Developing a Strategic Plan for your Business

A strategic business plan helps to guide your business in a systematic manner. It can also ensure that you remain focused on your goals and business objectives when obstacles arise which could derail them. Following are five suggestions to follow for putting a plan in place.

Write it all down
What is your vision for your business? Put it in writing, as that one step solidifies that commitment. This statement should include goals for your business, including values which guide it. Begin with a couple of sentences that define your vision, and refine the message until you create a single, succinct statement that encompasses it.

Clarify business the goals
Identify the core areas of your business, in addition to the products and services offered. Include details of how you plan to meet your client needs, including timely delivery and level of customer service.

Plan components
Your strategic plan should cover elements that are critical to business success in the industry selected. These components can include sections such as marketing plan and revenue generation projections. As your business develops, you can add sections that cover policies and procedures to help your business manage growth.

Bringing it all together
As your company grows, you will need to consider critical junctures in the business plan that help the company move to the next level. You will need to develop marketing strategies that account for advertising or human resource plans to support a greater number of employees. As a business grows, the need for IT infrastructure and professional support in that area will, as well.

Establish realistic timelines
Your business plan should ideally include a deadline or implementation date. Ideally, schedule a date for all tasks. For example, if you are developing a marketing plan or launching a website for set a deadline and ensure you work towards it. When you work towards a deadline, your employees also learn to respect timelines and work towards meeting them. This also fosters a culture of reliability and interdependency.

Developing a strategic plan for your company will help to keep your business goals on track and manage your company's growth.

Analytix Solutions
The Company that CPAs Recommend
Analytix Solutions is a professional full-service business support solutions provider. The company offers comprehensive and scalable bookkeeping and accounting services while leveraging its expertise, experience, and state-of-the-art infrastructure. It offers multiple services in diverse packages for companies that are seeking a trustworthy and professional partner to give their business a head start.

Wiring An Accounting System

Accounting is an intrinsic part of any business, regardless of the industry in which your company operates. The same rules that apply to your personal finance also apply to running a business. More clients translate to more business, and this equates to an increase in the volume of transactions and records you need to review. At a minimum, you need sound bookkeeping to ensure that your accounting is in order. Bookkeeping practices determine how well your records are maintained, or how well your accounts and statements are balanced or reconciled. Seemingly small things such as recording receipts and invoices can be omitted inadvertently when you are in the midst of managing client needs and business matters. Often, these matters become a priority only as tax time approaches, and at that point you have a lot of things to accomplish - often with little time to spare.

Choosing automation
As an enterprise or a small business, you are likely to wonder, "Why bother taking my accounting system online?" For someone managing a startup, taking an accounting system online might seem like an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Few consider the immense benefits of taking the accounting and bookkeeping systems online. Automating your accounting could enforce better bookkeeping practices through diligent record-keeping. There are several smart programs that also help users choose different levels of accounting. Thus, you have software that does not just keep records; it also helps you track inventory and compile your tax-related information, as well.

Define your requirements
If your needs are outlined clearly, you will be better able to choose your software.

1. Assess Needs- Start by recording your needs so that you can evaluate and analyze them. If you have others working for you who will use the system, solicit their input, as well.

2. Gain Management Buy-in- What are the factors or attributes that steer the decision-making process in your organization? What are the hurdles you face in decision-making, or in the execution of an idea, or implementation of a plan? Do you see potential for improvement in this area if you were to implement automation? Based on the answer to this question, develop a list of areas that could benefit from automation.

3. List Areas that Could Benefit from Automation- Determining the actual cost savings on automating specific functions can be challenging. Don't worry - you are still in the process of assessing your needs. Check if the volume of work generated by your business currently involves manual labor for extended periods. Are those man-hours better invested elsewhere, for example, in bringing in additional revenue for the company? Compile a list of activities or chores similar to this, count the labor-intensive tasks, and analyze whether it would help to have them automated or not.

4. Leverage the Experts- Contact someone with the appropriate expertise who can assist with implementing the automation. Discuss the estimated number of saved "man-hours" with them and check whether they can help in automating certain processes of yours.

Analytix Solutions
The Company that CPAs Recommend
Analytix Solutions is a professional full-service business support solutions provider. The company offers comprehensive and scalable accounting services and bookkeeping services while leveraging its expertise, experience, and state-of-the-art infrastructure. It offers multiple services in diverse packages for companies that are seeking a trustworthy and professional partner to give their business a head start.

Accounting Systems Comparison - QuickBooks, Peachtree/Sage 50, And Intacct

As with many other industries, accounting is "going online". This is especially true for small to mid-sized companies. Fortunately, there are several software solutions on the market which are designed to simplify online accounting processes for startups and small businesses. QuickBooks, Intacct, and Sage 50 (previously branded Peachtree) are three such applications. Following is a brief comparison of these three software solutions.

QuickBooks
QuickBooks' parent company originally launched a software solution to assist with personal financial management. They soon recognized the need to offer a similar solution for small business owners. Today, QuickBooks is recognized as an essential tool to aid small businesses with their financial management. QuickBooks allows users to track their income and expenses, record bank information, organize tax-related information, and it also offers the option of data backup data for business continuity planning. QuickBooks also provides some versioning on the basis of business attributes such as General, Wholesale, Retail, Not for Profit, or Contractual. They offer programs for Accountants and Professional Services as well.

Sage 50
Sage 50, previously known as Peachtree Accounting, is another business management software program. Like most accounting software designed for small to mid-size businesses, Sage 50 also provides options for different business sizes, such as an entrepreneurship, small to mid-sized business, and a large business. Sage 50 accounting solutions include:
> Routine accounting and bookkeeping work, such as cash flow, payments and collections
> Insights for areas like cash flow management and benchmarking
> Explanations on key metrics
> Inventory tracking and purchase planning

Sage 50 solutions also offers system options on the basis of whether a business requires a full-time, dedicated, fully integrated accounting system; or one that is client or project dependent; or one that requires payroll management and necessitates the creation of budgets.

Intacct
Intacct is a cloud-based solution offering options such as accounting, financial management/reporting, as well as inventory and vendor management. Intacct offers solutions customized to various industries, including accounting, healthcare, hospitality, non-profit, and wholesale distribution.

Intacct offers many options for customizing your reports, including employee time tracking and management, vendor tracking for details like inventory management and purchasing, financial solutions like multi-currency management and global consolidations, and more. However, Intacct is a bit more complex than the previous two solutions and maybe better suited to a mid-size business than to a startup, depending upon the needs of the business.

Snapshot: Comparison

QuickBooks	Sage 50	Intacct
> Simplified and accurate financial management option, and offers significant support for bookkeeping and accounting functions such as batch entries, which save time for small businesses	> Simplified and accurate financial management options. Reliable management features and multiple inventory management methods for web-based accounting	> Offers multiple features for a wide variety of industries, including mid-size businesses.
> User-friendly navigation system; considered top cloud-based financial application	> Logical, easy-to-track workflow and reporting features	> Customizable dashboards. Provides users with options to support their clients’ accounting needs
> Inventory functionality is limited, and the program poses some integration problems; however, it integrates smoothly with most third party applications	> Robust options, although the inventory management is single location defined	> Powerful program that may contain features that are more complex than those required by a startup or a small business

No matter which solution you choose, a reliable accounting system will assist you in running your business more effectively.

Analytix Solutions
The Company that CPAs Recommend
Analytix Solutions is a professional full-service business support solutions provider. The company offers comprehensive and scalable accounting and bookkeeping services while leveraging its expertise, experience, and state-of-the-art infrastructure. It offers multiple services in diverse packages for companies that are seeking a trustworthy and professional partner to give their business a head start.

Five Key Components To An Efficient Accounting System. How Does Your System Rank?

Most businesses today have abandoned the notion of a "paper" accounting system. Although, businesses still refer to various accounting "books" and a "general ledger", these elements are all computerized. Technological advances have made accounting IT systems both feasible and affordable for even the smallest businesses to utilize. Both off-the-shelf and customized accounting solutions foster operational efficiency like never before, for any size business. These systems provide access to critical, consolidated automated reports for decision making. For any size company, there are five key components that must be considered when integrating an accounting system into your business.

1. Software Program- Today, there are multiple software programs from which businesses can select. Some are targeted towards a small business or micro business, while others are geared towards the needs of enterprise level companies. Consider what your own company's individual needs are, and select a software program that provides you with the flexibility and features you need to run your business. If you are unsure of your needs, consider working with a consultant or business advisor who can guide you in this decision. Often times, consultants and advisors have the expertise to customize off-the-shelf solutions if they do not fit your exact needs and provide the appropriate training, as well.

2. Existing IT Infrastructure- When selecting and integrating an accounting system into your business, the existing IT infrastructure component contains critical elements to evaluate. Network structure, number of desktop computers, printers, remote access, and current operating systems are all important considerations and may impact the accounting systems integration.

3. Data- Although it may appear obvious, the data collected for accounting purposes is a vital component to an accounting system. What is not always sufficiently evaluated, however, is determining what data is actually captured. Careful consideration must be given to the types of transactional or core business data that will be stored in the accounting database and the ease at which it can be accessed. Will the data be entered cross departmentally? For example, will vendor invoices requiring payment by purchasing be stored in the same database as payroll or timesheets? How will inventory be registered on financial reports?

4. Security and Internal Controls- When integrating an accounting system into a business structure, business owners must determine who has access to the system and at what security level. This includes not only password and login information or number of user licenses but also a determination on who can input data directly, cross-departmentally. Other considerations include system encryption for remote access, as well as system file back-up for business contingency planning.

5. Administration and Users- Finally, a key accounting system component which is often overlooked is the people who will actually serve as administrators on the system or as end users. The accounting system should be user friendly and simple enough so that those who need to use it every day readily recognize the improved efficiency of the system and adopt it into their daily routine. Additionally, the end users also need to be properly trained on the system so that both they and the company fully leverage the system's capabilities.

The person designated as system administrator should have sufficient working knowledge of both accounting and technology to properly train users and to make informed decisions about the previously referenced accounting system components. If they do not have this knowledge, they should consider hiring a consultant or business advisor who can assist with this so that the company can maximize a return on their investment.

Consideration of these five key components when integrating an accounting system into your business should facilitate an easy transition. We are currently offering a free analysis of your business processes and accounting system. If you would like to learn more on how Analytix Solutions can help move your business forward, please call me directly at 781.503.9004 or email me at sales@aixsol.com

Satish Patel, CPA
President, Analytix Solutions
Satish Patel, Founder-CEO of Analytix Solutions, has more than two decades of experience as a CPA. He has also advised small and mid-sized businesses on diverse matters such as valuation, accounting, and finance. His experience extends to raising capital and arranging for finance from angel investors.