By Mary Jo Clancy
So, you have started this new and very exciting business opportunity. How do you keep track of it on paper? Like it or not, every April 15th, we have to account for our actions the year before to our friends (or foes depending upon your mindset) at the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS. Even if you have already started your business, I am going to write this as though it were day one for you. For the purposes of this article, I am also assuming that you are starting a simple, sole proprietorship business. In order for the IRS to consider your business legitimate, you need to treat it like a business and not a hobby. The very first thing that you should do is to open a separate checking account just for your business, and keep all business finances separate from your personal finances. This is the #1 cardinal rule that I follow religiously in all of my businesses. I NEVER take money out of the cash drawer to buy a soda. And if I use personal finances to make business purchases, I save the receipts and record them in the books for my business as an increase to my owner's investment account.
Most of you are probably not accountants, and the word "accounting" sends you screaming into the streets. The word "taxes" also causes many of you to tremble. But really, they shouldn't, they are just words, and both accounting and taxes can be very simple. As your business grows and diversifies, you may need to get a little more complex, but for now, you can keep your books on a simple excel spreadsheet, or one of the many accounting software packages out there. I personally like QuickBooks Pro because it is very user friendly and very forgiving when you make mistakes. For a beginner, it works well. Accounting is really simple: there are three basic financial statements that you need to understand to run your business. Once you get that, filing a schedule C for your taxes is easy.
The first of these forms is the Balance Sheet. It is a comparison of your assets (things that make you money) on the left, and liabilities (things that you owe) and equity (the net worth of your business). Assets include current assets like: cash in bank, savings, inventory, prepaid expenses (like insurance), accounts receivable (money owed to you) and fixed assets. Fixed assets are the more expensive, usually tangible items that you purchase for your business (like computers, desks, equipment, etc.) As a rule anything that costs you more than $1,000 should be capitalized and depreciated over time. (I will cover in another article.) Liabilities are: the bills that you owe, any loans and credit cards for your business. Equity is the money that you have personally invested in your business and the retained earnings from your business. When you add up your assets, the total must equal the total of liabilities + equity.
The second and probably most important financial statement is the Income Statement. It is a snapshot of your business activity at a current point in time. I encourage you to prepare one at least once a month to keep up on where you stand profit-wise. The following is a simple Income Statement:
Sales
Cost of Goods Sold (what the supplies or products you sold cost you to purchase or manufacture)
Direct Selling Expenses (related just to the sale of your product or service)
Gross Profit (Sales - Cost of Goods Sold - Direct Selling Expenses = Gross Profit)
Expenses:
Office Supplies
Telephone
Utilities
Rent
Repairs & Maintenance
Travel (separate Travel Meals from all other travel expenses)
Anything else you needed for your business
Total Expenses:
Net Income (Gross Profit - Total Expenses = Net Income)
The third financial form that you should prepare on a regular basis, at least weekly, is a cash flow statement. I have seen many forms of these over the years, and they can be very complicated, but simply put, you want to see where your cash position is. It is just like balancing your check book. Beginning Cash+Sources of Funds (like sales and collection of accounts receivable) - Uses of Funds (expenses paid for, assets purchased, and payment of accounts payable) = Ending Cash. Not difficult, but very important.
Many new businesses fail simply because they do not keep track of the activity of their businesses on paper. Stuffing money in your pocket that later goes to pay for the pizza and beer is not the way to go. Every action you take creates an action in your books. Keep track of them. Be organized. If you keep these three financial statements up to date for your business, not only will you have everything at your finger tips at tax time, but you will have a monitor of how you are doing. While it is normal to lose money for a little while when you start a new business, it is not normal to continually lose money. The idea of having your own business is to MAKE money, and gain wealth and financial freedom. With simple financial statements, you can monitor your business and make corrections when things aren't going well. You can also see when you are making money, and know what capital is available to you to grow your business, or invest elsewhere.
I hope that my simple explanation has been helpful to you. Best wishes for your continued success!
Mary Jo Clancy is the owner of Dream Builders, a company dedicated to helping others gain wealth and financial freedom.
http://www.NewDreamBuilders.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Jo_Clancy
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Life of an Online Credit Card Transaction
By Sean P Jones
Credit card payment is the most common way of online transaction, yet when it comes to understanding how credit card processing works most of us are quite confused.
When a retail store cashier swipes your credit card through credit card terminal, the following process takes place: credit card and payment details are sent electronically to merchant's acquiring bank, which contacts credit card issuing bank; in case transaction is approved, funds are deposited on the merchants account.
Online credit card processing in ecommerce adheres to the same processing steps, except the physical credit card terminal that swipes your card in a retail store is substituted by payment gateway (Authorize.Net, 2checkout, CHASE Paymentech, etc.) - a service that processes online payments in a secure way.
The overall credit card processing scheme in an online store usually looks like the following:
A merchant needs to have a merchant account and a payment gateway account in order to set up credit cad processing in his store.
Let's follow the steps from the time a customer types his credit card number in an online store to pay for his order till he receives a response whether the payment went through:
1. A customer places an order and types his credit card number on a secure site of an online store. Store administrator sees the shopping cart details, which include order and billing information.
2. Shopping cart details along with merchant account are sent to payment gateway secure server for processing.
3. Payment gateway forwards transaction information to merchant's acquiring bank.
4. Merchant's acquiring bank forwards transaction information to the credit card issuing bank for transaction verification.
5. Credit card issuing bank verifies transaction and sends response code (Approve, Deny, and reason for denial if applicable) back to merchant's acquiring bank.
6. Merchant's bank sends credit card transaction details and response back to payment gateway. If payment is approved, the bank will deposit funds on a merchant's account at the scheduled time.
7. Payment gateway sends transaction details and response back to merchant's online store.
8. Payment information is displayed to the customer; i.e. "credit card was charged", "credit card was denied", etc.
At certain processing stages fees will be charged from the transaction total. The amount of fees depends on a payment gateway used, merchant account, credit card type, and other factors; it usually adds up to be two to three percent of total charges.
Sean Jones
http://www.creditcardbiz.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_P_Jones
Credit card payment is the most common way of online transaction, yet when it comes to understanding how credit card processing works most of us are quite confused.
When a retail store cashier swipes your credit card through credit card terminal, the following process takes place: credit card and payment details are sent electronically to merchant's acquiring bank, which contacts credit card issuing bank; in case transaction is approved, funds are deposited on the merchants account.
Online credit card processing in ecommerce adheres to the same processing steps, except the physical credit card terminal that swipes your card in a retail store is substituted by payment gateway (Authorize.Net, 2checkout, CHASE Paymentech, etc.) - a service that processes online payments in a secure way.
The overall credit card processing scheme in an online store usually looks like the following:
A merchant needs to have a merchant account and a payment gateway account in order to set up credit cad processing in his store.
Let's follow the steps from the time a customer types his credit card number in an online store to pay for his order till he receives a response whether the payment went through:
1. A customer places an order and types his credit card number on a secure site of an online store. Store administrator sees the shopping cart details, which include order and billing information.
2. Shopping cart details along with merchant account are sent to payment gateway secure server for processing.
3. Payment gateway forwards transaction information to merchant's acquiring bank.
4. Merchant's acquiring bank forwards transaction information to the credit card issuing bank for transaction verification.
5. Credit card issuing bank verifies transaction and sends response code (Approve, Deny, and reason for denial if applicable) back to merchant's acquiring bank.
6. Merchant's bank sends credit card transaction details and response back to payment gateway. If payment is approved, the bank will deposit funds on a merchant's account at the scheduled time.
7. Payment gateway sends transaction details and response back to merchant's online store.
8. Payment information is displayed to the customer; i.e. "credit card was charged", "credit card was denied", etc.
At certain processing stages fees will be charged from the transaction total. The amount of fees depends on a payment gateway used, merchant account, credit card type, and other factors; it usually adds up to be two to three percent of total charges.
Sean Jones
http://www.creditcardbiz.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_P_Jones
Accounting Outsourcing - Reliable Accounting Help
By Michelle Barkley
Accurate management of monetary issues is one of the most important tasks of any business organization. If a business company fails to manage its funds in a proper and accurate manner then nothing can raise its chances of earning good profit as the funds can be easily misplaced or miscalculated. For this reason only, every business ensures to inculcate a separate division that is exclusively committed to maintaining the accounts of an organization on a day to day basis. However, this is often considered as one financially draining department for the organization. Hence, to reduce the total expenditure of a company to a certain level, many intelligent business developers are now taking the support of accounting outsourcing services that offer quality performance and reliable assistance.
Accounting outsourcing companies handles a variety of financial tasks for the associated business company. The professional from these companies are highly qualified and experienced in the correct and accurate management of accounting. Moreover, the amount they charge for their valuable assistance is also very less in comparison to what your in-house employees. Also, the accountants are well aware of new software that are available in the market and thus, you as a client, could simply ask them to continue maintaining your accounts with software that your company is already used to. Hence, selection of a proficient accounting outsourcing company can do wonders to your business. However, make sure that you opt for a reliable and certified service provider only because negligence to this, may hamper your business immensely as while carrying out the procedure of accounting, an owner is expected to share many of his confidential documents and financial records.
It is very easy to work with competent accounting outsourcing firms through online services as they can maintain a direct access to chronologically maintain financial records of the business company on a regular basis. Whenever you need any file and important document to be transferred, the vendor will immediately send those files through the medium of internet. Moreover, with the help of these services only, the owner can also maintain a direct check over the functioning of the professionals and can also guide them appropriately whenever the need arises. In addition to this, as experienced accounting experts are managing your financial records; your company ensures accountability and credibility in the eyes of the investor, customer, lender, creditor, supplier and the general public.
In order to plan out the future development scale of a particular business organization, it is very important to analyze the position of a particular business organization. An appropriate estimation of such analysis can easy be provided by the financial records of the company. Hence, opting for accounting outsourcing can majorly help in the accomplishment of this task. Each transaction made in the company is responsible for generating the journals, profit and loss track sheet, balance sheet and other essential accounts of the firm. When an efficient and reliable external resource is managing these issues for your business, the company will obviously make progress and also gives the owner an opportunity of focusing on other aspects of business such as marketing and promotional activities. One is also assured of his finances controlled by good and dependable hands.
Michelle Barkley is a CPA who advises people on tax preparation and tax calculation. She specializes in bookkeeping outsourcing, tax return preparation, back office outsourcing and outsourced accounting. To know more about Accounting outsourcing, Accounting outsourcing services and Tax return to use the services visit http://www.ifrworld.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Barkley
Accurate management of monetary issues is one of the most important tasks of any business organization. If a business company fails to manage its funds in a proper and accurate manner then nothing can raise its chances of earning good profit as the funds can be easily misplaced or miscalculated. For this reason only, every business ensures to inculcate a separate division that is exclusively committed to maintaining the accounts of an organization on a day to day basis. However, this is often considered as one financially draining department for the organization. Hence, to reduce the total expenditure of a company to a certain level, many intelligent business developers are now taking the support of accounting outsourcing services that offer quality performance and reliable assistance.
Accounting outsourcing companies handles a variety of financial tasks for the associated business company. The professional from these companies are highly qualified and experienced in the correct and accurate management of accounting. Moreover, the amount they charge for their valuable assistance is also very less in comparison to what your in-house employees. Also, the accountants are well aware of new software that are available in the market and thus, you as a client, could simply ask them to continue maintaining your accounts with software that your company is already used to. Hence, selection of a proficient accounting outsourcing company can do wonders to your business. However, make sure that you opt for a reliable and certified service provider only because negligence to this, may hamper your business immensely as while carrying out the procedure of accounting, an owner is expected to share many of his confidential documents and financial records.
It is very easy to work with competent accounting outsourcing firms through online services as they can maintain a direct access to chronologically maintain financial records of the business company on a regular basis. Whenever you need any file and important document to be transferred, the vendor will immediately send those files through the medium of internet. Moreover, with the help of these services only, the owner can also maintain a direct check over the functioning of the professionals and can also guide them appropriately whenever the need arises. In addition to this, as experienced accounting experts are managing your financial records; your company ensures accountability and credibility in the eyes of the investor, customer, lender, creditor, supplier and the general public.
In order to plan out the future development scale of a particular business organization, it is very important to analyze the position of a particular business organization. An appropriate estimation of such analysis can easy be provided by the financial records of the company. Hence, opting for accounting outsourcing can majorly help in the accomplishment of this task. Each transaction made in the company is responsible for generating the journals, profit and loss track sheet, balance sheet and other essential accounts of the firm. When an efficient and reliable external resource is managing these issues for your business, the company will obviously make progress and also gives the owner an opportunity of focusing on other aspects of business such as marketing and promotional activities. One is also assured of his finances controlled by good and dependable hands.
Michelle Barkley is a CPA who advises people on tax preparation and tax calculation. She specializes in bookkeeping outsourcing, tax return preparation, back office outsourcing and outsourced accounting. To know more about Accounting outsourcing, Accounting outsourcing services and Tax return to use the services visit http://www.ifrworld.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Barkley
Accounting Help - Makes Your Accounting Tasks Look Easier
By Alvis Brazma
For a business organization it is very difficult if not impossible, to maintain the accounts. A proper management of the account books intact with their crucial details is what every organization aspires for. Since the data has to be maintained on a daily basis, it becomes more important to take the help of accountants whose attributes are excellence combined with commitment. Accounting help is sought by the accountants in an organization for a flawless functioning of the accounts department. Besides reducing the large manpower, it assists in minimizing the loss of time and efforts towards the maintenance of accounts sheets and other data. The professionals from whom the assistance is sought are adept in handling crucial accounting projects and in tracking numerous data related aspects. A professionally qualified chartered accountant irons out the errors that might creep in due to the unavailability of time.
Since outsourcing is of great help to the accounting personnel, professionals are hired to deal with the financial transactions. It provides a platform towards the management of accounts related information and the final financial statement. Accounting help in the same way assists in processing the non-operational information which is necessary for any business. Any minor error in the preparation of data sheets can result in a disaster which becomes very difficult to handle later and thus professional expertise is sought by the companies. The data used by the managers, shareholders, Banks, creditors and the government has to be maintained in such a way that the information can be shared between them. Accounting help is a professional way towards the perfect organizational structure of accounts department which further assists in managing each aspect effectively. The information is kept strictly confidential and the accounting experts provide their clients a full privilege to monitor the data on a periodic basis.
The fee aspect is duly taken care of by the professionals with a minimal amount demanded by them. This is a foolproof way towards minimizing the monetary losses which otherwise an organization has to incur on the in-house staff salaries. The accountants regularly update the financial records and thus help a company in knowing about its status in the market. The competence of the professionals is reflected in the final conclusion of the projects, which is accomplished with the help of accounting software. The latest software is installed in the premises of accounting firms for a proper monitoring of the accounting records. Accounting help ease out the complex processes by providing a company have a complete control over its non-operational services. Beside, a better management is ensured for a better viewing of the different functions of an accounts department.
A tax session is normally considered hectic and literally a thankless job. To ease accountants, every financial record is prepared with the help of suitable models by the experts in accounting. Online file transfers are a regular feature if one takes the accounting help as this ensures greater transparency than the traditional methods followed till date. Financial records like balance sheets, profit and loss statements, journals and ledgers, bank reconciliation statements and other important documents are checked regularly to ensure their perfect condition. During the tax return sessions, a number of benefits come to the fore with the help of these professionals. Company budget and other proceedings are testimonials in themselves, when one opts for the services of excellent accountants who know their job very well.
Alvis Brazma gives advice to business owners about how to manage their business efficiently without any hassles.To know more about Accounting help, accounting outsourcing, small business accounting, bookkeeping help visit this leading internet source: http://www.impacctusa.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alvis_Brazma
For a business organization it is very difficult if not impossible, to maintain the accounts. A proper management of the account books intact with their crucial details is what every organization aspires for. Since the data has to be maintained on a daily basis, it becomes more important to take the help of accountants whose attributes are excellence combined with commitment. Accounting help is sought by the accountants in an organization for a flawless functioning of the accounts department. Besides reducing the large manpower, it assists in minimizing the loss of time and efforts towards the maintenance of accounts sheets and other data. The professionals from whom the assistance is sought are adept in handling crucial accounting projects and in tracking numerous data related aspects. A professionally qualified chartered accountant irons out the errors that might creep in due to the unavailability of time.
Since outsourcing is of great help to the accounting personnel, professionals are hired to deal with the financial transactions. It provides a platform towards the management of accounts related information and the final financial statement. Accounting help in the same way assists in processing the non-operational information which is necessary for any business. Any minor error in the preparation of data sheets can result in a disaster which becomes very difficult to handle later and thus professional expertise is sought by the companies. The data used by the managers, shareholders, Banks, creditors and the government has to be maintained in such a way that the information can be shared between them. Accounting help is a professional way towards the perfect organizational structure of accounts department which further assists in managing each aspect effectively. The information is kept strictly confidential and the accounting experts provide their clients a full privilege to monitor the data on a periodic basis.
The fee aspect is duly taken care of by the professionals with a minimal amount demanded by them. This is a foolproof way towards minimizing the monetary losses which otherwise an organization has to incur on the in-house staff salaries. The accountants regularly update the financial records and thus help a company in knowing about its status in the market. The competence of the professionals is reflected in the final conclusion of the projects, which is accomplished with the help of accounting software. The latest software is installed in the premises of accounting firms for a proper monitoring of the accounting records. Accounting help ease out the complex processes by providing a company have a complete control over its non-operational services. Beside, a better management is ensured for a better viewing of the different functions of an accounts department.
A tax session is normally considered hectic and literally a thankless job. To ease accountants, every financial record is prepared with the help of suitable models by the experts in accounting. Online file transfers are a regular feature if one takes the accounting help as this ensures greater transparency than the traditional methods followed till date. Financial records like balance sheets, profit and loss statements, journals and ledgers, bank reconciliation statements and other important documents are checked regularly to ensure their perfect condition. During the tax return sessions, a number of benefits come to the fore with the help of these professionals. Company budget and other proceedings are testimonials in themselves, when one opts for the services of excellent accountants who know their job very well.
Alvis Brazma gives advice to business owners about how to manage their business efficiently without any hassles.To know more about Accounting help, accounting outsourcing, small business accounting, bookkeeping help visit this leading internet source: http://www.impacctusa.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alvis_Brazma
Bookkeepers NY - Manage Your Bookkeeping Records Easily Now
By Peter Terry
Taking the responsibility of a full-fledged or an upcoming business is one of the greatest challenges faced by the organizations today. The success of a venture depends upon a number of factors and one of them is successful execution of bookkeeping tasks. Since the tasks involved are highly calculative and require a hawk's eye it is better to go for the services of a professional. The professional bookkeepers act as a catalyst for most of the organizations, because of their excellent accounting skills and sheer brilliance which is noticed in the final reports. Accounting department is considered the foundation on which the base of many a company rests and is the decisive factor towards the growth or decay of an organization. Hence it is imperative on the part of the experts in the department to be methodical in their approach with a dead serious approach towards their work. Getting the help of bookkeepers in NY is step in the right direction as far as managing the bookkeeping records is concerned.
The accountants outsourced for the purpose are brilliant in the execution of their clients' projects. Ethics and integrity are their hall marks while they complete the projects and see to it that the given task is completed on time. A number of entries need to be done which are quite complex in nature involving many a tedious detail. Only a determined focus wins the day on the part of bookkeepers in NY, who are quite capable of handling various aspects of accounting tasks. Their suggestions come in handy later and are responsible for brilliant solutions to some of the complex problems in accountancy and bookkeeping. An improved performance of the organizations is guaranteed with the help of professional bookkeepers NY. Opting for the services of bookkeepers, who are known for their acumen, minimizes the expenses of an organization. The amount saved thus goes in strengthening other equally important aspects of the company thereby unleashing its vast potential.
The requirements of a company vary greatly from each other and hence efforts should be made to locate an outsourcing firm which is apt for any given situation. The software used for the purpose assists in doing the tasks quite accurately due to the latest techniques present in it. Storage of the data is one of the prime functions of the specialized software and it also saves time and manual efforts on your part. The bookkeepers NY are thorough with the knowledge of all accounting aspects and extremely lengthy calculations are reduced to be compiled in matter of few seconds. This is greatest leap forward from the traditional methods followed till date, which were often messy in nature due to the complexities involved. The able professionals carry with them an expertise to handle the reports, which are as flawless as possible.
Today, a number of calculations are done with the help of specialized software for bookkeeping work. The entry of the financial data is now more easy and manageable and data is shared between the client companies and the outsourcing firms in a transparent way. Bookkeepers NY ensure that your organization reaches the growth curve with the help of their brilliant techniques. Technically sound reports are a hallmark of the bookkeeping professionals who manage your tasks with satisfaction. A number of accountancy problems are solved with the active assistance of these experts.
Peter Terry has extensive knowledge about bookkeeping and knows the importance of this for running a successful business. To know more about Accountant New York, accounting New York, accounting firm NYC and Bookkeepers NY you can visit http://www.nycbookkeepers.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Terry
Taking the responsibility of a full-fledged or an upcoming business is one of the greatest challenges faced by the organizations today. The success of a venture depends upon a number of factors and one of them is successful execution of bookkeeping tasks. Since the tasks involved are highly calculative and require a hawk's eye it is better to go for the services of a professional. The professional bookkeepers act as a catalyst for most of the organizations, because of their excellent accounting skills and sheer brilliance which is noticed in the final reports. Accounting department is considered the foundation on which the base of many a company rests and is the decisive factor towards the growth or decay of an organization. Hence it is imperative on the part of the experts in the department to be methodical in their approach with a dead serious approach towards their work. Getting the help of bookkeepers in NY is step in the right direction as far as managing the bookkeeping records is concerned.
The accountants outsourced for the purpose are brilliant in the execution of their clients' projects. Ethics and integrity are their hall marks while they complete the projects and see to it that the given task is completed on time. A number of entries need to be done which are quite complex in nature involving many a tedious detail. Only a determined focus wins the day on the part of bookkeepers in NY, who are quite capable of handling various aspects of accounting tasks. Their suggestions come in handy later and are responsible for brilliant solutions to some of the complex problems in accountancy and bookkeeping. An improved performance of the organizations is guaranteed with the help of professional bookkeepers NY. Opting for the services of bookkeepers, who are known for their acumen, minimizes the expenses of an organization. The amount saved thus goes in strengthening other equally important aspects of the company thereby unleashing its vast potential.
The requirements of a company vary greatly from each other and hence efforts should be made to locate an outsourcing firm which is apt for any given situation. The software used for the purpose assists in doing the tasks quite accurately due to the latest techniques present in it. Storage of the data is one of the prime functions of the specialized software and it also saves time and manual efforts on your part. The bookkeepers NY are thorough with the knowledge of all accounting aspects and extremely lengthy calculations are reduced to be compiled in matter of few seconds. This is greatest leap forward from the traditional methods followed till date, which were often messy in nature due to the complexities involved. The able professionals carry with them an expertise to handle the reports, which are as flawless as possible.
