Accounting Business News

Accounting Outsourcing Services Can Help In Resource Optimization

cpa — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:31:01 +0000

Imagine spending hours each day in checking and cross checking each and every transaction that has taken place during the day or possibly even during the month. Sounds like a really tiresome process? But this is what regular accounting for a business consists of and as any business owner will tell you, it is one of the most crucial factors in running a successful business. A day to day knowledge about the financial standing of the business becomes essential to plan and strategize future growth while minimizing current losses and enhancing profits. Under such circumstances opting for accounting outsourcing services might be a good idea.

Any organization whether big or small should be able to pinpoint its exact standing in the market on the basis of its financial reports and regular accounting work. It can consist of a huge amount
of resources being spent on this crucial function. However accounting outsourcing services provided by a number of competent vendors could help you minimize the amount you spend on this division while maximizing the benefits that you derive from this service. This would also ensure that you have accurate financial data at your disposal as and when required while saving on the resources that were earlier employed for maintaining this data.

The firm offering accounting outsourcing services would be having years of experience and the expertise required to handle the sensitive data of each individual business. Customized data processing can be undertaken by vendors offering accounting outsourcing services to suit the different needs of a business which will usually vary from industry to industry. The competent employees hired to carry out the accounting outsourcing services would be well trained to handle any kind of software that may be used for maintaining your financial
data. The daily record of transactions whether it is an expense, revenue, profit or loss would therefore be competently collected, processed and compiled into a report format and various accounting details such as a balance sheet, a trial balance, journals and so on.

The sensitive nature of work handled by a firm offering accounting outsourcing services makes it mandatory for any organization to confirm the track record of the vendor. A reference from a firm in the same industry who has employed the services of the vendor could be the deciding factor for you to select the vendor for handling all your accounting outsourcing services. As the responsibility of providing error-free accounts rests solely with the vendor, you can rest assured that the accounting outsourcing services provided by the vendor will be flawless. The regular maintaining of daily accounts of a business by qualified professionals ensures that the records are in impeccable condition during any auditing
that might take place at a short notice. Regular maintenance of accounts by the firm providing accounting outsourcing services ensures a chaos free handling of financial reports during the process of tax filing.

Hence it makes good business sense for a corporate house to appoint a vendor offering accounting outsourcing services, thereby reducing the burden on the in-house resources and obtaining professionally compiled accurate financial data.

Preparation of Profit and Loss Account

payroll — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:31:01 +0000

Explanation of Certain items of Profit and Loss Account

1. Salaries

Salaries are paid for the services of employees and are debited to profit and loss ac- count being indirect expense. If any salary has been paid to proprietor or partners, it should be shown separately because it requires special treatment at the time of income tax assessment.

2. Salaries and Wages />
When wages account is included with salaries it treated is as indirect expense and is taken into profit and loss account.

3. Rent

Rent of the office shop showroom or godown is an indirect expense and so is debited to profit & loss account. However, rent of factory is debited to trading account. When a part of the building has been sublet the rent received should be shown on the credit side of profit and loss account as a separate item.

4. Rates and Taxes

These are levied by the local authorities to meet public
expenditure. It being an indirect expenditure is shown on the debit side of profit and loss account.

5. Interest

Interest on loan, overdraft or overdue debts is payable by the firm. It is an indirect expense; so debited to profit and loss account. Interest on loan advanced by the firm on depositor investments is an income of the firm and so is credited to the profit and loss account.

If business has paid any interest on capital to its proprietor or partners it should also be debited in the profit and loss account but separately because this item needs special treatment at the time of income-tax assessment.

6. Commission

In business sometimes agents are appointed to effect sales, who are paid commission as their remuneration. So this being a selling expenses is shown on the debit side of profit and loss account. Sometimes commission is also paid on purchases of goods, such ‘as expense should be debited in the trading account.
Sometimes the firm can also act as an agent to the other business houses and in such cases it receives commission from them. Commission so received is shown on the credit side of profit and loss account.

7. Trade Expenses

They are also termed as ‘sundry expenses’. Trade expenses represent expenses of such a nature for which it is not worthwhile to open separate accounts. Trade expenses are not taken to trading account.

8. Repairs

Repairs to the plant, machinery, building are indirect expenses are treated expense and are debited to profit and loss account..

9. Traveling Expenses

Unless mentioned otherwise, traveling expenses are treated as indirect expenses and are debited to profit and loss account.

10. Horse & stable Expenses

Expenses incurred for the fodder of horses and wages paid for looking after stable are treated as indirect expenses and debited to profit and loss account.

