Debt Freedom: Choose Bankruptcy

Posted on November 6, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

When hearing the word bankruptcy, the first thing that crosses our mind is that it represents failure and shame. However, for many people worldwide, bankruptcy is the path that can lead them out of a financial crisis. In conclusion, it isn’t for failures but for the people who realize and accept that they must start over to succeed.

There are a lot of things that can lead one into bankruptcy. Unexpected crises such as medical emergencies, loss of employment, or a hefty loss in business can all cause irreversible damage to a person’s finances. Moreover, the average American is burdened by so many debts and expenses that it can be challenging to sustain themselves financially.

Speaking in terms of numbers, the average credit card debt for an American is around $15,800, student loans can amount to $24,000 on average, and mortgage debt can be a liability of at least $100,000. The burden of repaying these, coupled with other expenses such as insurance premiums, vehicle loan payments, and the basic costs of living, can cripple people if they are hit by a crisis that substantially impacts either their income or expenses.

Bankruptcy is considered, by many, to be somewhat of an extreme measure. However, by looking into the specifics, dynamics, and workings of bankruptcy, any individual can determine if it will be a good decision to declare bankruptcy for their financial future.

Who is Bankruptcy For?

As said before, bankruptcy is a drastic decision. However, it can be a positive option for people who cannot pay their debts despite minimizing their expenses. But there are some things that you need to try before considering filing for bankruptcy. Your first efforts should be put towards renegotiating your debt. This can be done through credit counseling or a debt reduction program. Renegotiating might damage your credit score, but filing bankruptcy means not being able to take out any kind of loan for several years.

You should try to get the best results from a renegotiating attempt if you plan to take out a loan later. If you still must choose bankruptcy, you should adapt to living with your current income and avoid making decisions that could land you in a financial crisis after becoming eligible for loans again.

What is Bankruptcy?

In simple terms, bankruptcy is like flicking the switch of your debt history off and then back on. It resets your consumer debts, such as those associated with your credit card, vehicle, mortgage, etc.

Filing for bankruptcy means cutting off the relations with your creditors so that they will not pursue you for payments, and you won’t be able to get new debts from them (at least for some time).

It is a misconception that bankruptcy ruins your reputation. It might hurt your chances of getting loans and credit, but that is all. It is a personal decision that enables you to restructure and renew your financial situation for the sake of yourself and your family.

Bankruptcy Does Not Mean Losing Everything

It is widely (and wrongly) believed that bankruptcy leads to the loss of all assets. However, contrary to this, bankruptcy laws within the bankruptcy court protect many assets you own. The assets include furnishings, retirement savings accounts, primary homes, and vehicles (inexpensive ones). The specifics vary from state to state and at the federal level, so you should check the laws in your state or area to better understand what is protected.

On the federal level, retirement accounts are protected to a limit of $1,171,650. Other protected things include your 401(k) account, pension, disability, IRA, and Social Security benefits. Many lawyers recommend against borrowing from a protected account to repay debt.

Benefits and Costs of Bankruptcy

It would help if you compared many things to be sure that a declaration of bankruptcy is feasible.

First, you should know that, on average, filing bankruptcy costs $2,500. To be feasible, the debt relief you get by filing bankruptcy should amount to more than $2,500.

Second, if student loans are your primary debt, then bankruptcy will not have much effect because it isn’t possible to dismiss student debt in bankruptcy. The possibility of student loans being discharged is only present in a limited number of circumstances.

If your primary debts are unsecured, such as credit card debt, medical debt, etc., it might be easier to remove them via bankruptcy.

Conclusion

Bankruptcy can be emotionally difficult because it might damage your financial portfolio, hindering your ability to get loans in the future easily. However, it can be a tool for many to break free from loans that might limit and even threaten their family’s financial future. If used wisely and strategically, it can help you start over and avoid any kind of mistakes you made in the first place.

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.

Cloud Trust: Navigating Success

Posted on November 6, 2019July 23, 2025 by Jennifer Brazer

By: Jennifer Brazer

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

Fact Checked By: Brittany McMillen

Master Cloud Trust: Your Guide to Navigating Success

Cloud trust is the foundational assurance that your cloud-based systems, data, and services operate securely, comply with regulations, and maintain reliability—enabling your organization to leverage cloud technology without compromising security or integrity. This assurance transforms cloud adoption from a risky leap into a strategic advantage, directly impacting your operational resilience, innovation speed, and customer confidence.

As the founder of Complete Controller, I’ve spent over 20 years helping businesses across every sector navigate their digital transformations. One client, a mid-sized manufacturer, lost $850,000 in just 72 hours due to a misconfigured cloud storage bucket—a completely preventable disaster that changed how we approach cloud security forever. In this guide, you’ll discover battle-tested frameworks for building unshakeable cloud trust, learn from real-world case studies that cost companies millions, and master actionable strategies that transform cloud security from your biggest vulnerability into your strongest competitive edge.

What is cloud trust and why does it matter?

Cloud trust encompasses the policies, technologies, and practices that guarantee secure, compliant, and reliable cloud environments
It addresses data protection concerns (67% of enterprises fear data leakage), regulatory alignment (GDPR/HIPAA), and service reliability
For SMBs, cloud trust enables risk-managed scaling; for enterprises, it’s foundational for digital transformation
Companies with high cloud-trust maturity achieve 2.3× faster innovation cycles and 34% lower incident-related costs
The average data breach now costs $4.45 million, with multi-cloud breaches reaching $4.75 million

The Zero Trust Imperative: Rethinking Cloud Security

Zero Trust eliminates implicit trust in any user, device, or network—requiring continuous verification for every access request. This model directly counters evolving threats like lateral movement attacks, which cost enterprises $4.7 million per incident on average. The framework operates on three core principles: least-privilege access, micro-segmentation, and continuous monitoring.

