FJW Accounting

Accounting — Your Management Controls

Would you ever drive your car blindfolded? Obviously, not!

Nonetheless, every day millions of business owners drive their businesses without knowing their financial locations: where they have been, where they are, and where they are going. That sure sounds blindfolded to me.

As your profit and growth expert, my primary role is to ensure that you have the historical data that will tell you where you have been and where you are currently. With that information I can provide a professional consultation that will help you determine where you want to go while creating an action plan that will help you get there.

With this 360 degree view of your business, you can plan effectively and then track your progress against your goals. It will also help you anticipate obstacles so that, when encountered, you can easily maneuver around them rather than allowing them to slow you down.

With my help you can’t go wrong.

You want an accounting system that gives you peace of mind and more profits with less work. I’m guessing that you also want to reduce taxes, improve cash flow, and manage your business more profitably.

That’s what I do best! Work with me and choose which of the following systems you would prefer:

1. Receive training to use a system exclusively designed for your business, OR
2. Have me completely manage the custom-designed system at an affordable cost

What Can I Do for Your Business

Wholesale / Retail / Service
Have complete control systems for Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Inventory.

TV / Automotive / Furniture
Properly account for Contracts in Transit, Bank Reserve Accounts, and Flooring of products for resale (inventory financing). Maintain control of income and expenses.

Manufacturing
Control Raw Materials, Direct Labor, Work in Progress, and Finished Goods. Keep expenses categorized into Manufacturing and General Overhead areas.

Construction
Easily track profits or losses on each job in progress. Control cash flow based on percentages of completion. Minimize losses from under-billings created through change orders.

Professional
Control expenses and income for year-end savings. Take advantage of conversion from cash-to-accrual accounting. Manage Accounts Receivable and improve Collections.

Food / Cafe / Beauty
Utilize a combination of Cash and Accrual statements. Have a low-cost, low-maintenance accounting system.

Enjoy an accounting system designed specifically for your business that shows where you stand at all times. Simplify the books that maintain it all:

• Cash Receipts
• Deposits
• Charge Accounts
• Credit Purchases
• Cash Purchases
• Bank Reconciliation
• Depreciation
• Adjusting Entries
• Inventory Control
• Reconciliations
• Income Statements
• Balance Sheets
• Individual Accounts Receivable Records
• Individual Accounts Payable Records
• Payroll Journal
• Individual Payroll Records
• Property, Plant and Equipment Records

Incredible Benefits You Will Enjoy

Your accounting system will be tailored to your business. You can do it, I can do it, or we can do it together.

Your bookkeeping/accounting costs will be substantially reduced.

Your personnel will be free to produce more profits for you.

I can help you acquire funding for your business through financing, investors, and other means.

You will receive properly-designed financial statements that will allow you to manage your business efficiently and help you to better plan for the future.

Choose from hand-posted or computerized programs specifically tailored to meet your accounting needs.

Streamline the accounting task, and free up your valuable time. [Consider this: the average small business owner spends over 10 hours personally, each month, accounting for the business. If your average billing rate is $50 per hour, you may be spending more than $500 per month of your time.]

How Would You Describe Your Business?

• Steady and stable
• Growing fast
• Hanging in there
• Brand new

If your business is steady and stable, or growing fast, then congratulations! But IT IS POSSIBLE for your business to improve, and generate more profits!

If you’re just hanging in there, you can turn things around . . . FAST!

If your business is brand new, don’t make the expensive mistakes that can be the difference between success and failure!

No matter which of these groups describes your business, you can benefit from these small business services that can save you both time and money!

Accounting is a core business function. Without accounting, a business is sure to fail. With accounting, a business might survive. With accounting managed by a Profit Center Expert, a business is certain to succeed.

You’re probably already familiar with the bleak forecast for new small businesses. While failure rates have decreased considerably in the last few years, recent studies from the Small Business Administration (SBA) indicate that one third of new employer establishments fail within the first two years, and 56% fail within four years.

Poor financial management is often cited as the reason for most small business failures. Often the business owner or a member of the business team manages this crucial function because they want to maintain complete control of their business, they’re afraid that outsourcing the accounting would be too expensive, or a combination of the two. What they don’t realize is that outsourcing is a useful management tool that can save a business both time and money while preventing potential failure. And when you outsource to the right accountant, it can be the difference between base survival and profitable success.

