Category: Content

Businesses operate in a complex and ever-changing industry. Commercial properties are mushrooming in every corner of every city. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of what goes on behind the scenes of a construction company.

Those working for a construction company are aware of the challenges they face daily during their routine jobs. It’s a significant challenge for any construction company to complete a structurally sound commercial building on the designated time and budget. Here are the top five challenges that a construction company faces regularly.

Government Regulations

Construction companies are one of the most regulated ventures. The government keeps these companies under intense scrutiny. Building codes are restrictive, and licensing and permit requirements are challenging to achieve. Companies must adhere to many different regulations, as unsafe buildings constitute a significant security risk for every city. However, it’s hard to meet the local and federal government’s strict regulations and safety standards.

Social and Political Pressures

Social and political pressures pose a challenge to construction companies so much that projects are held in progress for years. Pressure from the local community could delay or cancel a construction project that could be devastating for a construction company with losses in millions. The political and societal challenges can be overcome by holding meetings with local communities and concerned parties.

Health and Safety Concerns

Commercial construction is one industry that suffers accidents causing fatal injuries. Every day, thousands of companies with millions of employees are working round the clock to meet deadlines. Workers are exposed to different hazards from machinery during their work, falling debris, malfunctioning equipment, electrical shocks, falls, trench, and scaffold collapses.

Apart from the human suffering, financial constraints hit commercial construction companies very hard.  Some losses from accidents can cost a company millions in compensation to the worker and loss of equipment. Many of these losses can make a significant impact on proper bookkeeping within a construction company.

Construction companies can take different measures to eliminate or reduce accidents by meeting health and safety concerns. Fatal human loss and financial crisis can be overcome by maintaining high safety standards.

Shortage of Skilled Labor

The biggest asset of any company is its human resource; commercial construction companies are no different in this regard. They must have competent, trained, and highly skilled human capital to keep everything in its correct order.

The shortage of labor is a primary concern for commercial construction companies. To overcome this challenge, the construction company must take steps to work towards employee retention. Employee retention is necessary for construction companies because not many people are willing to get into the construction business as the construction work is physically demanding, challenging, and sometimes very dangerous. Paying better wages could help the company keep its employees for a more extended period.

Time Management

Construction is considered one of the most challenging industries because the biggest challenge is effective time management to meet deadlines. Simple time management becomes a significant task in construction. A natural weather calamity can rip the project off the ground causing substantial delays in meeting deadlines. Every day a construction site is closed due to bad weather or any other issue. Each day costs the commercial construction company to suffer significant financial losses recorded in bookkeeping.

 This is a major challenge particular to the construction business, and seasonal changes affect it. Access issues, accidents, machinery malfunction, or breakdown can cause massive delays. Companies can improve their time management by checking the weather forecast and managing the delivery dates for necessary raw materials.

Running a commercial construction company is not easy. It is challenging and complicated. Overcoming the challenges is vital for a company to maintain its operations while managing to complete its due date.

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 healthcare industry, it is not easy to provide a quick and smooth service while also maintaining the privacy of a patient’s information according to HIPAA requirements. Leading healthcare organizations address these demands in collaboration with Google’s cloud and make it easier for their patients to access their information under one roof.

Secure Access to Information

Google’s cloud ensures information security that HIPAA requires, allowing limited logins to health officials and patients to avoid any data theft. There is software that will enable you to identify how many times the document or information has been viewed. If the system becomes corrupted or hacked, you know that your information is securely placed in the cloud. You can apply device encryption and then share the file; authorized people can access patient data from any managed device. As a healthcare professional, it is your responsibility to ensure the security of your patients’ information.

Provide Faster Service to Patients

Many websites connect patients with healthcare physicians across the United States. They allow patients to review inputs before they even see a doctor. When a patient arrives at the clinic or hospital, they can fill out an online form that doctors, administration, and nurses can access. This way, you will already have your patient’s information and can follow-up with them immediately. Patients can even fill out a feedback survey that will help improve customer service.

