Business Best Practices

While you may think it’s better to take care of your small business accounting tasks in-house, you may be surprised to know that your business can benefit from having a professional accountant or CPA handle the job for you. Here are the top three reasons to outsource your accounting.

1. Peace of Mind

The number one reason for outsourcing your accounting is the peace of mind you will get regarding managing your accounting records. A qualified accountant or CPA on your team allows you to gain access to their professional knowledge and experience. Further, you can even choose an accountant that specializes in your unique business needs. A professional can help you keep your business records accurate and up-to-date. For example, payroll and tax documents will be maintained appropriately and submitted promptly. Timely and accurate accounting reduces your risk of penalties resulting from inaccurate record-keeping or lack of knowledge regarding aspects of accounting like tax laws and deadlines.

2. Focus on Business Development

When you enlist the services of a qualified accountant or CPA to manage your small business accounting needs, you minimize the time that you or your senior staff must spend performing or micromanaging those tasks. Freeing up your time in those areas enhances your ability to maintain a keen focus on the day-to-day tasks your business faces and any additional business needs that arise. Being able to focus your time on managing and growing your business, you improve operational efficiency. As you develop strategic goals, you can convey those to your outsourced accountant to garner their professional guidance and support when executing and realizing those goals.

3. Save Money

Many small business owners feel that handling accounting tasks in-house is more cost-effective because they can utilize existing staff. However, consider the total cost involved in hiring or training a staff member to manage your business’s accounting needs. There is also the associated time expenditure related to supervising an employee who manages the accounting. For a dedicated in-house staff member to handle the task, you must consider the additional costs of payroll, payroll taxes, and employee benefits. There is also employee turnover to consider, which, if high, could lead to additional training and expenses. By not electing to have a full-time dedicated employee handle accounting in-house, you also save on space and technology required to accommodate that individual.

For these reasons – and more such as getting timely financial advice, understanding cash flow, and maximizing your tax savings opportunities – it’s time to outsource your business’s accounting needs. What you gain far outweighs the cost.

---

Contact our firm to find out how we can create a package of accounting services for your small business.

Contact us at 301-728-0808 or request a free consultation online to learn more about why outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping is a smart move for small businesses.

 

REFRESHER: What is the Paycheck Protection Program?

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a Small Business Association (SBA)-backed loan to help businesses retain employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic enacted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Funds can be used for payroll expenses and benefits and some non-payroll related expenses such as mortgage interest, rent, and utilities.

There are first and second-draw PPP loans. First-draw loans are available for first-time applicants, and second-draw loans are for businesses who already took advantage of a first-draw PPP loan.

PPP Loan Forgiveness

PPP loans can be forgiven if the following criteria are met:

• employee retention and compensation rates must be maintained
• loan funds must be spent according to the loan terms
• no less than 60 percent of loan funds are spent on payroll

When Congress passed the new spending bill at the end of 2020, the covered period for PPP loans was extended through March 31, 2021. With this extension, the SBA released new guidance for these loans and loan forgiveness.

Expanded PPP Loan Forgiveness

Eligible Forgivable Non-Payroll Expenses

Under these new guidelines, the number of eligible “forgivable” non-payroll expenses were expanded to cover payments for:

• software and cloud computing services
• property damage costs related to vandalism or looting not covered by insurance
• supplier costs for contracted goods (including perishable goods) ordered before taking out the loan
• expenses related to compliance with federal, state, or local health and safety guidelines related to the pandemic from March 1, 2020, until the national emergency declaration expiration

Covered Period for Forgiveness

The covered period for PPP loans is when a recipient can spend the funds and still qualify for loan forgiveness. The covered period was either eight or 24 weeks; however, recipients can choose when the covered period ends under the new guidelines. They can choose a date between 8 and 24 weeks after their loan origination date.