The Benefits

There are countless benefits you enjoy when outsourcing your accounting. Here are just a few:

Save Yourself Time. You’re in business because you’re good at what you do. Your expertise involves the product and/or service you offer. And i’m guessing your expertise is not accounting. So if you, or anyone on your team, spend time managing your business’s finances, that’s time that could be better spent building your business.

In order to be competitive you must constantly be looking for ways to improve and expand your products and/or services, better market your business, and stay ahead of your competition. When you and your team focus time and attention on the accounting, that’s time not spent on these crucial tasks. When you outsource the accounting to a trusted professional, you can use that time to make your business the best it can be.

Save Yourself Money. We all know time is money. The average small business owner spends over 10 hours personally, each month, accounting for the business. If your average billing rate is $50 per hour, you may be spending more than five hundred dollars’ worth of your time! Chances are you easily can pay for a good accountant and then some with all that money.

Gain Access to Valuable Accounting Expertise, Equipment, and Technology. Reputable accountants have the expertise to not only save you money, but to make your business more profitable. In addition to that, they have access to equipment and technology that most small businesses can’t afford. I will use my resources to your advantage and save you the time and headache of doing it yourself.

Gain Access to Profit-Building Information. A truly valuable accountant is also a Profit Center Expert. I analyze financial data in order to assist you in making profitable decisions for your business. A Profit Center Expert can inform you which products and/or services to expand, which to eliminate, whether your marketing attempts are successful, where you’re losing money, and where to cut back in order to save and redirect funds in order to become more profitable.

Call me for a free, no-obligation consultation. We can customize a package of services that is competitively priced and designed to save you time, energy, and headache. I offer the following services:

Accounts Payable

• Input vendor invoices to payable system
• Classify invoices to the proper G/L account
• Request and maintain vendor W-9 information
• Maintain vendor master files
• Respond to vendor inquiries about payment status
• Retrieve copies of payments as necessary
• Prepare and file required 1099 forms
• Process requests for stop payments when necessary
• Cut checks to vendors based on due dates or client instruction
• Reconcile vendor statements to accounts payable ledger
• Reporting to organization on detailed aged payables and cash requirements
• Process year-end 1099 forms

Accounts Receivable

• Prepare and mail billings as needed (all billings provided to client for approval prior to mailing)
• Record and account for revenue
• Input receivable transactions into the accounting system
• Prepare and deliver periodic statements
• Issue client-approved credit memos and refund checks
• Maintain subsidiary receivables ledger
• Process client-approved adjustments
• Apply cash received to customer accounts and resolve “short pays”
• Perform low-level phone collections as needed by client

Cash management

• Process daily sales and deposit reports
• Verify daily deposits and report variances
• Reconcile and verify credit card deposits
• Reconcile monthly bank statements

Journal entry and general ledger

Account reconciliations

Payroll

• Time cards, after approval, will be scanned and uploaded prior to payday
• Complete payroll while client prints, signs and distributes paychecks
• Prepare employee earnings statements complete with current pay period and year-to-date wages, taxes, and adjustments
• Prepare department summaries of month-to-date payroll data in addition to customized reports specific to client
• Prepares timely and accurate notifications of tax liabilities and deposits
• Completes year-end W-2 forms
• Respond to requests for employee verifications
• Process and submit garnishment payments
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries
• Prepare and file new hire reporting to state
• Prepare, file, and pay all federal, state, and local payroll taxes
• Reconcile health insurance payments and make payroll deductions when required
• Prepare necessary HR reports such as turnover
• Allocate payroll expenses for multi-store employees
• Prepare and process payroll accruals when necessary

Monthly Closing

Fixed assets accounting & depreciation

Monthly financial analysis and reports

Yearly Business Assessments

Don’t wait another day to partner with a Profit Center Expert (PCE) and make your business more successful. Do what you love to do more; let your PCE take care of the rest. Call now for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Not only is my company genuinely interested in your business’s success, I am also dedicated to providing you with a broad variety of business accounting services at a very affordable price.

I want you to feel like you are my only client. If you have a priority, it becomes my priority, and I will quickly supply the answers you need to run your business profitably. Regardless of company size, my clients should expect my utmost attention.

In working with me, you have access to all the resources of a full-service accounting provider. I have the capacity to fulfill virtually all of your accounting needs; and if I can’t I will connect you with professionals who can.