Access to Important Updates and Documents

Google Cloud makes it simple to create a streamlined information center. All you have to do is move all essential data, policies, announcements, calendars, training, and resources to Google Drive and link it to the Google website. For example, a patient is visiting a general physician, cardiologist, and cardiac surgeon simultaneously. Instead of faxing or emailing information to each other, the patient’s lab reports and follow-up information should be stored on the cloud. This way, all three doctors will have access to the patient’s data from anywhere. If there is an emergency, the doctor can access the patient’s medical history right away from their device.

Healthcare practitioners can also view previous clinical follow-ups. CT scans, X-rays, and audio or video messages can be uploaded to the cloud. Patients can view their medical history as well as their financial transactions. Let’s say the patient does not have medical insurance and pays out of pocket. Instead of visiting the account’s department, they can view all payment history on the cloud. Even the accounts department can perform their bookkeeping on the cloud and go paperless.

Ensure Consistency

One of the best examples is a leading pharmaceutical company that provides patients with lifesaving medications worldwide. This company started using apps. However, not all apps can collaborate, so they moved to the cloud. Today, more than 90,000 employees of this company are using Gmail, calendar, and multiple tools to work simultaneously from 140 countries.

Google cloud is easy to use. If you hire a new employee, you can add them to the Google cloud from your admin control, and they have access to it; you do not have to wait to hear back from your IT department. For example, there is a new doctor on board, and you have to provide them with a patient’s medical history, all you have to do is add them to the cloud and have access to all of the information. Depending on the IT department can create a hindrance at times.

Mobile Healthcare

Some medically complex patients have difficulty visiting hospitals or clinics, especially kids. That is when home services are provided. For example, a speech therapist visits a child’s home for speech therapy. After the session, the therapist can directly input their device on the Google cloud and update the charts, reports, and medication list from the patient’s home. All other practitioners can view updated information right away.

If your hospitals or clinics are providing in-home services, Google cloud makes that easier. You can track or update a patient’s information on the cloud, and all other healthcare practitioners can view that information immediately.

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.

Credit scores and credit reports reflect how well or poorly you have managed your finances. If your credit report shows negative information, it becomes critical for you to get rid of any unpaid debt. Otherwise, you may be charged with an exuberant amount of interest. If your credit report shows bad reviews of your financial behavior, it will be difficult for you to obtain credit from other creditors. You may still get some credit if and only if you collateralize it with a property or an asset. But, if you do not own any valuable assets to use as collateral, you will not be eligible to get any form of credit, leading to a worse financial situation.

The only option you are left with is rebuilding your credit to get rid of bad credit scores. Improving your credit score will help you get approved for loans or credit cards, and, as a result, you will be rewarded with better interest rates. A bad credit score is equal to or below 619 per the FICO score. Follow the mentioned steps below to get your credit score back on track.

Review your Credit Report

Make sure to review your credit file so that you know your financial position. By doing so, you will get a better idea of what points need improvement. Do you have late or missing payments? Is your credit file showing that you have a higher rate of debt utilization? Reviewing such information will help you formulate a plan on where to start to improve your credit score.

You also need to check your scores to know whether there are any errors or inaccurate payment details that are present without your knowledge. If yes, then dispute the problem and get those debts removed, which will automatically improve your score. FTC offers some great rewards in case of any dispute, which will help you rebuild your credit score.

Catch your Payments

Your payment history has a major effect on your credit report. If you fail to meet your payment deadlines, it will not improve your credit score. You will only be making it much worse. If you find it difficult to make your payments on time, you should contact your creditors to get a more suitable payment plan. Make sure to be up-front when contacting your creditors and explain your whole scenario. Let them know that you still want to pay for your responsibilities. You can also ask for services from a credit counseling agency to make a proper payment plan.

