Create Success: Maintaining Your Small Business Finances
Friday, December 18, 2015, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Small businesses must contend with increasing competition, demanding consumers and narrowing profit margins. Therefore, every small business must properly maintain their finances in order to remain competitive and profitable.
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Never Mix Business and Pleasure
Mixing personal and business finances will certainly result in disorder when tax season arrives.
However, many small business owners prefer the straightforward convenience of using a single account or credit card.
While this is temporarily convenient, it will eventually confuse and complicate both your personal and business finance management.
By establishing separate bank and credit card accounts, business owners will be able to properly track, measure and report on their business and personal financial status.
This is critically important because successful business owners must be able to quickly and accurately monitor and track key financial performance indicators.
Otherwise, the business owner will be unsure of their business profits, revenues, expenses, and cash flows.
They must also separate business and personal expenses every year or even quarterly for reporting purposes.
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Accounting Software
While most small businesses cannot afford the ongoing services of a CPA, they can invest in an affordable accounting software to help them manage their finances.
There are standard name brand programs, such as Sage or QuickBooks, or there are free open source programs, such as GnuCash and TurboCash.
Either way, these programs will allow the business owner to monitor and manage their business finances.
Many popular programs also come with cloud computing and smart device support.
For example, cloud-based financial programs provide real-time insights that can be accessed from anywhere, around the clock.
This is perfect for a business owner who must constantly travel or supervise different locations.
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Organizational Flexibility
Using printed labels is a great way to organize a business.
Not only do they help identify products on shelves, but they also help create a user-friendly system for employees.
For example, most health care organizations use printed labels to identify the contents of drawers, cupboards and containers.
However, printed labels are also beneficial for their office filing cabinets and tracking systems.
On the other hand, certain businesses will benefit from using printed labels with bar codes.
Many warehouses and manufacturers find that using printed and labeled product tags, like those available at tagprinters.com, assist quality control, inspections, and material management processes.
Labels also help to organize their products for inventory.
Therefore, any business that has to manage an inventory will benefit from using scannable bar codes that will increase access, speed and accuracy.
Labels will help maintain finances through reducing inventory errors, miscommunication, and mismanagement.
To review, taking care of small business finances may be tedious, but it’s a key to commercial success.
Proper financial management will help the business owner make better decisions and guide their company in the right direction.
Maintaining proper accounting records will also increase the efficiency of mandatory tax reporting and payments.
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Rachelle Wilber is a freelance writer living in the San Diego, California area. She graduated from San Diego State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She tries to find an interest in all topics and themes, which prompts her writing. When she isn’t on her porch writing in the sun, you can find her shopping, at the beach, or at the gym. Follow her on twitter: @RachelleWilber