11. Apprentice Premium

This is the amount charged from persons to whom training is imparted by the business. It is an income and is credited to profit and loss account. In case apprentice premium is charged in advance for two or three years, then the amount is distributed over number of years and each year’s profit and loss account is credited with its share of income.

12. Bad debts

It is the amount which could not be recovered by the trader on account of credit sales. It is a business loss, so is debited in the profit and loss account.

13. Life Insurance Premium

If the premium is paid on the life policy of the proprietor of the business; it is treated as his drawings and is shown by way of deduction from the capital account. It should not be taken to profit and loss account.

14. Insurance Premium

If insurance premium account appears in the trial balance, it stands for the insurance of the business. This
is taken to profit and loss account. Insurance premium on goods purchased, factory building, factory machines are treated as direct expense and are taken to trading account.

15. Income Tax

In the case of merchant income-tax paid is treated as a personal expense and is shown by way of deduction from capital account. Income-tax in case of companies is treated differently.

16. Discount allowed and Received

Discount is a reward for prompt payment. It is belief to show discount received and discount allowed separately on the credit and debit side of profit and loss account respectively instead of showing the net balance of this account.

17. Depreciation

Depreciation is a loss incurred on account of use of fixed assets in the business. Generally, it is charged from profit and loss account at a fixed percentage. The students should exercise great care as regards the rate of depreciation. If rate is without words ‘per annum’,
then the rate will be taken irrespective of the period of accounts. This is very important when the period of accounts is less than one year. On the other hand, if the rate of depreciation is ‘per annum’ the depreciation should be calculated on the assets with due consideration to the period for which the asset has been used in business during the year. In case of additions to assets during the year, it is advisable to ignore depreciation on additions if the date of additions is not given. Same rule shall hold good for the sale of assets during the year.

18. Stock at the end appearing in the trial balance.

It is important to emphasize the rule that balance appearing in the trial balance is taken to one and only one place. It may either be trading account or profit and loss account or balance sheet. Since stock at the end is an asset, it will betaken to balance sheet. On the other hand, so long as there is stock in trade, account for that must be kept open and
thus be taken to the assets side of balance sheet.

Buying Loan Servicing Software

payroll — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:01:02 +0000

Loan businesses might not always seem fair – but they help to give us money that we need just at the correct time. In order to run their business they use a type of software that assists them to keep track of every customer that they have, how much is owed, and how much they have paid off.

When buying this software there are a number of things that you have to consider. The first is the features that you would like to have. There are numerous contrasting kinds of programs that vary in price and vary in what they should bring to your business. You should sit down and think about what your current software is missing and how it can be made better.

Now you will be ready to research the more average brands that you want to buy and look at the features that they may bring. For example a couple might be able to automatically update the amount owed while others demand you
place it in manually. Find out which ones will help your business to run more efficiently and which ones are thought to be a waste of time.

Once you have chosen the ones that look the best it is time to narrow each one through elimination. I find that the safest thing you could do is to test each program before you purchase it. Many companies will offer a free demo version that you will be able to download from their site.

Download the loan servicing software and use it for a few days. Find out how easy it is to utilize and if the features that you believed you necessary are genuinely worth it. This could save you hundreds of dollars and assist you to pick the perfect brand for your company.

How to Hire a Winner

accounting software — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:00:04 +0000

The people you hire are the ‘make or break’ for most companies and yet most business owners spend little or no time with this. The cost of a miss-hire is 23 x the hire’s annual salary. So for example, say you wanted a new admin to work 15 hours a week at $12 per hour; that’s $8,640 per year resulting in a cost of $198,720 if you miss-hire – a cost you need to avoid. 3 out of 4 people are miss-hires! And miss-hires affect businesses like yours the most because you’re generally hiring just 1 or 2 total and cannot afford to be off target with this; there’s no room for error!

So how do you avoid this? By avoiding these two frequent hiring mistakes:

Hiring people like you Hiring people you like Why? Because these are your biggest blind spots. Let’s talk first about why you shouldn’t hire people like yourself? Because they are probably very entrepreneurial like you and chances are they will work for you, learn from you, and then leave you to do what you
do only better then you! Congratulations, you have just trained your competition.

Secondly, never hire people you like instantly because if you hire people you like they won’t get as much done. People who are smooth talkers don’t get as much done (why do you think I am after you to hire some help?). Smooth talkers seem to be doing a lot but the results aren’t there.