Pay your Bills on Time

You can slowly rebuild your credit by paying your bills on time. This also includes paying non-credit card bills such as utility, phone, internet, etc. Late rent and missed utility payments are reported directly to credit bureaus. Payment history helps you to establish a reliable pattern to improve your score. Make sure that you are not falling into the bad habit of making late payments. If you can make automatic payments from your bank account, utilize this not to miss any more future payments.

Avoid Closing Credit Card Accounts

Try to avoid closing your credit card accounts, whether you use them or not. The longer the history of your credit, the better it is for your score. However, if you are far behind on your payment deadlines, the only option you are left with is to get a payment plan. A payment plan is required to cancel your credit card account. But make sure to track the history of your credit score to rebuild it.

Pay Down Debt

Credit utilization is another factor to consider to improve your credit score. Credit utilization is a way to measure how much debt you have, and it is expressed as a fraction of the available credit that you use. For instance, you have an available credit of $10,000, and you only use $7,500; the amount of your credit utilization is 75%. It would be best if you planned to pay off your debt more rapidly by using the approach of credit utilization. Reducing your debt will help you to improve your credit score.

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 accounting technology is a new player in the economic landscape. Cloud accounting is similar to traditional accounting, and bookkeeping procedures are done on accounting software. Cloud accounting software is hosted on remote servers, similar to the SaaS (Software as a Service) business model. Data is sent to the server into a ‘cloud’ where it is processed and sent back to the user.

All application functions are done off-site, into the cloud, not on the desktop. The accounting functions are done online and not on desktop software. The internet or other network are used for the process. Users access to cloud accounting software through a cloud application service provider. The software has not to be installed on a computer. It can be accessed from any place globally, provided the cloud applications service provider is present.
Features of accounting software must include:

• Inventory management
• Sales tracking
• Contacts management and contact history tracking
• Account to accept credit card payments
• Generating Invoices
• Financial statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheet
• Budget planning
• Payrolls
• Taxation matters

Benefits of Cloud Accounting for Small Business

Cloud accounting technology is a new player in the economic landscape. Why? We’ve listed the reasons below.

1. Access to accounting and bookkeeping data anywhere and anytime in the world. You can spend time on other activities related to business operations or spend your quality time with family. You can go online to access cloud accounting software while sitting at home and keep yourself updated with the accounting and bookkeeping functions in your business. You always have an up-to-date view of the business’s financial status to make the right decisions at the right time.

2. Go paperless in accounting and bookkeeping. This step is Eco-friendly, too. Paperwork takes a lot of time for accountants and business owners. Small business owners need time to interpret accounting information. Accounting software makes it easy to interpret accounting information.

3. Cloud accounting software has multi-user access.

4. Cloud accounting software is automatically updated.

5. Cloud accounting reduces upfront business costs. You do not face regular maintenance and fees for upgrading the system.

A Few Cloud Accounting Software and their benefits

1. FreshBooks

You can access FreshBooks from a desktop computer and mobile phone. It has many features used to simplify accounting processes. It makes it easy to track expenses, make online payments, generate customized invoices, generate reminders of late payments, purchase history with time-tracking, client records, and manage different projects with different rates.

Thirty days free subscription of FreshBooks is available for a new user.  After that, it costs $19.95 a month.

2. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks is the primary bookkeeping and cloud accounting tool for small businesses and handles accounting operations. QuickBooks is developed and marketed by Intuit. QuickBooks is used to:

• Generate invoices with the logo of your company and with all details required by the customers.
• Process payrolls according to HR policies
• Manage all business transactions, including bills from suppliers and vendors
• Manage Inventory
• Track expenses

3. Kashoo:

• Creating professional invoices
• Categorization of income and costs
• Connectivity with online credit cards and bank accounts
• Online Sharing of data with an accountant
• Reconciliation of accounts due to the double-entry accounting process
• Twenty transactions per month are free 

4. Outright:

Outright is an online cloud accounting system for small businesses and is used for tracking expenses, profit, sales, and customers. Bank accounts and other services such as PayPal, eBay, FreshBooks, and web stores can be connected to Outright, and data can be easily exported from one app to another.