Today, a number of calculations are done with the help of specialized software for bookkeeping work. The entry of the financial data is now more easy and manageable and data is shared between the client companies and the outsourcing firms in a transparent way. Bookkeepers NY ensure that your organization reaches the growth curve with the help of their brilliant techniques. Technically sound reports are a hallmark of the bookkeeping professionals who manage your tasks with satisfaction. A number of accountancy problems are solved with the active assistance of these experts.
Peter Terry has extensive knowledge about bookkeeping and knows the importance of this for running a successful business. To know more about Accountant New York, accounting New York, accounting firm NYC and Bookkeepers NY you can visit http://www.nycbookkeepers.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Terry
How Good Cash Flow Management Can Help Your Business
By Helen Cox
For a business, whether they are a start up business or an established business cash acts as their lifeline; it is the one aspect that allows a business to survive. The amount of cash that a business has at its disposal often demonstrates the health of a business. A business, especially a start-up business would be able to survive for a while without sales or profit but without cash it will fail.
In order to give your business the best possible chance you need to have sufficient control over the cash flow that is going into and out of your business. You obviously want to have more cash going into your business than out of your business but to ensure that this is the case you need to have a good grasp of the cashflow that your business has. You need to have a good idea of your cashflow if you are thinking about expanding or if you wish to borrow some extra money. To aid this estimate of your cashflow it is a good idea to keep your receipts as they will demonstrate examples of some of your expenditure.
An important aspect to remember is that there is a difference between cash and profit. In order for a business to make a profit it needs to produce and deliver goods or services to customers before you actually make a profit so if you don't have the cash to do this then you technically won't have a business left to run. If you want more evidence of these just look at the facts; the reason that most businesses fail is poor cash management that has led to a business not being able to afford to carry on and poor cash flow is the reason that the majority of start-up businesses don't make it past their first year.
Some examples of the cashflow that will be coming into your business include the following:
• The payment for goods/services from your customers
• Any bank loans that you may have taken out
• The interest that you collect on savings and investments
• An increased bank overdraft or loan
Some examples of the cash that will be coming out of your business include the following:
• The purchase of any stock, raw materials or tools that your business needs
• Your staff wages, property rent and all of your daily operating expenses
• Any repayments of loans that your business may have
• Any dividend payments
• Income tax, corporation tax, VAT and other taxes
• Reduced overdraft facilities
In order to have a good cashflow within your business you need to ensure that your pattern of income and your business spending habits allows you to have cash available as well as being able to pay the bills on time. Cashflow depends on the timing and amounts of money flowing into and out of the business each week and month.
In order to help you with your cashflow management it is a good idea to keep an up-to-date record of all of your cash so that you can see exactly what is coming in and going out of your business. By doing this you can find ways of potentially improving the cashflow of your business.
Helen is the web master of Angel Start-ups, specialists in all aspects of business finance, which includes Cashflow Management.
Please feel free to republish this article provided a working hyperlink remains to our site
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_Cox
For a business, whether they are a start up business or an established business cash acts as their lifeline; it is the one aspect that allows a business to survive. The amount of cash that a business has at its disposal often demonstrates the health of a business. A business, especially a start-up business would be able to survive for a while without sales or profit but without cash it will fail.
In order to give your business the best possible chance you need to have sufficient control over the cash flow that is going into and out of your business. You obviously want to have more cash going into your business than out of your business but to ensure that this is the case you need to have a good grasp of the cashflow that your business has. You need to have a good idea of your cashflow if you are thinking about expanding or if you wish to borrow some extra money. To aid this estimate of your cashflow it is a good idea to keep your receipts as they will demonstrate examples of some of your expenditure.
An important aspect to remember is that there is a difference between cash and profit. In order for a business to make a profit it needs to produce and deliver goods or services to customers before you actually make a profit so if you don't have the cash to do this then you technically won't have a business left to run. If you want more evidence of these just look at the facts; the reason that most businesses fail is poor cash management that has led to a business not being able to afford to carry on and poor cash flow is the reason that the majority of start-up businesses don't make it past their first year.
