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March 8th, 2010
If you’re a new business owner, you may have fallen into the trap that leads you to believe your first (or second) year taxes will be “easy” to do. In fact, many sources claim you can simply (and without any accounting understanding) finish them yourself. Or, if you recognize that you DO need help, that you can head to one of those franchise places that promise you easy money on your returns.STOP!
I know that the approaching April 15th deadline may seem taxing (pardon my pun…), but it’s critical to get the help of a knowledgeable CPA. Even if your business opened its doors only last year, you absolutely owe it to yourself and your company to make sure you are doing everything the right way from the get-go.
Would I like to help you? Absolutely! But regardless of whether you choose me or another CPA with small business expertise, I still want you to make this commitment for your future.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: Accounting, April 15, Business Expertise, business owner, CPA, Doors, Easy Money, Franchise, New Business, Promise, Pun, small business, Tax Returns, Taxes, Taxing
Posted in Taxes | No Comments »
March 5th, 2010
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that the United States Postal Service is contemplating making a move to eliminate Saturday delivery.
For most consumers, that isn’t a huge problem; it’ll just mean bills will arrive in the mail on Monday instead of Saturday! However, for businesses, the concerns can be significant, especially when it comes to the effects of such a decision upon cash flow.
Below are 3 of the top ways that ceasing Saturday mail service could have a serious outcome for your company:
- You will have one less day per week to receive money via mail from customers.
- Mail may take longer to get from point A to point B, meaning payments could be delayed.
- If you send anything via USPS, you may have to change your customers’ expectations of how long it will take for orders to be processed.
Obviously, these are items that should be discussed between you and your CFO, as they can be overcome with pre-planning. Just make sure you stay abreast of the latest news.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: 3 Ways, cash flow, CFO, Consumers, Mail Service, Money Mail, Saturday Mail, States Postal Service, Top Ways, United States Postal, United States Postal Service, Usps
Posted in In the News, cash flow management | No Comments »
March 4th, 2010
There’s a lot of talk about “going green” these days and many businesses are jumping on the “we’re green” bandwagon. But from a financial perspective, is it good for cash flow?
As with most ideas, it depends upon the company and how it uses its green corporate culture to leverage business.
For instance, a hair salon that decides to choose only organic products may spend a good amount to ensure that all shampoos, conditioners, dyes, etc., meet organic standards. Chances are good that their efforts will initially result in a heavy outlay of finances, especially if they are restocking their shelves. So from an expense standpoint, many CPAs or CFOs would look at the bottom line and say, “Whoa! Hold your horses! This going green isn’t going to be too good for you!”
However, there’s another side of the coin and that’s the way a business can leverage their “greenness”. Say this all-organic hair salon actively markets itself as the ONLY one of its type in an x-mile radius. And say the owners do a terrific job of positioning their company as exclusive, eco-friendly and cutting-edge (pun intended.) If they are able to woo new clientele with a higher-than-average frequency from their competitors, they could just offset the cost of going green with an abundance of cash.
On the other hand, a company that “goes green” and does nothing to leverage their environmentalism may indeed hurt their cash flow rather than help it. And for some owners, that’s okay - it’s more important to go green than to make money. But at the end of the day, bills do need to be paid.
If you’re thinking of changing the way your organization operates to a greener style, I urge you to sit down with your CFO, CPA and marketing consultant. There may be tax breaks (or even government funding) you don’t know about, not to mention advertising possibilities you’ve never considered. It’s worth the investment to do a little contemplating and planning before moving your business toward an eco-friendlier way of working.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: Bandwagon, cash flow, Cfos, Clientele, Corporate Culture, CPA, Cpas, Dyes, Hair Salon, Leverage, Marketing Consultant, Mile Radius, Organic Products, Organic Standards, Outlay, Pun, Shampoos Conditioners, Standpoint, Tax Breaks, Taxes, Terrific Job
Posted in cash flow management | 1 Comment »
March 1st, 2010
For the past couple of weeks, plenty of public companies have been disclosing their fourth quarter profits. Not surprisingly, the media has used the numbers to make predictions, conduct evaluations, issue (sometimes scathing) analyses and give kudos.
This led me to wonder something… What if you had to disclose your business’s profits for 4Q 2009 to the world? Would you be proud of the results? Would you be able to withstand the scrutiny? Or would you want to lock yourself in your bedroom and hope for better quarters?
If you’re not proud of the way your business operated towards the end of 2009, you’re not alone. Many companies didn’t do as well as they had hoped. But you have more chances to do better!
