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Ideally, you and your accountant are more than just “adviser” and “client”. With your combined skills, expertise, and a shared mission to support a thriving business, you’re more like strategic partners. The key to achieving success in any partnership is, of course, strong communication. At your next meeting, be sure to ask your accountant these four important questions. 1. What’s my best strategy for increasing revenue? Every business owner strives…  Read more

Keeping track of sales, earnings, expenses, and purchases is fundamental to the overall health and sustainability of your business. Effective bookkeeping produces the data you need to evaluate your current practices, anticipate challenges, and set attainable future goals. But despite their proven importance, many business owners dread and avoid accounting tasks. In fact, 40% of surveyed entrepreneurs claim that bookkeeping is one the worst parts of running a business! Wondering…  Read more

Want to avoid paying more than you should come tax time? Or a frantic last minute search for missing financial records? New business owners have a lot on their plate, and can easily lose track of an approaching tax deadline or financial data needed to submit their return. Organization is key when preparing for tax time. As is taking advantage of the many tools and resources out there to support…  Read more

A Canadian bank recently surveyed over 500 small business owners about what they love and hate most about owning their own business. Unsurprisingly, flexibility and feeling in control ranked first in the “love” category. Meanwhile, almost 60% said bookkeeping was hands-down their most hated task. Most business owners understand that effective financial management is key to their success. But lack of knowledge, frustration, and even avoidance can add up to…  Read more

It’s essential for any business to have a robust set of performance targets for its workforce. These will drive employees to achieve in the areas that are critical for success. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that the targets are calibrated correctly in order to realise the desired results. Before introducing any new target, make sure you’ve answered the following seven key questions: Is it specific? A target is no good…  Read more

Business dashboards are a valuable business intelligence tool, offering an “at-a-glance” big picture view of a company’s performance. Some business owners use a dashboard to track KPIs relevant to just one aspect of their business, such as sales growth, marketing, or financial data. Others rely on an executive dashboard for an overview of data culled from various sources (e.g. their accounting software, CRM tools, and website analytics). The great advantage…  Read more

Although most entrepreneurs recognize the importance of careful financial management, few want to spend their time dealing with numbers. Unfortunately, not keeping a close eye on your income and expenses can be very costly for a business. Here are five of the most common bookkeeping pitfalls, and some simple tips for getting back on track. Mixing business and personal All too often, entrepreneurs adopt a “buy now, sort later” approach…  Read more

Don’t be left up in the air by traditional IT solutions. Check out the top 9 advantages for small businesses switching to cloud computing. Cloud computing is fast becoming the norm because storing information and using software hosted on the Internet has many advantages. 1. Save money Traditionally, a small business spends money licensing software or buying packages to install or download onto individual computers. Cloud computing, on the other…  Read more

If your small business operates on a tight budget you might be tempted to eliminate costs that you think aren’t necessary. Often small business owners choose to go without business insurance as a way of saving money, but doing so can be incredibly costly in the long run. Business insurance is something that may seem like an unnecessary expense in the short term, but is worth the cost now in…  Read more

All business owners need to be aware of their break-even point — that is, the number of units they need to sell in order to cover their operating costs. Once you’ve reached your break-even point, it’s time to celebrate: your business is no longer in the red, and you are officially earning a profit. This article will show you how to calculate your break-even point so you can make wise…  Read more

Many small business people wonder whether it’s better for them to buy or lease capital equipment for their businesses. Your options regarding leasing or buying depend upon the nature of your particular business, but there are nevertheless a few guidelines you can follow to help you decide what you should do. If you have the money available, and the item is really necessary to your business, then it will usually…  Read more

If you’re a small business owner whose company hasn’t gone through hard times, that’s great but it’s likely to happen at some point. As much as we dream about being brilliant enough at business that we’ll never face slow times, there are many things beyond our control that can negatively affect our business. Here are four tips for getting your business through difficult periods so you can look forward to…  Read more