Focus only on one type of possibility when hiring – the “star”. 10% of all applicants hold the possibility of being a “star”. What are the qualities of a star? The most important quality is that they be a ‘DRIVER’. Being a driver is not: someone who waits for you to hand out assignments, someone who constantly shifts responsibility, or someone who confuses activity with results (very common).

A driver is: someone who has a sense of personal responsibility for themselves and delivers results, someone who is pro-active and asks, “is there something else I can do?” and someone who is
persistent and determined; they don’t stop.

When hiring, take a good look at their career history looking for patterns of responsibility.

After you have taken a leap of faith – watch and see if they are producing results; you know – getting their job done. Below is a suggestion for keeping an eye on results.

Request a daily report containing 3 things:

What have you worked on today and what were your results? What were the challenges, problems you ran into? What questions do you have for me? Then, sit down and answer their questions once.

What will happen over the next 30 days is this – you’re going to find out if they are a driver! You’re going to find out so much about them over the next 30-days that you will quickly know if you have hired the right person or not. And, if not – fire them quickly.

HIRE SLOWLY – FIRE QUICKLY!

Finally, beware of any employee who establishes job security by creating “black
boxes” where they are the only one who knows how to operate from within. Each hire should be responsible for creating or tweaking a “systems” manual (a document containing the EXACT process required for their job including checklists and forms) for their specific job. This prevents unnecessary voids in the company including being at a loss if the hire leaves!

Good luck with delegation; it really truly WILL DOUBLE YOUR INCOME.

Financial Services Professionals: The Business of Busy-ness, is it Destroying Your Sales?

accounting software — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:40:02 +0000

Did you know that the word “business” actually comes from the word “busy”?Financial services sales offers us several ways of keeping busy. In fact, three types of activities fill everyone’s days – those which are income GENERATING … income CONSERVING … and income CONSUMING.
The challenge is staying focused on the right activities and in the financial services industry you are probably responsible for ALL three.!
Income generating activities are the lifeblood of your business. They are where ALL the money comes from. Your sales are the result of this step well done.
In this category you will find all sorts of
activities – prospecting … customer acquisition … marketing … research and development and that’s just a glimpse.
Income Conserving activities protect your hard earned money. Here is where you preserve your sales.
In this category you’ll find activities relating to being efficient, as well as anything that impacts good will and customer loyalty.
Income Consuming activities are a normal part of every business.
While many income consuming activities are necessary … unavoidable …important… perhaps mission-critical, most are simply a blatant waste of time and resources and eat away at your hard-earned profits.
Income consuming can be tough to evaluate , because on the surface they seem to be income generating or conserving. Whether it’s being dragged to and through another pointless meeting or policies and
procedures that do nothing but complicate the simplest of tasks … or (fill in the blank with whatever drive you CRAZY), the average day is filled with things that are of little or no value to your business.
Nevertheless, activities that ARE of PARAMOUNT importance to your business can STILL be incoming consuming.
For example: let’s say a prospect wants your service and your friend refers them to you. You make an appointment, give them a presentation and they hire you. You then go back to the office to finish up paperwork and begin being of service.
While anyone in sales would probably argue the point, when they do the needs analysis and the paperwork, that is NOT income generating … it’s income CONSUMING. That does not mean it wasn’t important – it was CRITICAL in fact! But the income was actually generated by the salespersons marketing efforts. Everything that occurred AFTER
the presentation became an expense in order to fulfill the agreement.
The salesperson can certainly help CONSERVE income by being professional and frugal with time. He even has the potential for GENERATING additional income by suggesting another product to the client – or by making such a positive impression that the client would eagerly recommend him to others – but the pure activity of providing the service is income CONSUMING.
If you would like to keep your busy-ness as profitable as possible, here are three ways to do it:First, detach yourself emotionally from the assessment process so you can be objective and clear.
Second, examine your business and decide what percentage of time should be focussed on each category.
Third, decide what would be the ideal activity ratio at each level – and 100% income generating isn’t a realistic expectation.!
Finally, instill in
your team or yourself if you are the team, a fundamental respect for income – its generation, conservation and consumption. Every moment of every day should be governed by a simple question: “How is doing this going to affect my income?” The answer will dictate it’s priority.
Priority #1 – EVERY team member should take full advantage of every opportunity to perform something income generating.
Priority #2 – When not busy generating income, team members should seek out ways to conserve what has been gained.
Priority #3 – If an activity neither generates nor conserves income, it must be carefully evaluated for its income gobbling potential. If the activity is necessary, team members should strive to be asefficient as possible. If it is simply a waste of resources, it should be avoided altogether.
Now, get out there and Do something with this information to increase your efficiency and sales – you’d hate for the time you’ve spent reading this to be income CONSUMING
because you did nothing useful with it!