Back in 2010, Forrester introduced Zero Trust because traditional “trusted network” models were failing catastrophically. Today, with 73% of companies using hybrid cloud environments, the need for Zero Trust has become critical. Companies implementing Zero Trust save an average of $1.7 million per breach compared to those still relying on outdated perimeter security.

Implementing zero trust: Your action plan

Map critical assets: Identify protect surfaces—data, applications, and services vital to operations
Enforce granular policies: Use contextual controls based on user role, device health, and location
Deploy unified monitoring: Inspect all traffic with tools like Azure Sentinel or Palo Alto Prisma Cloud
Automate response: Integrate SOAR platforms to contain threats within 120 seconds of detection

A global bank recently reduced breach incidents by 82% after implementing Zero Trust. By segmenting workloads and enforcing multi-factor authentication across all access points, they eliminated exposure to credential theft and lateral movement attacks.

Building Your Cloud Trust Framework: 4 Essential Pillars

1st Pillar: Identity-centric security

Identity has become the new perimeter in cloud environments. Strong Identity and Access Management (IAM) guarantees only verified entities interact with your resources. Start by enforcing multi-factor authentication universally—99% of account compromises bypass single-factor authentication. Adopt just-in-time privileged access through tools like Azure PIM, and integrate behavioral analytics to flag anomalies such as impossible travel patterns.

2nd Pillar: Proactive compliance governance

Align your cloud operations with regulatory mandates through continuous compliance monitoring. Healthcare breaches now cost $11 million on average—a 53% increase since 2020—making compliance non-negotiable for regulated industries.

Automate policy enforcement via AWS Config Rules
Conduct bi-weekly audits using NIST CSF or ISO 27001 frameworks
Maintain auditable trails for GDPR/CCPA requests
Document all security configurations and changes

3rd Pillar: Architectural resilience

Design fault-tolerant systems that withstand failures and attacks. Capital One’s 2019 breach exposed 100 million customer records and cost $150 million in fines—all due to a misconfigured AWS firewall. This disaster highlights why architectural resilience matters.

Key tactics for building resilience:

Deploy multi-region data replication using services like Google Cloud Spanner
Implement circuit breakers and auto-scaling for load management
Schedule monthly chaos engineering drills to test failure responses
Automate configuration checks to prevent misconfigurations

4th Pillar: Transparent operations

Build stakeholder trust through radical transparency. Share real-time security postures via dashboards like Splunk, publish incident post-mortems within 72 hours, and use SLAs with penalties for downtime exceeding 0.1%. Your clients deserve to know exactly how you’re protecting their data.

Your 90-Day Cloud Trust Roadmap

1st Phase: Foundation (Days 1-30)

Start by cataloging all cloud workloads, classifying data sensitivity levels, and mapping user access paths. Run penetration tests and compliance gap analyses to benchmark your current risk profile. Tools like Scout Suite can scan for cloud misconfigurations while Wiz provides comprehensive vulnerability assessments.

2nd Phase: Architecture (Days 31-60)

Design your Zero Trust architecture by isolating critical workloads into microsegments and deploying identity-aware proxies like Zscaler. Automate compliance by codifying policies with Terraform and remediating configuration drift via AWS Config. For hybrid environments, establish Cloud Kerberos Trust to seamlessly integrate Active Directory with Azure AD.

3rd Phase: Optimization (Days 61-90)

Implement SIEM with User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) for advanced threat hunting. Stress-test your environment by simulating DDoS attacks, ransomware scenarios, and data exfiltration attempts. Monitor key metrics like Mean Time to Repair (target under 30 minutes) and policy violation rates to continuously improve your security posture.

Scaling Enterprise Cloud Trust Without Compromise

Enterprises using multiple cloud providers face unique challenges with fragmented visibility and inconsistent policies. Centralized governance solves these issues through control plane unification—tools like HashiCorp Consul enforce consistent policies across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Blueriq’s transformation exemplifies enterprise success. Working with Accenture, they rebuilt their AWS environment using Zero Trust principles and infrastructure-as-code. The result: 40% fewer configuration errors and seamless compliance for banking and healthcare clients.

For multi-cloud environments:

Encrypt data in transit and at rest using Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)
Embed Site Reliability Engineers to manage service level objectives
Require SOC 2 Type II reports from all third-party vendors
Create client portals showing real-time security scores

Future-Proofing Your Cloud Trust Strategy

AI-powered threat intelligence

Artificial intelligence now analyzes historical breach data to forecast attack vectors before they materialize. Anomaly prediction models detect zero-day exploits by correlating network behaviors, while autonomous response systems enable self-healing containers that isolate compromised nodes automatically.

Preparing for quantum computing threats

Quantum computers will eventually break current encryption methods. Start your migration from RSA-2048 to quantum-resistant algorithms like CRYSTALS-Kyber now. Plan to pilot post-quantum TLS certificates by 2026 to stay ahead of emerging threats.

Final Thoughts: Your Trust Transformation Starts Today

Cloud trust isn’t a destination—it’s an ongoing commitment to validation, adaptation, and transparency. From implementing Zero Trust to embedding resilience into your organizational DNA, each step compounds your security return on investment. At Complete Controller, we’ve helped clients reduce breach costs by 60% and compliance fines by 92% within six months of embracing these strategies.

Start small but start today: audit one workload, enforce multi-factor authentication tomorrow, and build momentum week by week. Your business deserves the confidence that comes from unshakeable cloud trust. For a personalized cloud trust assessment tailored to your unique architecture and industry requirements, connect with our expert team at Complete Controller.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cloud Trust

What distinguishes cloud trust from traditional security?

