Outsourcing Bookkeeping - Accounting Services - Accounting Bookkeeping

CFO Services to Improve Bottom Line

2012-01-27T00:56:00.000-05:00

For any company, solid financial management practices are necessary to ensure profitability. As a business owner, where should you focus your efforts- on client deliverables, or on managing your revenue well? CFO services could be a solution to that issue.

Management of Funds

CFO services involve a careful scrutiny of your accounts, including profits and losses. Although this may sound obvious, it is easy to neglect regular account-keeping especially when your focus may be on meeting client requirements. Managing funds is an indispensable part of generating profits. Profitability does not come only from your customers. Practices such as managing costs, reducing unnecessary expenses, and enhancing productivity also play an active role in increasing your profits.

CFO services provide a detailed scrutiny of your revenue sources, revenue generation methods, and costs associated with revenue generation to determine areas that may be leading to decreased profitability. At a minimum, you should be able to answer the following questions about your finances:

Are your account sheets updated and accurate?
Do they reflect profits and losses accurately?
Are you able to identify your overhead expenses correctly?
Are there overhead costs that could be curtailed?

Managing Overheads

It is important to note that while overhead is necessary for a business to function, it may not be directly involved in revenue or profit generation. Thus, your travel expenses, phone bills, and client entertainment could all be categorized as overhead expenses. However, controlling overhead is not the only way to reduce costs; in fact, cutting too much overhead could negatively impact your revenue stream. For example, if your business offering is such that it requires significant client interaction, then reducing client entertainment overhead expenses may not be the best option for you. Professional CFO services can help you decide if your overhead requires curtailing or not; and if it does, you have access to the expertise to advise you in deciding on how much you need to reduce your expenses.

Managing Debtors

Each time you present a client with an invoice for services rendered, it means your customer is yet to pay you. Unless there is a very strict policy for Cash on Delivery, it is highly likely that a business incurs several invoices per day, amounting to a significant number per month. Each invoice represents customers who are debtors of your company. A collection of these invoices, or a list of your debtors, can be termed as a statement. A statement also contains other details, such as amount owed, date, and amount paid. Debtor aging is an important aspect of this statement. Age here refers to the amount of time a debt has remained unpaid.

When you hire professional CFO services, you are better informed about the state of your company's finances, and hence better prepared to reclaim the money. When debtor age goes beyond a limit that you fix, 30 days for example, you can contact your debtors and follow up on payment.

General Expenses Management

How do you decide whether your business is utilizing resources optimally? Or that the rates you have established for your services are competitive? When you hire professional CFO services, you are provided with informed advice on these types of questions. The CFO researches your accounts thoroughly and undertakes a detailed analysis around the general expenses incurred by your business. The professional CFO is well-positioned to guide you in managing your company's general expenses, including taking corrective action when needed.

Outsourcing the CFO

If you are a start-up or a small to mid-size business, you do not need to hire a full time CFO. Instead, consider outsourcing this function. Ideally, investigate providers with experience managing requirements of businesses similar to yours. This will give you added leverage in the form of their experience and expertise.

Shop around before you finalize your decision on a part-time CFO services provider. Some providers also offer scalability – a big benefit for small to medium-sized businesses and startups. Scalability allows you to tap into industry-standard services and infrastructure while paying only for the services you actually use. Thus, it produces immense savings on investing in infrastructure costs and costs associated with hiring and retaining trained employees.

When you outsource your CFO requirements, you receive the dual benefit of direct profitability through smart financial management combined with savings on investment costs otherwise spent on funding a dedicated CFO position in your company.

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.

5 Steps to Increasing Profitability in 2012

2012-01-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

For most companies, the beginning of a new year signifies a time to take a retrospective look at the previous year and create goals and objectives for the year to come. This is a practice we adhere to at Analytix Solutions, as well. We are pleased with our 2011 successes, many of which we attribute to our ongoing client relationships and loyal client base. We are proud that our attrition rate remains at less than 5%.

Our 2011 revenue growth was 35%, and most of that growth was based on client and partner referrals. Not only did we acquire 30 new clients, most of our existing clients increased their commitment to the accounting services we provide or contracted with us to provide other complementary support services. In response to our clients, we also expanded our service offerings to meet client needs. Analytix Solutions became an Intacct Partner during 2011, which directly benefits clients who have outgrown QuickBooks and are searching for cloud based applications. We also launched a new, updated website and signed-on a few Partners to resell some of our accounting services. We thank all of our clients and appreciate their support.

For 2012, our goal is to continue to grow and prosper as a company. We have established a 30% target revenue growth goal. Our employee base has grown by 42%, and we are moving one of our facilities to larger space to accommodate our own internal growth and infrastructure requirements.

As we welcome the New Year, we would like to share with you our best practices for how we plan to further increase our own profitability in 2012.

1. Nurture existing client or customer relationships
There is an old business adage which claims that 20% of your customers generate 80% of your revenue. Do you know who your best customers are? Maintaining your existing customer base is less expensive than acquiring new ones. Focus on increasing business from your established clients based on the services they require to make their businesses run more effectively. Work to increase customer loyalty by providing them with rewards that recognize that loyalty. If you don't already, maintain a database of your existing customers that includes their buying behavior patterns to assist you in acknowledging their loyalty.

2. Determine key performance indicators
Specifically, you should have a clear understanding of which metrics are critical to determining your company's performance. Do you know what drivers directly impact your sales and cash flow? Is it a product's average number of days in inventory? Labor costs? Always have a comparison for your performance indicators so that you know where you stand compared to the previous year's indicators or industry benchmarks. Even more importantly, know the threshold for these indicators so that you can recognize underperformance in certain areas.

3. Review and analyze monthly financial statements
Make it a point to perform a realistic assessment of your financials each month. Pay attention to key performance indicators that you have established. If you don't have time or the expertise to perform this function, hire someone with CFO level expertise on a part-time basis. Timely and accurate data is critical to decision making success. Establish a monthly objective to review your financial statements for the month prior by the 15th of the new fiscal month.

4. Increase efficiency
This can be best accomplished by automating processes wherever possible to eliminate manual functions that take employee focus off of value added services. Invest in software programs and applications that will help accomplish this goal, especially ones that assist with payroll, time and billing, and data entry.

5. Outsource non-core tasks to provide you with more time to run your business
Assess the time you and your employees spend on tasks that require completion but really add little value to your own customers and customer relationships. Focus on those functions which allow you to foster relationships and grow your business. At Analytix, we "walk the talk" and recognize our own limitations. We outsource non-core tasks that are not central to the services we provide to our own clients.

Integrating these five practices into your operations will assist in improving your profitability. We are currently offering a free analysis of your accounting business processes and accounting system. If you would like to learn more on how Analytix Solutions can help improve your profitability in 2012, please call me directly at 781.503.9004 or email me at snpatel@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.

Five Emerging Trends Defining Accounting Departments of the Future

2011-12-08T09:21:00.001-05:00

Technology has become the driver changing the way companies exist and operate. The next generation of the workforce will be accustomed to operating in a completely technologically connected world with trusted relationships shaped by social platforms and social networking. Our economic environment has become one with diminished geographical boundaries. Increasingly, clients and customers are more focused on the caliber and quality of the work being performed- not on where it is being performed.

Accounting departments are not immune to these changes, and businesses must reassess their accounting departments to adapt to these trends.

1. Cloud Computing- Also termed software as a service, (SaaS), cloud computing is a new way of providing companies with software programs, allowing users to access the programs over the internet as opposed to having to load the software on an individual hard drive or central server. Emerging cloud and mobile technologies provide companies with increasingly more flexible options and 24/7 access to accounting data. In addition, cloud computing technologies have eliminated the problematic issue of single user systems that house accounting data on a single computer, allowing multiple user access. These technologies also eliminate the need to invest heavily in IT systems and staff thereby increasing profitability. With cloud computing programs, resolution of accounting system IT issues, data security and back-up often reside with the software developer taking the responsibility off of small to mid-sized businesses.

2. Outsourcing- This practice is becoming more and more prevalent across industries and is particularly beneficial to small to mid-sized companies. It provides a greater range of access to specific skill sets that may not be required or affordable on a fulltime basis. Outsourcing specific non-core tasks such as bookkeeping allow businesses to scale back services when they are not required or ramp up services during peak periods. Outsourcing functions such as CFO level services provide businesses with a high level expertise when they need it, expertise which may otherwise be in accessible or unaffordable if they needed to hire a full-time employee.

3. Virtual Office- Geographical boundaries are slowly being erased. It is now significantly less important where a company or its employees reside. This provides increased access to qualified accounting staff with a specific skill set, as they no longer need to be physically present in an office or even in a designated city or state to successfully accomplish accounting functions. This also reduces significant overhead expenses as office space to house staff is no longer essential to performing accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Tasks can be performed anytime, anywhere.

4. Self Service- Our world is becoming increasingly reliant on self-service as a result of technology. Today’s workforce is accustomed to 24/7 immediate access to information and the ability to quickly address tasks. Accounting departments must realize that monthly revenue and profitability reports are no longer sufficient. They must mobilize to offer real time access to live data so that decisions impacting the company can be made promptly and efficiently, by key decision makers with accessibility to this information.

5. Automation and Integration- Accounting departments must look to automate key business processes such as order entries and expense approvals to increase efficiency. This eliminates duplication of data entry and human error resulting in improved profitability. In addition, with access to more and more software programs companies must learn to integrate applications for accounting, CRM, e-commerce, payroll and POS so that they possess an all-inclusive snapshot of the company's financial status. Companies that learn to effectively integrate, manage and analyze this data will be far better equipped to move swiftly and decisively on critical matters that impact their business.

Businesses must embrace these trends that impact their accounting department to remain competitive. We are currently offering a free analysis of your accounting business processes and accounting system. If you would like to learn more on how Analytix Solutions can help improve your profitability, please call directly at 781.503.9004 or email at sales@aixsol.com.

Cloud Computing: Transforming the face of Accounting

2011-12-07T09:30:00.001-05:00

Cloud computing allows sharing of computing resources over the Internet. Information is stored in the cloud, remotely, instead of on a physical hard drive or server. Once implemented, employees no longer need to work inside the office; they can access information from remote locations as well, if they are connected through the Internet. They can also work as a team without being physically present at one location.

It is a new model of software service delivery that uses the Internet as a network to exchange information. In practice, cloud computing is all about services and not products, delivered over the Internet network. The advantage of the cloud is that it allows for centralized sharing of services, which in turn results in faster deployment of software, in turn leading to significant time and cost savings for business owners.

Cloud computing has already taken business management by storm; it is likely many companies are using some form of the cloud unknowingly, in the form of private networks.

Accounting and Cloud Computing

Accounting is seen as a traditional discipline where implementing cloud computing may seem like a distant dream. However, the reality is that accounting is already being touched by cloud computing.

There are many practical considerations that encourage the adaptation of the cloud for accounting purposes:
- Cloud computing results in scalable solutions.
- Cloud solutions can take off without a large capital or investment; provides better returns on investment.
- Reduces costs and time efforts in researching, establishing, and maintaining applications.
- Cloud solutions allow the system to be updated regularly.
- Cloud solutions result in increased adaptability of the system so that any new changes are reflected automatically and also initialized effectively.

All of these converge onto one truth: the cloud speeds up your accounting processes and helps make them much more accurate and error-free. This means your other equally vital functions, such as that of sales, can take up the majority of attention needed.

Further, integrating cloud computing into your existing systems is relatively easier. This is because it has application program interfaces that allow for seamless merging with existing or new systems. You can build up or strengthen existing applications on the same platform.

This also has significance for the small and medium-size business owners. They can outsource the entire function of accounting over the cloud with a host of benefits, including immense cost and time savings. The implementation of cloud is dependent on the vendor, hence, for a small or medium business, conducting accounting business over the cloud makes immense sense. Once you entrust the responsibility to a vendor, it is also the vendor who supplies interim IT and other support as required. So you save up significantly on infrastructure as well as on manpower hiring, training, and retention costs.

Security concerns are also easier to handle within a cloud. Since a single vendor is responsible for the system end-to-end, the vendor takes full responsibility for the application. You do not need to deploy several different security applications to take care of your data and information.

Further, the adaptability that is inherent within cloud systems ensures that the regulatory changes accounting is subject to get absorbed easily. Most of the current software is unable to adapt rapidly to changes and requirements that are the catchwords today.

Another big advantage of cloud computing for the small or medium sized business is that one can begin harvesting benefits without the need to invest a large amount of money or capital in the beginning: a fact that holds a big promise for small and mid-sized businesses.

Why Does Your Small Business Or Startup Require Automating Accounts & Bookkeeping?

2011-09-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Today, automated accounting is an integral element of business operations. Irrespective of the size of your business, automating your accounting system can lead to increased efficiency, translating into savings of cost and time, and better access to amounts receivable. This is possible because the automating software completes transactions rapidly, allowing customers to approve payments immediately.

Apart from secure payment transactions, automating has a host of other benefits:

Timely updates of records and data
Speeding up existing processes
Reducing or eliminating the need for periodic human intervention, and thus reducing error margins

In the competitive times that we are currently living in, there is very little room for error. Depending on the industry type, acceptable human error margins could hover anywhere between 2% and 5%. While documentation of error is a statistical function and is relative to assignments, automation can help reduce errors.

Automation and Accounts

Automating your accounts will save you a lot of time that would otherwise be used in making manual entries. Functions such as recording credits and debits are an intrinsic part of accounting. Doing this the traditional way eats up time and exposes data to errors. These could range from simple, typographical errors to larger, more serious ones. However, once you automate processes, the software creates folders or sections that are programmed to allot entries to the assigned columns, without error.

With automated systems in place, tracking accounts is also an easier process. Needless to say, automating also plays a role in deterring fraud.

Security and Integrity

The key to automation lies in reducing the opportunities for error (OFE). Lower the OFE, higher the accuracy of your final product. Once programmed, the automation software will also carry out regular updates and reports that can then be reviewed by concerned personnel.

At a time when data safety takes center stage, automated accounting works to reduce instances of human interface, ensuring safety and integrity of the process.

If your organization manages large amounts of numeric data, automation can prove highly cost effective. Automating software can carry out the same amount of work within shorter time periods, and with higher accuracy, thus eliminating the need to rework accounts.

Overview

Automation allows for customization and improvisation at multiple levels and in a fast and secure manner. Automating your accounts system will ensure that they will remain in sync with the company’s growth. As your offerings grow, so will your accounts; automating will ensure that little or information is lost, while allowing the changes to be smoothly integrated into the existing systems.
Automation allows for all concerned parties to access their information at will. This in turn, further frees up precious human resource for other areas needing intensive human intervention.
Since automation also includes keeping a track of activity, there is lesser chance of mistakes going unnoticed for large periods of time. Your vendors and customers both can track their data independently and in a secure manner, reducing chances of fraud.

Automated accounting can prove to be indispensable; especially for small and midsize businesses where budgets are limited. The dual problem of focusing on client requirements while staying well within budget outlines can be resolved by automating accounting processes. Automation can help you do away with the need to establish a resource pool that needs to be trained and maintained. More importantly, it can help you meet your business requirements well within the outlines of your budget.

Analytix Solutions Participating in Jiffy Lube International Convention and Tradeshow

2011-09-16T08:08:00.001-04:00

(Woburn), MA: Jiffy Lube is conducting International Convention and Tradeshow this September 18th and 19th at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Analytix Solutions- a single solution provider offering a complete range of accounting and bookkeeping support for small to mid-size franchise businesses-has been serving one of the franchisees of Jiffy Lube by helping it in planning, implementing and upgrading the existing accounting system to ensure maximum ROI.

Analytix Solutions is participating in Jiffy Lube Tradeshow and offering cost-effective, scalable and qualitative services meant for small and mid size businesses. Company offers one-stop solution spanning from accounting software selection and implementation to integration of third party application which are ideal for multi-unit franchise businesses. These services can offer franchise business the liberty to focus on their core business leaving their non-core functions to Analytix Solutions like Jiffy Lube. Leveraging Analytix financial solutions, franchise businesses can leverage an entirely integrated, secure; web based reporting system that offers real-time access to vital business metrics. Analytix services can improve contingency plans, increase productivity without expanding overhead expenses, and save costs and time through automation. In addition, the company also offers value added services, i.e. IT services, web marketing, including data entry solutions. The company has been in this industry since 5 years and manifests state-of-the-art infrastructure, talented team of experts with vast experience in their respective genres and highly professional business delivery model.