Getting Started Advertising Locally Online

accounting — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:26:49 +0000

It is known to all, being in business, whether you are operating a sole proprietorship, corporate, partnership or cooperatives type of business, your goal is to sell products and services that make your company big profits. We all know that the consumers are out there and they are buying the products and services that are being promoted by manufacturers. And this is where advertising arrives in the picture. />
The essence of Internet marketing and advertising are mainly to persuade and make people aware of your products and services. It helps to promote your products and services. Advertising is about persuading customers to become loyal to you and your products. Its about getting them to pick you over your competition. Its about proving that you provide exactly what your customers are looking for and at the best price.

Advertising online can be extremely advantageous and affordable. You can reach all walks of life through this affordable modern
technology. Advertising online is simply affordable and many potential customers are online everyday. Many potential customers are looking for specific product/services and are comparing prices.

Another cool thing about internet marketing is the ability to reach customers 24/7 days a week, round the clock. Reaching your local community is vital since they will become your lifelong customers. They are your instrument to drive and enable your business to succeed today and years to come.You will be amazed by how many customers you can reach with an local online advertising campaign.

Simply having a web based presence broadens your reach to thousands of additional clients. Plus, by using things like social marketing through face book and other social connection tools, you’ll see even better results.

In summary, advertising online
connects you with your customers and shows them that you provide not only reliable services, but that you are also current and with the times. Lets face it, the old ways of promoting business, like newspaper, and mailers just don’t work they way that they used to. The old ways of advertising were expensive and really didn’t put you in front of buyers anyway. Local advertising on the internet puts you right where people are looking for you.

Growing your business is important, and you now it. So of course you want to start Advertising locally online since its a great, effective way to increase your potential clients compared to traditional marketing of the past.

A Couple of Wrong Moves in Business Advertising

my account — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:26:39 +0000

If you are new to business you will soon find out that advertising is not so easy. there are a lot of things to consider when coming up with new ideas. You have information that you want the public to have, first of all. If your first wave of marketing has fallen flat or does not satisfy you, don’t fret. You will soon have it all figured out.

Now this is the point at which most companies start evaluating their advertising medium and begin to switch things up from bulk mailings and promotional signage to promotional coffee mugs and on and on. Very often new business owners will begin to doubt the medium that they are using to convey the message and not the actual message itself.

Basically, the thing to remember is that there is no wrong medium to use to advertise your business on; it is usually the message that is faulty when your means of advertising is failing you. So, if you have begun a promotional campaign and are not receiving the anticipated response then it is probably time to head back to the drawing board and look at the angle you are using to promote your products or services. Check it off with these criteria to help you find where you are missing the boat.

When you think about it this way you should be able to fugue out where your ad plan is going wrong. Generally you can use promotional products and mail flyers and get some decent feedback if you have the right info. Don’t try to stuff too many different things onto or into your ad. Sometimes all you need is your name or logo so that people have a chance to become familiar with it.

Frontlit Signage

accountant — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:26:29 +0000

Advertising is one of the most important factors when you are running a business. It is important because if no one knows about your product, obviously no one is going to buy it either. Also, products that are well known need constant reinforcement so that people understand as to why it is a good product and the best one among all such similar products in the market.
This is why advertisements play a huge part in our lives. We see thousands of advertisement every day, many without even registering them in our mind. The advertisements we see and like are the ones we usually follow up on, and then end up buying the specific product.
One of the best means of advertisements is signs on roads like billboards, or signs in other places out in the open. This is great because people will see the sign whether they are driving, jogging, walking, or just passing by. If they can clearly see the sign, they will register it in their minds and might buy the product if they need
it.
Frontlit signage are signs that have lights on the front that throw the light back at them like a trough light instead of having light behind them, or no lights at all, This system is much more useful than old fashioned no light signs which could not be seen at night.
Since a lot of people are now out in the streets after dark, it is important to have signs that are visible at night. Frontlit signage makes sure that your signs are visible by lighting them up brightly thus making them look as clear as possible during the night time as well.
Frontlit signs are also an alternative to back lit signs. In a back lit sign, the sign is being lit from behind the advertisement. This is done through a thin material on which the advertisement is printed. When the light is added to the back of the material, it allows the writing on it to become very apparent and clear. However, these are
expensive since the material used for printing is different and thus costs more.
However, frontlit signs can be printed on any material may it be cheap or expensive, and then the added lights in the front light it up. This means that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on marketing, but can still get the benefit of backlit signs as frontlit signs also provide advertisement at night.
Frontlit signs are present in various forms like banners, signboards, billboards, and even flags. Along with the lighting and printing, some companies also offer other services like choosing the right fabric, cutting, and printing of the advertisement through digital printing or solvent printing.
The best way to lit evenly a frontlit sign is by using a trough light. This offers a sleek look with great lighting since trough lighting systems use polished mirror-finish reflectors. They also come with a multi-positional fixing bracket, and the profile of the sign can be supplied in any
length and the powder coat can be painted in any colour.

