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- Jun 21
Common Bookkeeping Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
Bookkeeping is a significant part of any business enterprise. It is known for being a tedious task, mostly because business owners would rather spend their time in other areas of the business, but a necessary practice to keep your business successful. Here are five of the most common bookkeeping mistakes small business owners make when approaching their company’s finances: Mixing Business and Personal Bank Accounts. Not having separate bank accounts for personal and business
- Jun 8
How Hiring an Accountant Could Save Your Business
According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), 20% of businesses fail in the first year. In addition to this statistic, only about half of small businesses survive pass the five-year mark and only 1 out of 3 will get to the 10-year mark. Some of the reasons that small businesses fail are: bad business plan, lack of financing and/or financial mistakes, and rapid expansion. As a business owner, how much time do you have in daily business operations to actually do the thi
- May 12
Services Undertaken by Your Outsourced Accounting Firm
You are a busy business owner and accounting responsibilities can be cumbersome. Outsourcing accounting services is a way of freeing up your time to focus on growing your business. One of the main reasons small to mid-sized businesses outsource accounting functions is to save money. What services can you outsource through your accounting firm? We’ll share some of those services with you, services we provide at CPA by Choice. Accounting and Finance Consulting You don’t have to
- May 4
Cloud-Based Accounting Benefits
What is cloud-based accounting? It means you keep your business books online. The information is encrypted, much like your bank’s records, so only people with the login can view the data. Cloud-based accounting also allow employees in other departments, remote or branch offices to access the same data and the same version of the software in real-time. Business owners should be using cloud-based accounting if they would like run their business smarter and faster. In today’s te
- Mar 31
How to Find a Great Accountant for Your Business
Access to professional accounting services and advice can add significant value to your business. An accountant will source all your documents: receipts, invoices, and other documents that record business activity to post accounting transactions.Preparing source documents for all client transactions, operations, and other business events is only possible with a qualified accountant. In addition, accounting professionals are prepared with the tax law knowledge for your busines
- Mar 31
What to Know About Accounting When Starting a New Business
Accounting is the process of recording, maintaining, and communicating financial transactions pertaining to a business. Your small business depends on good accounting. Without accounting, you won’t be able to keep track of your business, you won’t know whether it is successful or not, and you will likely have difficulty when it’s time to file income taxes. You will also have a difficult time attaining bank loans and investors, because they often require detailed financial inf
- Feb 23
How to Clean Your Accounting Records with These Simple Steps
Running a business is not an easy task. You are managing inventory, employees, customers, marketing, partnerships… the list goes on and on and on. At CPA By Choice we recognize the time and effort that YOU put into your business, therefore we want to ensure your bookkeeping and accounting records are receiving the attention it needs. Business owners’ busy schedules often cause accounting records to be overlooked. Organized accounting records have a positive impact on your bus
- Feb 17
What You Need to Know for 2022 Tax Filing Season
It is already a busy tax season, the IRS tax season began January 24th and as of February 4th, the IRS had issued 4.3 million refunds! We want you to be prepared this tax season, here are some key items to keep in mind when filing your income tax return this year: Deadlines For most small businesses, including sole proprietorships, household employers, single-member LLCs, and C corporations, business taxes for the 2021 tax year are due April 18, 2022. For S corporations and p
- Feb 3
Ways to Survive a Cash Flow Crisis
Cash flow measures the net amount of cash and cash equivalents coming into and going out of a business over a set period of time. It indicates the financial health of your business by showing how much cash your business has on hand. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that as business owners, you may have the best-prepared plans and the unpredictable happens. As a result of the unpredictable, your business may take a hit that makes cash flow harder to come by. Here
- Jan 28
5 Tips on How to Reduce Taxable Income for Small Businesses
What is taxable income? According to IRS regulations, all income is taxable unless it’s specifically exempted by law. Some common taxable sources of income include: Wages Commissions Tips Bonuses Income from free-lancing, self-employment, contracting, or business Gambling winnings The beginning of the tax year is a good time to review whether you are maximizing your deductions and maybe even get a second opinion on additional ways you can save on taxes. How can I reduce my t
- Dec 14, 2021
Do You Need a Business Credit Card?