There’s one distinguishing difference between tax planning and tax preparation: December 31st. In order to be beneficial, tax planning must occur before the end of the year while tax preparation can only take place after year’s end. Although I can’t promise to eliminate taxes, my tax planning and preparation services will help you minimize them.

Tax planning is an important step in reducing taxes. Together, throughout the year, I will discuss various tax strategies that could potentially save you thousands of dollars. This will enable you to make all the necessary adjustments before the end of the year so that you have some control over how much you pay in taxes.

Then, after year’s end and with your help, I will see that your taxes are professionally prepared in a timely fashion in order to avoid late fees. In order to provide you with such services, I have certified Professional Tax Preparers on staff that will assess your tax liability.

I trust that if you were forming a team for an upcoming golf tournament, you would want to recruit an expert like Tiger Woods.

Although we may not be the golfer Tiger Woods is, I do take my job as your Profit and Growth Expert just as seriously. While my goal is not to minimize your golf swings, I do aim to maximize your profit dollars. This entails a monthly analysis of your financial results, consultation in areas of profit improvement, and the implementation of strategies designed to lower your tax liability.

Together, we will examine past experiences, determine where you want your business to go, and discuss how that can happen. That’s our role as your Profit and Growth Expert.

Being in the black can mean a lot of different things. For most business owners, it means being profitable. When a business owner sets out on a new venture, establishing a profitable business is one, if not the only, driver. Unfortunately, too many entrepreneurs get lost in the day-to-day tasks of running the business and forget their main purpose.

As your accounting professional and Profit and Growth Expert I apply The Universal Business Model to help maximize the profitability of your business. Each month I apply our financial expertise, combined with access to a variety of analytical tools, to assess your business’s financial position and progress.

With my help you can improve your business’s financial position using  The Wisdom Pyramid.  Here’s a short list of what you will accomplish:

• Know how your business stacks up against the competition using the professional business assessment we provide.
• Recognize your business’s strengths and weaknesses, and use that awareness to improve your profitability.  Consider this a Day with your CFO.
• Identify trends that expose what is both helping and hindering to your business.
• Take advantage of tax benefits through regular reviews of your tax position.

By gathering the necessary information through the bookkeeping and accounting process, I will analyze the data and help you make the changes required to improve your business’s profitability. Whether you need a financial audit or review, we can help move your business forward.

Only about 1 out of 30 businesses are required to have an audit performed by a Certified Public Accountant, CPA. Some businesses have them performed because the bank from which they seek financing requires it. Other businesses seek audits because they plan to be publicly traded. Regardless of the reason, an audit can be costly.

An audit must be performed by an independent CPA — one that is not presently involved in the business in any way. Although, as your Profit and Growth Expert, I can’t perform the audit, we can assist you in locating an auditor who will provide this service in a professional and cost effective way, if you find your business in one of these relatively rare situations.

I have qualified individuals on staff with various levels of experience and credentials–from Certified Professional Bookkeepers to Professional Tax Preparers to QuickBooks Specialists–all of which can provide you with the peace of mind you deserve.

Too often business owners are so preoccupied with select parts of the accounting process that they don’t realize just how valuable all that financial information can be. Some business owners focus on preparing the yearly tax statement. Others may worry about that and their cash flow. And others still may just balance their checkbooks. If you choose to have us do your accounting, we can do all that and more. And most importantly, I can help you become more profitable.

It really is quite simple. First you need a reputable accountant, what we like to call a Profit and Growth Expert, to determine your business goals. These goals may include, but are not limited to, growth expectations, marketing plans, profit margins, and overall labor expenses. We ask important questions like, what do you want? And why do you want it?

Here is a technical way of looking at bookkeeping:

Bookkeeping: The practice involved in the systematic recording of transactions affecting a company, beginning with the data-entry process and ending with the preparation of financial statements. The art, practice, or labor involved in the systematic recording of the transactions affecting a business.
http://www.know-accounting.com/glossary/index.php?terml=b&termid=29

In layman’s terms, bookkeeping is the practice of determining which numbers are important to you and your business. Once that’s decided, I can set up a customized system that will organize the information you want and need. This is how I will come up with Your Accounting System.

In today’s competitive environment, information is power!

You’ll uncover a goldmine of profit-building information as you assess your financial standing, and when used properly, this information can help you better plan for your business’s success.

Call today for a free consultation. There is absolutely no obligation of any kind.

It will be well worth your time!

Do you have a customized accounting or bookkeeping system? Take This Quiz:

Can you answer these 10 questions about your business?

