If you don't have anyone of the following then give yourself a F-grade; no 2012 business or marketing plan, no 2012 tax plan and no 2011 tax plan. Now if you have one of the three then you earned a D-grade. For example If your tax plan is to hand your data to a preparer in 2011 that's a plan. Probably not the best plan but it is a plan. If you have two of three types of plans then give yourself a C-grade. For example a marketing strategy and a tax plan for 2011. To achieve either an A or B you need at least three of the types of plans I mention here. To truly know if achieve an A-grade you will need someone to both critique your plan and help you be accountable.
Myself I can help you with a tax plan and package it together with tax preparation in order to be proactive with your taxes. Keep this in mind if you don't act before January 1st of the year your taxes are then due then you limit your ability to actually save cash.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Good Financial Records are the key to good things
Do you have a joint checking account with your spouse? Does he or she ever forget to tell you about a check or expense from the checking account? Has this ever been a problem? Does your business either have multiple owners or employees with access to functioning cash accounts? Have you ever thought an expense was paid by your business, when really it was unpaid? Has this ever been a problem? With over 14 years as an accountant and now a CPA, I now believe that good financial records are the key to good things. In fact you need good accounting records to run a business or home effectively.
Good communication among the people with access to money, debt instruments, investments, equity and other financial accounts is the goal. At times you may even want to hire an expert to either evaluate or run your financial record system. At home by comparison if your spouse never checks what funds are available before writing checks or making purchases then you may rack up NSF and other bank charges. In business these failure points can make the difference between struggling and thriving.
Do you trust the numbers from your financial statements or in your checking account? Are you setting aside or purposely not using cash funds due to a concern of unrecorded purchases? Has this ever cost you potential savings from not buying sale items? If you don’t have faith in your numbers then you may be missing opportunity or be worse off then you realize.
You may know who or where to buy from, who to sell to or even where to work. Without good records you may not know who owes you money and or how much. Without good financial records you may not know whom you owe money to or be unable to get credit. As you can see this can be a real problem. Whether you are trying to maintain a home or a business you need good records.
Is your family growing or are you thinking of moving? Can you tell bargains from wasteful and or costly purchases? How do you evaluate opportunities such as new job offers or even new investments. For a business are you looking at selling or expanding in the future? Can you evaluate wasteful expenses? What are your higher margin products or services? Good financial records could help you make some decisions.
Will your home function without you financially? Do you have plans such as a will with your family and home in mind? Is your business designed to be self sufficient with a good financial backbone? Do you feel you can take time off? Does your business have a realistic succession plan? Most plans require good recordkeeping in order to be achievable.
In unusual circumstances or emergency situations do you have a plan of action? How will you access and control your financial records? These two questions also apply to businesses. So as you can see you need a plan of action in regard to your finances.
Whether using Quicken, You Need A Budget, Quickbooks or some other accounting software you need to be sure of some things. You need to both have a functioning software that is also set up properly. Additionally you also want to make sure that you have good functioning systems. You also will want to make sure that proper training is in place for either personnel and or family. This will help maintain financial records.
When you are making plans are your financial records useful? Can your financial records be used for financial ratios, cash flow statements? There are other financial and economic planning tools you can use that require good financial records to be of value. So it's important for your future to have good financial records.
As you can see good financial records bring many things. Such as a financially well run home or business. Good communication aids financial records, which builds trust and realizes opportunity. You know what's going on financially in your life with good records. Better decisions are made with good records. You have a strong system to build your succession plans with good records. You will be able to have a plan of action when needed with good records. Properly training your support and building your systems will get you good records. Good financial records bring value to many good things.
Good communication among the people with access to money, debt instruments, investments, equity and other financial accounts is the goal. At times you may even want to hire an expert to either evaluate or run your financial record system. At home by comparison if your spouse never checks what funds are available before writing checks or making purchases then you may rack up NSF and other bank charges. In business these failure points can make the difference between struggling and thriving.
Do you trust the numbers from your financial statements or in your checking account? Are you setting aside or purposely not using cash funds due to a concern of unrecorded purchases? Has this ever cost you potential savings from not buying sale items? If you don’t have faith in your numbers then you may be missing opportunity or be worse off then you realize.
You may know who or where to buy from, who to sell to or even where to work. Without good records you may not know who owes you money and or how much. Without good financial records you may not know whom you owe money to or be unable to get credit. As you can see this can be a real problem. Whether you are trying to maintain a home or a business you need good records.
Is your family growing or are you thinking of moving? Can you tell bargains from wasteful and or costly purchases? How do you evaluate opportunities such as new job offers or even new investments. For a business are you looking at selling or expanding in the future? Can you evaluate wasteful expenses? What are your higher margin products or services? Good financial records could help you make some decisions.
Will your home function without you financially? Do you have plans such as a will with your family and home in mind? Is your business designed to be self sufficient with a good financial backbone? Do you feel you can take time off? Does your business have a realistic succession plan? Most plans require good recordkeeping in order to be achievable.
In unusual circumstances or emergency situations do you have a plan of action? How will you access and control your financial records? These two questions also apply to businesses. So as you can see you need a plan of action in regard to your finances.
Whether using Quicken, You Need A Budget, Quickbooks or some other accounting software you need to be sure of some things. You need to both have a functioning software that is also set up properly. Additionally you also want to make sure that you have good functioning systems. You also will want to make sure that proper training is in place for either personnel and or family. This will help maintain financial records.
When you are making plans are your financial records useful? Can your financial records be used for financial ratios, cash flow statements? There are other financial and economic planning tools you can use that require good financial records to be of value. So it's important for your future to have good financial records.
As you can see good financial records bring many things. Such as a financially well run home or business. Good communication aids financial records, which builds trust and realizes opportunity. You know what's going on financially in your life with good records. Better decisions are made with good records. You have a strong system to build your succession plans with good records. You will be able to have a plan of action when needed with good records. Properly training your support and building your systems will get you good records. Good financial records bring value to many good things.
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