5.  Xero:

• Dashboard with bank balances, expenses, and invoices
• Customized reports required by the small business
• Tracking cash flow in real-time
• Graphical presentation of data
• Data can be shared and accessible to accountant and others
• Generating customized reports and reminders to customers
• Scheduling of Payments and returns

Apple, Blackberry, and Android applications are available. Many add-ons like CRM, invoicing, inventory management packages are also available on demand.

Conclusion

Cloud-based accounting technology is changing the landscape by providing its customers the services which were not available a few years ago. One can access their company’s data from anywhere in the world by logging into the account. Small business owners must avail of this technology as the costs are affordable, and benefits are more abundant than ever.

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.

Understanding accounting, the language of finance and business, is crucial knowledge for all business owners and entrepreneurs. When starting a business, learning how to read financial statements is as important as managing other business tasks. It is more critical to understand statements rather than to continue investing money blindly.

Over time the business will expand, and transactions with other businesses, tax authorities, and people will have to be made. Business bookkeeping needs to be counted and rechecked. These transactions of business and records are maintained using various financial statements and accounting terms.

First of all, the following three are the most important financial statements in business bookkeeping.

Income Statement

The Income statement is divided into Sales and Expenses and includes the following:

Sales include: The selling of goods and services to the customers and getting monetary payments in return.

Expenses include: The purchases made on behalf of the business, employee salaries, bank loans that were received for investment or other purposes, and tax expenses that were paid as income taxes, etc.

Balance Sheet

A balance sheet is a collective form of the statement made based on all past transactions. It categorizes assets and liabilities.

Assets can be fixed assets as well as cash in the bank. It also includes the raw materials, work in progress that will yield profit, finished goods, and value-added tax. Value-added tax is the amount of money that a IRS owes you.

Liabilities comprise the payments that have to be paid by the company/business. It includes the gross amount of money that has to be paid to suppliers. Value-added tax liability is money paid to tax authorities for the sales that were done. Debt is the amount of money that has to be paid by the company to banks or other sources.

A balance sheet needs a balance.

Cash Flow Statement

A cash flow statement shows the cash (money) that flows in and the money that flows out.

A cash flow sheet includes the investing and the financing cash flow. Investing cash flow is the invested cash in the fixed assets in the business. The Financing cash flow describes the money in cash from the investors received from the investors or paid to the investors.

A third but significant form of cash flow is “Operating cash flow.” It explains the money flowed-in and flowed-out to the running business.

These three cash flows are added, and it shows the change in the amount of cash.

Conclusion

The above three financial statements are interrelated. As the incomes and expenses statement increases, the assets and liabilities on the balance sheet will increase. The assets and liabilities will decrease as per the cash flows from the cash flow statement.

Knowledge regarding financial statements interpretation is essential for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs need to know critical information in the credit analysis of their business. Investors and entrepreneurs must understand how accounting is done in businesses. Accounting is the language of business. But, learning the meaning of a few terms used in accounting is not enough. Entrepreneurs must understand the parts of the above described financial statements. This will help the entrepreneurs determine the values of assets. They will be able to calculate profitability and also estimate the risks of the assets of the company. They can understand the company’s financing sources. Entrepreneurs must understand the investment, credit analysis, and profitability.

Business owners/entrepreneurs can determine debt and equity with accounting knowledge in business financing. The ability of entrepreneurs to identify debt and equity shows insight into the value of a company. Understanding and accounting statement is vital for running a successful business.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud 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.

The following are the five best time management techniques to lead your business down a successful path.

