It’s that time of year, rounding out the fall season and sliding into the last few months of the year. We get lost in the day to day work and those unexpected events. Take a moment to take stock in what you and your business have right now and see where you are compared to where you started the year.
In short, yes. It is recommended that small businesses reconcile their accounts at least monthly, although some small businesses reconcile daily for cash flow reasons. This step-by-step video shows how to reconcile your bank account using QuickBooks.
The process of comparing your balance (known as the book balance) to the bank’s records (bank balance) is important for the following reasons:
As last year winded down and you looked toward this year, you probably had goals and dreams of where you would like your business to go and how to make it grow. You prepared what you thought to be a realistic budget. Preparing the budget is the first step; reviewing it at least monthly is as important to the success of your company. Don’t let your budget gather dust and never look at it again.
It’s nearly the fourth quarter and year-end is just around the corner. A lot of small business owners wait too long to get their financials in order. Closing the books for the year doesn’t have to be a race to the finish, it can be a jog. Below are a few things you can do now:
Many small business owners advocate doing payroll in-house as it’s considered easy and keeps them involved. The truth is, doing your own payroll can be a time drain and is costly. While you’re not paying the nominal fee for a payroll service, you’re spending your valuable time on a task that is likely below your pay grade.
Below are a few reasons why you should consider outsourcing your payroll.
When is it too late to start a budget? Some business owners don’t use a budget, and as a result, aren’t sure where money is being spent. Maybe you created some projections at the beginning of the year but are missing the mark on the sales side. Even though half the year is over, you can gain some valuable insights by assessing your first-half actual results to create a new budget.
Do you struggle with keeping track of your Travel Mileage at your small business or startup? Do you find keeping track of your mileage to be a tedious task? I do. At the end of every year, I go through my calendar, note all the business events that I drove to, calculate the mileage using Google Maps, add up the miles on an excel spreadsheet (and I don’t drive nearly as much as many of you), and after multiplying by the allotted mileage reimbursement, I have entered a tidy business expense.
If you receive a K-1 for an investment owned by your small business, use these simple instructions to adjust your Investment Account (Long-Term Asset) in QuickBooks to reflect the net income and any of the other items on the form. When you’re finished, the amount in the Investment Account will equal the Ending Capital reported on the K-1.
Are you a dentist who does work in exchange for IT services? Maybe you are a physical therapist who exchanges services with someone who does your social media. These are great examples of bartering.
Want to make sure your business QuickBooks file agrees with your tax return? Best practice is to use your accountant’s adjusting journal entries or an accountant copy update file to bring your QB in line with the tax return. If neither are available, use this approach:
