Probably one of the least exciting aspects of running your own business is bookkeeping. Data entry is a monotonous, but necessary chore. Your time is valuable though, and better used running your business and making a profit. So let us handle the not fun part!
Every month or quarter, we’ll do the following to keep your business records organized and build a solid foundation for your small business accounting system:
- Reconciling bank accounts
- Creating a balance sheet
- Generating an income Statement
- General ledger clean-up
- Providing unlimited consultations
We also offer customized packages, to which you can add payroll, tax planning, tax preparation, and other valuable services that we offer.
Now, let’s breakdown what’s involved with bank reconciliations, balance sheets, income statements, and general ledger clean up.
Bank Reconciliation
By reconciling your business bank accounts each month, we can help you keep your accounting and taxes organized and up to date. Monthly reconciliations help you to:
- Know how your business finances are doing, because your financial statements aren’t going to be accurate if your accounts aren’t properly reconciled.
- Discover any lost deposits, uncashed checks, or unauthorized transfers.
- Prevent/Detect embezzlement within your company.
- Notice excessive bank charges.
- Manage cash flow more effectively.
- Protect your account(s), as being aware of fraudulent or unauthorized transactions when they occur, helps you to dispute them in a timely manner with your bank, thereby, increasing your chances of recovering the funds.
- Be at ease knowing your records are in order and funds are being properly disbursed.
Balance Sheet – by creating a balance sheet, we give you a concise and accurate look at the financial condition of your business during a specific period. Balance sheets help you to:
- Identify and analyze trends—this is especially useful with accounts receivable and payable.
- Easily observe the financial strength and capability of your small business.
- Help with determining if you should expand your business.
- Help you with making informed decisions on steps to boost cash reserves.
- Assess if your business can handle the normal ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses.
- Determine if payables should be slowed to mitigate cash shortages
Income Statement (Profit and Loss Statement)
By creating an income statement, we generate an itemized list of all your revenues which subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to show your profit or loss for a specific period. Income statements help you to:
- Identify which areas are over or under budget.
- Monitor and track income and expenses so you can evaluate the operating performance of your business.
- Track sudden increases in cost of goods sold or product returns as a percentage of sales.
- Assess your income tax liability.
- Isolate specific items (like telephone, internet, or office supply expenses) that are causing unexpected expenses.
General Ledger Clean Up
Your general ledger is the heart of your business’s financial records, and these records are the central “books” of your small business record keeping. All transactions flow through the general ledgers, so one error in your general ledger will throw your books off balance. When we review your general ledger we:
- Track discrepancies (ex: unrecorded payments or double expense postings).
- Fix discrepancies to keep your books accurate.
- Review the general ledger monthly, to track and fix issues in a timely fashion.
Balance sheets and income statements are the very base of small business accounting. These items are the basic requirements needed for financial reporting to potential lenders (ex: banks, vendors, or investors), so that they may determine how much credit to grant.
We’re happy to take the time to help you fully understand how to interpret and use the financial statements which we provide. We feel this is part of being proactive and work with you to keep your records organized and accurate.