Make Lists

Business owners and entrepreneurs have to do various tasks and many assignments. They have to handle many tasks. Bookkeeping and accounting are cumbersome jobs they must handle, along with a long list of other things. The best way to manage all of this is to make lists of all tasks and items you have to handle. Making lists is a huge part of all time management techniques. Lists can be memorized and used according to priority if you have an outstanding memory. The best time management solution is to enlist and write down all tasks, make lists, and pending assignments.

Four basic principles can be used for making lists:

• Annual schedule: Prepare the schedule for one year. This schedule is based on daily activities.
• Things to do list: Make a list of things to do daily, weekly, and monthly. All things to do tasks should be prioritized according to urgency.
• People to call list: List all phone numbers you have to make phone calls to. This is an alphabetically prioritized list. Alphabetical priority means that you allocate an alphabet to each number you have to call according to priority.
• Plan for the conference: Planning the meetings and conversations you need to have frequently should be enlisted according to priority. This way, you won’t ever forget an important call or meeting.

An easy and well-organized system for making lists regularly should be adopted. The habit of making lists is worth using for business success.

Tickler Files

A tickler file system is used to manage daily files and activities in an organized manner. It serves as a booster for automatic memory and lessens the mess of daily files, workload, and activities.

A tickler file is also known as a 43 folder system. It is a system in which files are arranged date wise so that on the specific date, that file will automatically be highlighted.

A tickler file is a straightforward and friendly system. Suppose you have 90 files of three colors, 30 for each month. You number them 1-30 for each month and allocate them in three different colors, i.e., blue for the current month, red for the next month, and green for the month after that. Now, you have a task that you need to perform on the 22^nd of the following month. You put the note and other details on the 22^nd number red file. On the 22^nd of the next month, that file will automatically remind you of that task by pop up. This is an automatic reminder system. By using these tickler files, none of your tasks are missed or forgotten. A lot of time is saved, and timely reminders lead to business success.

In cell phones and computers, this pop-up reminder system can also be used.

 Fewer Meetings

Lengthy meetings can be a waste of time. The frequency and duration of meetings should be shortened to have better time management. Meetings should be focused, and something valuable should be accomplished in each meeting. Before you call a meeting, ask yourself if it will be productive and if it is needed.

Minimizing the number of meetings you have is a good time management technique.

Block Time

Most of your time in the year should be pre-assigned and blocked to get maximum advantages out of it. Assign your time to important tasks like bookkeeping, audit, payrolls, training, etc. To succeed in the business, focus on what is essential, and use your time well.

 Profit from “Odd Lot Time.”

The time you get while waiting for something is valuable. Spend that time reading, thinking, and listening. Responding to missed calls and messages during this time is not a good idea because you cannot concentrate and, most of the time, do it in a hurry.

Conclusion

The key to success in business is disciplined time management. With these five techniques, you can be a pro in handling your time.

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 girl dreams of her “big day.”  Wearing the white dress, walking down the aisle, marrying the love of her life.  These are all things that little girls dream about when they think of their future weddings.  Now, paying for that big dream is a whole different ball game. A wedding typically costs an average American couple about $35,426, excluding the honeymoon expenses.  Yes, you read that correctly.  This is the maximum reported average cost since 2006.

However, you are not legally obligated to spend such a huge price tag to give your relationship a new shape and commit to living together forever. Most couples do not want to spend that much. We asked money experts and wedding specialists how to set a reasonable budget and cut costs on some of the significant expensive elements of a wedding. Here are eight great insights that you can apply to save money on your wedding day.

Be Realistic

Most couples do not see how much their wedding will cost them. They usually end up missing the mark and even setting a budget that is too low, thus far over exceeding their plan. Such a situation can push them under a heavy burden of debts. Starting a marriage in debt is certainly not as ideal as the marital relationship’s beauty and happiness are lost in paying off debt for months and months. Consequently, begin with setting realistic spending limits considering every aspect of your wedding to save money. If you suspect overspending in one area, attempt cutting back on another. It is just like doing bookkeeping when preparing a budget for your marriage.  If you start by being money conscious and budget appropriate with your wedding, it will set you up for this pattern further down the line.