Simplified Loan Forgiveness Application

For loans under $150,000, a simplified forgiveness application is available. For borrowers who submit a signed certification under one page in length to the lender, loans are forgiven in full. The certification must include:

• the total loan amount
• an estimate of the total loan amount spent on payroll costs
• the number of employees the employer retained as a result of receiving their PPP loan

Applying for PPP Loan Forgiveness

Borrowers must wait until all PPP loan funds are used before applying for forgiveness. Forgiveness can be applied up to the maturity date of the loan. Forgiveness must be applied for within ten months after the last day of the covered period of the loan, or payments will no longer be deferred, and borrowers must begin repayment of the loan.

The appropriate loan form with all documentation for payroll and non-payroll expenses along with the forgiveness documentation should be submitted to the borrower’s lender to start the forgiveness process.

---

For more help with PPP loans, contact your accounting professional.

Find out how to cultivate a prosperous and long standing business with accounting solutions and tax strategies that yield profitability, sustainability, and growth. Contact our CPA firm at 301-728-0808 to work with a knowledgeable business consultant or request your free consultation online.

It’s reassuring to remember that downturns are a normal part of the business cycle. And, just as there are strategies that help businesses thrive during profitable times, there are basic survival tactics that businesses can employ when the outlook is less than rosy.

Control Spending

Finances should be your fundamental concern when economic conditions are unsettled. When sales slow, it’s time to preserve your cash. Look closely at how you can reduce overhead. Make certain that all your operating expenses are necessary. Even if you’ve recently made cuts, see if there are other measures you can take. Unless absolutely necessary, consider putting plans that call for capital investment on the back burner until conditions improve.

Maintain Customers

While containing costs is essential, maintaining your customer base is also crucial. So, when you’re deciding how to trim spending, make sure you don’t make cuts in areas that deliver real value to your customers. At the same time, watch your receivables. Make sure your customers’ accounts stay current.

Think Short Term

Plan purchases for the short term, keeping a minimum of cash tied up in inventory. At the same time, however, make sure you’ll be able to restock quickly. Your suppliers may be able to suggest ways you can cut costs (perhaps by using different materials or an alternative manufacturing process). See if you can negotiate better credit terms.

Plan for Contingencies

There’s a big difference between imagining that you might have to seriously scale back your business and having an action plan in place that you can quickly execute. To develop a realistic contingency plan, prepare a budget based on the impact you imagine an extended downturn would have on your business. Then outline the steps you would need to take to survive those conditions. For an added level of preparedness, draw up a second, “worst case scenario” budget and chart the cost-cutting steps you’d need to take to outlive those more dire circumstances.

Many businesses will survive these challenging economic times by being informed about their financial condition and by planning ahead to succeed. Connect with us, right now, for tax advice and business planning.

Get back to the job of running your business and leave the accounting to us! Call us at 301-728-0808 now and request a free consultation to get started.

You can’t keep prices the same indefinitely, but raising them is always a gamble. Consumers can — and do — compare prices anywhere, anytime, on everything.

If your bottom line needs a boost, raising prices can definitely help — as long as you map out a strategy and avoid some common pitfalls.

Promote, Promote, Promote

When you’re ready to roll out the increase, plan to roll out some promotions and coupons at the same time to take the sting out of higher prices. The discounts will help keep your most cost-conscious consumers in the fold. Making discounts and coupons readily available establishes the perception that all your prices are reasonable, which may or may not be true.

If you’re concerned about promotions hurting your bottom line, don’t be. Not all of your customers will clip coupons or shop sales. Ideally, you’ll sell enough items at the higher price to raise the average sale. If that’s not happening, you can always give prices another nudge, although it’s better to go with one large increase than several small ones.

Cut Carefully

Another way to improve your financial picture is to cut costs. One common tactic is to keep the price the same but shrink the amount of product (e.g., a skinnier box of cereal or slimmer container of juice). But this can backfire. If customers discover the change and feel cheated, you could become the target of a social media campaign, which could turn out badly. You could end up with less business and a ruined reputation.

Get Creative

Thinking outside the box (rather than shrinking it) might provide some opportunities to increase revenue. For instance, you might be able to unbundle a popular product. You can actually lower the price of the basic item, then add additional charges for each bell and whistle.