It’s time to do a thorough evaluation of all your systems, from the way you handle your finances to your hiring policies to your customer service methods. That way, you’ll be putting your organization in a much better position for all the quarters of 2010.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: 4Q 2009, Conduct Evaluations, Customer Service, Finances, Fourth Quarter, Kudos, public companies, Quarter Profits, Quarters, Scrutiny
Posted in financial management, private companies | No Comments »
February 26th, 2010
After April 16th, do you ever review your tax returns for the prior year again? (I’m talking about a typical year, not one in which you get audited or need to file an extension.) Most business owners, especially of very small companies or start-ups, don’t; they just file the returns away. On the off chance they do look at them, they don’t look very hard.
That’s a real shame, because there’s a lot to be learned from last year’s tax return. But you have to have a CPA who’s willing to sit down with you and examine the document for areas of improvement. For instance — could you have allocated funds more strategically? And did you maximize the benefits associated with your allowable deductions?
If your CPA hasn’t suggested evaluating your tax returns to help you plan for next April, it may be time to bring up the topic yourself. (Or perhaps you should start looking for a new financial partner like FinancialFutureCFO.) I know it can be painful to comb through a tax return, but it can also be incredibly enlightening.
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Tags: Allowable Deductions, Business Owners, cash flow, Comb, CPA, Financial Partner, Hasn, Off Chance, Shame, Start Ups, Tax Help, Tax Return, Tax Returns, Ups
Posted in Change your CPA | No Comments »
February 24th, 2010
We’ve all complained at one time or another about the economy, the competition, whatever is causing problems for us financially. But it seems like everyone is pointing fingers now without being willing to do something about it. Whenever a sale goes south, their first answer is, “Well, these are hard times. What can you expect?” That’s no way to grow a company!
As a virtual CFO, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time for business owners to stop blaming and start coming up with new ideas. I know it’s tough out there - I’m a small business owner, too! But I also know that at some point, looking outward for “guilty parties” while never looking inward for answers only makes matters worse.
If you’ve been stuck in a downward spiral of blame, it’s time to stop. Get yourself a good virtual CFO (yes, I’m going to plug my services here!) and build a realistic plan. Be creative and figure out a way to bring your numbers back to a satisfactory level.
Negativity may be human nature (well, sometimes), but it isn’t a trait upon which businesses are shaped.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: Blame Game, Business Owners, cash flow, Conclusion, Creative, Downward Spiral, Economy, Guilty Parties, Human Nature, Pointing Fingers, Realistic Plan, Satisfactory Level, small business owner, virtual CFO
Posted in Business Ownership | No Comments »
February 22nd, 2010
Unless you’re a total maverick, you probably have set routines that you do without thinking each day. You get out of bed on a particular side. You wash your face, brush your teeth and comb your hair in a particular order. It’s all very structured… and that’s important. After all, who wants to think about every little action? That would be ridiculous and time-consuming!
The problem comes when this kind of “automatic pilot” mentality translates to items that we should stop to consider once in a while. I’m talking about things like which insurance carrier we choose (have you stopped to consider you could be paying hundreds of dollars more than you need to?), which cable company gets our money (there are almost always choices…) and, in the business world, the CPA we go to for our financial needs.
In this day and age, there’s nothing wrong with shopping around; in fact, it’s a very smart thing to do. How can you be certain that you’re maximizing your investment and getting the most value if you don’t ever check.
I’m not saying that you absolutely have to change your CPA, but I am encouraging you to take yourself off of autopilot when it comes to who earns the right to help you reach your goals from a financial perspective.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: Automatic Pilot, Autopilot, Business World, Cable Company, cash flow, Change your CPA, Choices, Comb Your Hair, CPA, Insurance, Insurance Carrier, Maverick, Mentality, Money, Perspective, Smart, Teeth
Posted in Change your CPA | No Comments »
February 20th, 2010
Let’s say you have $1 million in outstanding invoices. It’s a great feeling… well, sort of…See, the problem is that until you have that money in hand, you really can’t do a whole lot. Sure, you know that it’s coming, but if you have a whopping zero balance in your bank account, you’re almost as limited as if you had no invoices on their way at all.