Use your Credit Card Wisely

It is okay to use a credit card for purchases related to your wedding as far as you are charging only the amount of money you can conveniently afford to pay off. Make the most of your accumulated credit card points towards your honeymoon, especially when you possess a card with great travel rewards.

Book a Sunday

Although Saturday is the most popular day for weddings, it is usually the most expensive day to have your ceremony. You are likely to get a venue at a lower price when choosing a Sunday or a weeknight for your wedding. While it may not be the most convenient for your guests, it will certainly save you quite a bit of money.

Choose a Religious Day

Consider having your wedding on or near a major holiday when the church is already decorated for religious marriages. This can enable you to save money on flowers and other decorations. While on other days, go for simplicity. A candlelit ceremony can be inexpensive, gorgeous, and romantic. Furthermore, a Christmas wedding is always beautiful.

Trim your Guest List

Every time you add a guest’s name to your invitation list, you are increasing the wedding budget significantly. Besides catering costs, these additional guests also require extra centerpieces, rentals, favors, etc. Although you may ruffle a few feathers, avoid inviting any person you have not communicated with for the past five years. There is no reason to feel pressured or obligated to invite each of your work colleagues. Consider making your wedding an “adult-only” occasion.  This way, you won’t be stuck paying for everyone’s children as it will get pricey. You can also save a lot of money by choosing to eliminate categories like ‘friends from volunteer work’ or ‘relatives other than first cousins.’  Yes, we know that “Aunt Sue” may be briefly upset that you aren’t inviting her third cousin from Australia, but she’s not the one footing the bill when it’s all said and done.

Save Postage on your Invitations

Choose simple, sleek cards for your wedding invitations in standard envelopes. Instead of having a reply card, ask your guests to reply by telephone or online. There are so many websites out there that offer an RSVP option these days.  This will not only save money from bulky, expensive cards but also cut your postage costs in half.

Look for Reasonable Food and Drink Options

A couple should always be honest with their caterer about their necessity to save money. Ask them for the least expensive entrees and whether or not a buffet will be a cheaper option than a seated dinner. Figure out whether they will allow you to bring your liquor or if serving just beer and wine will be much less expensive than a complete bar. Better yet, consider serving tea and water instead of expensive alcoholic drinks.  If not, it is a good idea to have the bar open only during the cocktail hour and then serve only wine with dinner.

Take Advantage of eBay

eBay is an excellent source for everything for your wedding, from second-hand clothes to marriage favors, ring pillows, cake toppers, and more. Show patience for the auction to end as well as for shipping. Find a reliable seller whose product reviews demonstrate that the sale is of the same quality of what they claim.

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.

A lot of hand wringing over such an undemanding proposition: When a financial expert gives you guidance regarding your retirement account’s life savings, that person must act in your top interest.

It took quite a few years for this so-called fiduciary rule to achieve consent. And then, we have seen President Trump telling the Labor Department to revise this uncontroversial proposition, which he desires to turn over. A few days later came to a massive failure for industry players who challenged the legitimacy of Texas’s rule, where a centralized judge ruled against them.

The most proper technique to understand what the fiduciary debate is about is to sight this debate through the lens of fees. Every time you do business with people in the financial services industry, ask them this: How much money are you making and the different ways you are making it?

The most nuanced clarification we have seen what a fiduciary is and does come from a video called Hightower Advisors posted on YouTube in 2012. There, they contrast butchers and nutritionists. Butchers provide meat, possibly the best meat they have. Nutritionists, on the other hand, tell you what is best to eat. When searching for advice on your life savings, you probably desire to speak to the nutritionists and not the butchers. However, the butchers of the financial world are in a pretty good spot right now. After all, we have just seen eight years of stock market gains.
You will see this pitch soon enough and, when you do, there is an extensive list of questions you need to ask. Any time anyone is trying to sell you an actively managed mutual fund, a real estate investment trust, or REIT and you don’t understand, hit them with every one of the following questions.

