As a small business owner you have more important things to do than to do your own bookkeeping. We take care of your books for you, so you can get back to the job of running your business and generating profits!
Each week or month we'll do the following things for you, as needed...
These tasks form the solid foundation of your small business accounting system. The income statement and balance sheet are collectively known as the"financial statements", and are a summary of the transactions in the general ledger. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding cash flow management, inventory monitoring, profitability analysis, or any of our other services.
Bank Reconciliation
Reconciling your business bank accounts, credit cards and lines of credit each month allows us to make sure that your cash and credit balances are accurately reflected on your books.
Having us reconcile your accounts each month allows you to...
- Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized transactions.
- Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensures transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
- Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
- Know how your business is doing? You cannot really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statements.
- Manage your cash more effectively. Proper management of funds not only saves money, it can make money for you.
- Protect yourself. By timely reconciling and promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks presented to your bank and paid by that bank, you can relieve yourself of responsibility for the shortfall and transfer the risk to the bank. This alone is reason enough to reconcile. Crime exists.
- Sleep Better. You will sleep more peacefully at night knowing your bank accounts are reconciled, in balance and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.
Income Statement
An income statement, also known as a "profit and loss statement", basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.
An income statement allows you to...
- Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
- Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.
- Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures. Like telephone, postage, or office supply expenses.
- Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.
- Determine your income tax liability.
Balance Sheet
A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.
A balance sheet helps you...
- Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
- Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
- Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
- Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses.
- Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves.
- Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage.
Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you.
Maintaining a Clean General Ledger
The general ledger is the documented record of your company's financial activity. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger will result in inaccurate financial statements.
Having us review your general ledger system each month allows us to hunt down any discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then we'll fix the discrepancies so your books are always credible and your financial statements accurate.
Monthly Consultations
The most important element of our service is the time spent with you making sure that you fully understand how to interpret and utilize the financial information available about your business. Our consultations are already included in our price, so please feel free to call us whenever you have a question or concern.