Cloud trust extends beyond perimeter defenses to encompass data integrity, regulatory adherence, and service reliability across dynamic environments—prioritizing continuous verification over static trust zones.

How does Zero Trust apply to hybrid clouds?

Zero Trust unifies security across on-premises and cloud assets through identity-centric policies. Solutions like Azure Arc enable consistent control planes, while Cloud Kerberos Trust simplifies authentication between environments.

What’s the biggest cloud trust mistake for startups?

Neglecting least-privilege access ranks as the top error. Early-stage companies often grant broad permissions to expedite development, creating exploitable attack surfaces that hackers target.

Can cloud trust coexist with DevOps speed?

Absolutely. Shift-left security integrates compliance and threat modeling directly into CI/CD pipelines, enabling both rapid deployment and robust security simultaneously.

How do I measure cloud trust effectiveness?

Track mean time to detect breaches, policy violation rates, compliance audit pass rates, and customer trust indices through regular surveys to gauge your security program’s success.

Sources

Accenture. (2022). “Zero Trust Strategy Case Study.” https://www.accenture.com/cloud-security
AWS. (2022). “Accenture Transforms Blueriq’s Application Platform.” https://aws.amazon.com/partners/success/blueriq-accenture/
Cloud Security Alliance. (2019). “A Technical Analysis of the Capital One Cloud Misconfiguration Breach.” Josh Stella. https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/blog/2019/08/09/a-technical-analysis-of-the-capital-one-cloud-misconfiguration-breach
Cloudflare. (2025). “Zero Trust Security Model.” https://www.cloudflare.com/zero-trust/
Forrester Research. (2010). “No More Chewy Centers: Introducing The Zero Trust Model.” https://media.paloaltonetworks.com/documents/Forrester-No-More-Chewy-Centers.pdf
Gartner. (2023). “Hype Cycle for Workload and Network Security.” https://www.gartner.com/security
IBM Security. (2023). “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023.” https://newsroom.ibm.com/2023-07-24-IBM-Report-Half-of-Breached-Organizations-Unwilling-to-Increase-Security-Spend-Despite-Soaring-Breach-Costs
Microsoft Azure. (2025). “Hybrid Cloud Trust Documentation.” https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/security
Palo Alto Networks. (2023). “Zero Trust for Cloud Implementation.” https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cloud-security
SentinelOne. (2025). “Cloud Security Best Practices Report.” https://www.sentinelone.com/resources/
TierPoint. (2024). “State of the Cloud Report.” Flexera. https://www.tierpoint.com/blog/hybrid-cloud-adoption/
U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2023). “Cybersecurity Framework.” https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework
Wikipedia. (2024). “Post-quantum Cryptography.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-quantum_cryptography

Complete Controller. America’s Bookkeeping Experts

Top Restaurant Financial Red Flags

Posted on November 6, 2019September 21, 2025 by Jennifer Brazer

Identify Key Restaurant Financial Red Flags to Watch For

Restaurant financial red flags are critical warning signs that indicate potential cash flow problems, declining profitability, or operational inefficiencies that could threaten your business’s survival. These indicators include declining gross profit margins below industry standards, current ratios under 0.8, labor costs exceeding 35% of revenue, inventory turnover rates below four times monthly, and prime costs surpassing 70% of total sales.

Having worked with hundreds of restaurant owners over the past two decades, I’ve witnessed how quickly financial problems can spiral out of control when early warning signs go unnoticed. The restaurant industry’s notoriously thin profit margins—averaging just 4-7% according to recent Deloitte studies—leave little room for error, making early detection of financial red flags absolutely critical for survival.

What are restaurant financial red flags and why should every owner know them?

Restaurant financial red flags are measurable indicators that signal declining financial health, operational inefficiency, or impending cash flow crises that require immediate attention and corrective action.
These warning signs include declining profit margins, poor cash flow management, excessive debt ratios, high labor costs, and inventory management problems that drain working capital.
Early identification allows restaurant owners to implement corrective measures before problems become insurmountable, potentially saving thousands in emergency funding costs and preventing business closure.
Understanding these indicators helps owners make data-driven decisions about staffing, pricing, inventory management, and operational efficiency improvements.
Regular monitoring of these financial health indicators enables proactive management rather than reactive crisis management, significantly improving long-term survival rates.

Critical Financial Ratios That Signal Restaurant Distress

The foundation of restaurant financial health monitoring lies in understanding key financial ratios that serve as early warning systems for potential problems. These ratios provide objective, measurable indicators that can be tracked consistently over time to identify troubling trends before they become critical issues.

The current ratio, calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities, measures your restaurant’s ability to meet short-term financial obligations within the next twelve months. Industry benchmarks show that both limited-service and full-service restaurants typically maintain current ratios around 0.8, which is lower than most industries due to restaurants’ quick cash turnover and minimal inventory requirements.

When this ratio drops below 0.8, it represents a significant red flag indicating potential difficulties in meeting current financial obligations such as payroll, supplier payments, and loan installments. Restaurant owners must understand that current assets include cash, inventory, and prepaid expenses that can be converted to cash within one year, while current liabilities encompass accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and short-term debt obligations.

Prime costs, which combine cost of goods sold (COGS) and total labor costs, represent the most controllable and significant expenses in restaurant operations. When prime costs exceed 68-70% of total sales, restaurants enter dangerous territory where profitability becomes extremely difficult to maintain. This threshold serves as one of the most reliable restaurant financial red flags because it directly impacts the business’s ability to cover fixed costs like rent, utilities, insurance, and debt service while generating profit.