"We have started with a mission to serve startups and franchise businesses to boost their productivity by offering them the liberty to focus on their respective businesses by offering them expert back office financial support though one-stop accounting and bookkeeping solutions. Our online marketing services will also build their brand name by facilitating online marketing tools and platforms. We have come a long way since then. We are looking forward to serving different franchise businesses of diverse verticals offering them winning combination of back office support coupled with solution to online marketing" said Jason.

Headquartered in Woburn, Analytix Solutions has earned a great rapport and wide client base coming from multiple verticals across the globe.

About Analytix Solutions

Analytix Solutions is a professional accounting and bookkeeping service provider along with web marketing solutions with a vision to become one of the prominent back office services and online marketing services providers in United States leveraging its expertise, experience and state-of-the-art infrastructure. For more details about the company please visit http://www.analytixsolutions.com/

White Label and Private Label - A Complementary Concept

2011-09-16T08:02:00.000-04:00

Off late, white label products and services have made an enormous impact on the U.S. market, influencing almost everyone, from producers to customers.

There has been a prominent explosion in the number of while label brands. This is specifically true in Europe, where white label goods and services have captured almost half the products and services that is marketed and offered worldwide which may span from consumer products to IT services like accounting and bookkeeping services. This trend is catapulting. What advantages this white label services and products bring in the market and to whom?

Who Are Beneficiaries

White label products and services are those services which are created and produced by one company and the same is branded and marketed by other small and midsized enterprises lacking appropriate infrastructure, manpower, and ample fund and a vision, channel and market to sell the product. Benefits of white label products and services include:

Save Development Cost: These products and services are developed and created by small companies hence the development costs are borne by these companies. This enables the marketing and selling enterprises to save production and development costs on these products and they can cheaply partner with the white label companies to incorporate new products to their services without establishing any in house resources to develop such services and products.

Easy Access to Services: Easy access to solutions and products, in the form of white label products, and services can enable a brand to reach out bigger market faster with customized solution to the customers in a cost effective manner.

Product Expertise: Marketing and private labeling company can retain the viability of innovativeness and scalability in the product and solution by partnering with the developing company. The white label company can always add new updated features to the product and service to offer the private label company an edge over other service providers.

Multiple Service Portfolios: Marketing companies can incorporate diversity in their service portfolio by offering multiple products and solutions to the customers of various verticals.

Market Penetration: Small of midsized private label companies can enter into new markets without actually producing and developing the services and products. It will open up new avenues to the private label companies.

Cross Promotion of Multiple Products: The white label products will enable the private label companies to cross promote and sell different other products and solutions into the market easily at least expense leading to brand building.

In this way white label and small and medium size private labeling companies both are complementary to each other and this concept is very much in trend these days in the global market. Small producing companies can create and develop products and solutions and they don’t need to search for the market. On the other hand the small and midsize enterprises can partner with these white label companies to market and sell their products and solutions under their own brand name at a cost effective manner.

For more information on White Label Accounting and Bookkeeping Solutions send us an email at sales@analaytixsolutions.com or call us at 781-503-9004

Accounts Outsourcing Transition – Pitfalls and Practices

2011-07-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

Outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping services is witnessed when a firm purchases online accounting and bookkeeping services from an outside vendor, rather than executing the same task within its own facilities, with an aim to cut costs. In this process the transitioning phase is a critical step in outsourcing.

The Challenges

A few of the challenges could include change management issues, deployment and procurement delays, insufficient knowledge transfer, lack of senior management support, communication gap etc.

Change management system is often not in practice to deal with the transition in several companies. Lack of methodology and foolproof planning is yet another pitfall that frustrates the success of outsourcing transition. In addition, communication breakdown or lack of proper communication also contributes to the failure of transition. Lack of proper knowledge transfer puts the transition phase in doldrums. More importantly, absence of senior management backing to the transition process is the most prominent pitfall that jeopardizes the entire transition initiative. The bigger challenges may be even unpredictable because not all challenges can be predicted at the initial level.

The Best Practices to Ensure Successful Transition

Methodology

Methodology isn't simply a process, it shows how important an accounting and bookkeeping services provider treats the transition phase and with how much of maturity level. The core elements of a good methodology are frequent audits, facilitation of tools and techniques, simplicity of implementation and effectiveness of monitoring process.

Robust Planning

More robust the planning process, better the execution. The key activities at the planning phase should be amalgamation of timeline and expectations, proper resource allocation, and clearly defined criterion to access the success of transition phase should be formulated to make the outsourcing online bookkeeping from transition to business phase.

Risk Management Approach

The proactive approach to predict potential drawbacks early, gives sufficient time to carry out amendments, if required, and enables design a response strategy. In this risk management practice risk identification and risk response methodology should be reviewed occasionally. Risks must be specified clearly and the impacts and possibilities need to be evaluated. Every potential risk response should be addressed with equal significance.

Governance

Many transitions fail with the failure of implementing a governance structure. “No-slack” implementation of governance structure during transition ensures alignment of project objectives with the stakeholders. The communication plan also needs to clearly circumscribe the frequency and format of communication that will be received and sent by shareholders. The well structured governance tracks status of project and changes if any and more importantly, avoids any surprises.

Buyer Readiness

Synchronization of service provider’s past experience and buyer’s readiness is instrumental in the successful transition of online bookkeeping phase. Support of management team should be identified and involved closely to check the progress and delivering support. Clearly defined expectation, clear, fair and upfront communication with affected staff should be the initiative of change management. Resource and budget allocation should be done to guarantee the support to multiple work streams.

Partnership Approach

The joint efforts of accounting bookkeeping service provider and buyer ensure the success of the outsourcing initiative. The teamwork of online accounting service provider and buyer during the transition phase constitutes the foundation and pitch of relationship for the duration of the contract. All pitfall and issues needs to be viewed as project issues rather than service provider or buyer issues. Understanding and trust among both the parties are crucial and they should work towards the common goal of successful transition.

These are a few of the best transition practices that should be considered when hiring online bookkeeping and accounting services.

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

Analytix salutes all the freedom fighters who fought for our freedom. On this occasion of the Independence Day, Analytix Solutions wishes you all a very delightful and happy Independence Day!

Analytix Solutions Joins Intacct Partner Program

2011-06-21T08:48:00.000-04:00

Analytix Solutions, a leading provider of accounting, bookkeeping and virtual CFO-level services, today announced it has joined the Intacct Partner Program to provide affordable cloud computing-based financial solutions to mid-size businesses. The agreement enhances Analytix's comprehensive business services offering by leveraging the benefits cloud financial applications deliver to mid-size businesses that want to improve their overall productivity.

"Mid-size businesses are struggling with how to manage their accounting and bookkeeping efforts in a cost-effective way as their companies grow," says Satish Patel, president and founder of Analytix Solutions. "Cloud-based financial management is the future. By partnering with Intacct, Analytix can provide companies with comprehensive, highly-customized offerings that allow them to achieve a broad range of objectives, such as reinvesting in their business and eliminating the need for additional headcount."

Through the partnership, Analytix Solutions will deploy Intacct's industry-leading cloud financial applications to help clients improve performance, take better advantage of financial advice, and make better and faster business decisions. As a cloud-based system, Intacct also enables Analytix's clients to dramatically reduce IT and operating costs and achieve a far lower total cost-of-ownership than with traditional on-premises financial software.

"Intacct's cloud financial applications are ideally suited for firms like Analytix Solutions that offer virtual CFO services - allowing firm employees and clients to access financial information and collaborate in real-time from anywhere in the world via the Web," said Taylor Macdonald, VP of Channels for Intacct. "We’re excited Analytix Solutions has joined the Intacct Partner Program and look forward to working with them to help mid-sized businesses move to cloud financials and improve their overall business performance."

About Intacct
Intacct is a market and technology leader in web-based financial management and accounting applications for businesses and CPA firms. Bringing cloud computing to finance and accounting, Intacct's award-winning applications are the preferred financial applications for AICPA business solutions. Intacct applications are used by thousands of businesses from startups to public companies and are designed to improve company performance and make finance more productive. The Intacct system includes accounting, contract management, revenue recognition, inventory, purchasing, vendor management, financial consolidation and financial reporting applications, all delivered over the Internet via cloud computing. Intacct is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit http://www.intacct.com or call 877-437-7765.

About Analytix Solutions
Analytix Solutions is a professional services firm providing virtual accounting, bookkeeping and CFO-level services to small to mid-size companies. In addition, Analytix also offers a full range of secondary financial and IT support services including data entry, data migration, systems integration, payroll services and application development. The company is jointly owned and operated by a CPA and an IT expert with over 40 years of combined experience. Analytix Solutions was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit http://www.analytixsolutions.com.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-17T10:35:00.000-04:00

A great salute to the Father as a guiding force in our lives! Analytix Solutions wishes you a Very Fruitful and Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day

2011-05-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

Make Mother’s Day a memorable one, and let her know how much she means to you. Analytix Solutions wishes you a Very Fruitful and Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:14:00.000-04:00

Analytix wishes all its readers Happy Easter.

Happy President’s Day

2011-02-21T05:55:00.001-05:00

Once again President Day is there to remind you all, what role our past presidents played to make our country the world leader! Let’s commemorate this historical occasion jointly and pledge to continue celebrating this event every coming year to honor our past presidents.

Analytix Solutions wishes you a Very Happy President’s Day!!

Analytix Solutions to conduct FREE Accounting webinar for Indoor Sports Industry and Hotel Industry on Feb-17

2011-01-31T02:18:00.003-05:00

January 31, 2011, Woburn, MA - In continuation with its series of accounting webinars for indoor sports industry and hotel industry, Analytix Solutions has announced its next accounting webinars "Kickoff your Accounting in 2011" for Indoor Sports Industry and "Check-in to Our Suite: Accounting Solutions for Hotel Industry". This free online webinar will be conducted by Satish Patel, CPA, scheduled on February 17.

The hour long accounting webinars will begin at 4-5 PM EST for Indoor Sports Industry and 5.30-6.30 PM EST for Hotel Industry. Grab this opportunity to horn your accounting skills by leveraging knowledge and experience from a CPA's point of view. Interested attendees can register for these free accounting webinars on http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/register-webinars.asp.

The topics of discussion in this accounting webinar for indoor sport and hotel industry will be:

Developing smart practices for managing your finance department

Discovering emerging trends and technologies impacting financial management

Measuring the pulse of your business by tracking key performance indicators

Re-evaluating the goals of your finance department

Client Case Study

Following are the details for the Indoor Sports Webinar:

Name: Kickoff your Accounting in 2011

Time: 4-5 PM EST

Web Page: http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/indoor-sports-webinar-feb2011.asp

Following are the details for the Hotel Industry Webinar:

Name: Check-in to our Suite: Accounting Solutions for the Hotel Industry

Time: 5.30-6.30 PM EST

Web Page: http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/hotel-webinar-feb2011.asp

Analytix Solutions (www.analytixsolutions.com) has been conducting successful accounting webinars for the benefits of Owner, CFO, Managing Director or other key decision makers. It allows the webinar participants an access to accounting experts which helps them manage their practices better.

For more information on these FREE accounting webinars, visit : http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/. To register for any of these webinar event, visit: http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/register-webinars.asp.

About Analytix Solutions

Analytix Solutions is a professional services firm providing virtual accounting, bookkeeping and CFO-level services to small to mid-size companies at affordable rates. Analytix offers customize and scalable solutions that have helped many of our clients recoup over 40% of their in-house accounting costs while simultaneously increasing efficiency. Analytix Solutions also offers a full range of secondary financial and IT support services including data entry, data migration, systems integration, payroll services and application development. The company is jointly owned and operated by a CPA and an IT expert with over 40 years of combined experience. For inquiries email us at sales@analytixsolutions.com.

Welcome 2011

2010-12-31T05:01:00.001-05:00

As 2010 descends, we get ready to welcome this New Year with open arms. It had been a great year (glad that America has bounced back .. no questions about why we are still the leading nation across the globe). Let's pledge to continue our association next year.

Analytix Solutions announces its next FREE webinar on “Check-in to our Suite: Accounting Solutions for the Hotel Industry” on Dec. 22

2010-12-02T09:58:00.001-05:00

Dec. 2, 2010 Woburn, MA – Analytix Solutions announced that its free webinar for the month of Dec. will take place on the 22^ndfrom 5:30-6:30 PM EST. This FREE webinar is titled “Check-in to our Suite: Accounting Solutions for the Hotel Industry” and will presented by Satish Patel, CPA, founder of Analytix Solutions, a leading bookkeeping, accounting and CFO-level service company working for small and mid-sized companies.

Key highlights of the presentation:

Smart practices for managing your finance department
Emerging trends and technologies impacting financial management
Measuring the health of your business: tracking key performance indicators
Re-evaluating the needs of your finance department\
Client Case Study – Arena Sports

Analytix Solutions, a one-stop accounting and bookkeeping company, has been conducting free webinars in its endeavor to create a direct platform for interaction between accounting experts and hotel Industry participants. With the tips and tools given in these online accounting meetings, hotel Industry participants can overcome accounting and financial management problems and improve efficiency.

Further information about this webinar can be found on http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/hotel-webinar-dec2010.asp

Interested attendees can register for the accounting webinar on http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/register-webinars.asp

Check past webinars by Analytix Solutions.

Analytix Solutions announces its next FREE webinar on “Stepping-up your Accounting? How to score an Accounting Home Run” on Dec. 22

2010-12-02T09:46:00.005-05:00

Dec. 2, 2010 Woburn, MA – Analytix Solutions announced that its free webinar for the month of Dec. will take place on the 22^nd from 4-5 PM EST. This FREE webinar is titled “Stepping-up your Accounting? How to score an Accounting Home Run” and will presented by Satish Patel, CPA, founder of Analytix Solutions, a leading bookkeeping, accounting and CFO-level service company working for small and mid-sized companies.

Key highlights of the presentation:

Smart practices for managing your finance department
Emerging trends and technologies impacting financial management
Measuring the health of your business: tracking key performance indicators
Re-evaluating the needs of your finance department
Client Case Study – Arena Sports

Further information about this webinar can be found on http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/indoor-sports-webinar-dec2010.asp

Interested attendees can register for the accounting webinar on http://www.analytixsolutions.com/webinars/register-webinars.asp

Check past webinars by Analytix Solution.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-22T03:37:00.004-05:00

It’s time to be thankful for all the good things in life. Thanksgiving 2010 is upon us and here Analytix Team wishes you a sincere heart-felt thanks to all our clients, well-wishers, friends and family who have helped us survive the difficult recession of 2009-10. We look forward to enriching upon this relationship for further growth next year.

Analytix Team wish you great time with your family and friends on the Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Columbus Day

2010-10-11T03:01:00.002-04:00

Analytix wishes you a very HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY! It’s the day of the arrival of Columbus in America and celebrates the spirit of adventure and discovery. So hope your day is filled with fun and adventure!

4 financial basics you should know before you outsource bookkeeping for your restaurant

2010-09-08T08:36:00.000-04:00

All restaurant businesses operate on a very tight profit margin. It is hence of vital importance that you, as a restaurant owner run a tight ship. You need to know the basics of accounting and bookkeeping for your restaurant before you outsource bookkeeping to a professional. Such a basic idea on your part will not only prepare you for working alongside the firm you outsource bookkeeping to, it will also ensure that you are aware of the financial position of your restaurant. The following are some financial basics to keep in mind for your restaurant when you are outsource accounting or bookkeeping.

Management of your restaurant’s cash flow

When you manage your cash flow, you are essentially tracking the cash which goes out as well as comes into your restaurant. When you outsource bookkeeping, this function is basically taken care of by the bookkeeping firm. However, it would help both you and your bookkeeping firm if you know the basics of how to manage your cash flow. Through it, you will also know the business patterns of where your money is coming in and going out from. So whether you have decided to outsource bookkeeping or outsource accounting, knowing how to manage your cash flow will help.

Keeping the restaurant inventory

A restaurant generally has a lot of stock and supplies coming in regularly, which keeps it running. When you outsource bookkeeping, your bookkeeping firm needs to carefully review your restaurant inventory so that you can avoid losing money on inventory. Taking a regular look at the restaurant inventory like supplies, products and food ingredients should be part of your day to day activities. This will help in managing your restaurant’s bookkeeping efficiently. The decision to outsource bookkeeping will come handy in eliminating the losses related to inventory. You can also learn a lot while interacting with the professionals when you outsource accounting.

Keeping records of your restaurant

When you outsource bookkeeping, your record keeping remains updated at all times. You will hence be able to see the profitability and overall financial position of your restaurant at all times. An expert firm generally processes invoices and receipts within 24 hours of receiving them. Interact with your bookkeeping firm and know the basics about keeping records. This way, you will be able to keep track of your finances well.

P&L Statement

A profit and loss statement holds a lot of importance for your restaurant. As the statement gives a summary of the inventory, income and expenses, you will be able to see the month-by-month progress of your restaurant. When you outsource bookkeeping, the expert firm you hire will provide you with a monthly or weekly P&L statement, which will help you in taking strategic decisions and maintaining the profitability of your restaurant.

Happy Labor Day

2010-09-03T05:10:00.001-04:00

Analytix wishes you a HAPPY LABOR holiday! Here we salute the silent heroes 'the American workers' whose contributions have made us one of the greatest nations on this planet. We admire and celebrate the economic and social achievement of all our workers.

Thinking to outsource bookkeeping? Take care of these aspects

2010-08-19T05:18:00.000-04:00

The decision to outsource bookkeeping is in the best interest of your business as it saves a lot in costs. When you outsource bookkeeping, you ensure that your books are being taken care of by an expert, so that you can finally focus totally on business activities. However, outsourcing bookkeeping services to the right firm is of utmost importance if you want to reap benefits of outsourcing. You need to check the credentials of the bookkeeping firm properly to ensure that its bookkeeping services suit your requirements perfectly. Be sure to check for the following aspects when you outsource bookkeeping:

Is the bookkeeping firm experienced?

Experience of the firm you outsource bookkeeping to is the most important factor. You need to ask relevant questions to the bookkeeping firm and know about the experience it has. This will give you an idea of whether it will be able to fulfill your business requirements or not. If possible, get references of past clients you can speak to, so you can know the quality of outsourced bookkeeping of the firm in question. There are also some industry-specific companies for outsourcing bookkeeping services that you can inquire about.

Are the bookkeepers qualified?

Your decision to outsource bookkeeping is made on the assumption that your books will be taken care of well. For that to happen, the bookkeeping firm needs to have expert bookkeeping professionals on their payroll. While inquiring about a specific firm for outsourcing bookkeeping services, check about the kind of professionals working there. An experienced bookkeeper working on your books will ensure that your finances will be well maintained and updated at all times.

Which services will be included? Is there enough flexibility?

Is the outsourced bookkeeping package you are availing flexible enough for your business? Your bookkeeping firm may provide services like payable management, accounts receivable management, bank reconciliations, inventory management, recording and reconciling payroll transactions, revenue reconciliation with bank deposits etc. Most firms are also offering flexible services to suit business requirements today, so you need to check the details and determine if you can scale your requirements up or down at any time. Once you ensure that the package is flexible enough, you can go ahead and outsource bookkeeping to that firm.

Is it within your bookkeeping budget?

By outsourcing bookkeeping services, you can save from 40 to 50% in costs; that is the most important objective when you outsource bookkeeping. But you still need to make the most of the package the bookkeeping firm offers you. Have a budget in mind so that you can save the most from your bookkeeping package. You would do well to also negotiate with other bookkeeping firms so that you know the best rate being offered.

The decision to outsource bookkeeping will help your business only if you select the right firm to partner with. So while outsourcing bookkeeping services, take note of the above-mentioned points to ensure you hire the right bookkeeping firm.

Want to take your restaurant to the next level? Outsource bookkeeping

2010-07-15T07:57:00.001-04:00

Being a restaurant owner, you will know that keeping a restaurant afloat in tough economic times is a tall order. Due to the thin profit margins restaurants operate on, any tilt in the finances may topple a restaurant business and force the owner to shut down. That is why, as a restaurant owner, you need to ensure that your business has the strongest finances possible. One sure-shot way of doing this is to outsource bookkeeping tasks related to your restaurant. There are several ways professional bookkeeping accounting services can help your business. Listed below are some of them:

Focus more on your restaurant

The most effective way of developing your restaurant is putting your skills as a business person (and maybe a chef) to good use. You cannot do that if you are constantly looking after bookkeeping tasks. The decision to outsource bookkeeping can serve you well if you want to focus all your energy on developing your business and if you are not a financial wiz. Getting an expert for bookkeeping accounting services not only ensures that you hand over all the financial functions of your restaurant to them, but also that you focus on the more important revenue-generating activities for your restaurant. By outsourcing bookkeeping services, you need not worry yourself about the non-core functions of your restaurant and can effectively take care of more important business activities.

Avoid common mistakes in restaurant financial

Some restaurant owners try to take care of their everyday bookkeeping themselves. But in the process, they make mistakes in entries, which could spell doom for the business. Outsourcing bookkeeping services ensures that all your financial documents are taken care of by an expert in the field, which means there will be no mistakes in your books. Deciding to outsource bookkeeping for your restaurant will also help you in case you want to make strategic decisions regarding mergers or expansion in the future, as strong, impeccable records will help you in making the right decision for your restaurant business.

Add to your bottom line by outsourcing bookkeeping

Using bookkeeping accounting services from a professional also means that you can save costs associated with hiring and retention of in-house staff. Most bookkeeping service providers offer very cost effective packages, which allow you to save the costs, and in turn, add to the bottom line of your restaurant business. You hence get to increase your profitability and add to your profit margins when you outsource bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping accounting service is the right step for your restaurant if you want to take it to the next level. In addition to saving resources, the decision to outsource bookkeeping will help you in your strategic decision making and maintain error-free records throughout the year.

Happy 4th of July 2010!!

2010-07-01T10:24:00.002-04:00

Analytix Solutions wishes all it clients, readers and well wishers a very happy 4th of July. We hope that you enjoy the long weekend coming up and celebrate this 4th of July Independence Day in high spirits!

Score over your competitors by outsourcing accounting services

2010-06-23T02:46:00.001-04:00

Accounting is undoubtedly an integral part of running and developing a business successfully. In addition to helping run the day-to-day functions smoothly, accounting also ensures that the financial picture is clear in case you are looking for an acquisition or a buyer for your business. However, taking care of the accounting functions is no small task. After all, you are not an accounting expert. That is why outsourcing accounting services may be the best decision to achieve your business goals. Hiring an expert for accounting services not only ensures that your finances are in the right hands, it also frees you to take care of strategic decisions so that you can stay competitive in the business.

Outsourcing accounting services to an expert

Many business owners try to take care of their accounting functions by hiring a full-time in-house accounting staff. This is a very expensive option, as hiring, training and retention takes up a lot of business resources. But now, in the cut-throat business scenario, it is financially more viable to use a professional accounting service provider who has the potential to save 40-60% of accounting costs. When you outsource accounting, your work is done by expert accountants, reducing the chances of errors and producing impeccable records. Due to the growing popularity of outsourcing, the number of accounting service providers has also increased exponentially. If outsourcing accounting services can save you significant costs as compared to in-house hiring as well as get the work done efficiently, why would you want to have an in-house accounting department?

What you can expect from accounting services

When you outsource accounting, you will have a team of accountants working dedicatedly on your business financials. Most companies provide custom services, tailored to meet your business requirements, so that you do not have to pay for any service you don't require. Such custom solutions are also scalable, you so can change your workload at any time. However, discuss the details with your accounting service provider so that you know the details beforehand. When you are outsourcing accounting services, also check out other services of the company like bookkeeping, tax preparation, payroll etc. which could be useful to your business. Also iron out the other details with your accounting service provider and discuss how your financial information will be protected and which firewalls and encryption are used by the company.

When you are outsourcing accounting services to a professional company, you can focus completely on your business activities and get a competitive edge that sets you apart in the market.

Outsourcing bookkeeping: Is it the right decision for your business?

2010-06-09T04:59:00.002-04:00

To outsource or not to outsource bookkeeping is the question today for a lot of businesses. With the focus on saving costs in the tough economy we have today, a lot of businesses are turning to outsourcing for their non-core activities like bookkeeping and accounting. While most trust a bookkeeping service provider to maintain their books of accounts efficiently, some are still in the dilemma of whether to outsource bookkeeping or not. If you are one of those business owners still doubting the feasibility of outsourcing your financial functions, read on.

Most business owners are not experts in accounting and bookkeeping and hence find tasks related to their business finance cumbersome and tedious. Moreover, as they are not experts in bookkeeping, they might end up making mistakes which might affect the business bottom line. Hiring in-house staff becomes an expensive option, with payments related to office space and bonuses eating up business profits. In such a situation, outsourcing bookkeeping to a professional firm may be the best decision a business owner can make.

Some reasons you can outsource bookkeeping to an experienced bookkeeping firm are:

Many businesses like restaurants operate on very thin profit margins. A single error in their books of accounts can mess up a lot of their business functionality. When you select an online accounting bookkeeping firm, you are handing over all your bookkeeping functions to experienced professionals. You can hence outsource bookkeeping and then quit worrying about mistakes in your finances, knowing that a professional is taking care of them. You can also ensure that your bookkeeping is being done correctly by having 24/7 access to your books.

There are a lot of firms to which you can outsource bookkeeping functions to. Such fierce competition has resulted in online accounting bookkeeping services being available at very low rates, which saves significant costs to small and mid-sized businesses. It is also easier to find out the most reputable and experienced service provider by asking current clients of the bookkeeping firm in question and inquiring about the firm's reputation in general. The costs which are saved through outsourcing bookkeeping can then be re-invested into the business for expansion or diversification.

Outsourcing bookkeeping functions to a professional bookkeeping firm ensures that your books are up-to-date at any given period of time. With such impeccable financial records, you can take strategic decisions with ease. Such updated records also give the true financial picture of your business, so you can run it efficiently.

As a business owner, the decision to outsource bookkeeping will benefit you the most. You can save costs as well as get your non-core work done without spending time on it personally. Just look for a reputable bookkeeping firm, and outsourcing bookkeeping will work well for you.

Happy Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-31T04:36:00.007-04:00

On this Memorial Day, Analytix Solutions pays tribute to all the soldiers who have laid down their life for our country. Here’s saluting all our war heroes for their selflessness, bravery and sacrifice.

Want to make outsourcing accounting a success for your restaurant? Follow a weekly accounting system

2010-05-04T06:24:00.027-04:00

The restaurant industry is a harsh one, with more changes in ownership than most businesses. In such a tough situation, you need to make your restaurant business strong financially by outsourcing accounting. Handing over your books of accounts to an accounting firm ensures that your financials are in good hands so that you can focus on your business better. However, even after you have selected the firm for outsourcing accounting, your role as the owner of the restaurant doesn’t end; you need to ensure that the accounting service provider you have hired is taking steps in the best interest of your restaurant.

The turnover of a restaurant is very fast, with income, expenses and inventory coming in and going out each day. So even when you are outsourcing accounting, you need to keep close tabs on such details so that you can avoid a month-end chaotic situation. Having a weekly accounting system for your restaurant will benefit you in this case. In case you have a small staff, you won’t be able to handle a weekly accounting system easily. The decision to outsource accounting can be in your best interest in that situation.

Industry experts believe that outsourcing accounting and having a weekly accounting system is the best step for a restaurant business. Getting weekly updates on accounting of your restaurant will allow you to respond quickly to any financial situation your business faces, which in turn, will help you stay stable in the restaurant business. While outsourcing accounting functions to an expert firm, ensure that they can follow the weekly accounting system, through which you can get the relevant updates and reports for your restaurant.

There are a number of accounting service providers today which specialize in the restaurant industry. Such outsourced accounting firms have an exact idea as to the requirements of a restaurant, so they will be able to help you out with your finances. You can make inquiries with various firms who provide accounting services and check out the packages and the services they include in them.

A good firm for outsourcing accounting will be able to customize its package according to the requirement of your restaurant. Getting a weekly accounting report from such a firm will be an easy task and will help you in running a profitable restaurant for a long time.

Want to save time and effort for your real estate business? Outsource bookkeeping

2010-04-20T08:18:00.006-04:00

If you are in the real estate business, you will know that taking care of bookkeeping functions of the business takes a lot of time and effort. This is mainly because real estate bookkeeping is very different than bookkeeping for other businesses. It is more complex and requires the attention of an experienced bookkeeping professional. If you want to avoid the headaches and stress associated with real estate bookkeeping, you can outsource bookkeeping functions.

Real estate bookkeeping is so complex that the business owner may sometimes ignore core business activities to complete it. This has an adverse effect on the business and affects its bottom line. If you chose to outsource bookkeeping to a professional firm having experience in real estate bookkeeping, you can stem such losses. Not only will such a firm be expert in real estate bookkeeping, it will also ensure that you get to focus on your core business activities.

Getting a professional firm for bookkeeping services also means that you save on the money you spend on hiring in-house resources. An accountant-level employee comes very expensive and hiring an in-house one can put a strain on your resources. A real estate bookkeeping firm generally also offers affordable and cost-effective packages in comparison to hiring an expensive bookkeeper in-house. The costs saved with your decision to outsource bookkeeping can then be re-invested in business activities, so that you can expand and diversify your business as required.

When you look to hire professional bookkeeping services, ask around for a firm which has experience in real estate bookkeeping. Such a firm will know the general rules and policies which are best suitable for your real estate business. By deciding to outsource bookkeeping to a professional firm you can ensure that your books are updated and error-free at all times. You can also avoid the mistakes made in entering transaction into your books by having a whole team from the bookkeeping service firm work on your books.

When you outsource bookkeeping functions for your real estate business to a professional firm, you ensure that it is in the right hands. Your books will be updated on time and what's more, it will be affordable than any other option you were considering. You can hence quit worrying or spending time on real estate bookkeeping and focus on your core business.

Want to increase profits of your restaurant? Think of outsourcing accounting services

2010-04-12T07:52:00.009-04:00

In our last post, we discussed some basics of outsourcing accounting services for a restaurant business. Continuing with our topic of restaurant accounting and bookkeeping, we thought of highlighting HOW outsourcing accounting services can help your restaurant business grow. As said before, profit margins of restaurants are quite thin as compared to other businesses.

Outsourcing accounting services is a good way to ensure that your costs are reduced while getting your financials done efficiently. Some ways in which the decision to outsource accounting can help your restaurant are:

Maintain Impeccable Restaurant Financials

Having your books of accounts updated at all times is very important, especially in the restaurant business. Outsourcing accounting services to an expert accounting firm ensures that there is a team of experts working on your books at all times. Having impeccable records means that you won't have to scramble at the last moment when it's tax time. If you are trying to take care of accounting yourself or hiring a bookkeeper, you are likely to make mistakes too. If you outsource accounting, you eliminate any errors that your books might be having. Accounting professionals of an experienced accounting firm ensure that your books are free of any errors and up to date at all times.

Spend More Time on Expansion & Profitability

As a restaurant owner, the most important benefit of outsourcing accounting services will be the time you save. You can spend this time on thinking about strategic opportunities related to expansion, mergers or simply increasing profitability. When you outsource accounting, you leave all the non-core functions headaches to an accounting firm, while you focus on important, revenue generating or expansion activities.

Save Costs and Increase your Profitability

A good way of increasing profit margin of your restaurant business is reducing costs related to everyday activities. Outsourcing accounting services not only save you the cost of hiring in-house staff, it also saves you the money spent in training and hiring. If you are allotting space to your accountant, you can also save on its rent by deciding to outsource accounting. The savings that you accumulate over a period of time added to your bottom-line or re-invested in your restaurant.

Take Strategic Decisions with Ease

Time is of essence when you are thinking of taking strategic decisions. If your books of accounts are not updated or you do not spend enough time exploring different opportunities, you might end up taking wrong decisions for your restaurant business. Outsourcing accounting services means that you will have the time to explore any opportunities you find for your restaurant. It also means that when it's time to take the decisions, the financial position of your restaurant is crystal clear, so that you can judge whether the deal is viable for your business or not. Outsourcing accounting services hence helps in taking strategic decisions as well.

With outsourcing accounting services, you can not only increase profits of your restaurant business, you can also manage it well and expand when the time is right. When your profit margins start showing an improvement, you will know that the decision to outsource accounting was a good one for your restaurant.

Happy Easter 2010!!

2010-04-02T07:49:00.002-04:00

It’s time for celebration again: Easter 2010 is upon us.

Analytix Solutions wishes all its blog readers a very happy Easter celebration. We hope you have a great time with your family and friends over the Easter weekend.

Outsourcing accounting services for your restaurant? Some basics for restaurant accounting

2010-03-09T08:23:00.004-05:00

Success of any business is defined by one factor: profits. This is even more relevant in case of restaurants, which operate on a very thin profit margin. As a restaurant owner, you must know the perils of finances when it comes to your business. It is hence important to know some basic accounting factors when you are outsourcing accounting services to a third party. Such knowledge will not only prepare you for working well with the accounting service provider, it will also help in knowing the overall position of your business. Keep these financial basics in mind while outsourcing accounting services, and you will be able to make your restaurant business profitable.

Managing Cash Flow

Tracking cash coming in and going out of your restaurant is the main purpose of managing your cash flow. You can manage your cash flow better with the help of the firm you are outsourcing accounting services to. Tracking your restaurant’s cash flow will basically help you in knowing business patterns and noting where the money is coming in and going out.

Restaurant Inventory

Many restaurants lose a lot of money in inventory i.e. the supplies needed to run the restaurant. You need to take careful look at the inventory of your restaurant like supplies, products and food ingredients if you want to manage your restaurant accounting properly. Outsourcing accounting services eases the task of maintaining books, but you also need to reduce losses for your business to be profitable. A professional accounting services firm can guide you as to a proper method for taking inventory.

Record Keeping

You also need to record the income and expenses of your restaurant, so that you can get an overall feel of the profitability of the business. Outsourcing accounting services ensures that your record keeping is updated at all times. An experienced accounting services firm processes receipts and invoices into your books of accounts within 24 hours of receipt, ensuring that your record keeping is always up to date.

P&L Statement

A Profit and Loss Statement is a very important document for your restaurant. A monthly P&L statement will help you know the overall true profitability of your restaurant as it summarizes the incomes, expenses, inventory etc. for a particular time period. As you are outsourcing accounting services, your accounting firm will provide you with regular P&L statements, with the help of which you can take strategic decisions and maintain the profitability of your restaurant business.

Although you are outsourcing accounting services, these four are the basic things you need to take into account to ensure that your restaurant business has strong finances. Specialized accounting services for restaurants will also help you maintain profitability of your restaurant.

4 ways outsourcing bookkeeping services can help grow your business

2010-02-25T05:52:00.005-05:00

Managing and growing your business is not an easy task, considering that you have the responsibilities of all the departments on your head. If you are looking for ways to reduce your load and dedicate time to growing your business, outsourcing bookkeeping services may be the right step for you. Business owners generally ignore the number of hours they spend in taking care of their bookkeeping functions, which they can avoid by outsourcing bookkeeping services. By outsourcing bookkeeping functions to a service provider, you can not only save on time but also ensure that your bookkeeping records are maintained impeccably.

The following are 4 ways outsourcing bookkeeping services can help in developing your business:

Save Time

The most important benefit for business owners of outsourcing bookkeeping services is that they can save on time, which can be used for expansion of the business. Outsourcing bookkeeping can ensure that you as the business owner can focus on your core business activities so that you can take your business to the next level.

Save Resources

Outsourced bookkeeping services are generally cheaper than hiring in-house bookkeepers. Outsourcing bookkeeping services to a service provider also means that you can save on office space as well as the rent associated with it. The resources saved by outsourcing bookkeeping services can then be re-invested into the business, increasing the scope of expansion.

Reduce Mistakes In Bookkeeping

If you are trying to complete bookkeeping yourself, you are likely to make mistakes. Even if you hire a single bookkeeper for your business, there might be errors in the final documents. On the other hand, a bookkeeping service provider has a whole team of bookkeeping professionals, who are experienced in the field and can ensure that the finished work is impeccable and without mistakes.

Have Impeccable Financial Records

Outsourcing bookkeeping to an expert means that you can stop worrying about the state of your financial records. The bookkeeping service provider you hire will be experienced and reputed, which means that you won't have to scramble at the tax time to update your records. Outsourcing bookkeeping services is as good as handing over your financial records of your business to an expert and then forgetting about it till March every year.

While looking to hire a professional bookkeeping service provider, check its reputation and experience carefully. When you find the right service provider for outsourcing bookkeeping, you can proceed with growing your business according to your plan.

Outsourcing accounting: Is it good or bad for your small business?

2010-02-01T03:54:00.013-05:00

Outsourcing is a bit of a dilemma to many small businesses. Small business owners wonder whether outsourcing non-core functions can bring them enough benefits or whether it is too great a risk to take. A major issue for small businesses is to decide whether outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping, which takes up a major chunk of their time, is the right step for their business. In order to determine whether outsourcing accounting to a professional accounting firm is the best step for a small business, it is necessary to analyze the advantages and risks associated with it. If you are one of those small business owners facing the same dilemma, read on.

The advantages of outsourcing accounting for small businesses are many:

Focus on revenue-generating activities
The main advantage of outsourcing accounting for a small business is that it allows the small business owner to focus on the core business activities without worrying about the state of books of accounts. The major problem faced by many small business owners is the inability to dedicate enough time to revenue-generating activities. With an accounting firm taking care of all accounting and bookkeeping functions, the small business owner can rest assured that business finances are being taken care of, and can hence dedicate his/her full focus on business activities.

Leave the accounting functions to experts
Outsourcing accounting to a professional accounting firm ensures that experts are working on your accounting. This reduces the chances of errors in your books of accounts. This also means that your books will remain up to date at any given point of time, so that you get the true picture of your business profitability and can take business decisions accordingly.

Save costs
Outsourcing accounting to a professional is cheaper than hiring in-house resources. By outsourcing accounting, small businesses can save up to 40% of costs. This is a significant amount of saving for a small business. This amount can be re-invested into the business. With the many accounting firms in the market today, you can select a service provider who has experience in your industry.

Customized accounting services
Accounting firms provide customized accounting services, which meet specific small business requirements. You can ask for specific reports at regular intervals so that you get the correct picture of your business’ profitability. You can also omit those accounting services your business doesn’t require. Outsourcing accounting functions hence ensures that your business has the solution most suitable for it.

There are also certain disadvantages of outsourcing accounting that need to be taken into consideration:

Confidentiality
Outsourcing accounting means that you have to send confidential accounting information to the accounting firm. If proper security measures are not taken by the accounting firm in question, confidentiality of the accounting information may be breached. Small business owners need to double check on what security measures are being taken to protect their confidential information to avoid a breach.

Inexperienced accounting service providers
Inexperienced accounting firms are a major issue for outsourcing accounting. Outsourcing accounting to an inexperienced service provider can damage the profitability of your business as well as take up extra time for correcting the mistakes that accounting firm makes. While outsourcing accounting, check the experience of the accounting firm and talk to past clients in order to get an idea about the skills of the firm.

The advantages of outsourcing accounting far out-number the possible disadvantages of the same. If small business owners select the accounting firm carefully, their business can prosper steadily even in a tough market.

Outsourcing bookkeeping: 5 things to check

2010-01-08T09:09:00.004-05:00

Are you a small business owner looking for ways to save costs? Outsourcing bookkeeping is a great way to reduce costs while getting the work done efficiently. Outsourcing bookkeeping tasks ensures that you hand over all the bookkeeping activities to an expert and focus all your attention to the main business activities. But here's the catch: you need to hire the right bookkeeping firm to do the job for you. You need to make an informed decision regarding hiring an experienced bookkeeping firm, which suits your business requirements perfectly and has the potential to add to your business' growth. While outsourcing bookkeeping to a professional firm, keep the following pointers in mind:

How experienced is the bookkeeping firm?

The most important factor in outsourcing bookkeeping functions is the experience of the firm you select. While checking out various firms, ensure that you ask relevant questions about its experience. If possible, get references of past clients, so that you can speak to them yourself and know the quality of work of the bookkeeping firm in question. There are some firms which specialize in providing bookkeeping services to specific industries. If you can find one which specializes in your industry, it would be ideal for your business.

What are the qualifications of the professionals?

You should be outsourcing bookkeeping to a firm which has qualified and experienced bookkeepers. Check with the bookkeeping firm regarding the qualifications of the bookkeepers who will be working on your books of accounts. Qualified people working on your bookkeeping ensures that your finances will be maintained efficiently, without any mistakes.

Is the bookkeeping firm technologically advanced?

If your bookkeeping service is going to include online bookkeeping, the bookkeeping firm will need to be updated with the latest technology. To provide the right bookkeeping services, the firm will need the right kind of softwares and programming. Experienced bookkeeping firms are experts at handling various bookkeeping softwares like QuickBooks, Peachtree, MYOB, Great Plains etc. They also have strict measures in place for ensuring data security. Before outsourcing bookkeeping, ask questions about the kind of technology the bookkeeping firm uses.

Which services will be included? Is there enough flexibility?

While outsourcing bookkeeping, check which services are included in your package. Professional bookkeeping firms generally provide bookkeeping services including accounts payable management, accounts receivable management, bank reconciliations, inventory management, recording and reconciling payroll transactions, revenue reconciliation with bank deposits etc. Moreover, their services are flexible, so you can scale your requirements up or down at any time. This flexibility saves a lot of costs at the time when your bookkeeping requirements are minimal.

Does the bookkeeping package match your budget?

Outsourcing bookkeeping functions has the potential to save you up to 40% cost of in-house resources. However, you still have to make the most of the deal the bookkeeping firm offers you. Fix a budget that is affordable for you and stick to it when you are outsourcing bookkeeping for your business. You can also compare bookkeeping packages other firms are offering, so that you get the best bookkeeping package available.

Outsourcing bookkeeping to an expert bookkeeping firm ensures that you save costs as well as manage books of accounts efficiently. Invest some time in researching for a good firm, which can become your partner in making your business more profitable.

Outsourcing accounting: 6 things you need to know for your small business

2009-12-29T08:31:00.002-05:00

The many advantages of outsourcing accounting are attracting a lot of attention of small business owners. Outsourcing accounting functions has the potential of saving small businesses thousands of dollars per year, which they spend on hiring, training and retention of in-house accounting professionals. Due to its recent popularity, many accounting firms have started offering customized accounting solutions especially for small businesses. However, before deciding to go for outsourcing accounting for your small business, there are some pointers you should keep in mind. The following are some of them:

One of the first things you need to be aware of while outsourcing accounting is to have a clear idea of what you want from your accounting firm. To make a success of your small business accounting, you need to have clear expectations and make your accounting firm understand them. Many outsourced accounting projects fail due to misconceptions and lack of communications between the small business owner and the accounting firm.

Don't trust an accounting firm blindly when you are outsourcing accounting functions for your business. No matter how much their services are recommended, you need to take things in your hands and check things out. In case you decide to use online accounting services, you need to ensure that the firm which you are using for outsourcing accounting uses adequate security measures to protect your accounting data. If your accounting firm is an offshore one, ensure that the staff working there is qualified enough to take care of your accounting requirements.

While outsourcing accounting functions, be sure to ask for references of past clients from the accounting firm concerned. You will get an idea about the quality of work as well as the experience and skills of accounting staff by looking at past work of the firm.

Enter into a clear contract with your outsourced accounting firm so that the terms and conditions are specified right from the beginning. A written contract goes a long way in ensuring transparency in your dealings with your accounting firm.

You can start the outsourcing accounting project by giving the accounting firm limited responsibilities. This will allow you to set the workflow and judge the caliber of the outsourced accounting firm. Allow the firm to prove its potential and take things forward from there.

While outsourcing accounting's main benefit is cost savings, it is should not be the only factor in selecting the accounting firm. Cheap is not always the best option for your accounting services; if the quality of work is not up to the mark, it may cost you much more later on to correct the mistakes of a cheap accounting firm. Outsourcing accounting should not only save you costs, it should also be high in the qualitative factor.

Outsourcing accounting will probably become the most useful business decision you will take for your small business. While it has benefits as well as risks associated with it, if you make informed decisions, the benefits will far exceed the risks for your small business. Find an experienced accounting firm which can become your partner in expanding your business and making it more profitable.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-18T02:26:00.028-05:00

Christmas 2009 is almost upon us! It's that time of the year when children wait for Santa Claus to bring them their gifts and adults look forward to the long holiday and the Christmas celebrations with friends and family.

Analytix Solutions wishes all its accounting and bookkeeping clients a Merry Christmas 2009.

To add to the Christmas cheer, Analytix introduces its accounting and bookkeeping offer for Christmas 2009. As a special Christmas offer, all accounting services and bookkeeping services packages from Analytix will have 10% off from today till 25th December, 2009. Avail of this special Christmas offer for your accounting and bookkeeping functions today. Email sales@analytixsolutions.com for more details.

Accounting Services: A Means For Focusing More On Your Small Business

2009-12-07T09:09:00.004-05:00

Using accounting services has become a common practice with small and mid-sized businesses, which have fewer resources to manage their business with. A professional accounting service provider has the potential of saving small businesses up to 40% in costs, which can be used to develop the business further. However, using an accounting firm to maintain books of accounts is not just a way to reduce costs; it has many other benefits also.

Focus on your main business activity

The most important reason you should use accounting services from a professional is that you can then focus on your main business activity. Maintaining your books of accounts is not your specialty, and you should hence not spend time doing that. If you have an accounting firm taking care of all your accounting and bookkeeping, you can stop worrying about it and spend more time on core activities which can increase business for you. Handing over all your accounting tasks to an experienced accounting service provider will free valuable time for you which can be a crucial factor for making your small business successful.

Reduce employee-related issues

Many businesses face a lot of issues related to hiring, training and retaining in-house employees. Sometimes, in case of bigger problems, businesses face employee-related lawsuits, which are time consuming. When you use accounting services from a service provider, you don’t have to worry about any issue related to employees, as you are using services and not employing people directly. An accounting firm hence ensures that you save on time and resources of hiring in-house employees.

Experts at your service

Using accounting services from a professional ensures that your books of accounts are being taken care of by experts in the field of accounting and bookkeeping. Accounting firms hire experts who are efficient and experienced at what they do and will work better than an in-house accountant. With such experts working on your accounting, there will also be less likelihood of mistakes in the work that is completed. You hence not only save cost of hiring an accountant, but also get a much more experienced staff to complete your accounting.

Save on office space and resources

The space that your in-house accountant would utilize for maintaining your books of accounts can be saved if you use outsourced accounting services. Accounting firms generally provide online accounting, which eliminates the requirement of any office space. You hence save on rent of an office or the space occupied by your accountant, which you can utilize elsewhere in your business.

No last minute problems

An accounting service provider updates transactions in your books of accounts on daily basis. You can hence stop worrying about pending tasks or last minute glitches at the time of tax filing and annual audits. Your books will be up to date at any given point of time, which eliminates the hassles of last-minute problems which are typically faced at the time of filing of tax.

An experienced accounting firm can reduce your burden of everyday activities, so that you can develop your business according to the vision you have. You may benefit even more if your accounting service provider has some experience in dealing with businesses similar to yours.

Accounting Services: An Integral Part Of Your Small Business Growth

2009-11-27T08:10:00.008-05:00

Are you an expert accountant? Most small business owners aren't, and that's why they need the help of a professional who provides accounting services. Hiring such professionals for accounting services can ensure that your books of accounts are in the right hands, so that you can focus on your business. Small business owners are generally tempted to take care of their own accounting. However, hiring a professional for small business accounting services holds some aces over do-it-yourself accounting.

Why a professional for accounting services?

Until recently, small businesses used to hire in-house staff to take care of their accounting for them. This was the only option available to small businesses, as there were few professional accounting service providers available. However, small business owners are increasingly starting to use outsourced accounting services due to the various advantages it offers. The number of service providers for small business accounting has also increased exponentially in the past few years.

Using accounting services can save precious resources, especially for small businesses. The cost of hiring and training an in-house accountant is huge, and an accounting service provider may help save as much as 40% of the cost of such recruitment. A professional company for small business accounting is an expert at what it does, so you need not worry about the quality of work being done. Such an accounting firm is also available 24x7 through phone, email, teleconferencing etc., so accessibility is also not an issue. If an accounting service provider is giving you a cheaper deal and taking care of all your accounting requirements efficiently, why should you hire in-house staff for accounting?

What to expect when you use accounting services?

A professional accounting service provider will be completely dedicated to maintaining your books of accounts. So instead of one single accountant in-house, you will have a whole company at your service. Most accounting service providers provide customized accounting services, which will be completely tailored as per your requirements. A company specializing in small business accounting will also have the latest software and experts to make sure the job is completed properly.

Most accounting service providers offer other services as well. For example, an accounting firm may also be offering bookkeeping services, tax preparation services etc. When you are checking out the company's service portfolio, see other service offerings they have over and above accounting services. If you see anything that applies to your business in addition to small business accounting, have that added in your package.

Accounting firms also provide completely scalable services, so you can change your package or requirements at any time you want. However, you need to discuss the scalability of services with the accounting service provider in question. You may also be thinking about the security of your financial information when you use accounting services from a third party. But you can rest assured that an experienced company providing accounting services will have adequate security measures to keep all your data safe. Ask your accounting service provider about the security measure it takes to keep all your data safe.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T01:59:00.006-05:00

It’s time to be thankful for all the good things in life: Thanksgiving 2009 is upon us. Thanksgiving holiday is the time when you gather with family and friends and say thanks for all the good things you have in life. It is a day for celebration, sharing and appreciation.

Analytix Solutions wishes all its accounting and bookkeeping clients a very happy Thanksgiving 2009.

Analytix thanks all its clients for standing by it for so long and hopes this support will continue well into the coming years. To add to all those Thanksgiving deals that are being offered on this occasion, Analytix has one of its own. As a special Thanksgiving offer, Analytix Solutions announces an additional 10% off on all accounting and bookkeeping packages on Thanksgiving day. Hurry and avail of this special offer on the special occasion of Thanksgiving.

Online Accounting: How small businesses can benefit from it

2009-11-11T05:24:00.011-05:00

As a small business owner, you may be facing a tough task of managing all departments of your business at once. Running a small business is a tough task as it is; add to that the responsibility of handling small business accounting and bookkeeping, and it may become an impossible one. If hiring in-house staff for handling your books of accounts is not an option for you, consider hiring the services of an online accounting service provider. Online accounting is known for its benefits, especially for small businesses. Some of the benefits of online accounting are as mentioned below:

Cost Effective
The first, foremost and most important advantage of online accounting is its cost effectiveness. Not only does hiring online bookkeeping service save you the cost of hiring in-house resources, it also ensures that additional resources like office space, rent etc. are not wasted. You can then invest the money and resources saved through online accounting into the business to ensure its profitability.

Quick Turnaround
Online accounting service providers provide a very quick turnaround as they have dedicated personnel working on your books of accounts. In many cases, the online bookkeeping service provider gives an assurance of updating your books of accounts within 24 hours of receipt of the documents. Such speedy work ensures that accounting and bookkeeping of your small business is up to date at all times.

Experts at Work
Let’s admit it: you do business well, but maintaining books of accounts like a pro is not your cup of tea. When you hire online accounting services, you can rest assured that there is an experienced professional working on your books. Such experts also ensure that the work done is impeccable and there are less chances of any mistake in your small business accounting.

Easy to Use
Online accounting services make your work very easy with a simple procedure. You just need to send your documents to your online bookkeeping service provider via email; the rest is all taken care of by online accounting professionals on the other end. You can hence stop worrying about your business financials the minute you email the document and concentrate on running your small business.

Efficient Record-Keeping
Online accounting or online bookkeeping gives a lot of importance to record-keeping. When you hire a professional for online accounting, you need not maintain separate records for your own reference. The latest and most accurate accounting information will be maintained by professionals when you decide to use online bookkeeping services. You can get access to these records 24x7, which is a facility given by most service providers today.

Online accounting has the potential of aiding you in running your business efficiently and reducing your overall responsibilities. There are many online bookkeeping service providers today which offer customized packages. You can select the one that best suits your small business requirements.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-30T07:00:00.019-04:00

31st October, the Halloween day of 2009 is here! It's that time of the year when you can carve those pumpkins, wear your best Halloween costumes and go "Trick or Treat" from door to door. You can also look for special Halloween deals to get stuff you have been waiting to buy all year.

Analytix Solutions wishes all its accounting and bookkeeping clients a very happy Halloween 2009.

If your books of accounts are tricking you or are giving you nightmares worse than Halloween, Analytix Solutions can drive them away. With Analytix into the picture, accounting and bookkeeping for your business can be a simple, effortless task for you. This Halloween, accounting and bookkeeping packages from Analytix become even better, with 10% off on all packages for the day. Take advantage of this Halloween offer right now and save your precious business resources!

Does your accounting firm adhere to these best practices? Important tips for new restaurant owners.

2009-10-26T03:21:00.004-04:00

You may have read about the basics of restaurant accounting and bookkeeping in one of our previous posts. Owing to the large amount of queries that we receive from the new and existing restaurant owners, we thought of touching base with the other elements that are directly or indirectly connected with restaurant accounting and bookkeeping. There is a very thin line which separates the success or failure of a restaurant business; accounting and bookkeeping is a major part of the success path for a restaurant. Small discrepancies in books of accounts can force even an experienced restaurateur to close shop. We hence thought of listing down some best practices applicable to restaurants so that you can ensure that your accounting firm can follow them.

Monthly Profit and Loss Statement
A monthly P&L statement helps restaurateurs be aware of just where their restaurant stands profit-wise. If you have an accounting firm which prepares your books for you, ask it to prepare a P&L statement monthly and send it to you so that you know month-by-month progress your restaurant is making. Just looking at the statement, you will get an overall idea of the profit or loss of your restaurant, and take steps to improve accordingly.

Inventory Management
Most restaurants incur losses because the owners don’t have any idea of their inventory and how it is being used. Many restaurateurs assume that the inventory is being used properly and do not manage it properly. This can be a costly mistake for the business. Most accounting firms now provide inventory management as part of their accounting services. Ask your bookkeeping firm to include inventory management in its services offering for your restaurant.

4-week Accounting Period
Accounting and bookkeeping experts recommend a 4-week accounting period for restaurants simply because it holds many advantages for it. Restaurateurs can compare performance of the business with the week or month of last year if they follow a 4-week accounting period. If your accounting firm is an expert in the restaurant industry, it will be aware of this fact and will recommend a 4-week accounting period to you.

Weekly Cost Reporting
Also ensure that your accounting firm provides weekly reports of all the costs your restaurant business incurs. Restaurants have a lot of costs that they incur weekly, like labor, food etc. Being aware of the weekly costs of labor, food etc. will help you cut down unnecessary expenditures and remain profitable.

Designate a Professional for Accounting and Bookkeeping
If all of the above sounds too complicated for you to keep track of, designate a dedicated professional for all your accounting and bookkeeping. Ideally, it should be an accounting firm which specializes in restaurant accounting, as it will know the tricks of the trade from the beginning.

Following the above-mentioned best practices for accounting and bookkeeping of your restaurant will not only help it stay afloat in this tough economy, it will also help make sure that it remains profitable. Your accounting firm can become your partner in your goal of ensuring the profitability of your restaurant.

Outsourcing Accounting Services: 3 Things you Should Know

2009-09-24T08:35:00.014-04:00

Accounting and bookkeeping for small businesses had changed drastically in the past few years. The rules for accounting remain the same; however, paper-based accounting has been replaced by virtual accounting. Outsourcing accounting services is hence a popular choice of business owners now. Using an accounting service provider and outsourcing accounting functions saves costs as well as gets accounting done effectively. Using the services of a professional accounting service provider eases a lot of burden of business owners. However, as a business owner, you need to know some things before outsourcing accounting services. The following are 3 essential points you need to know before outsourcing accounting services:

Local or Offshore
The advantage of outsourcing accounting services is that you can select the service provider you want, according to your terms and conditions. If the accounting and bookkeeping service provider is based locally, it will be easy for you to get in touch with him/her in case you need to. However, the disadvantage is that local accounting service providers may not be as cost-effective as offshore ones. Offshore accounting service providers, on the other hand, offer significant cuts in costs, but may be unavailable personally when needs arises. The ideal company you can use for outsourcing accounting services is one which works virtually but has a local presence. That way, it will be able to offer cost-effective rates as well as be available personally.

Experience
If you are thinking of Outsourcing accounting services, you will obviously look for someone who has relevant experience and has expertise enough to handle your books of accounts. Even if the accounting service provider in question has years of experience in accounting and bookkeeping, ask whether it has enough experience in your industry and cross check the references. If the service provider has a good record with past clients, you can rest assured that outsourcing accounting services to him/her is a wise decision. The kind of staff the accounting service provider hires is also an important factor in the way your outsourced accounting will fare, so be sure to ask about the qualifications and availability of accounting staff.

Add-ons
As said before, accounting doesn’t involve only debit and credit anymore. Professional service providers for outsourced accounting services now provide management reports in addition to the standard accounting and bookkeeping reports like P&L statements and Balance Sheets, which can help you take care of your business in a more efficient way. Such accounting service providers have also started providing weekly reports instead of the monthly or quarterly reports which were prevalent before. These are valuable add-ons which are associated with Outsourcing accounting services, which will help your business do well and grow.

Tips For Selecting An Accounting And Bookkeeping Service Provider For Women Entrepreneurs

2009-09-09T02:45:00.031-04:00

Women entrepreneurs are today running more small businesses than ever before and are poised to surpass the number of small businesses run by men. We were thinking since some time to include some accounting services related tips with a special focus on women entrepreneurs, as accounting and bookkeeping remains one of the few areas women face difficulties in. This post is hence dedicated to accounting and bookkeeping for women entrepreneurs.

There are certain differences in the way women do business and this needs to be kept in mind while planning to hire a company for accounting services:

Women are essentially different in the way they manage their business. It is observed in general that they like to balance all the other activities of their life alongside their business, whereas men tend to focus totally on their small business. Due to this necessity to divide their time in various commitments, women entrepreneurs need to rope in a strong advisor in the form of an experienced bookkeeping and accounting service provider to manage their business finances properly. Women are also likely to consult more often with the firm they hire for their small business accounting as compared to men for accounting and bookkeeping matters related to their business.

Women are also not very comfortable with the financial aspect of the business and tend to depend on a bookkeeping and accounting service provider for expert advice on managing their books. Due to this dependence, the accounting service provider becomes an integral and important part of a woman-owned business and also a base for the success of that business.

Due to these differences in the way women conduct business, they need a dependable and expert bookkeeping and accounting service provider, who can sit with them, understand their business as well as has some experience working with similar businesses. The accounting service provider should also be trustworthy, so that the women entrepreneurs can divulge confidential information without fear of leakage.

If you are a woman entrepreneur who is wondering how to find an ideal bookkeeping and accounting service provider for your business, read on for some tips to select one:

Choose an Expert - Cheap Can be Expensive

It's an industry known fact that outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping can save you cost. Since you don't need anybody in-house on your payroll, you can save yourself a lot of money. But many a times, in a bid to save cost, women entrepreneurs tend to compromise on the expertise and experience of accounting service providers. This can be a huge mistake for a woman-owned business. A company offering you a discount of up to 40% can be legitimate; however, don't take the discount thing too far by opting for "80-90% off" offers - such offers can be an expensive mistake. Experience in similar kinds of businesses counts the most towards good accounting and bookkeeping of your business. So when you are searching for a firm providing accounting services, ask specifically about their experience in your industry.

Check Out the Accounting Firm's Support Services

You might need to consult with the firm you hire for accounting services several times in a week. You hence need to ensure that he/she is available on phone, email, chat and even personally in case of urgent matters. Make sure that the accounting service company is based within the U.S. and not thousands of miles away, or else you might have a tough time contacting it when you want.

Make Sure their Services are Flexible

You may need to scale your bookkeeping and accounting services up or down according to your business requirements. Your service provider needs to be flexible enough to agree to this. Many women entrepreneurs tend to hire the first accounting firm or accounting company they interview. This is a wrong decision; interview several accounting service providers and check out the options they are giving you. Don't go for anything but the best amongst them.

Choosing the correct bookkeeping and accounting service provider is vital - if you go wrong it can make or break your dream business venture. You need to hence choose yours carefully, so that you can empower your business with strong accounting and bookkeeping and impeccable recordkeeping.

Bookkeeping Services Is An Essential Part Of Your Small Business

2009-08-28T06:47:00.007-04:00

Considering the fact that bookkeeping is one of the most crucial functions of your small business, finding a firm providing bookkeeping services is an important task for you. However, finding an appropriate firm for small business bookkeeping is no joke; you need to find the company that matches the standards of your business. If you own a small business, you should find a bookkeeping services firm which has a good reputation and caters specifically to small businesses. Always remember that your business's books of accounts give you an idea of how you are doing, and you can make strategic decisions based on them. A professional bookkeeping service provider is a must to get a clear picture regarding your business.

Consider the following points when selecting a firm for bookkeeping services:

Online Bookkeeping Services

An online bookkeeping service provider will already have the system and the processes in place. Once you send them your documents, processing times will be faster than a bookkeeper doing it in-house. Such service providers for bookkeeping also provide affordable rates. You hence save on time as well as money by hiring them.

The Right Kind of Technology

For online bookkeeping services, the right kind of softwares and programming is very much a necessity. The service provider you hire has to have the right technology in place so that he/she can process documents and give you reports as and when you need them. You can rest assured that your books of accounts are in the right hands when you hire a reliable bookkeeping service provider.

Qualifications and Experience

When you are considering hiring any firm for bookkeeping services, you need to ensure that they have the right kind of qualification as well as experience for handling your books efficiently. The staff that the firm hires should not only be qualified in bookkeeping and accounting functions, but the firm in question should also have the necessary experience to prove its expertise. You can question the bookkeeping service provider regarding its staff as well as past clients so you can get an idea regarding the professionals working for your business.

Support

If you are hiring an online bookkeeping service provider, you need to make sure that you will get adequate support in the form of customer care. You need access to the firm whenever you have any query or complaint. Experienced firms for bookkeeping services generally also assign an individual to answer all queries related to your business's bookkeeping and to cater to your requirements. You can get the details on what kind of support your bookkeeping services firm gives by checking out its website or contacting the firm personally.

Once you find a bookkeeping service provider that meets all of the points mentioned above, you can breathe easy knowing that your bookkeeping and accounting is in the right hands. In addition to saving you time and money, a bookkeeping services firm can become your long time partner and contribute majorly to your success.

Outsourced Accounting Services: What To Expect

2009-08-18T08:05:00.014-04:00

The success of many small businesses has been credited to the use of an accounting service provider. The advantage of outsourcing small business accounting is an integral part of the success of all businesses. As a small business owner, you might be thinking of going down the same path for your business too. However, you will want to examine and be aware of the process and how the advantages will benefit your business. The following are some of the distinct advantages of outsourcing accounting services:

Qualified Professionals

The first and foremost advantage of hiring a firm for accounting services is its obvious expertise in small business accounting. Reputed accounting firms hire only the most qualified and the most experienced professionals in the industry. You can hence rest assured that when you hire such a firm, your accounting and bookkeeping functions will be taken care of by expert professionals. Having such experienced staff at work will also reduce the number of errors made in calculations, so that at the end of a financial year, your books are in perfect shape.

Cost Savings

Another major plus point of outsourcing accounting services is that it saves costs of up to 30-40%, which is an invaluable resource for small businesses. Entrepreneurs can save costs associated with in-house hiring like training, pension plans, holiday pay etc. Hiring a third party for small business accounting also ensures that you save on renting space, as all of the work is done at another location.

Save Time

A lot of small business owners spend a lot of time ensuring that their books of accounts are maintained properly, even when they hire in-house staff. But handing over the accounting and bookkeeping functions to an accounting service provider ensures that entrepreneurs can focus on what they do best: business. The time saved from looking at small business accounting can be spent in business-related functions like customer service, expansion etc.

Customized Services

Professional firms for accounting services now provide custom-made packages for accounting and bookkeeping of small businesses. This allows business owners to avail of only those services which their business requires instead of settling for the one-for-all packages that were available before. Such customized services and personal attention ensure the accounting services are of utmost benefit to your business.

A Word of Caution

The only thing you need to be careful about while hiring a firm for your small business accounting is steering clear of the shady firms. You need to sort through the flood of bookkeeping and accounting service providers available today and find the one that is suitable to your small business. You also need to ensure that your data is protected at all times by the accounting service provider you hire.

If you manage to find the appropriate firm to hire for accounting services, your business can have all the benefits mentioned above. The service provider will, in turn, become an asset for you and increase the profitability of your small business in the longer run.