Bookkeeping Software Can Simplify The Bookkeeping Process

accounting software — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:26:18 +0000

The advent of efficient bookkeeping software has revolutionized the way Bookkeeping Services is performed in organizations. With large volumes of accounts receivables, account payables, billing and Payroll Services to handle, organizations found it difficult to manage the different segments of bookkeeping. Competent bookkeeping software has enabled companies to work better and save on time and effort. />
There is a wide range of bookkeeping software that bookkeepers can use today. The following is a list of the different bookkeeping software available and the benefits that each offer:

QuickBooks

Quickbooks Bookkeeping Software is one of the easiest to use financial software. It has an easy to use interface,
simple navigation toolbars and a user-friendly graphic menu. The Quickbooks software is divided into various sections, such as the help section, customer section and vendor section. There is a help button on every option and users can go through FAQs in the quick help menu. The Quickbooks software gives users flexibility on a variety of tasks related to accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, inventory and banking. Other features include a general ledger and job costing tools.

Quicken

The advanced features of Quicken make it the software favorite software among accountants. In the latest version of Quicken enables users to see more of workspaces and reports at the same time. Financial data can also be viewed more easily. The tabs in Quicken enable users to easily access different functions at the same time. Summarized versions of critical information can be seen
on the home page and activity center. With features such as, financial overview, cash flow center, investment centers, Quicken Billminder Gadget and Quicken account bar, Quicken is a good choice.

Peachtree

The latest version of Peachtree is packed with advanced options to enable bookkeepers to maintain accurate records efficiently. It has an easy-to-use interface, an informative business status page, input screens for (billing, payroll & invoicing), advanced reporting tools and high-end options. Bookkeepers can synchronize contact information with ACT and set up this software without any difficulty. All these advantages make the Peachtree accounting software a favorite among bookkeepers.

NetSuite

The NetSuite Accounting Software is a single, integrated suite that has advanced accounting, ERP, CRM and e-commerce abilities. With the NetSuite accounting software, bookkeepers can competently mange accounts receivables, accounts payables,
general ledgers, billing and payroll amongst others. NetSuite has efficient tools for sales force automation, support management, marketing automation, global CRM, productivity management, e-commerce, partner relationship management, financial management and employee resource. With its flexibility, real-time decision making and seamless integration bookkeepers find this an easy-to-use software.

Business Works

The business works accounting software is simple yet powerful accounting software. It is flexible, easy-to-use and has integrated modules. With business works, bookkeepers can provide extensive reports and even share data with other users. Business works enables bookkeepers to manage the entire operation flawlessly.

Advantages of using bookkeeping software

oSaves time and effort

oSaves on manpower

oEnables bookkeepers to work more efficiently

oDifferent segments of bookkeeping can be handled with
ease

oData can be shared easily

oErrors can be minimized

Use bookkeeping software and watch your bookkeepers work more efficiently.

Sidewalk Signs – How Can They Help Your Small Business

accounting — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:25:39 +0000

A sidewalk sign is probably the easiest, and least expensive way to advertise any deals your business may be having. A sidewalk sign actually does several things in one. The first thing it does it bring awareness to your business. Most people passing by probably have no clue that your business is there. By placing a sign in front of your business you will now be capturing their attention as they pass by.

Your sign not only builds business awareness but it also shows people where to go. It acts as sort of a guide. This is very important because people don’t like to search for anything. They want to be able to go straight to it. So if your business is off in the cut or surrounded by several other businesses, having a sign is a great way to help you stand out. It points your potential customers in your direction.

Even if you use radio and newspaper, a
sidewalk sign is still important. You use it as a way to repeat any message you playing on the radio. When your message is constantly being heard and read, it will start to become embedded in peoples brain. For instance, Subways five dollar foot long is always playing in my eat. When I am thinking of what I want to eat, that song comes into my mind. Thats how you want your message to be. You want people to think of your business when they are in need of your products or services.