Questions You Need To Ask About Investment Fees

1. How much money will you individually make now in cash commission if we select this product? And, how much will you make later in any ongoing or trailing commission?
2. Is there a bonus you are qualified for which comes from your employment to this firm? Is it in danger if you do not make this sale?
3. Are you earning more from advertising this product than you might from putting me in a similar product from a diverse company? Are you earning more than you might if you put me in a different vehicle from the same company?
4. Is your company or the company that shaped this product running any contests that may lead to you getting a free trip or incentive to buy this product?
5. Do you get to eat lots of free food?

Then, there is some nitty-gritty. You will be offered all sorts of product features and extras, and you will need to ask the following questions:

6. How much more will I pay in fees if I choose to receive a sign-up bonus on my allowance? Will I get a definite minimum income or benefit if I elect to receive my money in monthly payments starting later? What if I want a death profit for my heirs? Are there precise charges for the insurance component of the product? Are there any penalties for pulling my money out before time?
7. As for any sub-accounts in my pension, are there expenditure ratios or fees for the money?
8. Does your firm stand to collect any costs that you will not split as part of your payment because they have favored one product or another or restricted their platform to specific products and locked out others?

Conclusion

However, whatever happens, so much will hinge on squishy terms like suitability, best interests, and the reasonableness of fees, legal exceptions to any standards, and whoever is adjudicating any disputes. Rather than getting caught up in all of that, it’s probably best to defend yourself from the outset. In an industry that makes a game of hiding lots and lots of fees every which way, the best possible response is to ask lots and lots of questions.

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.

Whether you are a bookkeeper or looking to become one, bookkeepers have 7 traits that make them outstanding at what they do. Before you start a bookkeeping business or become a bookkeeper, ensure that you have these seven character traits.

A Positive Attitude

To boil it down, a bookkeeper must overcome a lot of challenges as they try to construct and develop their business. As a business owner, it can be lonely when there is no higher authority to turn to when things go south. You, alone, will be responsible for figuring out and resolving any problems. You mustn’t get down with a negative outlook and always address optimism issues.

A Difference Maker

Being a difference-maker means caring about your job. Make sure that you are satisfying your clients and do everything favorable for them. It won’t help you to be a bookkeeper who does data entry. Make a difference by being someone who breaks everything down to look for the possibility of saving money within your client’s business. If you can do this, you will be considered extremely valuable.

Hard Working

As with any job, this trait is essential. Whether it is bookkeeping or not, starting your own business requires tons and tons of hard work and patience. While having your own business has a lot of benefits, you should be ready to put in your hard work to kick it off effectively. You can never become a great bookkeeper if your bookkeeping skills are not up to the mark, and you are not working hard to make sure that all of your clients are happy and satisfied with you as their bookkeeper.

Organized

Any job probably requires you to be somewhat organized. However, when it comes to bookkeeping, it is essential for a variety of reasons. To begin, being a slob automatically means you are not going to be generous with bookkeeping. Being organized is key to being more efficient and ensuring things run smoothly.

Another reason why being organized is essential when it comes to bookkeeping is that, in many instances, you will be required to do “house cleaning” after signing on with new clients. This requires you to be capable of organizing and cleaning out the issues in their finances before you even start with the actual bookkeeping.

Able to Work Effectively on Multiple Projects

Not to be confused with the ability to multi-task, working on multiple projects at one time means having the ability to determine the projects you are required to do first and the priority order you will be completing your tasks. You will continually have more than one client, and they all will require your undivided attention. Moreover, each of your clients’ businesses will be at different stages and will require you to work on different levels as their bookkeeper.

