Monday, 23 September 2013
Steps in Employing Accounting Firms
Accounting firms are made up of professionals who help out with a person's or a business' accounting needs. The help they provide can come in the form of bookkeeping, financial advice and tax preparation, just to mention a few. Choosing such firm is a process that's highly individual since everybody has varying needs.
Accounting firms can certainly help you take care of finances and offer you useful advice you can use in order for you to be in a solid financial state, especially if you happen to own and run your own business. However, don't just go for the first firm you see. Before you go for any of these firms, you should first do the following:
1. Know what you specifically need.
2. Get recommendations from trusted sources.
3. Have a personal talk with these accounting firms.
After you've obtained the recommendations, talk with the firms which interest you. Explain what it is you're looking for and then ask your questions. Observe their answers and be sure you're comfortable with them. You should feel free in asking them about their credentials as well as their experience. You should expect them to readily provide you with these once you've asked.
4. Determine the cost.
When it comes to accounting firms, what's cheap doesn't necessarily mean good. On the flip side, you wouldn't want to get overcharged. Do a bit of comparison to ensure that what you'll be paying will be reasonable.
5. Consider what you feel.
This may sound odd but in working with anybody, especially if they're going to be working with your finances, you'd want to feel both comfortable as well as secure. In case you're comfortable with one, then move on to the next firm.
6. Obtain a timeline.
Be sure you're talking with your prospective accounting firms about the time you'll need to get things done. If you happen to be on quite a tight deadline regarding your taxes, be sure that they could beat that deadline. You must be sure that the firm you go for could provide you with the time you need.
As the accounting firms' relationships with their clients often need something that's ongoing, it's vital that you choose one that you can easily access. However, because of the recent advancements in communication, including remote access as well as desktop sharing, such firm could more easily trade information with you without the need for any physical interaction at times.
Be sure to get the best services from accounting firms. Visit http://ctssac.com/firmprofile.php today for help in contacting accounting firms in Sacramento.
Sunday, 22 September 2013
How to Lower Your Credit Card Processing Costs - Guaranteed!
Accepting credit cards from your customers has become critical to the success of your business, and that's true whether your business is based on face to face transactions or online payments. That's because most of your customers insist on paying for their purchases with a debit or credit card. Without credit card processing your business is at a competitive disadvantage.
However, the fees associated with processing card transactions are getting higher every year. Retail businesses have seen their credit card rates increase, taking a big bite out of their profits. And that's just the rate increases. Those figures don't include batch fees, statement fees, inquiry fees, PCI fees and other ancillary fees.
As a percentage it may not seem like much, but when you add up all the fees, your total bottom line transaction costs can be quite high. When multiplied over thousands of transactions per year this can add up to a huge drain on your company's profits.
Another common problem business owners face with a merchant account is trying to make sense of the monthly activity statement when it arrives. Many have grown so frustrated with this that they no longer even try, they just toss it in a drawer and forget about it.
Single Rate Credit Card Processing Is a Better Way
A single rate merchant account option focuses on the effective rate that you pay rather than just offering you a low transaction rate and then hitting you with a slew of processing fees that increase your costs. There is no substitute for simplicity, and the one rate solution is as simple as it gets. Here's a quick summary of the benefits of this one rate alternative:
· One Flat Rate per Transaction
· USA Based Customer Service
· You Know the True Cost of Every Sale
· Simple One Rate Statement You Can Actually Understand
· No Complicated and Costly Add-on Fees
Most merchants that accept credit cards are overpaying for their merchant services without even realizing it. That's because the true cost of processing their credit card payments is buried in hidden fees, complicated monthly statements, and nearly indecipherable tiered pricing.
This unique solution was designed for businesses that appreciate the simplicity and savings afforded by a single rate card processing concept. This alternative to conventional credit card processing will save the business owner money, and that's something you can take to the bank.
Very few credit card processors offer the one rate solution because it reduces their own profits.
Regardless of your business or industry, STRATEGIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS® has the expertise and product solutions to meet your payment processing needs. Whether you'd like a comprehensive cost analysis on your current merchant account or online payment provider, or a free consultation on a new product or service that could improve your bottom line, STRATEGIC PAYMENT SYSTEMS ® has a solution. And they are one of very few that have adopted the One Rate Solution.
