Saturday, November 7, 2009

When is it time to hire a Bookkeeper?

Most likely, you started your small business because you enjoy the challenges of being an entrepreneur. You are devoted to your company, your employees and your clients. You're on top of the world and the future is bright. There's nothing you haven't thought of and nothing that could get you down, except…
OH, WAIT! BOOKKEEPING!

1.You loathe the thought of entering receipts into a financial system or software program.



2.You spend too many hours working late in the office tackling bookkeeping issues.


3.Your frustration level grows higher each time you work on your books.


4.At tax time, you stumble to get your paperwork together for your accountant or CPA.


If you are spending more than a few hours a month managing your paperwork, payroll, and taxes-- chances are you could benefit from the services of a professional bookkeeper.


If your small business has grown to the point where it is getting difficult for you to keep up with the paperwork, you don't have time for bookkeeping, or the budget to hire an in-house bookkeeper, an outside professional bookkeeping service may be just what you need.


Spend more of your valuable time running your business


Allow for more free time with friends and family


Or, whatever else you would rather be doing besides bookkeeping


If you are like most small business owners, you're lucky to find a receipt when you need it—for something purchased a month ago. And for most of us, unless you do bookkeeping for a living, you probably live with an overflowing receipt box that gets higher and higher until tax time arrives and maybe beyond.


Here's a question:On a daily or weekly basis, how much time does it take you to organize your receipts and bookkeeping? If you're finding it's taking way too much time away from making your business successful, then it's probably time to look for someone who can assist you with these tasks.




Sometimes it's better to free up your time for those things that are more important to you and vital to the success of your business.

Listen to your inner wisdom, and if/when the time is right and your budget will allow, hire someone to take off the pressure. Your peace of mind will be well worth it.How much time do you spend keeping track of:


Receipts, budgeting, invoices, bank accounts, payables, receivables, and payroll?

What about tax documents and the yearly hassle of filing your taxes?

Managing all of these little details can easily consume a great deal of your valuable time, and as you are well aware, time is money!

Maybe it's time to call for help!

checkedandbalanced.vpweb.com

Friday, November 6, 2009

Start a new business or look for another job?

After losing my job back in March due to a reduction in workforce I was forced to learn and re-think a lot of things, as I'm sure is true of everyone in this economic climate right now.

I was fortunate enough to have access to an outsourcing company that was able to help rebuild my resume.  I had not been in the "job market" for quite some time and it was amazing to me how much everything had changed. 

Resumes are written with a different theme to them now.  Employers don't want to see what your job descriptions and duties are anymore, now they want to see your accomplishments and what was affected by your duties.  You have to quantify all your duties with money and/or time saved and by how much, the scope of the job duty and who and what is effected by your efforts.

Today everything is about computers.  There are no more job postings in papers; they're all on the internet and you need to become very savy in it's use to stand out and get noticed.  Most of the jobs posted on Monster or Career Builder are employment agencies trying to make sure their data bases are full just in case they get a call for a job opening, they need to have someone available to send.

I did get another job after my job loss.  It was a temporary contract that was suppose to last 3 months.  I was told that it was a temp to hire job and that after the contract was up I would be able to apply for the position permanently.  After working in this position for 1 month I received a call from the employment agency one morning as I was getting ready to walk out the door for work.  She informed me that, without her knowledge, this company had continued to interview for this position and had hired someone else and my services were no longer needed.

Then came the re-thinking part,  I had to realize that age and experience relate to another problem I see happening with people in the employment climate of today.  If you are over 50 and trying to find a job, interviews are intimidating, expecially if you are insecure about your age.   Though we may like to believe that and are told that the world doesn't discriminate, well, think again.  It does.  There will be 100 reasons why you didn't get a job when you had more experience and credentials than someone else 20 years younger who applied for the same job.  Of course the employer can't ever admit to that, but they are looing out for the best interest of their company, even if it means not hiring someone older. 

This is where I decided to try my hand at something I've always wanted to do:  BE MY OWN BOSS!  If you take a 50-year-old self-employed accountant, bookkeeper (or whatever your specialty is), you will have customers/clients confident in your experience rather that using it against you.  If you are starting out on your own after you have worked for someone else for 30 years, then use it to your advantage, because it won't matter with the tables turned.  They need YOU, which is why they're looking for your expertise.   Your experience and your age will be one of your assets.

If there is anyone out there in the same situation, I would love to network and brainstorm ways to make your business grow.  I am available for resume writing, bookkeeping for small businesses, QuickBooks consulting or just trading information.


checkedandbalanced.vpweb.com

Why QuickBooks?

Quickbooks is fast and easy, leaving you time to focus on your clients and their needs.

WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO GET STARTED?

QuickBooks has been designed for small business owners who aren't experts in acounting and bookkeeping. Using Quickbooks will help simplify work you already do-- like paying bills, invoicing customers, tracking sales tax, and much more.


WHO ARE CERTIFIED QUICKBOOKS PROADVISORS?


Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors are professionals who work with small businesses. These ProAdvisors are QuickBooks experts-- they've completed a comprehensive QuickBooks training course and exam in order to become certified. They can get you started on the right foot, aiding in set-up, training and troubleshooting.. even helping you move from whatever your current accounting method is to QuickBooks.



Even if you already have an accounting professional serving you, if they don't happen to provide QuickBooks-related setup, training, and consultation services, you should consider contacting a local Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.


WHAT COULD YOU LEARN?

Here are just a few examples of what you could learn:


  • Whether using financial software can save you time
  • Which edition of QuickBooks is the best for your unique business needs
  • How to manage your cash flow at start-up
  •  How to accurately track expenses and income

CERTIFIED QUICKBOOKS PROADVISORS ARE HERE TO HELP!


QuickBooks users who get help through a ProAdvisor or accounting professional have a high satisfaction level with QuickBooks. Whether you need help setting up and customizing QuickBooks, lerning how to more efficiently use the software, or better understanding the financial data you currently have in Quickbooks, your local ProAdvisor is available to help you get the most out of the software.

Posted by Checked and Balanced at 9:23 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Labels: accounting software, Quickbooks, success