7 Reasons Why QuickBooks is Good for Accounting and Bookkeeping Of Your Business

2009-07-29T04:58:00.034-04:00

As a small business owner, you must be spending a lot of time on your accounting and bookkeeping functions. QuickBooks is renowned accounting software for small to mid-sized businesses which can help you save time. It is being used by many businesses for maintaining accurate business records and is a trusted accounting and bookkeeping solution. QuickBooks is also on the service offerings of many reputed firms which provide accounting services and bookkeeping services. Listed below are 7 reasons your business should not miss QuickBooks as a bookkeeping solution

Saves Time

QuickBooks automates the simple tasks of your accounting and bookkeeping of your business, so that you save the hassles of paper-based bookkeeping. You can free up valuable time from the financial functions and dedicate that time to developing your business or catering to customers.

Affordable

QuickBooks is one of the most efficient accounting software available today, making it a very useful tool for small and medium sized businesses. Compared to hiring a bookkeeper, QuickBooks is a much cost effective solution for accounting and bookkeeping.

Customized Solution

You can customize QuickBooks according to your business requirements. As an accounting software which is applicable to various industries, QuickBooks is designed to be flexible and adaptable to each business separately. For example, it can be customized and used for accounting and bookkeeping for a numerous business types, whether it is a restaurant, franchise, sports facility, medical practice, dentistry or salon. You can ask your bookkeeping service provider to customize QuickBooks according to the industry you work in.

Reduces Errors

QuickBooks minimizes the chances of an error that a bookkeeper might make while typing. Calculations are done automatically in QuickBooks, which reduces the chances of a human mistake in accounting and bookkeeping of a business. While using QuickBooks, data can also be shared with business applications as well as popular programs like excel sheets, word documents, Outlook etc.

Reliable Solution

QuickBooks is the most reliable accounting and bookkeeping software available for small and mid-sized businesses. Some of the most reputed bookkeeping service providers provide QuickBooks solutions to small and mid-sized businesses and help them in maintaining their books of accounts. It is one of the most trusted and reliable software, being used by thousands of businesses all over the world. You can rest assured that your bookkeeping functions are being taken care of by a proven, trustworthy software.

Grow your Business

With QuickBooks into the picture, you can grow your business with the backing of strong accounting and bookkeeping records. With up to date balance sheet, profit and loss statement, statement of cash flows etc., you can get business loans, line of credits or plan the expansion of your business easily.

Automates Processes

You can automate most payment processes through QuickBooks. No more of printing checks, going to the bank or stamping envelopes. With QuickBooks you can click a button and make the payment. Banks also allow downloading of monthly bank statements into QuickBooks for easier reconciliation. If you don't have QuickBooks software for your business, you can contact an experienced bookkeeping service provider for a customized solution.

There are many experienced accounting and bookkeeping service providers which provide customized QuickBooks integrated solutions for small to midsized businesses. You should select an end-to-end service provider who can be trusted and can provide on-demand support post installation too. Having QuickBooks to manage the accounting and bookkeeping of your business gives you a powerful tool for managing your books with complete ease.

Is Using Outsourced Accounting Services the Right Step for Your Small Business?

2009-07-17T07:31:00.017-04:00

For a long time, using outsourced accounting services was an option only for larger corporations. However, of late, the cost effectiveness of outsourcing accounting functionalities has made it an attractive prospect for small businesses as well. A small business owner is generally burdened with taking care of all the functions of the business with very little resources at his/her disposal. Outsourcing to expert accounting service providers has the potential of saving a lot of resources and hence is an attractive proposition for small business owners.

But the question most small business owners are pondering over is: Does hiring a bookkeeping and accounting service provider make sense for small businesses? Judging the answer to this question is tricky and requires evaluating the pros and cons of outsourcing accounting.

There are advantages attached to hiring an outsourced accounting service provider which are especially applicable to small businesses:

The main advantage of outsourcing accounting functions is its cost effectiveness, which can save your small business up to 40% costs as compared to in-house staff
Accounting service providers have expert staff who can handle all your small business accounting requirements with ease
You can choose to hire only those services which are applicable to your business
Outsourcing accounting frees up valuable time which you can dedicate to the core business activities
You are relieved from the hassles of hiring, training and retaining in-house staff

There is only one small disadvantage when it comes to hiring outsourced accounting services: Too many companies providing accounting services which makes it tough to decide which one to hire. If you hire an inefficient service provider, it may cost your business a lot more. So select an accounting service provider with a lot of care, taking into consideration the following factors:

Is the bookkeeping and accounting service provider experienced in your industry?
Can the firm give valid references of its current/past clients?
Does the firm have a reputation of providing accounting services for small businesses?
Can the firm assure a doorstep service if required or is it purely outsourcing company based miles away within US or outside US?
Is the accounting firm ready to give written documents regarding guarantee of service, terms and conditions etc?
Is the accounting service provider flexible enough to allow you to scale your bookkeeping and accounting requirements up or down?
Does the firm providing outsourced accounting service have suitable data security measures to protect sensitive information related to your small business?

If you get satisfactory replies to all of the above questions, you should rest assured that the accounting service provider you are considering to hire is suitable for your small business.

The advantages of outsourcing small business accounting far surpass the disadvantages of outsourcing accounting functionalities. If you work with the right service provider, it can become a valuable asset to your small business. As a small business owner, you should hence consider availing the services of a professional bookkeeping and accounting service provider so that they can focus on the core activities of the business and grow it appropriately.

Hire an Accounting and Bookkeeping Service Provider for your Restaurant Business

2009-06-23T02:44:00.049-04:00

The restaurant business is one with limited profit margins; in the tough financial scenario today, it has become imperative to manage the accounting and bookkeeping of a restaurant business efficiently. The smallest mistake in the financials of a restaurant can force even an expert restaurateur to quit the business. If you check out business brokers in your area, you will come to know that the highest businesses for sale are in the restaurant industry. In such a situation, experts in the field suggest in-house cost-cutting measures like hiring an accounting and bookkeeping service provider for taking care of the books of your restaurant business.

A majority of restaurants fail due to the inadequate financial knowledge of the restaurateurs and due to the fact that many of them deal in cash and in the end lose out on the record keeping for their business. If you do not want your restaurant business to fail, it is of utmost importance that your books of accounts be healthy. While it is true that restaurateurs have very little resources to hire a professional accounting and bookkeeping service provider for their business, the ‘I will manage it myself’ approach can be fatal for the business.

As a restaurant business owner, the following are some points you need to keep in mind when it comes to accounting and bookkeeping for your business:

• Attain basic knowledge
The most visible mistake of the restaurant industry is that the owners have very little knowledge about accounting and bookkeeping. While it is not necessary to know the whole process in depth, restaurateurs should at least be aware of some basics like Profit and Loss Statements, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows etc. You can leave the rest of the financial details to your accounting and bookkeeping service provider, but these basic statements are a must-know for you as an owner.

• Have a proper accounting system in place
As an owner, you will be unaware of the financials of your restaurant business if you don’t have a well-organized accounting system in place. Softwares like QuickBooks, Great Plains, Peach Tree, MYOB etc. are a great tool for your day to day accounting and bookkeeping. If you can’t find a software that is suitable for your business, you can even get a custom-made one developed for you through an accounting and bookkeeping service provider.

• Have a 4-week accounting period
A 4-week accounting period is recommended for restaurants by accounting and bookkeeping firms, due to the fact that it has many advantages for the business. The numbers compiled for 4 weeks are then comparable for performance and earnings to ,say, the last month or the same week last year. Also, in a system when you pay staff bi-weekly, it may eliminate the need for payroll accrual.

• Record all your business transactions
If you can’t do this yourself, hire an accounting and bookkeeping service provider specializing in restaurants. But recording ALL transactions of your restaurant is a must-do for a successful restaurant. (It is the secret to the success of many restaurant franchises today.) Don’t depend on your bank statement or credit card bills for a list of income and expenses. All transactions must be kept in a record which will be useful at the end of the year.

• Hire a professional accounting and bookkeeping service provider
There are many professional accounting firms which can work as back-office service providers. Many of them even specialize in accounting for the restaurant industry. They charge anywhere between $15-40 an hour and can be an easy alternative to hiring someone in house.

As a restaurant owner, you should take the above-mentioned points into consideration for a healthy business in this time of financial crisis. A professional accounting and bookkeeping service provider will help you to not only ride through the recession, but also ensure the sustenance of your business in the longer run.

Analytix Solutions was One of the Elite Exhibitors at the New England Xpo for Business

2009-06-01T04:50:00.009-04:00

Analytix Solutions, a prominent back office service provider for accounting, bookkeeping and part time CFO services in New England, participated in the New England Xpo for Business on May 19th, 2009. The highly anticipated B2B show had over 400 exhibits of innovative products and services which visitors could tap into for information. Visitors thronged the booths with doubts related to small businesses and appreciated the chance to interact with so many business professionals for expert tips.

“We met a lot of visitors at this Xpo, most of whom were small business owners, having queries regarding managing their business finances in the most cost-effective way,” says Satish Patel, President of Analytix Solutions. “Our tips on cutting up to 40% of their accounting and bookkeeping costs attracted a lot of visitors and we are glad of the phenomenal response to our participation.”

About Analytix Solutions

Analytix Solutions is a one-stop back office service provider for Accounting & Bookkeeping and other value-added services like IT, Operations and Marketing to small and mid-sized businesses. Based in Boston, Mass., Analytix’s clients typically range from $100k to $10M in annual revenues. To know more about Analytix Solutions, visit www.analytixsolutions.com.

5 Expectations to Set before Hiring a Bookkeeper for your Business

2009-04-22T08:04:00.007-04:00

As a business owner, you might be wondering if you need the services of a bookkeeper for financial accounting of your business. Most business owners think that they will be able to learn any skill that is necessary to run their business better. But is it really that simple to learn to do your own books or does your business need the expertise of a bookkeeper? According to a well-known saying, if you try to be a jack of all trades, you will be master of none. It is hence advisable to hire a bookkeeper to do your business bookkeeping. Look for an experienced firm providing accounting services; they will have experienced bookkeepers for hire. However, there are a set of skills for a bookkeeper that help in the accounting and bookkeeping field and before you hire a bookkeeper, you’ll want to set some expectations to make sure he/she knows what to do. The following are some of them:

Your bookkeeper should have a basic understanding of your industry
An expert bookkeeper with the basic knowledge about your industry will make a huge difference and you will be miles ahead on the learning curve if your bookkeeper already has a basic understanding of your industry. While the basic fundamentals of accounting and bookkeeping are similar, there are some variations according to the industry. Each industry has different terms which can be learnt on the job only. So be sure to look for a bookkeeper who has experience in your industry.
Your bookkeeper should be good a communicator
Communication will be a critical aspect of getting your accounting and bookkeeping done in a proper way. Your bookkeeper needs to understand your requirements and communicate any doubts or confusions clearly. Good communication skills will allow the bookkeeper to become a useful asset for your business.
He/she should have the ability to integrate modern technology with the basics of accounting and bookkeeping
The days of doing accounting and bookkeeping with hand are long gone; today all functions of bookkeeping are done with the help of latest computer softwares like Quickbooks, Peachtree, MYOB, Great Plains, other Sage Products and ERP Systems. Ideally, your prospective bookkeeper should know such technological changes or have the ability to learn them.
A strong commitment to your business is a must for your bookkeeper
While hiring a bookkeeper, it is essential that you find someone who will give his/her complete attention to your business; your business should be on the top of the bookkeeper’s priority list. Your financials will be impeccable only if your bookkeeper is focused on getting things done the right way.
Your bookkeeper should be able to pay attention to details
An ideal bookkeeper for your business would be one who is detail oriented. Perfection in business financials depends on the fine details of transactions, which the bookkeeper should be able to pay attention to. Such a bookkeeper will enable you to pay complete attention to the core activities of your business without worrying about the financial side of it.

It is critical for your business’s profitability that you set these expectations for a bookkeeper before bringing him/her on board. You will know where your business is headed through the financial records the bookkeeper will maintain. If the bookkeeper you hire meets all these expectations, then he/she will be a perfect addition to your business and team.

How to Search for a Reliable Accounting & Bookkeeping Service Firm

2009-04-08T03:22:00.005-04:00

Managing your business cost-effectively has become even more important in this recession. In such a situation, hiring an outside accounting firm for faster financial accounting would be a wise solution compared to adding more in-house accounting staff. Searching for an accounting and bookkeeping firm can be a daunting task at best. Given below are five tips which will help you in your search for an expert accounting services firm.

Talk to Family, Friends and Professionals

Interacting with trusted people and getting their opinion is one of the most suitable approaches to search for an expert accounting and bookkeeping firm. You can ask them about which accounting firm they use, how it works for them and how they went about finding the right professional to hire. This is a great way to make sure you get the right information from the right people. It is important to separate a firm which provides good accounting services from others who are not that good at what they do. The opinion you get about the services of any professional speaks a lot about its reputation; so if you don’t hear anything good about a specific accounting and bookkeeping firm, don’t hire it.
Understand your Requirements

One of the key factors in your search for good accounting services understands what your business requires. Once you have the overview of what each accounting firm offers, you can take your pick of accounting and bookkeeping services which are more relevant to your business. You can decide the frequency – daily, weekly or yearly accounting services; you can also decide the types of services your business needs: accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation etc. But remember, for deciding all this, it is crucial that you fully understand what your business requires.
Do some Research

You shouldn’t restrict yourself to any criteria from the beginning. Your search for accounting and bookkeeping services requires in-depth research, as hiring the wrong firm would prove an expensive mistake for your business. Through research, get an overall idea of what accounting and bookkeeping service providers are offering, what their prices are, whether there are any conditions, guarantee of services etc. Ask for their work samples and client testimonials. You can also use the internet to look through websites and connect with other businesses already using accounting services. Such research will help you in matching your business requirements to the accounting services on offer.
Ask for Details

After you have selected a couple of firms providing accounting services, you should ask them for details regarding price quotes, terms and conditions, customer support etc. Once you get the required information, you can decide on the best deal suitable for your business.
Be Patient

If your search for a good accounting and bookkeeping service provider is taking a little time, be patient. There are a lot of professionals out there, and you need to filter through them to find the ideal outsourced accounting service provider for your business. Once you have made the right choice, your business’s accounting and bookkeeping will be safe in the hands of the best professionals in the industry.

10 Bookkeeping Tips for your New Business

2009-03-13T05:47:00.006-04:00

If you’ve finally taken the plunge and started your own business, you are in for a great experience. There is a lot of hard work and risk involved in owning a business, but nothing compares to the satisfaction of watching your own venture grow and become successful. We have put together an exclusive list of 10 bookkeeping tips to start your business on the right note.

Keep Receipts for All Transactions

Receipts for all the transactions are a must for a healthy bookkeeping system. Some businessmen believe that if they are using a check or credit or debit card, they do not need a receipt; they can just refer to their bank account and get the details. But the Internal Revenue System (IRS) policy clearly states that any cash or check transaction needs receipts to be validated. If you cannot produce relevant receipts for transactions, you cannot claim certain tax benefits.
Indulge in Daily Bookkeeping

Maintaining daily records of financial transactions is one of the most important aspects of bookkeeping. If the day-to-day bookkeeping is not up to the mark, then the business can fall apart. If you do not have the time to take care of these administrative duties, consider hiring a firm providing bookkeeping services.
Be Consistent in Bookkeeping

Many small business owners start their bookkeeping with a lot of enthusiasm, but in time, they fail to maintain it consistently. Inconsistency in bookkeeping may be the biggest mistake you make and might prove fatal for your business. As soon as you start your new business, the first pledge must be to maintain your accounting and bookkeeping. If you cannot take care of it yourself, hire an accounting bookkeeping firm to do it for you.
Keep a Trail for Audit

Your bookkeeping should be done in such a way that you can easily retrace your business’s financial transactions. This is not a complicated process and can be done in simple steps like keeping records in their numeric order, not skipping invoice or check numbers and maintaining separate records for your business and personal transactions. If you can trace your business’s financial transactions up to a year backwards, consider your record keeping perfect.
Get a Bank Statement at the End of the Month

Many businessmen believe that simply logging into a bank account and checking the transactions will enable them to reconcile their business expenses. But it is a more complicated procedure than that. Getting a bank statement at the end of the month would be a good idea to reconcile all transactions and track expenses.
Use the Right Accounting System

Determine whether the cash or accrual is the right accounting system for your business and use the one applicable. The IRS requires that if your business has more than $5 million in sales or keeps and inventory, you use the accrual accounting system. (The cash method of accounting counts expenses when you pay them and income when you receive it, whereas in the accrual method you count the income and expenses at the time they happen)
Maintain a File for All Documents

This may sound a simple enough step, but most businessmen fail to follow it. As a result, the end of the financial year has many businesses and their accountants struggling to find documents to support financial transactions. If you simply maintain a file for all the transactions and file the relevant papers at the time of their occurrence, the end-of-the-year hassles won’t happen.
Keep Business and Personal Transactions Separate

Having a separate bank account and credit card for your business is a must for a healthy bookkeeping system. That way, you can keep your personal transactions separate and at the end of the year, claim applicable tax benefits on business transactions.
Use QuickBooks

Using popular softwares like QuickBooks helps in maintaining proper accounting and bookkeeping records for your business. Such softwares make it easy to calculate incomes and expenses and make a great backup system for all your documents. Many known accounting and bookkeeping firms use this system and can help you integrate it into your business for you.
Hire a firm providing bookkeeping services

If all the above points sound too much of a hassle for you to keep in mind, it may be best to hire a professional firm providing expert bookkeeping services.