As a small business owner, deciding on whether your company needs a credit card can be difficult. You may be concerned about interest payments, penalties, and annual fees, as well as the time and effort it takes to apply. However, for most businesses, having a company credit card can be a major asset to help operate and expand the business. When used properly, a small business card can help mitigate cash flow issues, keep personal and business finances separate, and boost a c
- Dec 9, 2021
Documents You Will Need in Order to File Your Business Taxes
As a small business owner, trying to determine your tax liability, what your filing requirements are, and how to file a federal income tax return can be difficult. Even if you are seasoned business owner, it can be overwhelming to try to keep up with changes in federal tax laws, state tax laws, and small business tax deductions. With tax season rapidly approaching, taking the time now to gather and organize the proper tax information will help make the tax return process much
- Oct 20, 2021
Accounting Practices that will Add More Time Back to your Business
We hear it quite often from business owners that they wished they had more hours in the day, or that time is the one thing they wish they could buy. The following accounting practices will not only help you add more time back to your business but they will also result in cost reduction strategies, after all Time is Money. Separate Business and Personal Expenses A common mistake new business owners make is using their personal bank account to fund business needs. It is not unc
- Oct 14, 2021
5 Ways to Prevent Expense Fraud
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) defines expense fraud as a fraudulent disbursement scheme in which an employee makes a claim for reimbursement of fictitious or inflated business expenses. Common types of expense fraud include: Mischaracterized expenses: an employee submits a personal expense for reimbursement as a business expense. Overstated expenses: an employee submits a claim for a legitimate expense but increases the amount. An example of this can be
- Sep 24, 2021
Understanding and Analyzing Financial Statements
Financial statement analysis is the process of analyzing a company's financial statements for decision-making purposes. As a business owner, knowing how to analyze financial statements will allow you to assess your company’s strengths and weaknesses, and determine the overall financial position of the company. There are various techniques available to analyze financial statements. Ratio analysis is the most widely utilized technique. Ratio analysis measures the proportional r
- Sep 22, 2021
Budgeting & Forecasting for Small Businesses
A budget is a dynamic, detailed plan of operations used to outline a company’s anticipated revenue and expenses for an upcoming period of time. A financial forecast is an estimate of a company’s future performance based on current and historical information. A budget is a roadmap that outlines where management wants to take the business. A financial forecast tells you whether your company is reaching its goals and where it is heading. As a business owner, the success of your
- May 14, 2021
10 Accounting Fundamentals All Small Businesses Should Form
Many business owners share that the thought of having to understand accounting principles in order to run their business successfully can feel overwhelming. At CPA by Choice, we want to provide you confidence that you understand business accounting essentials. Open a business banking account. Once your business is legally registered open a business banking account, this needs to be separate from your personal banking account. Separating business revenue and expenses can help
- Jan 21, 2021
Revenue Recognition: An Introduction for Small Businesses
How much revenue did your business earn this month? That answer may vary depending on whether you have implemented the new revenue recognition standard or not. If you are looking for investors, a bank loan or even looking to sell your business, the way you record revenue needs to be in line with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the new Revenue Recognition Standard. In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), issued Accounting Standards Cod
- Jan 10, 2021
Interactive Custom Report Writer Delivers Fast, Real-Time Advanced Reporting
Sage Intacct ICRW is a modern, visual reporting tool that delivers ease and speed of report creation.
- Dec 16, 2020
A Business Guide to Sending Out 1099s
In the last year there have been a number of changes and updates regarding the 1099-Misc Form, these changes will impact businesses who work with independent contractors and freelancers. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is re-introducing form 1099-NEC, Non-employee compensation, we have not seen this form since 1982 when the movie E.T. was released. The change does not remove the old form 1099-MISC, instead the form will be filed starting in January 2021 to report payments