarding Cash Flow Monitoring

For example, a few SMEs, Manchester-based Ratio Law LLP, assign a devoted individual to follow the money coming in and going out. Staff training regarding positive cash flow management and bookkeeping should be scheduled to get optimum benefits.

Keep Bank Informed

Your bank can suggest helpful business services—for example, overdrafts and credit, mainly when they are starting. So you must be well aware of these services.

Conclusion

Clear payment terms and email invoicing are essential for positive cash flow. Following all of these points will ensure your success as an SME.

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.

It is not your fault, and you are certainly not alone in facing financial management difficulties. It may not be your area of expertise to put debit and credit at the top of your priorities, which is normal! As an entrepreneur, it is your prime duty to focus on the core matters of your home-based business and care the least about money-management affairs. Several accounting services can care for your finances with the utmost secrecy and confidentiality. Home-based businesses or industries are growing on a massive scale, meaning the demand for accounting and bookkeeping services has increased significantly.

Gone are the days when trusting online accounting and bookkeeping services used to haunt businesses. Now, the accounting houses are so professional that they will not dare to get involved in any unethical activities because they know that if they are going to do such things, people will sue them. However, home-based businesses find it extremely difficult to manage and overcome accounting and bookkeeping challenges, as they lack superior accounting or even basic accounting knowledge, skills, and experience in tackling challenging financial concerns. For that purpose, hiring the services of experienced and well-qualified professional accountants or bookkeepers is a must.

Hiring the Right Accountant

The biggest misconception about accounting and bookkeeping services is that they are too expensive. Not every bookkeeping firm or individual(s) with accounting knowledge charges you a lot. With so many options on the internet, you can easily find the right strategic fit suitable for your pocketbook. Home-based businesses may have little or no knowledge of account receivables/payables, financial paperwork, payroll, cash flow, or closing of financial books at the end of a specified period.

Overcoming these accounts and bookkeeping challenges requires hiring pro-level services of qualified accountants and bookkeepers. Moreover, the time and money invested in procuring the right services always pay off in the long run of your business journey. Hiring accounting services may seem challenging, but once you find the services of your choice and specifications, it will sketch a clear picture of your overall financial standing. For home-based businesses, the right accountant or bookkeeper can serve the right need, and when the need is served, the purpose of the business is served.

Using the Best Accounting Software

If hiring an accountant to combat accounting and bookkeeping challenges is not an option, accounting software is better. As a business continues to expand and grow, the dynamics of the accounting system in place will change. The system must either be upgraded per the new specifications or replaced entirely.

There could be several reasons this could happen, perhaps due to increased work staff, increased customer base, business growth and expansion, and evolving industry-specific needs. Therefore, home-based businesses need to ensure that the system recognizes all financial transactions and helps them track each of them when needed. Whether you are a small-scale business or a large one, you need to develop custom accounting software if all other accounting software fails to serve the proper accounting needs of your business.

Staying On Top Of Cash Flow

The theory is simple: Businesses that do not stay on top of their cash flow or are not successful in managing their cash influx and outflow will not be able to survive in the competitive business environment for an exceedingly long period. This comprehensive statement indicates that it is essential for home-based businesses to manage their cash flow to the best of their abilities and commitment.

However, suppose you expect to combat accounting and bookkeeping challenges and stay on top of the cash flow. In that case, you should consider hiring a professional accountant/bookkeeper or using the right accounting software. Streamlining the process is the critical step to achieving success and strategic goals. Hence, you must be careful and play an active role in deciding the fate of your company.

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.

In the dynamic realm of Information Technology, professionals are engaged in an ongoing battle to uphold the seamless operation of businesses. Amidst this perpetual challenge, a momentary respite becomes a valuable opportunity for IT experts to momentarily ease off the accelerator and strategically assess the path forward.

In the following discussion, we aim to distill key insights and offer practical tips for addressing various challenges encountered in the intricate landscape of IT.

Security is the Number 1 Concern

After a year of extensive cyber threats, it’s clear that a diverse attack could happen at any time on nearly any part of the network. Highly-publicized data breaches have catapulted security to the top spot in the survey, with over 25 percent of respondents highlighting it as a significant concern. As cyber convicts become more sophisticated and better-funded, the reality is that we are not doing enough to keep up.

Heading into 2018, the focus for security needs to be data protection. Data breaches stole first place in the security category, while securely transferring data ranked at number two. End users often won’t consider the risks when selecting a method to share information, and unsurprisingly, data, i.e., mid-transit, has the highest probability of loss. Scheduling your approach to security is essential and will help you understand where your system is weakest.

Privacy will Undergo a Huge Overhaul

There are massive changes to the way data can be adequately transferred. Businesses will find privacy at the forefront of their agendas. There can be severe insinuations for companies storing data long after being transmitted for technological giants such as Google and Amazon and businesses using Dropbox services. In any situation, keeping up with evolving security threats while meeting new privacy standards will be one of the biggest challenges in 2018.