Detail Oriented

The importance of this trait in a bookkeeper is understandable. Ultimately, you are supposed to deal with the finances of your clients. Apart from that, if you are also capable of finding or suggesting ways your clients can improve their profits, there is a huge possibility that you will retain those clients for an extended amount of time.

Personable

Relationships are an essential part of the bookkeeping business. This is a significant reason why clients choose you. If the people you work for cannot connect with you, they will find it difficult to develop trust with you. Being personable is one of the essential character traits of any great bookkeeper.

As a bookkeeper, you are not just supposed to crunch numbers. You are required to crunch numbers while caring what those numbers mean and communicating with your clients as human beings, not only as individuals who do the bookkeeping for their business.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud 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.

Today, cyber-attacks mostly target large corporations and their databases, including emails. Company emails are one of the most frequently targeted categories because they usually hold sensitive information that the hackers yearn to get their hands on.

The information obtained from emails is often used to disclose company secrets to rival companies that could devastate a business. Many emails contain sensitive and private information about employees, including their credit card numbers and social security number details. In the important effort to protect company emails, here are ten tips for protecting all emails belonging to a company.

Train Employees

One of the most crucial ways to secure company emails is to train employees in the latest trends in data protection. Inform your employees about any behavior that could put the company at risk. Make sure that they follow all safety procedures in place to keep the email safe from cyber-attacks.

Always Delete Old Emails

Another safe practice to use when protecting company emails is to delete emails that are no longer needed. The inbox is usually filled with hundreds of emails every day. The best approach to keeping the email safe is to save the emails that contain sensitive information about the business, its clients, suppliers, and products in research and development. Such emails must be kept safe from data theft and hackers. The best method is to save such emails on a separate device for protection. Once the email is safe, delete the original email from the inbox and the junk or deleted folders.

Encryption

Using encryption to protect the data in company emails allows companies to have complete control over sensitive information. Encryption is useful for preventing data theft during a cyber-attack. Using encryption is the best method for keeping the information about the employees, the business operations, and its clients from data theft.

Creating Strong Passwords

Encourage your employees to use strong passwords that contain a unique combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. The password must be eight characters long or more for added security. The stronger the password of an email account, the harder it will be for hackers to get into the system and steal information from emails.

Avoid Unsafe or External Networks

When accessing company emails, make sure that no one is using an external network to gain access. Company networks are usually protected and encrypted; therefore, it is much safer to use the company’s local network to access the emails safely. External networks are vulnerable to cyber-attacks as it lacks the necessary security protocols for safe data transfer from one device to another. Being on a secure network will make it hard for the hacker to steal data from company emails.

Do Not Share the Address with Anyone

To keep the company’s emails safe, it is always better not to share sensitive information with others. Keeping the company’s email address for corporate use only will be a major step in protecting the company emails. Never use the corporate emails for online shopping or any online subscription that requires an email.

Reset Passwords

Always be cautious about the corporate email password that you use as an employee of the company. Keep changing the password every few days and try not to have the same password for every other email account. Resetting your password regularly will keep the emails protected, making their access to hackers difficult.

Never Open Emails from Unidentified Sources

The best approach in protecting company emails is to train employees not to open email attachments from unidentified sources. Hackers usually try to send Trojan viruses hidden in a seemingly innocent attachment. The Trojan virus or a key logger can have devastating effects on the emails’ safety and the entire corporate data.

Avoid Sending Private Emails from Corporate Emails

Company emails should be used for inter-company communications and not for expressing private sentiments to friends and family. Avoiding using the corporate email account for personal use can help prevent accidentally leaking company information to outsiders.

Protect Email from Malware

Malware can access the inbox, and employees can accidentally download dangerous malware that could infect the entire network system. It is better to hire expert services to protect emails and data to keep them safe from hackers.

Conclusion

Protection of company emails is a major task for any company. Effectively protecting the company’s emails will help protect the identity of the employees, business operations, and the entire clientele of the 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.