Businesses are the backbone of American commerce outnumbering large corporations. But according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, half of all new small businesses fail in the first five years.
That statistic may sound disheartening, but we now know that the majority of small business failures are due to financial mismanagement. Knowing the problem makes it easy to fix it.
Are you a small business owner? Are you having a problem with financial mismanagement? Then now might be a good time to hire a bookkeeper to help. Here are some other things you should think about when deciding whether or not to hire a bookkeeper:
- PAY YOURSELF – Do you pay yourself a salary? Do you have systems in place like accounts receivable and accounts payable? When you open a small business, managing the books is usually manageable on your own. But as your small business grows, cash flow becomes more complicated and often results in business owners pushing their own pay to the back of the line or not paying themselves at all. Having a bookkeeper to make sure all the bills get paid and most importantly, you get paid, is a must.
- ACCURATE BOOKKEEPING – It’s important that your books are in order and that credit card and bank accounts are reconciled at least once a month. At Brigade Bookkeeping, we do that for all of our clients. Accurate bookkeeping not only prevents errors in banking, but is important in the financial health of your business.
- TAX TIME – Are you paying your quarterly taxes? Are your books in order? Will your books be ready when it’s time to pay your corporate taxes? If you answered no to any of these questions, then you may want to consider hiring a bookkeeper. The cleaner your books are, the more prepared you’ll be for filing your taxes correctly and the smoother that process will go.
- ARE YOU MAKING A PROFIT – Most small business owners want to grow their business and everyone wants to turn a profit, but if you don’t keep your bookkeeping accurate, neither is possible. The only way to know if you’re making a profit is to keep track of your bank account, your cash flow and your debts. A bookkeeper’s job is to do all of those things. So this year, if growing your business and making a profit are your goals, then it’s time to hire a bookkeeper.
I love small business owners. I am one of them and so are many of my clients. The best part of my job is to help my small business client grow. I’ve even been there to see some startups expand into multi-million dollar companies; now that’s exciting!
So if you need help with your company’s bookkeeping or have questions about your books, call me. I’m a small business owner, who loves keeping track of other small business’ books.
I want to take a second to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday. I hope you get to relax and enjoy some quality time together with your employees, your families, and your friends.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Gobble, gobble!
