Actually certified.  Quickbooks Certified, to be specific.

What does that mean? With Quickbooks becoming pretty much the standard accounting software for small- and medium-sized businesses, it pays to be trained in the methods and techniques of how to run and manage the software package.

Quickbooks really took accounting to the masses.  It is a software package (either as an application or Cloud based) that allows entrepreneurs and business owners become literate in accounting.  It helps them understand the importance of accounting in their day-to-day operations and ensures a level of expertise and compliance.

By being certified by Quickbooks (Intuit Corporation), it allows us to take the rudimentary financial information that our Quickbooks-using clients have collected and turn that into information that a business owner can use strategically.  Quickbooks collects and performs the payroll, payment and basic ledger functions that used to be done by hand or by older, more complex accounting methods, tools and software packages.

Being Quickbooks Certified means we can help make that data useful to you and demystify it for you to help you grow your business.

In other words, we speak small- and medium-sized business financials.  And we are certified in it.

Do you do your own accounting internally using Quickbooks?  Are you up to managing this process efficiently?  If not, you should consider outsourcing your accounting needs to a third-party provider.  TFO Solutions is just such a company.

For more on how to manage your finances, call or write to us.  TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their financial strategy from the back office to the boardroom.

*photos courtesy of Unsplash

Want to know where your money has been, where it is going and what it’s been up to? It’s time to reconcile with it.

Or at least your bank statement.

All kidding aside, reconciling your bank statement is critical to your business. By definition, reconciling your bank statement means you are matching your business and banking activities with that of your bank account. Reconciling your bank statement ensures that:

• Payments have been processed
• Cash collections have been deposited
• Fees charged have been accounted for.
• Ensures that the bank statement matches internal records.

So, why reconcile?

• It is a “mini-audit” of sorts in that it shows where cash is going—or not—ensuring security of the account.
• Setting up an opportunity to create a financial strategy—you have a roadmap of cash flows in and out.
• Uncovers errors such as unrecorded transactions or transpositions of numbers.
• Doing it monthly keeps your company steering in a positive directions as you know your bank balances and internal books are correct and match one another.

Do you reconcile your accounts?  Are you up to managing this process?  If not, you should consider outsourcing your accounting needs to a third-party provider.  TFO Solutions is just such a company.

For more on how to manage your finances, call or write to us.  TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their financial strategy from the back office to the boardroom.

*photos courtesy of Unsplash

“Our people are our product.”

“Without our people, we are just another business.”

“Our people are our most important asset.”

If you’ve ever uttered any of these phrases, hopefully you really meant it.  The workers at any business really are critical to that business’ success.  And to really ensure that success, those workers and their needs must be managed,

Just like the product or service your company produces or offer, your human resource needs to be managed and watched over.  Productivity, efficiency and retention are at stake.

What comprises an effective human resources (HR) management program?

• Compliance with federal and state employment laws.
• Recruiting, hiring and onboarding.
• Working with managers.
• Developing talent strategically.
• Creating, maintaining and enforcing policies.
• Coordinating with payroll.

Do you have these systems in place?  Are you up to managing these processes?  If not, you should consider outsourcing your HR needs to a third-party provider.  TFO Solutions is just such a company.

For more on how to manage your human resource, call or write to us.  TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their financial strategy from the back office to the boardroom.

*photos courtesy of Unsplash

Payroll.  If you’re on one, great.  You’re on the receiving end of pay.

But if you are responsible for payroll, you are the one who gets to make sure – or actually does—dole out the bucks to those you employ.

Seems simple enough. Yet, like most activities in business beyond your core business, it might not be in your skill set to deal with all of the things associated with paying your employees.

So what exactly is payroll? It’s really a process, usually handled by the human resources folks in a company in concert with accounting or finance departments.  And it involves:

• Having employees fill out W-4 forms.
• Finding or assigning Employee Identification Numbers.
• Setting up a payroll schedule.
• Calculating and withholding income taxes.
• Paying payroll taxes.
• Calculating and including deductions and reimbursements.
• Filing tax forms.
• Issuing W-2s to employees (or 1099 forms to contractors).
• Paying your employees and contractors.

Contracting with an outside company (like TFO Solutions) can make life far easier by streamlining the process—you deliver the hours to the payroll company and the do all of the paperwork and heavy lifting and issue you the checks.  You stay informed by them through reports and updates.

For more on how to manage and distribute and account for your payroll, call or write to us.  TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their finances from the back office to the boardroom.

*photos courtesy of Unsplash

Excuse me, is that a wolf at the door?

Oh, wait…it’s just a bill collector.

Is that how you feel when you ask for your open invoices to be paid?  You really shouldn’t because it is really your client’s responsibility to keep their cash as long as they can. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be paid.

What comprises a good collections management system? Well, the last word is critical: system.  You have to have a system and an effective plan to ensure that invoices get paid and on time.

Here are a few ideas that could improve your collections:

• Create and use an accounts receivable (A/R) report.
• Be proactive in your collections.
• Move fast on past-due receivables.
• Consider an early payment discount
• Offer payment plans.
• Diversify your client base.
• Partner with your bank to manage cash.

Whatever you choose to do, be systematic, polite and professional.  While talking about money can be a pain, kindness and understanding go a long way.  However, being firm and clear is also a big part of the equation of collections.

For more on how to manage and make your collections, call or write to us.  TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their finances from the back office to the boardroom.

*photos courtesy of Unsplash

What’s all this talk of selling cold goods?  Oh, wait…

That’s cost of goods sold.  And it is key to your business’ finances if you are making something and selling it. If you don’t know how much your product costs to make, it will be hard for you to understand what makes your business profitable or even make it grow!

Your inventory is key to being able to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS).  It is built around your beginning inventory, adds in purchases made during the period and then subtracts the ending inventory form that total. Or, when expressed an equation:

• BI + P – EI = COGS

Simple enough?  Well, not so fast– even though the formula is basic it is critical to remember than COGS only applies to those costs directly related to producing goods intended for sale.

COGS tells you your gross profit and is a metric to measure the cost of doing business. It is also a critical measure of profitability and your ability to stay in business.  In other words, the life blood of your company’s present and future.

For more on how to determine, manage and control costs, call or write to us.  TFO Solutions is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and business owners with their finances from the back office to the boardroom.

*photos courtesy of Unsplash