1. Were my total sales up or down last month? And where they designated by category?
2. What was my total gross profit last month? And was it designated by sales category?
3. What is my gross profit per item?
4. What were my expenses by category last month?
5. Who owes me money and how much?
6. Who’s behind in paying me and by how much?
7. How much inventory do I have, in total and by item?
8. To whom do I owe money and how much?
9. What was my profit last month?
10. How much do I OWN, and how much do I OWE?

Were my total sales up or down last month? And were they designated by sales category?
You need to know: If your sales are up, you’ll need extra cash to buy replacement inventory. If your sales are down, you’ll want to pull back on inventory purchases. Sales increases in a category can indicate a new growth opportunity. Sales decreases need to be investigated to determine the reason for the loss.

Back to questions

What was my total gross profit last month? And was it designated by sales category?
You need to know: Gross profit shows the profit remaining from sales after subtracting the cost of the products and/or services you sold. Changes in gross profit indicate whether or not your pricing strategies are working. Cutting prices to increase sales can hurt you if it reduces your gross profit.

Back to questions

What is my gross profit per item?
You need to know: Pricing should be based on profit goals rather than simple conjecture. By raising the prices on some items and selling others near or below cost, you can change your inventory mix and increase gross profits. An increase of just 1% may add thousands of dollars to net profits. You can give sales incentives that will cause employees to sell the most profitable items instead of the easiest ones.

Back to questions

What were my expenses by category last month?
You need to know: Are payroll costs too high? What about other costs, such as insurance and utilities? In order to cut back on expenses, you must first know which costs are excessive. Also, recording your expenses each month ensures that you get the maximum tax deductions.

Back to questions

Who owes me money and how much?
You need to know: You can’t expect to get paid in full unless you tell customers exactly what they owe. An itemized, neatly printed, and up-to-date monthly statement tells customers that you expect to be paid on time and according to your payment terms.

Back to questions

Who’s behind in paying me and by how much?
You need to know: Customers who fall behind need to be contacted immediately and continuously so that it doesn’t become a habit. Also, before you approve a new order from a customer, you’ll want to know if that customer paid you on time for the last one.

Back to questions

How much inventory do I have: in total and by item?
You need to know: If you’re running low on an item, you can reorder in advance and never run out. Plus, you can avoid rush delivery charges. If you have too much of one item, or too much inventory in general, you can cut back on your inventory investment. Also, you can compare a physical count with the books and identify a shortage before it threatens to put you out of business.

Back to questions

To whom do I owe money and how much?
You need to know: Many vendors offer discounts for paying bills in less than 30 days, which can add up to big savings on an annual basis. Paying your bills on time will also increase your chances of qualifying for business credit. Plus, you can plan for your cash requirements and reduce the need to borrow from your own funds or a bank.

Back to questions

What was my profit last month?
You need to know: A monthly profit figure gives you the financial bottom line and lets you know where you’ve been and where you’re going. Plus, you can save thousands of dollars on year-end tax return fees and plan for taxes in advance.

Back to questions

How much do I OWN, and how much do I OWE?
You need to know: Keeping track of your current assets and liabilities allows you to plan for your cash needs and helps you stay in compliance with loan agreements. Plus, you’ll be ready to respond to questions on demand from suppliers or potential customers.

Back to questions

Which of the following best describes Your Accounting System?

I do it myself
Your time is so much more valuable than that! You are the world’s #1 expert in running your business. While you are busy managing the books, your competitors are designing new products and services, preparing new advertising, collecting past-due accounts, and shopping for less expensive suppliers. These tasks are essential to the growth of your business. Are you sure that your accounting system conforms to proper rules and procedures? Even more importantly, do you get all of the valuable information described here from your system?

I have an accountant
Does your accountant or bookkeeper provide you with all of the information described here? Does your accountant take the time to explain what the numbers mean and how you can use them to manage your business more profitably? Do you feel you are getting the best possible value for the fees you are paying?

I don’t have a system
There isn’t a better time than now to get started! Studies have shown that small businesses often fail because they don’t have a good accounting system in place. We will work with you to develop a system for your specific business that is so easy to use that you’ll be amazed. If you can drop a piece of paper into a file folder, you already have the necessary skills to use it! You can obtain all of the valuable information described here. Plus, you will understand what the numbers mean and how you can use them to manage your business more profitably and better control your future.