May 2020 - Chartered Accountants, Taxation & Business advice Ashburton

“You have to understand accounting and you have to understand the nuances of accounting. It’s the language of business.” – Warren Buffett

A misconception among small business owners is that accounting only involves managing your books and paying your dues. But there are many little things in accounting that you should consider. This is where the problem usually starts. If you’re not careful, you might end up messing up your cash flow, or worse, paying penalties for unpaid taxes. It’s time to look at your accounting practices and make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes.

1. Mixing Personal Spending with Business Spending

Confusing your personal spending as a business spending is a common mistake among entrepreneurs. For instance, when you’re doing your monthly supplies run, it’s easy to pick up some items for personal use and unintentionally tag all them as a business cost. The key is to keep all your receipts. This way, you have proof of your expenses should your business requires to be audited. Worried about losing receipts? Scan or take photos of them, so you have a digital copy. Consider filing them by month or year and labelling them appropriately by category or department. When you categorise your business expenses, you won’t have problems finding records or receipts.

2. Taking Sales Tax for Granted

It’s quite easy to forget about your sales tax —especially if you have no idea how to deal with them. To make sure you’re complying with all your tax requirements, consider consulting or hiring experts to look into your finances.

3. Working with an Inexperienced CPA or Bookkeeper

Your CPA and bookkeeper are your sidekicks to managing the financial side of your business. It’s essential to work with professionals who have enough experience in their field. If you’re new to accounting and will have to depend on your CPA or bookkeeper’s knowledge and skills, take the time to choose candidates and professionals to hire.

4. Thinking Every Deal Closed Always Equates to Cash Flow

When you’re updating your books and forecasting cash flows, be mindful of how you record your deals. When you don’t consider the money your company needs to put out to complete a project, your books could give an inaccurate picture of your business’s financial status. What happens when instead of earning from a deal, you end up losing money? Do you need assistance with accounting? Glance Consulting offers bookkeeping, accounting, and cash flow forecasting services. Let us help you get the peace of mind that you have your books in order and your finances straightened out.

Please fill out our contact form or give us a call at 03 9885 9793 to learn about our accounting services.

As the world continues to fight against the coronavirus pandemic and countries try to flatten the curve, businesses have started adapting to a “new normal.” But if there is one lesson many entrepreneurs are learning from our situation, it’s the importance of having a pandemic business plan.

What is a pandemic business plan?

A pandemic business plan is your company’s guide to responding to emergencies, particularly in a long-term crisis like the coronavirus spread. It contains policies for communicating among employees and clients. This plan also includes budget contingencies and other strategies to ensure your business stays in operation during any situation.

How do you create a pandemic business plan?

The first step to creating a pandemic business plan is to build a team of experienced and trusted individuals who truly understand how your company operates. When possible, try to include members from all departments, like your HR, operations, and your top management team. This way, you’re able to see the bigger picture and how each department would play a role in an emergency.

When you have your risk management team all set up, it’s time to do the work:

1. Set up guidelines

Lay the foundation of your pandemic business plan. Create the guiding principles that everyone must follow during a situation like a pandemic. Your guidelines should include how the company will continue providing and supporting your employees.

Will you be offering medical care for your staff? Who will be responsible for caring and communicating with your team? Additionally, this is the part where you may need to decide whether to temporarily pause any ongoing programs to ensure you have enough budget for your business essentials.

2. Develop a communications plan

Communication is vital in an emergency and especially during a pandemic. Set up a communications program or policy that ensures your staff receive important company updates and messages even when they’re not in the office. The same goes for your clients. How do you plan to reach out to them and let them know of significant company changes or updates?

3. Create a flexible workforce schedule

Understandably, you may want to continue providing services to your clients and maintaining business operations even during this time. However, you should make sure that your company can do this safely.

Think about setting up a flexible work schedule for your staff. When possible, give them the option to work from home.

The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way many entrepreneurs and companies do business. What changes have you implemented in your workplace? If you need help adapting to our current situation, Glance Consultants can assist you. We offer strategic business advice and planning, business performance management, and cashflow management.

Call us at 03 9885 9793 or fill out our contact form for your enquiries. We continue to commit ourselves as your trusted advisor in your ever-changing business journey.

Month: May 2020

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Do You Have a Pandemic Business Plan