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Essential Accounting for Entrepreneurs
An understanding of accounting is essential for entrepreneurs to make their business ventures successful for many reasons. The first reason is to enable the entrepreneur to make predictions about the company's future. This will increase the chance of success and also attract people to work towards a shared vision of where the business is headed.
The second reason is to make more efficient commitments of time, energy, and money. By maximizing the effectiveness of commitments companies can attract more customers, increase their capacity to serve present and future demand while investing in assets that increase productivity and lowering operating costs. The third reason accounting is essential for business is because it measures and assesses progress. Having an accurate measure of progress enables an entrepreneur to increase productivity, reward profitable behaviors, identify trends in revenues and expenses, and change directions when necessary. An entrepreneur's accounting knowledge should include an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), journals and ledgers, the accounting cycle steps, bank reconciliations, and financial statements.
GAAP maintain definitive rules that provide guidelines and procedures for preparing financial statements, as well as providing objective standards for judging and comparing financial data. It is necessary to have a working knowledge of GAAP to be able to prepare and interpret a company's financial statements. In accounting, a journal is a business diary that records the daily business transactions using the double-entry system of bookkeeping. The double-entry method records the debit and credit changes in individual ledge accounts caused by each transaction. Journal entries will also be entered into the company's ledger, which stores all the accounting information and summarizes the financial transactions.
The accounting cycle is used to process financial transactions and consists of six steps. Identifying and analyzing the transaction as they occur is the first step. The second step is to record the transaction in the appropriate journal. Step three occurs when information from the journal is transferred to the general ledger where debits and credits are posted. The fourth step consists of calculating and adjusting, as necessary, the trial balance to ensure that the sum of the debits is equal to the sum of the credits. Preparing the financial statements is the fifth step. The final step is to close the temporary accounts to owner's equity.
Bank reconciliations analyze and bring into agreement the account balance reported by the bank on the bank statement with the account balance shown in a company's ledger. The balances may differ due to timing differences or errors. Timing differences may include deposits in transit that have not posted to the bank's balance, outstanding checks that have not been presented to the bank, bank service charges that have not been entered into the general ledger, and not sufficient funds (NSF) checks that would require an adjustment be made to the ledger. Bank reconciliations can identify bank or business errors when the bank and book balances do not reconcile. To identify errors and ensure books are being kept in order reconciliations should be done on a regular basis when the bank statement becomes available.
Financial statements will provide entrepreneurs with the most comprehensive information to understand a company's past, current, and projected future profits and productivity. Four basic types of financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of retained earnings, and statement of cash flows. The balance sheet, also known as the statement of financial position, reports the company's assets, liabilities, and owner's equity at a given point in time. From the information on the balance sheet the quick ratio, the current ratio, the debt-to-equity ratio, and working capital can be determined. The quick ratio, also known as the acid test, measures the company's ability to pay off current liabilities with their current assets, and does not include inventory. The current ratio is the same as the quick ratio, but includes inventory. The debt-to-equity ratio, also known as leverage, is a measurement of how the company finances its assets. Working capital shows the available cash for day-to-day operations. Balance sheets are used to determine the company's financial risk and to aid entrepreneurs with decision-making.
The income statement, also known as the profit and loss statement, reports the company's income, expenses, and profits over a period of time. There is a large amount of information that can be derived from the income statement, including the gross profit margin, operating income, operating profit margin, net profit margin, return on assets (ROA), and return on equity (ROE). Income statements show how profitable the company is and demonstrates productivity. The statement of retained earnings, also referred to as the statement of owner's equity, reports and explains changes in retained earnings over a period of time. The statement of cash flows reports the inflow, outflow, and movement of cash in the company over a period of time and consists of three parts, which are the cash from operations, cash from investing, and cash from financing. This statement of cash flows combines information from the balance sheet and the income statement to demonstrate how money is being generated and used throughout the company.
Having a good understanding of accounting enables entrepreneurs to increase the probability their business will be successful. The information that accounting provides allows entrepreneurs to make predictions about the future of the company, to make more efficient commitments, and to accurately measure the company's progress and productivity. Given the higher likelihood of success for entrepreneurs knowledgeable in accounting, and the wealth of information accounting can provide, everyone who is interested in opening their own business should make an effort to acquire accounting skills.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Create Professional Invoices Using Free Invoice Templates
Businesses need to have professionally designed invoice for creating the best impression on their clients. The invoice is the last component of your sales deal that should get registered in the mind of the customer. Isn't it nice to close the deals using an impressive, proficiently-designed invoice?