In this type of situation, you do have choices, of course:
1. Pay everything with credit until the invoices roll in and then pay off the credit on time, incurring no penalties.
2. Sell a portion of your invoices to a third party so you can get at least a part of what you’re owed immediately.
3. Call your creditors and try to negotiate a new time to pay, hoping they don’t sock you with some kind of interest.
4. Change the way you handle your invoicing.
Obviously, if you’re already in a bind, you may have to choose 1-3, but if you’re not quite in a precarious situation yet, I’d recommend hiring a CPA or CFO to help you change the way you handle your invoicing.
Just being “owed” isn’t going to cut it. You need to have money available to pay bills, make payroll and invest in opportunities, continuing education, marketing, etc. So if the above scenario has happened to you at least once, it’s time to figure out a better way to make your cash flow.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: 1 Million, Bind, cash flow, CFO, Choices, Continuing Education, CPA, Creditors, Education Marketing, invoices, Invoicing, Money, New Time, Payroll, Precarious Situation, Third Party, Whole Lot, Zero Balance
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February 17th, 2010
I often talk on this blog about the value of having a virtual CFO, but hiring someone to concentrate on your financials is only one step toward your lasting success. Truly, a virtual CFO works best as part of a team of professionals geared toward making your business goals a reality.
One of the most important types of professionals you should have on your team is a marketing person. Whether he or she is in place on a full-time or as-needed basis, that individual will be able to help your virtual CFO generate cash by strategically adding to the marketing you’re already doing.
(Now, I’m going to pause here and say that I realize that marketers and finance folks don’t always see eye-to-eye. They look at the same problem from totally different vantage points. Yet that can be a benefit to you if you choose your partners wisely. More on that later…)
For instance, if you operate a website that gets a decent amount of hits, it might be worth your while to add affiliate advertisements or Google Ads to your pages in an effort to boost your revenue. This is something that a virtual CFO might not automatically think to do to generate some extra “passive” cash flow, but it’s likely that a well-versed marketing expert will.
Of course, you’ll have to allow your virtual CFO and marketing consultant/employee to work in tandem in order to get the most value from each of them. That can be difficult for some businesses to understand (as I said above, many people would be shocked to hear that your marketing and finance “departments” were working together.) But in the end, they’re both trying to get your company to a financially secure point.
Does this mean your virtual CFO and marketing person will never argue? Certainly not. Chances are good that they will occasionally be at cross-purposes. However, when you find two great professionals who can work together to benefit your business, you’ll increase your chances of prosperity enormously.
Always remember that it’s important to surround yourself with a team that has a common goal, not a series of individuals who work in silos.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: Ads, Advertisements, Affiliate, Benefit, Blog, Business Goals, cash flow, Cross Purposes, Extra Cash, Eye To Eye, Finance Departments, Full Time, Google, Marketers, Marketing Consultant, Marketing Person, Prosperity, Success, Tandem, Vantage Points, virtual CFO, Virtual Marketing
Posted in CFOs and Marketers | No Comments »
February 15th, 2010
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Special Article for Pennsylvania Businesses and Their Employees
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With the economic budgeting issues within the state governments, the states and local municipalities are looking for ways to generate revenue. In particular, many Pennsylvania municipalities have reverted to the Local Earned Income Tax, which is usually at a tax rate of 1%. (FYI — I have seen it higher and lower.)
Trends indicate that the Local Earned Income Tax rates are increasing.
In my experience, this rise in the tax rate has caused an influx of notices from the municipalities to the taxpayers. Most often, these notices are directed at people who move to or from other municipalities during the year, because each municipality wants their fair share.
The important thing to remember is that if the Local Earned Income Tax is paid in a municipality where the taxpayer works, the taxpayer should be given credit in his resident municipality for the tax paid. If you move between municipalities, you can allocate your income between them, but you should also allocate the withholding.
In addition, if you work in another state (such as any that border the commonwealth of Pennsylvania), there may be credits that can be used to offset the Local Earned Income Tax in the municipality where you live, even if your employer does not withhold the local tax.
In my region of southeastern PA, there are credits — up to certain limits — for wage taxes paid to the City of Philadelphia which can greatly offset (and many times completely eliminate) the impact of the Local Earned Income Tax.
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FinancialFutureCFO: Protecting your company for the future.
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Tags: Border, cash flow, City Of Philadelphia, Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania, Earned Income Tax, Fair Share, Fyi, Income Tax Rates, Income Taxes, Influx, Local Taxes, Municipality, Pa Businesses, Pennsylvania Businesses, Pennsylvania Municipalities, Southeastern Pa, State Governments, Tax Rate, Taxpayers
Posted in Local Earned Income Tax | No Comments »
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