In light of these changes, compliance was another matter highlighted by research as a concern. Whether it is the healthcare, financial, or legal sectors, many industries require full transparency and must secure their business-critical data. With the introduction of new data privacy regulations, all businesses will have to comprehend and obey what is being asked of them. An awareness and education program could benefit an organization by helping to share the compliance burden.

Standing Out will be a Major Challenge

IT teams are also looking to revolutionize and need to tackle application performance and monitoring issues. As networks become increasingly demanding and dispersed across many platforms and devices, every aspect of the infrastructure must be monitored to optimize efficiency and highlight performance issues, from applications, servers connected devices and virtual environments.

Keeping Up with New Technologies will Prove as Difficult as Ever

As technological advances continue to push on at an exceptional rate, the invasion of new devices such as smartwatches and fitness bands and the streaming of high-bandwidth content will pressure IT pros. A clear action plan must be implemented when arraying new technologies, handling user devices, and ensuring new technologies are compatible with the existing infrastructure. It will ensure the IT department isn’t left gasping at the starting line.

In addition to precise planning, implementing automated systems to tackle repetitive tasks will open up your time to run IT infrastructure and business-critical setups. Training staff could save time and troubles later when new technologies are implemented, increasing efficiency and productivity while ensuring that workforces make the most of the available technology.

Conclusion

IT professionals have a lot on their plate with many concerns: data protection and management, storage, device management, automation, and reporting. The simplest solution is this – don’t attempt everything. Decide what is achievable for your department and follow through with your improvements.

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.

Are you struggling to get your finances in order? Is a pencil-and-paper drafted budget or that endless spreadsheet just too time-consuming to manage? If any of these describe your situation, you no longer have to worry! Fortunately, plenty of budgeting and bookkeeping apps allow you to easily track your spending, save money, and pay your household bills simply by using your phone and tablet, especially when you habitually check your phone many times a day.

With today’s smart personal finance apps, managing your money, sticking to your budget plans, and even making investment decisions are far easier. However, not every tool out there is suitable to your needs or worth downloading and learning to use. That is why we have developed our favorite five essential apps to help you monitor your spending habits, save money, and pay your household bills on the spot and on the go. 

Mint: Best Way to Manage Your Finances

Mint is among the most essential apps for personal finance to help you manage your money in one place. It is an effective all-in-one tool for budgeting, tracking your spending and household bills, and getting smarter with your money. In addition to your monthly bills, it allows you to connect all your bank and credit card accounts easily. Thus, with all your finances conveniently in one place, you eliminate the hassle of logging into multiple sites.

With Mint, you can create budgets seamlessly, get suggestions based on your spending, schedule payments on the go, get reminders, get specific advice to control your money and budget, and eventually improve your financial outlook. The free credit store is another advantage. This truly is an all-in-one package deal.

Wally: Seamlessly Track Your Money 

Like being organized with your workplace expense reports, Wally is a great choice and a free essential app if you want to stay updated with your expense tracking. Take a picture of your receipts with Wally rather than manually logging your expenses. This app also saves you time by filling in data when you use geo-location on your smart device. This neat, streamlined app is immensely convenient, especially for gaining better insight into where your dollars are going.

Digit: Automate Your Savings

If you are looking for ways to automate your savings, Digit is one of the most essential apps to save your inherent habits. The app analyzes your income and spending patterns when you connect it to one of your bank accounts. Based on that pattern, the app then puts aside a certain portion of your funds in an FDIC-insured bank account for spending purposes that you can access and take out money conveniently at any time. 

Communicating with Digit is simple and fun: simply open the app or text the bot to let us know how you are doing. This makes it super easy to set up different savings goals. Also, you earn Digit savings 1%-annually, paid out every quarter, and backed by a no-overdraft guarantee. You receive a text every morning telling you to check your account balance, which is another excellent feature. Surprisingly, it offers a 100-day free trial for both iOS and Android users.

Credit Karma: Improve Your Creditworthiness

If you seek ways to raise your credit score, Credit Karma is one of the most essential apps and an indispensable smart tool to achieve your goal. Not only does it update you with your Equifax® and TransUnion® credit scores, but it also gives you insightful recommendations to boost your creditworthiness.
It can provide you with a complete TransUnion credit report in-app upon request that you can use to view (and dispute) disparaging signs on your account, and you can view a comprehensive breakdown of your credit usage. Fortunately, this is also free. Credit Karma does share your personal information with Equifax and Transunion.

Clarity Money: Monitor Your Credit Score and Cancel Subscriptions

Credit Money is another one of the most essential apps you can use to track your credit accounts, especially considering the recent Equifax breach. This nicely designed budgeting tool ensures an easier execution of your routine financial tasks. It also allows you to set up automated savings for certain goals.

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.