A skillfully designed invoice is vital in establishing the credibility of your business, prompting the customer to settle your dues quickly and to ask for your services again, thus helping your business grow. When doubting the authority of the invoice, the customer could take longer to settle your payment and that can seriously affect your profit. You don't need to get overwhelmed by this job of invoicing, as you can easily access a template that will suit your kind of business or industry. Locating the correct template helps saving a lot of time and money.
First of all, you should be able to recognize the essentials of a good template. Certain features are common to most invoices. For instance, it has to have the name of the company and its address, as well as the contact information of the customer. It necessarily describes the kind of services offered and the price agreed for providing them. Usually, companies include their logo in the invoice and, depending on the nature of business, they may mention the payment terms and the breakdown of goods or services offered.
Having formed an idea of what you require, it becomes easier to limit your options. Usually, software packages provide templates, but these can be rather expensive, especially for small businesses. You can also buy individual templates online. The Internet offers a good number of helpful tools for conducting your business. You can also get invoice templates free of charge.
You can easily create an invoice containing all the essential features by making use of the invoice templates offered without charge on the Internet. You can get various types of invoices. You may have an invoice for providing any specific service or goods or just labor. You also can find templates for pro-forma invoices. You will discover free templates in a large range of formats, and some of them may already be there in your computer, such as Microsoft Word, HTML, Microsoft Excel and PDF etc. Many free templates come with time-saving features, such as standard logos, along with other options you may like including in your individual logo - automatic insertion of date of invoicing, built-in calculation system and drop down menus - allowing you to choose various items to modify conveniently the template for your needs.
Having finally designed the invoice template, you'll have to print it. Here, again, you have some options. For one, you may simply customize your invoice template and print the invoice within your office, and submit them to your customer. You may even electronically transmit your invoice, using the email. At times, you may need to provide blank invoices to your servicing staff, enabling them to prepare invoices on the spot and to hand them over to customers for collecting payments. You may also consider having a combination of all these.
Finding a free invoice template is as easy as clicking on a link. Visit invoicetemplatesamples.com!
Learn What A Chartered Accountant Does
Contrary to popular belief, not every accountant is a chartered accountant. Although both professionals perform accounting tasks for individuals or businesses, they greatly differ in so many ways. For the latter to achieve the title, high level educational attainment and professional training are needed. Afterwards, passing of the licensure exam must be assured. Individuals who have acquired this title are members of organizations like Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia, Certified Practising Accountant and National Institute of Accountants. Membership to this organizations sort of acts as a gauge of one's credibility in the industry.
A chartered accountant can offer many things to his clients. This somehow explains why the services of this professional costs higher - a point that prods some people to just hire a general accountant. Apart from being an expert in preparing tax returns, this professional is knowledgeable of tax laws and all the continuous changes that are happening in the tax code. The government requires so to ensure the competence of a licensed professional. This imparts that such a competent professional can give the correct figures in your tax returns and the updated benefits or legal deductions that you can enjoy as a tax payer.
If you are running a business, this professional can analyze and provide a clear overview of your finances. This is not just about keeping you away from debt. A small business accountant can help you understand your company structure and the ways you can save money and bring in more profits. Means to improve credit rating is another element that can be taught by this professional.
Keen to make investments? Never push through with one unless you have consulted a chartered accounting professional. Based on your financial status, this professional can advice you the amount of money which you can possibly spend without losing. This is because you will be presented with the most suitable mortgage type for your real estate investment.
The biggest thing that this professional can do for you is to represent you in times of audit. Once regular accountant has signed the prepared tax return, you are left with no assurance that your business is well represented legally. This is unlikely to happen when the above-mentioned professional prepares and signs your tax return. This is something that is very important to entrepreneurs who need to make business and tax decisions of higher level.
Even though it would cost you more to hire a chartered accountant, never exchange the opportunity to get a capable professional with hiring a regular accountant particularly when you are running a business. If you are keen to get the best, contact only the trusted names out there. Apart from the accreditation and certification, do consider the feedback given by the past and current clients of the professional you are considering to hire. You may first put your prospect professional on trial by giving a small project to accomplish. Decide whether you will push through with the hiring once you have seen the output.
Want To Get In Touch With Us For Expert Accounting Services? Visit http://www.allianceaccounting.com.au/ Today.
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