Cash Flow Management Red Flags

Cash flow management represents the most critical aspect of restaurant financial health, as positive cash flow ensures the ability to meet daily operational requirements regardless of paper profitability. Poor cash flow management has contributed to numerous restaurant failures, even among establishments with strong sales volumes.

Negative cash flow occurs when cash outflows exceed cash inflows over a specific period, creating immediate operational challenges for restaurant owners. While temporary negative cash flow may be acceptable during slow seasons or business expansion phases, persistent negative cash flow indicates fundamental problems with pricing, cost control, or operational efficiency that require immediate attention.

Working capital management directly impacts restaurant survival, as insufficient working capital prevents restaurants from purchasing inventory, meeting payroll, or handling unexpected expenses. The working capital calculation (current assets minus current liabilities) reveals whether restaurants have sufficient liquid resources to maintain operations during revenue downturns or unexpected expense increases.

Operational Warning Signs of Financial Distress

Struggling restaurants often make visible operational changes that signal underlying financial problems to experienced observers. These changes include:

Menu simplification or elimination of popular items
Reduced hours of operation without strategic reasoning
Visible staff reductions impacting service quality
Deferred maintenance on equipment or facilities
Quality deterioration in food preparation or ingredient substitutions

High employee turnover frequently signals financial stress, particularly when turnover involves experienced staff or management positions. Employee turnover rates exceeding 75% annually for the restaurant industry signal potential financial problems. High turnover creates substantial hidden costs through constant recruitment, training, and productivity losses during transition periods.

Common Financial Pitfalls for Restaurants

Understanding common financial mistakes helps restaurant owners avoid predictable problems that contribute to business failure. These pitfalls often result from inexperience with restaurant financial management or failure to implement proper financial controls and monitoring systems.

Inadequate financial planning particularly affects startup restaurants that underestimate total capital requirements and realistic revenue projections. Many restaurant failures result from inadequate financial planning regarding startup costs, working capital requirements, and the time required to build sustainable customer bases.

Poor inventory management creates multiple financial stresses through increased food costs, reduced cash flow, and operational inefficiencies. Effective inventory management requires monitoring inventory turnover rates, which should range between 4-6 times monthly for most restaurant operations. Lower turnover rates indicate excess inventory that ties up working capital and increases spoilage risks.

Restaurant owners should implement formal inventory management systems with:

Regular cycle counts and variance tracking
Standardized recipes and portion control procedures
Supplier performance monitoring
Technology integration for real-time visibility

Financial Health Indicators for Restaurants

Comprehensive financial health monitoring requires tracking multiple indicators that provide different perspectives on restaurant performance and sustainability. These indicators should be monitored regularly and compared against industry benchmarks to identify developing problems early.

Gross profit margin analysis provides fundamental insights into restaurant pricing effectiveness and cost control efficiency. Restaurants should maintain gross profit margins between 60-70% of sales, with variations based on service style and market positioning. Declining gross margins often indicate increasing food costs, competitive pricing pressures, or operational inefficiencies.

Revenue trend analysis provides critical insights into restaurant market position and customer satisfaction levels. Key metrics to monitor include:

Same-store sales growth or decline
Customer frequency patterns
Average check size trends
Day-part performance variations
Seasonal revenue patterns

Professional accounting systems should provide daily sales reports, detailed expense tracking, inventory management integration, and financial statement preparation capabilities. Cloud-based accounting solutions offer particular advantages for restaurant operations through real-time data access, automatic bank reconciliation, and integration with point-of-sale systems.

Final Thoughts

Restaurant financial red flags serve as your early warning system, providing crucial time to implement corrective measures before minor issues become major crises. Through my two decades of working with restaurant owners at Complete Controller, I’ve seen how proper financial monitoring and swift action can mean the difference between temporary setbacks and permanent closure. The key lies in establishing systematic monitoring procedures, understanding industry benchmarks, and maintaining the discipline to act when warning signs appear. Your restaurant’s financial health depends on your commitment to regular monitoring and proactive management. Contact the experts at Complete Controller today to learn how our comprehensive financial services can help you identify and address potential red flags before they threaten your restaurant’s success.

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant Financial Red Flags

What is the most important financial ratio for restaurants to monitor?

The prime cost ratio (combining food costs and labor costs) is the most critical indicator since it encompasses your two largest controllable expenses. Keeping prime costs below 65% of sales for full-service restaurants or 60% for quick-service establishments provides sufficient margin to cover fixed costs and generate profit.

How often should restaurant owners review their financial statements?

Restaurant owners should review key operational metrics daily through POS reports, conduct weekly cash flow analyses, and perform comprehensive monthly financial statement reviews. This monitoring frequency enables early detection of developing problems and timely implementation of corrective measures.

What percentage of restaurants fail in their first year?

Recent industry data shows that only 0.9% of restaurants failed in their first year as of 2025, representing a dramatic improvement from the 12.3% failure rate in 2021. This improvement reflects better financial management practices and increased awareness of critical performance indicators among modern restaurant operators.

How much working capital should a restaurant maintain?

Restaurants should maintain working capital sufficient to cover 2-3 months of operating expenses, providing cushion for seasonal variations, unexpected expenses, or temporary revenue shortfalls. This reserve helps prevent cash flow crises that can force hasty decisions or emergency financing at unfavorable terms.

When should a restaurant owner seek professional financial help?

Restaurant owners should seek professional assistance when prime costs exceed 70%, current ratios fall below 0.8, or when experiencing persistent negative cash flow for more than two consecutive months. Early intervention from financial professionals can prevent minor problems from becoming insurmountable challenges.

