Bookkeeping. Boring, right?
Right.
Critical, right?
Yes it is.
Bookkeeping, the capture, recording and summation of transactions, is critical to the health of your business.
Critical to accurate financial statements.
Critical to useful analytics.
Critical to accurate tax returns.
Critical to keep accounting fees at a reasonable level.
Critical component of internal controls.
More discussion to follow.
Cheap bookkeeping can be very expensive.
October 15th is the final rush for business and personal tax filing.
Have we learned anything?
Giving your paperwork/schedules to your accountant close to the deadline is a very bad idea.
Giving your paperwork/schedules to your accountant in bunches and pieces is a bad idea.
If your bookkeeping is sloppy it will be costly to clean up the mess.
If your bookkeeping is sloppy it is difficult to produce meaningful analytics.
Do better in 2023 and do a lot better in 2024.
A small service business puts together attractive and informative door hangers, and hangs them through our neighborhood.
I need the service.
I call. And call again.
Answer the phone, or return the voicemails.
This makes no sense.
Why is your accountant a little grumpy and demanding at tax time?
Some of it is because tax time runs at least from January 1 through October 15th these days.
Some of it is because tax preparation technology is complex and expensive.
Some of it is because business client bookkeeping is often an amateurish mess.
Some of it is because the federal tax law has been turned into a really complex snarl.
Some of it is because clients are late with documentation.
Some of it is because clients bring messy documents.
Some of it is because clients do transactions and then ask for tax advice.
Some of it is because clients have unreasonable expectations about turnaround time.
Some of it is because clients want excellent work for low prices.
Some of it is because clients take bad tax advice from amateurs and do dumb things.
Supplying smart phones to a large number of employees is expensive.
Allowing them to use their own phones saves money.
Allowing them to use their own phones may create issues, especially if they deal with business apps and confidential information.
Either way, you need a cyber security plan, and a plan for onboarding, and a plan for employee transition (termination and resignation).
.... because I may have to eat them.
If you are going to mix business with social media be careful about the content.
Best to keep business with business, and keep personal rants on personal accounts.
Separate accounts are best.
Many businesses have video cameras, inside, outside, or both.
Question: in this environment are cameras a requirement to protect employees and customers?
Answer: probably yes
Keep context in mind:
location
hours
type of business
etc.
But you probably need some level of protection for employees and customers.