Add Value

Big box stores and online shopping may help customers find lower prices, but there’s one thing they can’t do. They can’t give their customers the kind of service you can. That’s a value only small businesses can offer. If you do it right, it can help you weather a price increase.

Call us today for more tips on how to ensure you’re following business best practices, and let us help you keep your company in the black.

Get back to the job of running your business and leave the accounting to us! Call us at 301-728-0808 now and request a free consultation to get started.

For businesses that haven’t traditionally embraced remote employees, it may be difficult to get up to full speed with the current turn of events.  To make the inevitable transition less overwhelming, we assembled a handy checklist of actions to consider while adjusting to the new workplace reality.

Organization

• Access your staff members and/or roles that are able to work remotely, those that can’t work remotely, and those where remote work may be possible with some modifications.
• Conduct an employee survey to determine the availability of computers that can be used for working remotely, as well as availability to high-speed internet access.
• Create company guidelines covering remote employees, including inappropriate use of company assets and security guidelines.
• Develop and conduct work-at-home- training for using remote access, remote tools, and best practices.
• Select a video-conferencing platform for services, such as Zoom, Cisco WebEx, or Go To Meeting.
• Develop a communications plan to involve remote employees in the daily activities of the organization.

 Security

• Create and implement a company security policy that applies to remote employees, including actions such as locking computers when not in use.
• Implement two-factor authentication for highly-sensitive portals.
• If needed, confirm all remote employees have access to and can use a business-grade VPN, and that you have enough licenses for all employees working remotely.

Staff

• Institute a transparency policy with your staff and communicate frequently.
• Check in on your staff, daily if possible, to confirm they are comfortable with working from home. Find and address any problems they may be experiencing.
• Make certain each staff member has reliable voice communications, even if this results in adding a business-quality voice over IP service.
• Don’t attempt to micro-manage your staff. Remember their working conditions at home won’t be ideal, and they will need to work out their own work patterns and schedules.
• Create a phone number and email address where staff members can communicate their concerns about the firm, working at home, or even the status of COVID-19.

Infrastructure

• Ensure that you have ample bandwidth coming in to your company to handle all of the new remote traffic.
• Make sure you have backups of your services so your staff is able to keep working in the event extra traffic causes your primary service to go down.

You may need to adjust or expand this list to match the specific needs of your firm and the conditions affecting your organization.  Use this list to get you started and to help guide you through the process.

Get back to the job of running your business and leave the accounting to us! Call us at 301-728-0808 now and request a free consultation to get started.

Is it time to put your expansion plan on the front burner? Have you outgrown your current location? Do you need to replace some equipment? There are many reasons small business owners might be in the market for a loan. If you’ll be shopping soon, here are some pointers.

Check your credit. When you apply for a loan, the lender will look at your personal and your business credit histories. Before you start the application process, check to make sure both are accurate and up to date. If there are errors, resolve them ahead of time.

Polish your plan. Prospective lenders will want to know as much as possible about your business. Prepare a comprehensive, up-to-date business plan that provides information about your company (a description and an executive summary) and yourself (educational background and relevant experience). Since your plan may be pivotal in convincing potential lenders to approve your loan, consider including an overview of your management team and key personnel along with some market analysis and a marketing plan.

You should also be prepared to provide financial statements and cash flow projections. Lenders may request personal financial statements for you and other owners as well.

Check your equity. Before you submit a loan application, make sure you have enough equity in the business. Although requirements can vary, lenders generally want a company’s total liabilities to be less than four times equity. A lender may require you to put some additional money into your business before approving you for a loan.

Identify collateral. Lenders generally require collateral, an alternate repayment source that can be used in case your business isn’t generating enough cash to make payments on your loan. Either business or personal assets can be used. If you don’t have anything you can use as collateral, perhaps you can find someone who does who will cosign the loan.

Look for a good match. If you already have a good working relationship with a bank that lends to small businesses, it makes sense to start there. If you don’t, or if your bank isn’t a good match, do your homework. Look for lenders that do business with companies similar in size to your own. Finding a lender that’s familiar with your industry is an added bonus.

Call us at 301-728-0808 now or request a free consultation online to find out what we can do for you and your business.