Sources

Deloitte. “Restaurant Industry Statistics and Failure Rate Analysis 2025.” Deloitte Industry Reports, 2025.
National Restaurant Association. “Restaurant Performance Index.” Industry Analysis Report, 2024.
Restaurant Business Online. “Major Restaurant Bankruptcies of 2024.” RestaurantBusinessOnline.com, August 2024.
Nation’s Restaurant News. “TGI Friday’s Bankruptcy Filing Analysis.” NRN.com, November 2024.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Business Employment Dynamics.” BLS.gov, 2024.

Jennifer Brazer Founder/CEO

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

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IT Challenges: Year-End Insights

Posted on November 5, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

In IT, there is a continuous struggle against the tide to ensure a business runs smoothly. That precious break can give IT gurus a much-needed moment to take their foot off the throttle and take stock of what lies ahead.

Here we will summarize some of the findings and tips on how to tackle some IT problems we are facing nowadays:

Security is the Number One Concern

After a year of extensive cyber threats, it is 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% of respondents highlighting it as a major 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 on 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 transfer 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. For technological giants such as Google and Amazon and businesses using services like Dropbox, there can be severe insinuations for companies storing data long after it has been transmitted. In any situation, keeping up with evolving security threats while meeting new privacy standards will be one of the biggest challenges in 2018.

Considering these changes, compliance was another matter highlighted by research as a concern. Many industries require full transparency and must secure their business-critical data, whether in the healthcare, financial, or legal sectors. 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 share the compliance burden.

Standing Out will be a Major Challenge

IT teams are 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 to 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, invading new devices such as smartwatches and fitness bands and streaming high-bandwidth content will pressure IT pros. When arraying new technologies, handling user devices, and ensuring new technologies are compatible with the existing infrastructure, a clear action plan must be implemented. This will ensure the IT department is not left gasping at the starting line.

In addition to precise planning, implementing automated systems to tackle repetitive tasks will open your time to spend on running IT infrastructure and business-critical setups. When new technologies are implemented, training staff could save time and trouble later down the line, 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, including data protection and management, storage, device management, automation, and reporting. The simplest solution is this – do not attempt everything. Decide what is achievable for your department and follow through with your improvements.

Unlocking Restaurant Profitability

Posted on November 5, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

In your opinion, what do you think a good, profitable restaurant would look like? Smiling, happy servers, clean kitchens, and big tips received by customers are what most of us think of. However, to calculate how a restaurant performs, you must also consider what kind of profits it generates. You may have to consider revising your management skills if there is no difference between the monthly profits. The best tips for effective restaurant management will take your profits up a notch.

Prime cost is the best marker of benefit potential and how well your expenses are being overseen. Cooks who do not have control over the prime expenses have an exceptionally poor administration framework. It is one of the fundamental pointers on how well the business is being managed.

Prime Cost Should Not Be More Than 60%

For most, prime cost should run nearly 65% of aggregate deals. Bigger chains can keep their prime cost at 60% or less. Yet, for most, accomplishing an excellent cost of 60-65% still allows getting a solid net salary.

When prime cost surpasses 65% and reaches around 70% of offers, gainfulness issues largely emerge. Furthermore, it is incredibly troublesome for any restaurant to influence good profits when this happens. In short, the objective is to keep the prime cost at 60& of aggregate deals or less.

Profit and Loss

The most critical destination of each business is to make a profit. The Profit and Loss account demonstrates how much a restaurant has accomplished this target. Organizations are required to keep their P&L accounts in specific arrangements. Typically, the P&L record will demonstrate the income a business receives and the costs associated with creating that income. In straightforward terms:

Incomes – Expenses = Profit

Month-to-Month Profit and Loss Examination

Daily and week by week, numbers are an indispensable piece of administration that offers an inclination to fruitful restaurant activity and productivity. A monetary articulation bundle incorporating a pay proclamation and accounting report should be arranged and investigated monthly. Numerous food providers want a rundown variant of their profit and loss investigation to rapidly examine the key numbers and understand how the restaurant performs. Some dig into the more point-by-point reports if something has all the earmarks of being out of line or does not bode well. You must look at your bookkeeping records frequently.

When you look at your profit and loss statements, you need to feature the following key numbers: Prime Cost, Other controllable costs, Controllable wage, Non-controllable costs, and Working wage.

Prime Cost

Prime cost incorporates the cost of offers and finance. It is prescribed to ascertain prime cost weekly, yet prime cost should also be included in the profit and loss investigation.

Other Controllable Costs

Other controllable costs are sensible somehow by management. These fields can be assembled into classifications like direct working costs, advertising costs, utilities, and so on. With profit and loss, the investigation should demonstrate month-to-month and year-to-date sums in the individual records incorporated into these outline classifications.

Controllable Salary

If you isolate controllable costs from non-controllable costs, it is conceivable to figure out a standout among the most vital edges on any profit and loss statement: controllable salary. It is a crucial marker of management adequacy in driving deals and cost control. Those numbers reflect the details over which they apply any impact or control.

Non-Controllable Costs

Non-controllable costs encompass occupancy expenses such as property taxes, building insurance, rent, and various expenses. Management has minimal control or influence over these costs.

Restaurant Working Wage

Restaurant working wages are produced without respect to corporate overhead, financing costs, nonrecurring salaries and costs, and wage charges. It is helpful for correlation with different restaurants and the functional consequences of the industry midpoints. Restaurant wages are improved using correlation with spending plans, earlier periods, and pattern investigation for more than a few periods.

Consequently, bundled business accounts deliver profit and loss statements. The issue may happen if the wrong information is entered, lost, or ruined.

