When working with a new client, a lot of times the discussion starts around software and flows, and eventually follows a meandering path back through the annals of my memory to ACC 101.

While accounting software looks fancy and intimidating, there are a few things that we go over that helps. I recently put this up on our company whiteboard, and had several people comment on how helpful it was, so I thought I would try to replicate it here.

Accrual-based businesses report income and expenses according to GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. There are certain guidelines on when a business should use accrual-based bookkeeping, such as when inventory will be kept on hand or when you are above a certain revenue threshold, but many small businesses use a cash-based method instead.

If you’ve just recently started a new business, you may or may not already have some ideas for marketing your products or services. Regardless, if you’ve searched the Internet for ways to begin your marketing journey, you’ve probably read about a marketing plan — the big, intimidating document that requires a significant amount of research and consumes time that could be spent diving head-first into your work. However, even if you plan to hire a marketing team right away, it will be beneficial for you to begin writing a marketing plan yourself. And don’t worry — it’s not as difficult as you might think. Together we’ll explore the ongoing process of marketing and some key research topics that will give you an excellent start to a marketing plan for your new business.

As of July 31, 2022, Intuit will close the books on its QuickBooks Online Advanced (QBOA) partnership with Fathom. If you use QBOA, you were likely already notified of this. Fathom is a software that provides data analytics and visualization, and its integration with QuickBooks greatly enhanced the value and readability of a bookkeeper’s client reports. If you weren’t familiar with Fathom, then this bad news has no effect on you!

When I was around eight years old, I went with my parents to a used car lot. We were greeted by an employee who barely listened to what my parents were looking for before immediately disregarding our budget and taking us to the most expensive minivan at the dealership. He continued to ignore my parents’ requests and only slowly made his way down in cost from one vehicle to another, assuring us with every other breath that he would “get us taken care of.” He seemed quite proud of himself at end as he pushed my parents to make a hasty decision. When we left (empty-handed, I might add), my mother sighed and said, “Well, he was a salesman, wasn’t he?” The way she said it made “salesman” sound like an insult.

I love working in my office away from home. I said it. I feel like I’m standing in a support group and voicing a personal truth against skeptical faces, but I said it. Stacked next to a vast majority of professionals, my story may be a little different.

If you are looking to start a nonprofit organization, you may assume that all nonprofits are created equally when it comes to taxes. However, the IRS identifies twenty-seven different types of nonprofits. Each one has different requirements for eligibility and follows different rules on what can be taxed, but what are these different categories?

We are joining forces with Webgility and Summit Hosting to offer a discount (up to 30%) on QuickBooks Desktop products and QuickBooks Point of Sale (POS). If you’re not familiar with these two QuickBooks Solutions, they’re quite powerful for business owners.

According to Intuit, for every 100 customers in growing, complex businesses, more than 60 use Excel in their business. And why not? You can make lists and databases for leads, customers and staff, helping uncover and decipher data and trends to lead to powerful insights that determine your business’ future.

Members don’t have to be CPAs, or even know much about bookkeeping; that’s often left to an outsourced professional. However, since board members are responsible for the HOA’s financial health, they must grasp some key accounting concepts.

Employee Appreciation Day is this month! According to the Harvard Business Review, there is a distinct difference between recognition and appreciation. They define recognition as “performance-based” and “about what people do” and appreciation as “acknowledging a person’s inherent value” and “about who a person is” (Robbins). Both are central ingredients to the workplace, and Employee Appreciation Day is a great time to reevaluate your practices.

If you’re selling products or services online, then chances are your e-commerce business has gotten increasingly complicated over the last several years.

Whether it’s lack of inventory, selling on multiple channels, or navigating the supply chain world, finding a workable solution to manage your e-commerce activities can feel overwhelming and impossible.

As business owners, hiring people to join our team is sometimes necessary, but it can also be challenging. At Certum Solutions, we’ve found that new hires often need some direction and guidance. That’s why continuing education and staying on top of the latest trends and best practices are so important.

It’s no secret that happy teams produce better results. One study by the University of Oxford even quantified it, finding that happy workers were 13% more productive. But how do you grow and sustain a happy team?

While it’s valuable for you to understand your cash flow and make strategic decisions about the direction of your manufacturing business, you don’t have to be the one keeping your books. A professional bookkeeper can handle your books quickly and efficiently, so you can spend your valuable time working on your business.