Accounting and Bookkeeping Articles

Helping Businesses Become Profitable in 30 Days

Have you ever encountered a failing company in need of help-and fast!  As an accountant you may be one of the few individuals owners turn to when a business is in need of serious financial reflection and modification.  Not only that, but if you could learn how to turn a business around, you could add this valuable service to your menu, increasing your value to current and prospective clients.

Allen Bostrom’s new book, Red to Black in 30 Days, illustrates an effective away to build your accounting practice, make more money and gain expertise in helping troubled small businesses – making them profitable once and for all.  To demonstrate the value of this book, we wanted to share the cornerstone concept of becoming more than just an accountant but a Profit Expert.

What is a Profit Expert?

Allen Bostrom, President and CEO of Universal Accounting Center and author of Red to Black, believes there are three degrees of accounting service-the bookkeeper, the accountant and the Profit Expert. The bookkeeper records transactions into the computer with direction and relatively little knowledge of how it impacts the big picture. In most situations, the bookkeeper will need to seek competent advice from an accountant.

The accountant has a working knowledge of how the financial statements are created and what they mean. An experienced accountant can also interpret financial statements and trends but generally stops short of giving meaningful management advice to business owners.

A Profit Expert is a financial advisor who has the skills of an accountant but also creates, enhances and/or turns around promising small businesses by providing direction in:

• Controlling cash effectively
• Reducing and minimizing expenses (including tax expenses)
• Increasing revenue

If you are not at the expertise level needed to be a Profit Expert, you certainly will be at the end of Red to Black.  This book provides the resources necessary to help any small business with problems-even turnaround problems.

As mentioned before, sometimes small business owners have a hard time seeing their own problems, let alone admitting them. Yet, there is never a shortage of problems. But in general, small business owners wait too long to admit they have problems; then they wait even longer to take action.

In some cases, the accountant may know critical information before the business owner. Thus, your role as an accountant and Profit Expert are paramount in all stages of turning a business around.

The fact is that numbers tell stories. The financial information an accountant provides is not only the first indicator of upcoming difficulty, but it is also instrumental in discovering the solution to the problems causing the difficulty.

Order Your Copy of Red to Black, Today!

Discover how to use this accounting information to help turn a business around.  You will discover all the tools needed to function as a Profit Expert and learn the Universal Project Management Model necessary in saving failing businesses.   This book is a guideline for accountants and consultants who work with these disheartened small business owners. Each chapter focuses on a crucial aspect of the turnaround process. Simple steps are outlined from initial contact through stabilization and profitable growth. This can be the guide through your first turnaround experience or enhance the accounting and management skills of even the seasoned accountant and manager.

For the cost of this one book you can enhance your value to current and prospective employers.  It’s the New Year.  Why not celebrate with a new book that will make you and your clients more profitable.  Order your copy now.

The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. – Stephen Covey

Action expresses priorities. – Mahatma Gandhi

Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it.  Establish your priorities and go to work. – H.L. Hunt

We have counseled readers countless times to prioritize tasks and projects in order to practice good time management.  But how, exactly, do you best prioritize these things when chances are you have a long to-do list from which to work?  We suggest you ask yourself the following five questions in order to determine how to best spend your time.  If the answer to any of the questions is “yes,” you are dealing with a priority.

1. Will the action positively impact to your firm’s bottom line?

In Paul and Susan Edwards’ book, Home-Based Business for Dummies, they suggest this be the first question you ask in determining your priorities.  As they explain, “Everyone has reasons for being in business for themselves, but one of the main reasons for creating a business is to make money, pure and simple.  …What kind of impact will the action have on your bottom line-will it reduce your expenses or increase your revenues?  The greater the impact on improving your bottom line-your profitability-the higher it should rate on your list of priorities…”

2. Is the action in response to a client emergency?

Like the first question, number two is also taken from the Edwards’ book on home-based businesses.  They remind us that clients are the “heart and soul of any business” and responding to their emergencies should definitely be a priority.

3. Will the action increase your clientele?

Of course, this is only a priority if you want to grow your client base; if you’re currently overwhelmed with clients and feel comfortable with your business’s current size, then you should avoid tasks that would promote your practice’s growth.  Perhaps instead you should consider hiring a support staff that would help you manage the more mundane tasks while you continue to serve more clients.

4. Is the action in alignment with your practice’s mission statement?

Above all, your business should continually be working towards the accomplishment of your mission statement.  If the task deviates at all from your overarching mission statement, then you must either revise the task or the statement.

5. Is the action realistic and doable considering your resources and skills?

Some projects and tasks may be in the best interests of your business, yet they would be impossible to accomplish considering your current resources and skills.  Taking on such a project would only impair your business and possibly threaten it in the end.

Understanding how to prioritize is important for every business owner.  Once you master the prioritization of tasks, you become a better manager, and, most likely, a more profitable one.

If expanding your service offerings has been on your to-do list, you should consider tax preparation.  Universal Accounting Center (UAC) has a number of free tax articles that may help you determine whether or not this is a realistic task for you and your business.  Visit UAC today and decide.

Resources

Edwards, Paul and Sarah.  Home-Bases Business for Dummies.  New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, 2005.

Many see the New Year as an opportunity to make significant changes in their appearances.  But have you thought about giving your business a makeover?  As a business owner you might be considering ways you might update and enhance your practice.  Forget the building permits, interior designers, and even the paint chips.  We have three tips that will significantly improve your business in less than 60 days without making one change to your office.