A professional accounting and bookkeeping firm can take all the responsibility for your day-to-day functions so that you can concentrate of growing and expanding your business.

9 Tax Law Changes for 2009 that Make Tax Preparation Easier

2009-02-26T02:25:00.007-05:00

While undertaking tax preparation for 2009, you have to be aware of the changes in the tax laws in order to reap the maximum benefit. Given below is the list of the changes which are applicable to small businesses, as explained on the government website for business resources business.gov. Though this list covers the major changes in tax law and will help you in tax preparation, you should consult your tax advisor or CPA for a comprehensive analysis of those applicable to your business. Also keep visiting the official Internal Revenue Service (www.irs.gov) website for the latest updates.

Major changes in tax laws of 2009 include:

Commuting and Parking Benefits for Employees - Starting in 2009, businesses can pay $230 a month in tax-free parking for employees, up $10 per month from 2008. The cap on tax-free transit passes rises to $120 a month, up $5 a month from 2008. In addition, you can offer employees who prefer to cycle to work a new tax-free benefit of $20 per month to cover the cost of buying, maintaining, and storing a bicycle for commuting purposes.
Expensing Business Equipment - What business expense write offs can you plan on this year? The maximum amount of equipment placed in service in 2009 that businesses can expense (section 179 Expense Deduction) falls to $133,000, a $117,000 decrease from 2008, when a temporary $250,000 ceiling was in effect. The annual investment limit drops to $530,000 for 2009. In 2008, the limit had been temporarily increased to $800,000. Keep your ears to the ground on this one, however, as the government may extend the 2008 tax breaks for 2009.
First-Time Buyers with Home-Based Businesses - If you operate your small business from an office situated within a first-time home purchase, you can still qualify for additional tax incentives - if you purchased your home between April 2, 2008 and June 30, 2009.
Lower Mileage Rates - As expected, the IRS lowered the standard mileage rates for the business use of vehicles. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the standard mileage rate for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) is:

(a) 55 cents per mile for business miles driven
(b) 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
(c) 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
Payroll Tax Changes - The maximum amount of wages subject to Social Security tax has increased to $106,800 for 2009, up from $102,000 in 2008. That means you should stop making (and paying) Social Security for employees once they reach $106,801 in eligible earnings in 2009. The tax rate remains 7.65 percent on employers and employees.
Maximize Your Retirement Contributions - In 2009, small business owners have the opportunity to invest more tax-deductible money in their retirement savings accounts. These include:

(a) 401(k) elective deferrals up to $16,500 (plus another $5,500 for those age 50 or older by the end of 2009); the limits had been $15,500 (plus another $5,000 for those age 50 or older by the end of 2008).
(b) SEP and profit-sharing plan limit of $49,000 (up from $46,000 in 2008).
(c) Defined benefit (pension plan) limit of $195,000 (up from $185,000 in 2008).
Increased Deductions for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) - You can contribute more in 2009 to business HSAs, with a 100% tax deduction up to a limit of $5,950 for a family, and $3,000 for an individual.
Bonus First-year Depreciation Ends - Businesses can no longer claim 50 percent bonus first-year depreciation on assets placed in service in 2009.This was a special write-off that was put in place for the 2008 tax year.
Depreciation of Restaurants and Retail Stores - The current 15-year depreciation period for tenant and restaurant improvements is expanded to include buildings housing restaurants, and improvements made to retail stores that are placed in service in 2009.

It is very important for you to plan your business tax according to these new tax laws. But these laws are ever-changing and you need to keep a track of them each year. If tax preparation and keeping track of business tax laws seems too much of a hassle for you, you can hire an expert tax advisor or a firm which provides tax preparation services. You can also try outsourcing tax preparation. In case you have confusions or questions regarding tax laws, try consulting a professional who specializes in business tax preparation.

ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.community.business.gov/t5/Government-Resources-for/Tax-Law-Changes-for-2009-What-s-New-for-Your-Small-Business/ba-p/60

How can Tax Preparation and Filing become a hassle-free experience?

2009-02-09T04:39:00.008-05:00

The income tax filing season can be a difficult time for many business owners. The IRS is flooded with inquiries from exasperated businessmen regarding tax filing from February till May each year. If you are one of the people who need guidance on your tax issues, browse through the official Internal Revenue Service website www.irs.gov/ for guidance and information.

There are 2 perennial problems businessmen face when it comes to tax preparation:
• Poor Record Keeping
• Keeping Up with the Changing Tax Laws

Problem 1: Poor Record Keeping

Poor record keeping is the problem for most businessmen who are busy in running a business and keeping it profitable. All records of transactions in and out of the business are carelessly kept to the extent that sometimes they don’t know where their business stands financially. At the time of filing business tax, these businessmen are hence clueless. Some businessmen use their checkbooks as records, but face problems when they can’t locate their check registers. Even more disorganized are those businessmen who keep documents in piles or boxes and are referred by CPAs as “shoebox clients”. Such businessmen, at the time of tax filing, miss out on important tax deductions due to lack of documented proof.

Solution

The solution to this problem for businessmen is: get professional help. For all business documents, record keeping and ledgers, a professional bookkeeper should be hired. If a dedicated bookkeeper or bookkeeping service provider is looking after all documents, the businessman need not worry about maintaining his records from day-to-day. This way, at the time of tax preparation and filing, precise information will be available with documented proof.

Problem 2: Keeping up with Changing Tax Laws

Most businessmen also do not have the time to keep up with the constantly changing taxation laws. It is difficult for them to discern which law is applicable to them and which one is not. For example, many states’ laws differ from the Internal Revenue Code and require separate calculations.

Solution

In case of inability to follow the law changes, a businessman should hire a tax professional or tax advisor. Such professionals are updated with the latest changes in all laws related to taxes, and will be able to easily keep track of them. They will also be able to spot the applicable laws in respective situations. You can also regularly check the IRS website www.irs.gov/ for the most updated information regarding laws of tax filing.

Save 40% of your bookkeeping and accounting costs by hiring a service provider

2009-01-22T02:00:00.005-05:00

The importance of bookkeeping and accounting in a business cannot be stressed on enough. Every business owner knows that the progress of his organization is based on the financial condition of his business. But not many people take the pains to hire a professional for their accounting needs. Hiring in-house staff is a stressful procedure, with costs involving search, training, salaries, employee benefits, paid holidays etc. Business owners hence try to skirt the responsibility and try to do it themselves or ask a less qualified person in their organization to do it. This is a grave mistake that can bring doom upon the business. Daily records regarding the financials of the business come very handy in giving an accurate picture of the functionality of the business as a whole, and hence should be handled with care.

Outsourcing bookkeeping and accounting can help solve many issues for business owners. In today’s business scenario of thinning profit margins and cost cutting strategies, hiring an onshore service provider for all accounting needs is a beneficial idea. By letting an outside company handle your bookkeeping and accounting work, you can easily wipe out the drawbacks and limitations of hiring an in-house staff. Amongst many advantages of bookkeeping and accounting service provider are:

SAVE COST
Hiring an in-house bookkeeper or accountant can cost you a lot. It also comes with a lot of complications regarding pensions, employee rights issues etc. Hiring a bookkeeping service provider ensures that you get cost effective solutions to your accounting needs. This is also a means to avoid the hassles related to employing full time professionals. You also have the option of immediately stopping the services in case you are dissatisfied with their performance.

EXPERTS AT YOUR SERVICE
A professional accounting firm hires experts who can dedicate their entire time to your financials. Once you hire such a back office service provider, you can rest assured that your accounting is being done by the most qualified professionals. You hence need not worry about filing each document, miscalculated returns, profit and loss statements etc. These accounting experts also make sure that all your calculations are error-free and impeccable, giving you a clear picture of the state of your financials.

DEVOTE MORE TIME TO YOUR BUSINESS
You can hand over all the financial nitty-gritty of your business to the professional accounting firm and can concentrate on the main functions of your business. This gives you the opportunity to build your business and focus on the profit-making strategies.

EFFICIENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
All the documents related to the expenses and incomes of your business will be filed properly and at the time of occurrence. There will be a dedicated person looking after your financials, resulting in neat documentation, which you can access anytime during the year.

EASY TO USE ONLINE SYSTEM
Most of the bookkeeping and accounting service providers now use online systems, which allow you 24X7 access to your financial records. This also allows you to understand all calculation being made so that you are aware of the finances at all times. The online system is easy to operate and is a convenient way of keeping track of your accounts.

MOST OVERLOOKED TAX DEDUCTIONS BY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

2008-12-31T02:52:00.004-05:00

Tax time is a dangerous time. It's all too easy to miss a trick and overpay. There is nothing worse than preparing Income Taxes and finding that there were many deductions you could have taken advantage of to lower tax bill. Not keeping track of deductions can be very costly. It is essential to follow an organized bookkeeping and accounting for the entire year to avoid the last-minute rush during tax-filing. The IRS offers a multitude of ways to lower your tax bill. The key is to find which deductions and credits are available -- then taking advantage of them. Below are list of deductions which are generally missed out by business owners:

Personal Assets Converted to Business Use: If business owners have contributed personal assets, such as a computer, find the fair market value of these assets and claim it as a business deduction. This is subject to depreciation limitations, beginning with the date of conversion.

Business Startup and Organization Costs: Business owner may be eligible to deduct some of their business startup costs up and organizational costs. Again there are limitations on this deductions and needs to be checked by professional tax advisor.

Disability Access Costs: Incase improvements or remodeling has taken place for business facility to accommodate customers and employees, business becomes eligible for a deduction for these expenses.

Research and Experimental Costs: Costs of research and experimentation may be deductible if it is chosen not to list them as capital (long-term) expenses. There are many restrictions and qualifications relating to this deduction.

Carrying Charges: Carrying charges are fees and interest on property. Some carrying charges may be deductible if they are not capitalized.

Home Office: A home office must be a separate room in business owner’s home to do business and accounting. Part of a living room or bedroom will not count. A percentage of utility Bills, home owners insurance, property tax, mortgage interest, refinance fees, repairs and maintenance, cleaning supplies, office decor, etc. are deductible. Find out the percentage by dividing the square footage of the office by the square footage of the entire house.

Mileage or Vehicle: There are two ways to take a vehicle expense. One is to take the mileage basis use when picking up product, supplies, office supplies, meetings, handing out advertising or business cards, meals and entertaining clients, etc. The other way is to take the expense of using the vehicle: fuel, parts, mechanics, oil changes, etc. Along with taking expenses, one can also depreciate the vehicle.

Retirement Plan Costs: As owner of a small-business and having recently established a retirement plan for the business, the business may be eligible to receive a non-refundable tax credit for expenses incurred to implement the plan. The tax credit may be claimed for a maximum period of three years for retirement plans established after 2001.

Advertising & Promotion Cost: Business cards, newspaper ads, information packets handed out, free samples, flyers, product testing, videos and CD's all can be claimed under business expenses. Money paid to hire temporary help with promotional activities like delivering flyers, product, stuffing envelopes or for even cleaning office and car, etc. can also be claimed under business expenses.

Dues and Subscriptions: Dues to professional organizations and magazines that have to do with particular trade or business can be part of deductions.

Educational Expenses: Classes or seminars that improve business can be claimed under deductions.

Gifts: Gifts to clients and associates are deductible.

Laundry and Cleaning: This includes uniforms and Protective clothing and also owner’s clothing when they go out on touring for business purpose.

Travel expenses related to business: Hotels, airfare, cab-fare, parking, and cleaning while away from home, trip log is required to claim these deductions.

Communication expenses: Cell phone, long distance calls on home phone, extra phone lines into home for business, fax or Internet can be claimed as deductions.

Items such as paper clips, bank charges, credit card charges and home office expense seem small and unimportant at the time, but multiply those little things over a year or two and then multiply it times 35% and it can add up to quite a bit of money that should be in your pocket rather than in the federal fund.

Remember there are hundreds of deductions throughout the tax laws, and many can be quiet difficult to grasp. It is advisable to seek help from a qualified tax consultant with sufficient experience to determine which deductions apply specifically to your business.

HOW TO AVOID THE 7 DEADLY BOOKKEEPING SINS?

2008-10-22T08:14:00.006-04:00

If you are a business owner from a non-accounting background, you need to be aware of the 7 deadly sins you need to avoid while handling your bookkeeping and accounting task:

Do not try to do it all yourself or hire unqualified help:
Time equals money. If you try to do everything, you will obviously slip and forget important things. Especially with bookkeeping, if you are not qualified to handle this type of work, your struggling will be useless since it will not give you the results desired while preventing you from carrying more revenue generation activities. Similarly seeking unqualified help of spouse, family, friends, and neighbor can harm your business growth. It is much cheaper to get qualified online bookkeeping and accounting help if you do not have the budget to hire in-house bookkeeper or accountant.
Do not let your filing system slide into chaotic disarray:
Be advised that crumpled receipts in a shoe box do not constitute a filing system. A proper filing system should be broken out by receivables, payables, bank statements and tax records. Depending upon your business needs, you might also want to keep a set of file folders by job. At year-end closing, the year’s non-permanent files should be bound together and archived in a safe location. Keeping multiple years’ worth of receipts together in one file drawer leads to wasted time filing and retrieving records. In addition annual archiving helps tremendously in the event of an audit or even a lawsuit.
Do not use improper accounting structure:
One of the common problems non-accounting owners struggle with is finding the right expense category, cash flows, retained earnings, capital etc. Don’t let the technical terms bog you down. Seek help from an expert accountant or bookkeeper to set up the right kind of infrastructure for your business records which can be followed smoothly for a long time.
Do not be afraid to use time saving accounting software:
Another issue to tackle is having the right accounting software in place. The move towards a paperless existence will be beneficial in saving time and resources in the long run. Educate on the popular accounting software available and select the right one for your business. You can also search for a professional accounting service provider who can set up the software for you and help you optimize and customize it to your requirements.
Do not fail to have a proper back-up system in place:
Never ever forget to take back up of your accounting and bookkeeping systems. Systems do get attacked by virus, and sometimes crash. Have a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure you are equipped to deal with the worst case scenario.
Do not forget to have separate personal and business accounts:
Have separate accounts and credit card for business and personal expense. Never merge them. It can create unnecessary confusions and problems while filing tax and during an audit.
Do not forget to set up written bookkeeping policies and accounting procedures:
Last but not the least, take time to sit down and write rules and procedures for bookkeeping and accounting transactions which should then be systematically and consistently followed. Developing policies and procedures “on the fly” allows you to only correct problems after they have occurred, rather than anticipating potential issues in advance. Poor or incomplete procedures can result in real dollar losses to your company as well as exposing it to fraud risks. Remember, unwritten procedures are useless. To hold employees accountable and eliminate any confusion you must maintain written policies and procedures. Often small business owners are simply too busy to do this, so they let it slide without realizing there are accounting experts who can develop the policies and procedures for them.

WHAT’S THE SCARIEST THING FACING YOU THIS HALLOWEEN?

2008-10-21T01:53:00.009-04:00

This Halloween what is the scariest thing you are facing as small business owner?

Is it the economic crisis haunting your business, dogging your every step?
Are you scared of the suddenly tight fisted clients who are not buying?
Has your banker suddenly turned into a mean tight fisted goblin?
Is planning your budget giving you the creeps?
Do you feel like taking a knife and carving out the rot that has set into the economy and bring back the bullish time just as you would do with a pumpkin while designing the good old jack o’ lantern?