QuickBooks Mastery: Year-End Tips

Posted on November 5, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

As you reach the end of the year, organizing finances is the priority for every business. A bookkeeping solution that is simple, secure, and scalable is what you need at this point. QuickBooks accounting is a tool that provides a rich archive for account tracking, invoicing, and vendor and employee management. While it is a simple tool that solves most of your accounting needs, it can be challenging to be pro at it right from the start. Therefore, with a few simple tips and steps, you will be on the way to managing your numbers with ease.

Find an Accountant

Migrating all of your finances to QuickBooks requires the services of a professional accountant/bookkeeper so that you can discuss the details with someone who has experience in managing such tasks. Every business has unique needs. A professional accountant best understands them and matches your business specifics with the QuickBooks accounting tools. It would help if you abode by certain state rules and regulations and set the right conventions for tracking business expenses. It is all best handled by someone familiar with the process.

Review QuickBooks’ Basics

Getting acquainted with the tools should be your next step, even if you consider yourself an avid learner. The Getting Started tab in the software lets you know how it works and how it manages your expenses. QuickBooks recognizes revenue as ‘Money in’ and expenses as ‘Money out.’’ Therefore, you must get acquainted with these terms for efficient use. The flow of the revenue and expenses is classified as ‘Getting around.’’ Knowing these QuickBooks accounting basics will ensure you are ready to use them to the best of your abilities.

Secure Everything

Security is one of the most important factors in managing your finances. Before you use QuickBooks for anything else, your priority should be setting a unique and complex password by navigating to the software’s ‘your account’ tab. The passwords should be regularly updated because the tool will be directly linked to your bank account. Apart from setting up passwords, you can use advanced computer hardware that is resistant to hacking and viruses. Keeping backup data is also important to avoid any unwanted situation related to data loss.

Enter Business Essentials

QuickBooks lets you manage all business essentials on the go, but you must first enter everything manually. Enter your financial information and other details in the ‘company’ tab under the ‘preferences’ link. Most critical details will vary depending on your type of business and preferences. However, some of the basic elements of every business are related to reporting forms, tax IDs, and reporting calendars. Once you have entered all details, ensure they are updated and error-free. Any mistake can be fatal because everything is interconnected.

Enter Client Info

The ‘customer’ tab in QuickBooks accounting is one of the most important for you because customers are the ones who will eventually bring profit to your company. While mentioning all relevant customer information is vital, it is critical to determine the payment method adopted by the customer. You must ask them if they will pay with cash, a credit card, or a check. Setting the correct option at the start will help you sort out many issues related to payments later on. Send them a test invoice to ensure that everything is working smoothly.

Track the Money Flow

The banking tab on your QuickBooks accounting tool determines how and where your money is spent and what is coming into the business. ‘Write checks,’ ‘cash expense,’ ‘deposits,’ and other similar tabs must be used to record your expenses and sales. ‘Activity’ reports will show who is responsible for specific transactions, which is essential as you need to keep a check on everything.

After everything is set up, you are ready to generate a profit and loss report, giving you a clear picture of your business. This is done with a few simple clicks and a QuickBooks accounting tool.

Decoding Capital: Attract Investments

Posted on November 4, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

How Much Equity is Required to Attract Investment Capital?

Although numerous resources give data on beginning a business with no or minimal funds in the bank, recall that if something sounds like a pipe dream, it most likely is. Try not to be deluded by the famous writing – having little or no capital is a primary reason businesses fail.

Being Realistic for Attracting Investment Capital

Entrepreneurs are often optimists, an attitude necessary for getting the business in the market. However, the ideas of unique products, skyrocketing sales, and weak competition are mirages in the practical world.

In reality, no new business prevails without a comprehensive and careful business plan that perceives where you are today, where you need to be tomorrow, what issues may emerge, and how you will resolve them. The value of a business plan is that you are compelled to consider your potential business from the grassroots level, challenge your uncertainties, and research when facts are unknown.

A comprehensive plan distinguishes and quantifies the capital that will probably be required to cover the initial investment and past. This is significant for wooing investors and attracting investment capital. Besides, brokers and potential financial specialists, for the most part, assess entrepreneurs and the capability of their capacity to deliver on the quality and fulfillment of their business plan.

Requesting Sufficient Money

The most horrifying, shaky slip-up the entrepreneur can make when bookkeeping for capital requests too little to have a progress shot. Lacking adequate capital in the first place is similar to beginning a long trip with a broken transport and a half-tank of fuel; the chances that you will achieve your goal are slim to none.

While bookkeeping the capital, you require attracting investment capital; assume that everything will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you anticipate. Assume that the worst-case scenario will happen, not the best case. Instant profitability should not be expected, a typical mistake some first-time entrepreneurs make.

If you don’t raise enough capital at first to cushion your organization, if sales are modest or crises happen, it will be much more difficult to collect cash just to keep the business going. Startup capital should, at any rate, cover all plant, hardware, and leasehold costs – in addition to no less than a half year of anticipated working expenses, including the proprietor’s pay.

How to Raise New Capital

The entrepreneur is the most well-known source of startup capital in the form of credit card loans, home equity advances, and loans taken from relatives. Elected and state governments support various sponsored credits and encourage new companies through the Small Business Administration and its partners on the state level.

At the point when these sources are depleted or inaccessible for any reason, entrepreneurs, for the most part, look for capital from private sources. For example, business and investment banks, groups set up by private financial specialists to endeavor such opportunities, wealthy individuals, and venture capital funds. Their proposed venture is normally styled as debt, equity, or a mix of each:

The most well-known type of capital utilized by new businesses is an obligation. It is secured by the organization’s assets, including the owners’ guarantees. As time passes, the organization reimburses the owner from the principal amount.

While using equity, investors progress toward becoming business proprietors with the entrepreneur. The measure of possession held by each relies upon a transaction, which thus depends on the assets contributed and the agreed-upon value of the business. Business valuation is an art, not a science; the conclusion is constantly subjective and dependent on the point of view of the bookkeeper.

What Is the Value of the Business?

The estimation of an organization is vital because it is the reason for deciding the “cost” of the new capital when looking for value augmentations to the capital structure. Just to clarify, an organization with a $1 million valuation and no obligation looking for another capital of $1 million would be worth $2 million after the venture. The old proprietors would claim half of the new $2 million organization (for their commitment to the old organization with a $1 million esteem). In comparison, the new financial specialists would likewise possess half enthusiasm for their $1 million money commitment. For the most part, a valuation considers four inquiries:

How much is the organization worth today?
How much might it be worth later on?
How long will it take to make the future esteem?
What is the probability of making progress?

There are various diverse strategies used to value new businesses.

Seeing how your organization will be assessed and having the capacity to influence the valuation can empower you to get higher valuations and hold more noteworthy responsibility for the organization when the investment is subsidized. Attracting investment capital requires careful valuation of the capital.

QB Premier for Construction

Posted on November 4, 2019October 16, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

Quickbooks Premier is the best software for a construction company’s accounting and financial management. It is the easiest and quickest software to use on the market, especially for construction companies. The software’s result will enhance company management and lead to long-term financial improvement.

This article will cover each aspect of Quickbooks Premier to inform you of why and how this is perfect for your company.

Let us start with the implementation of the software. It would help if you had a basic understanding of class construction accounting and construction phase accounting. With these basics in construction, you can segregate between the parts that are performing well and that need improvement. Construction phase accounting allows you to break the project into nine cost groups affiliated with a phase. This also allows the constructor to segregate the areas needing improvement.

QuickBooks Premier: The Perfect Features to Enhance Your Bookkeeping

Several simultaneous users

A single user can use one copy of Quickbooks, allowing up to 5 users to insert data in the same Quickbooks Premier file simultaneously.

Data file size

Quickbooks Premier is great for SMEs as it works fast and accurately with 150-200MB reports. This can serve you for at least ten years, so it is a good investment as it can store numerous invoices and estimates data.

Creating Email quotes, sales orders, invoices, and purchase orders

You are given three options for creating the above documents:

Microsoft Outlook, the outbound emails are tracked through them
Web-based emails (Microsoft, Gmail, Yahoo)
Via the QuickBooks email servers provided by QuickBooks (extra fees apply)

Printing checks, paying bills, and managing expenses

With the Quickbooks checks stock, you can print them out. A voucher style and a wallet style are also available.

Manage payroll, payroll taxes, and direct deposits.

Payroll and their deductions are recorded in the payroll tables. If you need to use an automated service for payroll, you can subscribe to the QuickBooks services for extra charges.

One-click business reports

After entering the complete business data and estimated competitors’ data, QuickBooks Premier enables you to get a complete business report with a single click. Something that is not possible with manual bookkeeping.

Import data from the previous QuickBooks premier version

You can easily import data from a previous version of QuickBooks. With newer upgrades, this step becomes a snap of data.

Import data from Excel

Quickbooks Premier has a feature called wizard import. This can help import all the data from your Excel sheets (customer list, vendor list, item, or accounts chart) into Quickbooks. This is an easy accounting solution software for companies.

Download bank and credit card transactions

If your bank account allows information to be downloaded into QuickBooks Premier, then the option exists in the software without any extra cost. You can easily download and save information in the spots fixed in the software. Remember to read the functionality for efficient use of this feature.

Creating a budget

You can create a budget on QuickBooks Premier with the budget tool. You can create a single budget for each year of business. This tool also creates a small spreadsheet, permits the copy of prior year numbers, and posts them. You can compare actual reports vs. several budgets to observe business performance. For the advanced feature, an add-on program is available for purchase.

Inventory tracking and set reorder points/creating assemblies/bills

QuickBooks also provides an awesome bookkeeping feature for tracking inventory using reports like “Stock Status by Item” and “Stock Status by Vendor” reports.

Conclusion

Efficient business reports and creating a feedback loop for companies with Quickbooks Premier allow you to identify improvement zones. This results in creating an infinite loop of successes for your business.

Best Cloud Hosting Tips

Posted on November 4, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

Companies that use cloud hosting are facing a multitude of issues. Most of these issues are related to security threats and data breaches within the cloud network. The threat of a data breach is so high that 53% of companies believe that cloud hosting poses many general security risks. The risks are the essential barriers to cloud hosting. Companies must follow the best practices in cloud hosting, as highlighted below.

Services Accessible by Cloud Hosting

Before selecting a cloud hosting service, ensure that the company and IT officers know the services they are getting. An important point in choosing a suitable cloud hosting service for business is Software as a Service (SaaS). Most cloud hosting companies provide access through the web. Cloud hosting offers different services, such as:

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
SaaS (Software as a Service)
Platform-based services or Platform as a Service (PaaS)

SaaS is a well-known service that makes software applications accessible through web sources. Infrastructure-as-a-service refers to remote access to servers or storage capabilities. At the same time, Platform-as-a-service is a software-based computing platform that enables developers to design and build web applications on a hosted infrastructure.

Applications Included in Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting allows companies to put an application into the cloud. Each application can be charged differently depending on the sources it uses. Businesses should put the applications that they frequently need on the cloud. More importantly, regulatory and compliance issues prevent companies from putting specific applications into the cloud, especially those that involve sensitive user data. IDC surveys show that the primary uses of Clouds are:

IT management
Collaboration
Personal or enterprise applications
Application development
Server and storage capabilities

Transferability of Applications

An essential aspect of a cloud hosting service is allowing easy access and transfer of different applications. Application transfer services from one cloud platform to another and in-house cloud data centers must be easy and quick.