Some examples of the cashflow that will be coming into your business include the following:
• The payment for goods/services from your customers
• Any bank loans that you may have taken out
• The interest that you collect on savings and investments
• An increased bank overdraft or loan
Some examples of the cash that will be coming out of your business include the following:
• The purchase of any stock, raw materials or tools that your business needs
• Your staff wages, property rent and all of your daily operating expenses
• Any repayments of loans that your business may have
• Any dividend payments
• Income tax, corporation tax, VAT and other taxes
• Reduced overdraft facilities
In order to have a good cashflow within your business you need to ensure that your pattern of income and your business spending habits allows you to have cash available as well as being able to pay the bills on time. Cashflow depends on the timing and amounts of money flowing into and out of the business each week and month.
In order to help you with your cashflow management it is a good idea to keep an up-to-date record of all of your cash so that you can see exactly what is coming in and going out of your business. By doing this you can find ways of potentially improving the cashflow of your business.
Helen is the web master of Angel Start-ups, specialists in all aspects of business finance, which includes Cashflow Management.
Please feel free to republish this article provided a working hyperlink remains to our site
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_Cox
Save Money on Your Credit Card Processing
By Dave A Wilson
Every business should and will accept credit cards at some point. Unfortunately most business owners never fully grasp the options available to them when they decide it's time to apply for a merchant account. This ultimately results in the business owner signing an application for an outdated dial up credit card terminal that is nearly a 25 year old technology. Additionally Visa/MasterCard or the vendor will rarely if ever come out to update the machine once it's been installed thus most people are pay fees that are way too high and therefore your spending way more then you have too.
Well fortunately that's now a problem of the past. Credit card processing has moved into the broadband world and with that businesses can use their high speed internet connection to process credit card transactions in a more efficient, productive and timely manner. Plus by using your internet connection you remove the need to have a dedicated phone line to process which saves you on avg of about $360.00 a year.
By having an always ready, internet connected processing solution you will always be receiving the best rates and will experience the piece of mind knowing that you're not losing money where you don't have too. I urge all business owners to abandon their old dial up terminal and switch to a broadband merchant solution today.
The benefits of internet processing are:
- Advanced reporting features
- Ability to capture email addresses for marketing purposes
- Ability to integrate with your website and take transactions via your cell phone or PDA
- Updated fees that happen automatically not randomly or never like with a dialup terminal
- Ability to export data to be used in accounting packages.
With this short list of features you can see why processing via the internet beats using a dialup terminal hands down.
Thank you.
Dave Wilson
CEO, http://www.creditcardoptions.biz
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_A_Wilson
Dave A Wilson - EzineArticles Expert Author
Every business should and will accept credit cards at some point. Unfortunately most business owners never fully grasp the options available to them when they decide it's time to apply for a merchant account. This ultimately results in the business owner signing an application for an outdated dial up credit card terminal that is nearly a 25 year old technology. Additionally Visa/MasterCard or the vendor will rarely if ever come out to update the machine once it's been installed thus most people are pay fees that are way too high and therefore your spending way more then you have too.
Well fortunately that's now a problem of the past. Credit card processing has moved into the broadband world and with that businesses can use their high speed internet connection to process credit card transactions in a more efficient, productive and timely manner. Plus by using your internet connection you remove the need to have a dedicated phone line to process which saves you on avg of about $360.00 a year.
By having an always ready, internet connected processing solution you will always be receiving the best rates and will experience the piece of mind knowing that you're not losing money where you don't have too. I urge all business owners to abandon their old dial up terminal and switch to a broadband merchant solution today.
The benefits of internet processing are:
- Advanced reporting features
- Ability to capture email addresses for marketing purposes
- Ability to integrate with your website and take transactions via your cell phone or PDA
- Updated fees that happen automatically not randomly or never like with a dialup terminal
- Ability to export data to be used in accounting packages.
With this short list of features you can see why processing via the internet beats using a dialup terminal hands down.
Thank you.
Dave Wilson
CEO, http://www.creditcardoptions.biz
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_A_Wilson
Dave A Wilson - EzineArticles Expert Author
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