Yes, things have turned ugly and businesses are bleeding this Halloween. Businesses are closing down, people are losing jobs, and liquidity has frozen. But my dramatic musings apart, are you getting hysterical in your obsession with the bad times? Or are you planning to trick the ghouls and march ahead to win the battle?

While you bemoan every lost opportunity and focus on a door that has slammed shut, you might miss out on the tiny crack showing you the way out. As a small business owner, you stand a better chance of slaying this evil monster since you can be quicker, faster and are flexible to tide this bad time over. Get innovative, let those creative juices flow.

Which are the core pillars of your business?
It is bookkeeping, accounting, tax and finance?
Is it Technology?
Is it marketing?

Find how you can make these pillars stronger. Find how you can do all tasks associated with the above 3 domains faster without bearing additional costs or hiring new people. Fear is no excuse, being small is also no excuse. You need to stand up and get cranking.

Hire an online bookkeeping and accounting vendor to save 30-50% cost. A professional back office service provider will take care of all your multitude bookkeeping, accounting and tax work at unbelievable hourly rates of as low as 15$. Why would you not want to take benefit of such an opportunity?

If you don’t have a website, don’t you think it’s high time you got one? Did you know you lose out a major chunk of clients who are searching for services/products you offer online? People want to shop online, do you know why? It’s convenient, time saving and saves gas money. Give them that convenience. Hire a website solutions company who also provides option of search engine optimization within the package.

Take benefit of non-conventional, marketing practices like search engine marketing. You can run permission based email campaigns, write newsletters to connect to your clients, provide them opportunity to interact through your blogs. There are so many unexplored features of internet marketing and best of all its mostly free. You only need to devote regular time to do the grunge work. If you don’t have that time, there are SEO professionals ready to do such tedious tasks for you and at flexible affordable budgets to suit your pocket.

This Halloween don’t let the economy scare you. Slay those ghosts and monsters pulling your down and march ahead to a successful future!

Is the liquidity crunch shackling down your business?

2008-09-18T10:02:00.003-04:00

The burning question on every business owner’s mind will be the impact of the current economic recession on their business. ML, Lehman Bros., AIG… what darkness awaits in future?

Small businesses, for the most part, are on a strict budget and do not have a lot of expendable capital. Smart tactics one can adopt to wait out and survive the severe downturn cycle in the economy:

Rethink Existing Business Model: The business model followed during stable or growing economy might not bear the burden of the financial crunch. Check out how you can make the business model leaner. That means cutting out the extra flab and making the business compact and better able to survive the rough tide. A part time CFO/Controller can help you help you overhaul your business model

Never Alienate Customers: There is obvious liquidity crisis and budgets are on tight leash. This is actually not the right time to reduce marketing budget drastically. Sit down and plan the areas wherein you can control cost which will not have negative impact on existing customer or for finding new prospects. Your survival depends on steady stream of customers. Shifting from traditional marketing to outsourced internet marketing can probably help your save costs.
Focus More on Revenue Generation Tasks: Try 80:20 principal for your business. Spare 80% of your resources for core revenue generation and outsource bookkeeping, accounting, tax, repetitive SEO work, email marketing work, website tweaking and maintenance etc. Outsource back office support that does not require on hand presence. Time saved will equal to more time for revenue generation tasks.
Increase Business Cash Flow: Get your billing cycles tighter by timely collections. For this bookkeeping and accounting statements needs to be clear and in order. A professional bookkeeping and accounting vendor can help you get your billing cycles in place by sending statements well in advance and making collections procedure smooth.

Keep Positive Attitude: Economy runs in a cycle. So after this downturn, economy will stabilize and it will have start climbing up. The time gap is uncertain. Small business owners need to keep a positive attitude get disciplined and flexible to manage the downturn.

Entrepreneurs must understand markets in order to fashion business plans and strategies that can be effectively implemented as per the current environment. You will feel more empowered once your business survives and continues to grow beyond this phase.

8 STEPS TO EFFICIENT BOOKKEEPING:

2008-09-12T09:15:00.008-04:00

Business record management or bookkeeping might be of low priority compared to other revenue generation activities, however regular record management not only makes business reports more sensible, but can prove a real stress relief during tax submission. Here’s what you can do to make record management easy:

Maintain separate accounts for business and personal provisions. It is very essential to differentiate the two and it is not simple. Verify and find out legitimate business expenses and which cannot be put under business expenses.
Get receipts or invoices for all business expenses and keep them in a monthly file – at the end of the month attach these to your bank statement, and make sure none are missing. Use this information to enter into you record keeping system or to give to your expert book keeper.
Use a separate credit card for business related expenses. It will be easier for management of records.
Maintain proper order and filing system for all records. It will be waste of time to hunt and search of document before the tax preparation season. Get organized before the start of fiscal year and keep year wise records of all financial and business relevant transactions.
Keep proper documentary record of assets purchased which might include vehicles, equipment, real estate etc relevant for business.
Maintain clear employee compensation records.
Keep your tax records year wise and up to date. It is easiest to keep these broken down by month, and file them in plastic sleeves in a ring binder or in manila folders.
Keep a log of your business travel in your vehicle. Note the kilometer reading on the odometer at the beginning of the financial year and then enter the kilometers by date each time you use the vehicle for a business purpose.

All of the above activities are required to avoid mistakes and penalties when preparing accounts. Set aside few hours every week to maintain systematic records. Like a lot of the administrative business related to running a business, they just require establishing good habits and persistence. But if you apply these rules of good record management now and follow through, it will create a positive difference during tax season and your accounting will be easier all year long.

If you are still very pressed for time, outsource bookkeeping work for as low as 15 to 20$ hourly charges to get the required back office support to get your business organized. Established bookkeeping service providers offer these services online too and you can have access to your data 24x7 from anywhere. This could be easy to maintain and manage.

Do you know how much a BOOKKEEPER will COST you?

2008-08-25T03:28:00.016-04:00

While doing some research I came across payscale.com which allows you to make search of salary/compensation basis multiple categories. These are the findings on bookkeeper’s salary.

Role Wise:

Experience Wise:

Type of Company:

The above data are rough estimates basis the information filled during search. But it throws an overall idea of how much it would cost to employ someone to handle your bookkeeping and accounting. Sure was an eye opener. Such high expenses might be out of reach for a small sized firm, but bookkeeping & accounting is too crucial an area to be ignored without detrimental repercussions.

Here’s a smart alternative. Hire Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) provider. They can be a great cost-saving resource right from your basic bookkeeping, accounting to even financial reporting, tax preparation and audit. You can even hire them as your part time CFO services whenever required. It is important to scrutinize all options available and select the best plan for the success of your business.

Does your business need PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING HELP?

2008-08-18T06:32:00.007-04:00

Most small business start ups are focused on surviving the initial tough years. As an owner you neither have the time or energy to hire talented skilled employees nor the budget to accommodate them on regular basis. The result is you end up compromising. This means either doing the accounting work yourself whenever you get some time or taking help from somebody you know and trust, usually a relative or a neighbor who does your bookkeeping for you. Even if this person doesn’t have experience in bookkeeping (or very little) but as they are more skilled than you, you thank your lucky stars that you have at least some help for the time being.

Well this is fine as a stop gap arrangement, but have you ever thought that your business has outgrown such green horns handling your accounting work?

As your business expands, so will the complexities involved with a growing business. You need to realize when such a stop gap arrangement of hiring part time help to manage books just won’t work. This means your business is in dire need of professional accountants who can take your business to the next level. A bookkeeper is more focused on basic tasks, while other crucial financial objectives stay neglected.

In such a situation no one is managing cash, or monitoring profitability, or keeping tabs on how to build relationships with lenders and various business vendors. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are ignored which cause irreplaceable damage to business.

Be alert and recognize when you need professional help before it’s too late. If hiring a qualified CFO or controller is not within your budget, don’t worry, relief is available in the form of FAO services. FAO which stands for Financial and Accounting Outsourcing vendors are equipped with various levels of skilled personal to help you manage all your bookkeeping, accounting, financial reporting and tax preparation needs. You can now hire part time CFO or controller services when required at very affordable rates without any compromises on quality. Best part of partnering with a FAO vendor is that they don’t need you to train their staff, no set up costs are involved; there are no additional infrastructural requirements while you have a readymade team at your disposal anytime you need 24x7.

They will automate your processes along with providing much needed controls with the help of financial statements and budgets which are essential tools to help your business expand and prosper. Meanwhile your existing staff/help can be trained to other functional roles much suited to their capabilities while you can also focus all your attention to developmental activities required to grow your business.

Your accounting operations directly impact the profitability and growth of your company. If you don’t feel confident that existing help is poised to take your company to the next level, it’s time to call in a professional FAO services.

Is managing your Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable always a hasty job?

2008-08-06T07:48:00.007-04:00

Accounts receivable and accounts payable (AP/AR) is about business credit. Credit makes the business world go ‘round. The vast majority of businesses cannot get by as all-cash operation. If you give credit to your customers, you have to track your accounts receivable, managing and collecting the money owed to your business by your customers. Having accounts receivable means you need to track invoices and credit notes issued to your customers and deduct payments they make. You also need to make miscellaneous adjustments, such as interest charges on overdue accounts, charge back for not sufficient funds checks, and so forth.

Accounts payable, on the other hand, involves managing what your business owes to others. AP can mean all your short-term payment liabilities, including payroll and taxes, trade payables, normal business expenses such as raw materials, products for resale, and services.

Managing accounts involves a comprehensive spectrum of transaction processing and administration handling along with keeping tabs on too many papers like invoices, bills, documents etc. However change is possible with more and more control and coordination leading to a shift in resources responsibilities from mere clerical to more analytical level. Generally it’s a month end panic or tax season panic when small business owners suddenly go on spring cleaning session to tackle all the bills, invoices and miscellaneous business documents to make sense out of them. This will lead to chaos, increased risks and missed opportunities.

As a small business owner you are more focused on strategies to grow your business rather than spend time doing routine things like managing your accounts receivables and payables. But is a very important part of your business. You do need to pay your bills on time if you want to have good relationship with vendors and you do need to keep track of who all owe you money. What if you want to do all this without hiring bookkeeping or an accountant?

Outsourcing Accounting and outsourcing bookkeeping is a cost-effective option for small to mid-sized business owners.

Major benefits from outsourcing back office bookkeeping and accounting tasks:

Save enormous amount of time and costs
Analysis of reports generated by outsourcing partner of historical patterns of spending and receivables shows the trouble spots to avoid in future
Benefit from the significant increase in process efficiency, profitability and financial control

Hiring the right Finance Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) partner will ensure that your accounting systems and processes are smoothly managed to increase profitability. Timely reports will ensure well informed decisions are made to increase ROI. Outsourcing provides an opportunity towards successful conversion of transaction management, documents management, eliminating duplication leading to increased efficiency and productivity gaining an edge over competitors.

Quick Accounting Tips for Small Business Owners

2008-07-24T05:44:00.010-04:00

Those business owners who lack formal information in accounting might lack the required flare to maintain proper books and would consider bookkeeping least desired task to undertake. They would rather spend time developing their product line or growing their client base but accounting is the radar which will indicate where your business is heading.

Few tips that can help small business owners:

Accounting is more than just numbers: Accounting is not just numbers on how much money you made or spent. If understood carefully, accounting is an important tool to identify trends in sales and expenditures, it even highlights the problem areas and helps in making right decisions to boost profitability index. Changing the way you view and realizing the importance of accounting will make it more desirable activity to be undertaken regularly.
Regular and Meticulous records: Once you understand the importance of accounting services for business growth, you will be encouraged to maintain regular and meticulous records. No matter how weak or strong your understanding of accounting rules and principles might be, it is very essential to maintain meticulous and timely records. It can act as a life saver incase documented proof is required to solve disputes with regards to finances.
Understand the Basic Concept: Accounting is peppered with jargons and fancy terminology. Don’t get disheartened if you do not understand all of them. Spare some time to get accustomed to the basic concepts. Take professional help if required. But educate yourself to understand the basic concept to avoid costly mistakes.
Keep your personal and business accounts separate: It is a very bad idea to mix your personal account with business. Keep them totally separate. Even if you are the sole owner of the business and it is all your money, still it is a good idea to keep the personal and business transactions and records totally separate. This will help during filing tax returns and planning your budgets and forecasts. These all are including in tax services.
Maintain Consistency: It is important to maintain consistency on the accounting methodology followed. It will give totally wrong picture if accounting methodologies are changed frequently. Taking professional help is advisable at predetermined intervals to review your books and rule out possibilities of inconsistency and maintain accuracy.
Purchase Accounting Software: Try using small business friendly accounting software available in the market to save time and increase accuracy. Some of the popular softwares available are QuickBooks, Peachtree, Microsoft Office Accounting Professional etc. Enroll for seminars or research online to learn more on how to use such software to your business advantage.
Hire Professional Help in time: As your business grows, the financial issues become more complex and time consuming. Learn to recognize when you need help and hire professionals to take over such tasks so that you can concentrate on doing what you know best.

A business owner can never afford to turn a complete blind eye even if a trusted professional is hired to take over the accounting tasks. Always ask for regular updates, reports and understand the basics so that nobody can take you for a ride. It is after all your money and business. It is essential to train and develop instincts to spot trouble or frauds heads on before it’s too late.

OUTSOURCING YOUR BOOKS - The smarter way to save money

2008-06-27T07:38:00.011-04:00

The importance of maintaining proper books and accounts is not just to file proper taxes, but essential to check the financial pulse of your business. The survival of your business depends on efficient, timely, well ordered financial reports providing timely updates and alerts on problem areas of business. Correct diagnosis and subsequent remedies depends on identifying the problem and finding right solution at the right time.

Although Bookkeeping and Accounting is not as hard as Rocket Science that would require extremely qualified professionals, it does require necessary skills, analytical ability, and complete concentration to maintain accuracy to avoid serious and expensive problems. This might translate for most of us into being tedious, boring, and time consuming frustrating task. However, this bull needs to be taken by its horns. It’s a necessary evil, which is why services of bookkeeper/accountant/CPA are sought.

But is there a smarter way to tackle your books and accounts?

It may sound noise to some ears, but Outsourcing can really work for even the small businesses too. If it means significant cost savings, you can always argue that it is a default advantage and well touted by all vendors. But there are few other not so obvious benefits too.

It is no secret that large companies have been sub-contracting or outsourcing their non-core functions to expert vendors to take advantage of economies of scale. This option was not readily available to small firms earlier. But economic slump is inducing more and more companies to look at this option. And if you have a local Outsourcing vendor who can provide an on demand one-to-one support, most of your fears regarding Outsourcing can be put to rest.

The obvious advantages of outsourcing accounting, bookkeeping and tax services are::..
· Pay only for reasonable time taken to render services. Rates are generally charged on hourly

basis
· Saves up to 40-50% of operational costs as this does not require infrastructure or related support
· Quick turnaround of work
· 24x7 online access to your books and records
· Flexible and fully scalable modules
· Move towards a paperless office
· Reduces burden of staff and who can then be channelized to other productive activities
· Last but not the least, more time to strategize and concentrate on core functions

The not so obvious benefits of outsourcing are::..
· Access to ‘on demand’ qualified talent
· Access to service and client oriented vendors, since their existence depends on satisfying you.
· Flexibility towards changes and improvements demanded by your growing business which might be difficult to implement with in-house staff who are prone to resisting changes.
· No headache of retaining staff or training newbies. Time saved equals to money saved at the end of the day
· No requirements of any additional capital investment so there is reduction in total investment risk. More opportunities to invest in income generating areas.
· Outsource additional burden during busy time without adding costs of hiring new people.
· Save on add on costs like sick leave, benefits, bonus, promotions, training, house allowances etc without compromising on quality while getting work done faster.

However before jumping the band wagon and enjoying all the fruits from outsourcing, some essential points for consideration:
· Research the vendor thoroughly. Check credentials from other clients, networking and referral sources
· Partner with vendors having ethics and integrity instead of just being cost-oriented
· Vendor must be conversant with bookkeeping and accounting standards of your country
· Check the security and confidentiality policy of the vendor
· Check the quality standards and non-performance penalty clause of vendor
· Check how and where the disputes arising will be resolved
· Check whether your liability insurance covers outsourcing

The decision ultimately depends on business owner’s choice.

Do what is more appropriate for your company and reap long term benefits. The ultimate benefit of outsourcing if done right, leads to significant improvements in efficiency, cost savings and growth in the core functions of the business.