1. Specialize

When you specialize in a specific industry or business type, you target a niche market and enhance your ability to attract more clients who are interested in your expertise.

Small businesses are looking for small-business accountants who are aware of their unique needs and will perform those services that will enable them to be more profitable.  The majority of accountants out there have been trained in big business accounting, which comprises less than 20% of accounting opportunities.  Small businesses, on the other hand, are growing at a phenomenal pace.

In 2005, Entrepreneur.com reported that there were 8.1 million small businesses in the United States.  Compare that with the mere 8,000 large businesses and 93,000 midsize businesses.  Your town alone has enough small businesses to keep you practice very busy, as long as you know the day-to-day accounting tasks they require.

2. Certify

UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program (PB) will train you in the practical application of small business accounting, while enabling you to earn professional certification, which demonstrates your expertise and true professionalism.

In less than 60 hours you could complete practical training in accounting that will give you the confidence and skills you need to move ahead in one of the best home-based businesses around: contract accounting.  Not only that, but you’ll find the program inexpensive and convenient, allowing you to study at your own time and pace.  Here are the four modules you’ll enjoy:

• Module One: Accounting Made Easy
• Module Two: Practical Small Business Applications
• Module Three: Advancing Your ‘Account-Ability’
• Module Four: Building a Successful Accounting Service

3. Publicize

Notice how that last module is entitled “Building a Successful Accounting Service”?  Universal Accounting Center doesn’t abandon you once you master small-business accounting skills.  After over 25 years experience training individuals in small business accounting, we realize that financial professionals also must be trained how to market those skills.  This finale module will enable you to attract and retain those clients who will help you build a thriving practice of your own.  Not only that, but UAC will teach you how to make every minute you spend marketing effective, so you can dedicate the majority of your time to what you do best: accounting.

It’s a New Year, and while the economy may be staggering, your business doesn’t have to follow suit.  Your best defense in 2009 is a good offense.  Take the initiative and improve your business today.  There’s no doubt that in specializing, certifying, and publicizing, you will make this year your practice’s best yet.  Enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program today!

Resources

“Small Business at a Glance.”  Entrepreneur.com  http://www.entrepreneur.com/sbe/glance/index.html

Establishing Goals That Will Build Your Business

Now is the time to make those New Year’s resolutions.  You’re not the only business owner trying to boost your business with fresh goals.  According to a survey conducted by the American Express, 56% of small business owners resolved to be more profitable last year, while 36% were looking to be better bosses, get to know their customers better, and take more personal time for themselves.  What would you like to achieve this year?

The best guarantee in accomplishing your business objectives is to set clear resolutions you can use to measure your success.  Here are seven guidelines in ensuring that your professional resolutions have sticking power:

1. Be specific

Vague resolutions like, “increase revenue” will give you nothing concrete for which to aim.  But when you make specific goals like “increase revenue by $5000,” you not only have a clear target to shoot for, but you also have a standard against which you can measure your progress.

2. Be realistic

Steve Kaczmarski said, “Those who are successful are those who have more realistic goals.”  While you may have grand ambitions, setting 10 major goals for one year may be overwhelming in the long run.  Select a handful of realistic resolutions to focus on this year, and ensure they’re attainable!  You’ll find that succeeding in small ways will help you eventually achieve those larger goals.

3. Write them down

Resolutions that have been memorialized in writing are much more powerful than those you make in your head.  As time goes by, you can revisit them regularly and assess your progress.

4. Ensure they don’t conflict with personal goals

If you resolve to grow your business by 50% this year, and then set a personal goal to spend more time with your family, you may find yourself stretched too thin.  It’s best to set both personal and professional resolutions together to ensure they don’t conflict.

5. Involve others

Share your business goals with your immediate family; they may be able to help you in ways you hadn’t imagined.  And if you have a staff, share your business goals with them as well; they’ll perform much better when they understand your expectations.

6. Be accountable

Your family and staff, upon learning your resolutions, will help you be accountable for them.  It’s also important that you take your resolutions seriously as well.  If you’re unsure whether or not you’ll pursue your goals, there’s no reason setting them in the first place.

7. Follow-up

Schedule a time in your business calendar to follow-up and assess your progress.  June is a good mid-year point at which time you can determine what more needs to be done in order to accomplish your resolutions.

Make Professional Certification Your 2009 Goal

In this day and age of economic uncertainty, business owners don’t want to turn their finances over to just anyone.  They feel much more comfortable leaving their accounting to a certified professional: a Professional Bookkeeper (PB).

Set a goal you can easily accomplish this year by enrolling in the Professional Bookkeeper program and earning your PB designation.  Not only can you earn valuable certification that will put prospective clients at ease, but you will also learn valuable accounting skills that will help you best serve your small business clients.

Here are just a few things this program enables you to do:

• Master accounting for retail and wholesale businesses
• Determine and establish the accounting method that best fits any given business
• Set up an efficient system for a “ma & pa” manufacturing company
• Track job costs simply and efficiently for a construction company
• Effectively handle flooring for an inventory-financed business
• Confidently consult with business owners on key business issues
• Enter data quickly and accurately
• Prepare payroll like a seasoned pro
• Avoid costly IRS penalties
• Spot and avoid dangerous trends before they become tragedies
• Save a company thousands of dollars in auditing costs
• Start your own bookkeeping and accounting business, using a step-by-step approach
• Acquire clients quickly and cost-effectively

One course will enable you to accomplish all that and more.  Talk about a powerful resolution!  Take advantage of the New Year and earn valuable certification that will help you advance your accounting practice.  Enroll today!