Feeling stuck? Unstuck is an app I’ve used and find quite useful. More information here:
Unstuck is an in-the-moment digital coach that’s ready every time we’re feeling stuck. The app helps us see and solve situations with fresh perspective through provocative questions, targeted tips, and action-oriented tools. It’s an approach that works for all kinds of issues, large and small, so we can live better every day.Watch this video on the purpose behind Unstuck
Posted in Customer Service, For Fun, Information, Timesaver
1) Do what you love.
You’re going to devote a lot of time and energy to starting a business and building it into a successful enterprise, so it’s really important that you truly deeply enjoy what you do, whether it be running fishing charters, creating pottery or providing financial advice.
2) Start your business while you’re still employed.
How long can most people live without money? Not long. And it may be a long time before your new business actually makes any profits. Being employed while you’re starting a business means money in your pocket while you’re going through the starting a business process.
3) Don’t do it alone.
You need a support system while you’re starting a business (and afterwards). A family member or friend that you can bounce ideas off and who will listen sympathetically to the latest business start up crisis is invaluable. Even better, find a mentor or, if you qualify, apply for a business start up program such as The Self-Employment Program. When you’re starting a business experienced guidance is the best support system of all.
4) Get clients or customers first.
Don’t wait until you’ve officially started your business to line these up, because your business can’t survive without them. Do the networking. Make the contacts. Sell or even give away your products or services. You can’t start marketing too soon. (See Attracting New Business on a Shoestring Budget and The 7 Best Places to Find Clients for tips.)
5) Write a business plan.
The main reason for doing a business plan first when you’re thinking of starting a business is that it can help you avoid sinking your time and money into starting a business that will not succeed. (See Why You Need a Business Plan for other good reasons.)
Remember, you don’t have to work through a full scale business plan for each new business idea you come up with; my Quick-Start Business Plan, for instance, will let you test the potential of your business idea much more quickly.
6) Do the research.
You’ll do a lot of research writing a business plan, but that’s just a start. When you’re starting a business, you need to become an expert on your industry, products and services if you’re not already. Joining related industry or professional associations before you start your business is a great idea.
7) Get professional help.
On the other hand, just because you’re starting a business, doesn’t mean you have to be an expert on everything. If you’re not an accountant or bookkeeper, hire one (or both).(These Tips for Finding a Good Accountant may be useful.) If you need to write up a contract, and you’re not a lawyer, hire one. You will waste more time and possibly money in the long run trying to do things yourself that you are not qualified to do.
8) Get the money lined up.
Save up if you have to. Approach potential investors and lenders. Figure our your financial fall-back plan. Don’t expect to start a business and then walk into a bank and get money. Traditional lenders don’t like new ideas and don’t like businesses without proven track records.
9) Be professional from the get-go.
Everything about you and the way you do business needs to let people know that you are a professional running a serious business. That means getting all the accoutrements such as professional business cards, a business phone and a business email address, and treating people in a professional, courteous manner.
10) Get the legal and tax issues right the first time.
It’s much more difficult and expensive to unsnarl a mess afterwards. Does your business need to be registered? Will you have to charge GST or PST? Will you have to have Workers’ Compensation Insurance or deal with payroll taxes? How will the form of business you choose affect your income tax situation? Learn what your legal and tax responsibilities are before you start your business and operate accordingly.
Following the advice on starting a business above will make starting a business both a smoother, less stressful process and go a long way towards ensuring the business you start lasts and thrives.
Posted in Budgeting, Customer Service, Information, The Economy, The IRS, Timesaver
Lots of people will be traveling this holiday season, and Moore Bookkeeping wants you to make it safely! If you’re traveling by air, here’s a website I learned about recently that is very helpful.
You can search any airport and any flight and even use their notification services to have changes and alerts sent to your mobile phone. Very handy if you’re stuck in the airport and need up-to-the-second information. This information feeds directly from the FAA and is a one-stop location for all kinds of airline information. Also, it’s all free.
Travel safely, and have a wonderful holiday season! Godspeed!
Managing your books is a cumbersome but critical task for any business. It is very time-consuming, frustrating, and could mean working late hours. However, it has to be done to know the worth of your business and to satisfy the government for taxes. You also need to do this on a regular basis to get an accurate idea of your financial health.
How do you make this stress-free task work for you?
Some small and medium businesses either employ part-time bookkeepers or do the work themselves. No matter how it is done it is still a mundane task involving shuffling papers and working extra hours. Often there is a twinge of doubt that you are not doing something quite right or are missing important information.
Ask any entrepreneur why they went into business and you’ll get a hundred different answers. Odds are that “do bookkeeping” was not on the list even though bookkeeping is the core of any successful business. It is the way to measure growth, keep cash flow positive and track expenses.
Bookkeeping is like learning to play a musical instrument. The secret is to learn the fundamentals and create a system that works for the company.
Here are a few tips that could prove helpful to make the right decision for bookkeeping and accounting needs:
Don’t mix business and pleasure:
Get a business credit card to enable you to separate your business expenses from your personal. By this time you have already started your business checking account. So adding that business credit card will help you establish and build business credit and points. Co-mingling funds between personal and business is not a productive or efficient way of doing business and can prove to be a headache at tax time.
Keep it simple:
When creating your business in your accounting software doesn’t create too many categories in the chart of accounts. For example, office supplies will be a sufficient category rather than separate categories for paper, letterhead, printer supplies, etc. This complicates profit and loss and adds time to the day-to-day activities when items are being expensed.
Automate your invoicing:
There are many online invoicing services that allow you to schedule invoices for clients who are charged on a regular basis. You will find that most accounting software has the ability to memorize invoices that reoccur monthly. The day of the re-occurrence can even be set such as the first of the month.
Use the right accounting software:
There are many accounting software packages out there that you can use to assist you with your accounting and bookkeeping needs. Of course, I highly recommend QuickBooks but there is also a wide variety of Open Source software which is free to download. Additionally there are a wide variety of free manuals and tutorials online.
Outsource to a virtual bookkeeper:
Outsourcing to a virtual bookkeeper saves time, money, worry, and headaches. Many business owners take two common approaches to tackling the issue of bookkeeping. They try to do it themselves – which is time consuming and can lead to costly mistakes. They pay large firms to do it – which is unnecessarily expensive. A professional bookkeeper has the skills and experience to do the job right. There are many advantages to outsourcing your books. Save money, save time, and the need for extra help. The biggest benefit is your bottom line.
Business people need to focus on the business:
There are many aspects to running a business and the most important is earning money. Some things just have to be delegated in order to maximize time and productivity. Bookkeeping can be a painful and time consuming process and many business owners do not have the expertise or knowledge to get the job done right. Time spent on bookkeeping activities is time away from making money.
–Fran McCully, Your Administrative Solutions
Posted in Budgeting, Information, Quickbooks, Timesaver
In addition to helping her out with QuickBooks, I hooked her up with a free Dropbox account so that she can get all those paper files from 2007 forward, out of her rolling plastic bins in her room, and into the cloud.
Once again, she couldn’t believe such a thing existed and thought it so cool that she could download the Dropbox app onto her iPad, and if needed at the meetings, she could quickly recall a copy of a bill explaining any expenses.
(Note from Debra: Dropbox is incredibly cool, helpful and FREE. We use it at Moore Bookkeeping all the time! If you don’t have it, you should check into it. https://www.dropbox.com/ is the site address.)
via How I Saved My Mom from a Bookkeeping Headache « SHU Books and Taxes’ Blog.
Posted in Quickbooks, Timesaver
Moore Bookkeeping 