Cloud hosting services will have to adapt standard technologies to ensure true interoperability. The recent “Open Cloud Manifesto” supports the interoperability of data and applications. The Open Cloud Consortium advocates for frameworks that allow different companies that provide cloud-hosting services to work seamlessly between them. The goal is to move an application from one cloud to another without having to rewrite it.

The Security Offered by Cloud Hosting Providers

The cloud-hosting provider must offer adequate security measures to protect the client’s sensitive data. In the past, there have been several data breaches. These breaches resulted in the loss of sensitive data and millions of dollars. While keeping data on a cloud has risks, many hosting companies offer proper security measures to keep your data safe.

Before choosing a cloud hosting service, be careful when reviewing the SLA. Understanding all the concepts discussed before making a final decision is essential. The terms and conditions must be easy to understand. Reading through all publicly available data is necessary. Amazon, for example, maintains a dashboard that shows the state of operation of the various services and their history.

There will always be latencies on the network with a cloud service, making applications slower than running on your data center. Many third-party vendors, such as RightScale, are developing additional services to the cloud to ensure that applications evolve and work well.

Companies that need cloud hosting services must ensure that the company is ready to adopt the principles of cloud computing. The service must have open data centers.

Startup Challenges Unveiled

Posted on November 4, 2019January 18, 2024 by Jennifer Brazer

Too many start-up enthusiasts consider launching a new company as a random walk into a business field. However, when turning the idea into concrete results, they encounter many barriers to initiating their business. Though rewarding, all these challenges are complex. Well-versed people in business must also deal with them no matter how long they have been in entrepreneurial activities when starting an entirely new business. Here are the four most common initial obstacles entrepreneurs face when turning their passion into a business activity.

Financing

Experienced entrepreneurs have a few advantages over newcomers but still lack sufficient resources to fund their new business. This is because you will be starting from scratch. Without money, you can hardly purchase the domain of your business website. Finance serves as the fuel to ignite your idea. Hence, it would help if you often used it to turn the idea into a giant, fiery business.

Fortunately, there are many ways by which you can arrange finances to launch your new start-up, including:

Crowdfunding: There are various crowdfunding sites, like Kickstarter, Fundable, and Indiegogo, that can help you generate funds of hundreds and thousands of dollars.
Family and friends: Your family and friends always help and support your dreams. You can approach them to obtain a loan, often without interest payments.
Credit cards: Though helpful, a credit card provides a temporary solution between launching your business and obtaining other funds, such as a bank loan.
Bank financing: A bank loan is one of the most common ways people adapt to raise capital for their business.
Venture capital: Many venture capitalists are willing to invest in your business when you have a robust business plan and a powerful vision.
Business partner: You may have a potential idea but not enough reserves to put that into execution. You might know someone who believes in your idea, has a good relationship with you, and has enough funds to start a new business. Then, partnering with that person may be a good idea.
Second mortgage: Home equity lines of credit or a second mortgage should be your last resort when other options are not working out or are insufficient to initiate the business.

Teambuilding

Teambuilding is primarily the most demanding skill to nurture when you have never run or led a team before. Moreover, even though you have good management experience, selecting the right pool of team members for your new business is often stressful and difficult. It is not simply about filling specific roles; you must bear their costs, effectively communicate your business goals to them, and make the most out of them. Such considerations are significantly hard when rushing to fill the positions as early as possible.

Here are some ways to build a great team in a shorter period for your business start-up:

Offer stock options: When you cannot meet their salary needs, offer them equity in your business. This will boost motivation and will give you competent teammates.
Employ interns: When you can offer great work, mentorship, and guidance, hiring interns is a smart alternative to heavily paid team members.
Hire students, part-time employees, or contractors: When you cannot afford full-time workers, acquire contractors, part-time team members, or students instead.
Defer compensation: You must be careful with the wording of your offer letters for hiring employees on deferred compensation. You also must ensure that there is no breach of any laws.
Inspire others to join you: When you lack funds, then at the very least, you should have a compelling vision with extraordinary goals that will inspire and motivate others to be part of your start-up and support you.

Cut-throat Competition

The corporate world is quite terrible with fierce competition, which poses one of the biggest hurdles for the launching and survival of start-up businesses. There is always some level of competition among businesses of the same nature. And when you are a new online business, the competition gets more challenging. However, you can remarkably beat your competitors with an inspiring vision, energetic team, unique service solutions, and outstanding customer service.

Here are two practical ways to overcome business competition:

Focus on your customer needs: Nothing can help a business grow if you cannot sell your products or services to your customers. Focus on your clients’ needs and develop a unique service solution that eases their lives. Everyone avoids the hassle, and so is your customer. Improve your products compared to what is already available in the market and make the most of the technology to sell more smartly, making the purchase hassle-free.
Make it appear unique: People love tasting new things. When you launch a product with unique features and details that distinguish it from similar products, you tempt your customers to buy from you.

Business Registration

Business registration is quite time-consuming and a complex part of initiating a business. Some businesses have such a peculiar nature that they cannot be launched without prior registration. Legal approval is required, such as with medical facilities, bookkeeping, auditing consultancy, and educational institutes, regardless of how small their businesses are. It is more frightening for those entrepreneurs who have never been through legal processes. To avoid this complicated start-up registration process issue and other legal requirements, hiring a personal legal consultant is wise. A legal adviser will handle these matters on your behalf and help you launch your business seamlessly.