Small Business Budgeting Errors to Avoid

When you’re a small business owner, it can be hard to know where your money is going.

In fact, many small businesses make common budgeting mistakes that can cost them hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost revenue!

In this article, we’ll talk about five common budgeting errors and how to avoid them.

 

Underestimating business expenses

When you’re running a business, you never know what’s going to happen.

Maybe you’ll need to spend money on some new equipment or software, but forget to account for the training and maintenance time it will take your staff to get used to it. Or maybe your contract with one of your suppliers is about to expire and they won’t give you a good deal on renewal—so you have to cough up more money than expected.

The point is that these things happen, and in the end, the only thing you can do is try to make sure that when they do happen, they don’t leave you in an uncomfortable position financially.

 

No Goal Setting

When you’re planning your spending priorities, it’s almost impossible to do so without clear goals for the coming year. It’s important to identify, in detail, your business and financial goals and what you want or need to achieve in your business.

Think about what kind of business you want to run and how it will look different from other businesses in your industry. What are the biggest challenges you’re facing right now? How can you use money to overcome those challenges?

When you know where you stand, it’s easier to figure out where you want to go—and how much money it will take to get there.

 

Mistaking profit for profitability

Revenue on the books doesn’t always equate to cash in hand. Just because you’ve closed the deal, it may be a long time before you are paid for your services, and the money is in your bank account. Easier said than done, perhaps, but don’t spend money that you don’t have.

When someone buys something from you, they might choose to pay in installments over an extended period of time. Or they might pay in full upfront but then wait 60 days or more before sending a check. Either way, this can cause problems if you’re not careful about how you handle those payments.

 

No flexibility when it comes to budgeting

Don’t be afraid to update your forecasted expenditures whenever new circumstances affect your business. Several times a year, you should set aside time to compare budget estimates against the amount you spent and then adjust your budget accordingly.

For example, if you have a lot of cash on hand and it looks like you’ll be able to pay off some loans early, you may want to reduce your projected expenses in that area so that you don’t overspend and get hit with late fees. If you don’t have enough cash on hand for those loans and need a loan itself, it may be worth increasing the amount of money you allocate for debt repayment in your budget.

The key is to consider all possible scenarios before making any decisions about how much money should go where.

 

Bottom line

Here’s the thing: some of these mistakes are so easy to avoid! And others are so easy to fix. They might not seem like much individually, but when you’re looking at a few thousand dollars here and there, they can make a big difference. Just think of all the great improvements in your business you could make with an extra five or ten grand each year! If you want to prevent these errors from happening under your nose, it would be in your best interest to have a professional handle your bookkeeping for you! Our expert bookkeepers are ready to help you any minute, don’t hesitate to send us a message today!

Get in touch with us today!

Signs that you need help with cash controls

Most businesses aren’t structured to provide the right kind of help with cash control. They put the accountant on a pedestal, and believe the books are the only place where financial controls need to be in place. This mentality leads to all kinds of bad things; from fraud to not having enough funds to pay your suppliers.

When a business is in need of funds, the common solution business owners think of is to borrow from a bank. Banks are a great source of financing and working relationship but at the same time, they are controlling. A lot of the time businesses get into financial trouble when they don’t keep track of their cash flow effectively.

If you want to keep your business running in the long run, you need to identify these signs before they end up costing you your business:

 

You don’t know your cash break-even point

You’ve put all your hard work into starting a business, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to coast.

Keeping a close eye on your monthly break-even point is crucial. Why? Because if you don’t know exactly how much cash you need on hand each month to meet expenses and keep your business running, you risk coming up short at crucial times.

So what is the break-even point? It’s the amount of cash you need on a monthly basis to meet your expenses based on your monthly revenue.

That may sound confusing, so let’s break it down: Your monthly revenue is the money you make from sales in the period of time before interest is applied—usually a month. Your expenses are all the costs related to doing business—rent, inventory, payroll, etc.—for that same period of time. If you’re not bringing in enough money every month to cover those expenses, then you’re probably going to end up with some very angry landlords and a lot of disappointed employees.

The best way to find out where your break-even point is and whether or not it’s healthy is to analyze your business plan and see what kind of revenue it projects for the next few months. That should give you a sense of how much money you need to earn from your business in order to make ends meet and continue operating for another day.

 

You have no quarterly cash forecast

As a business owner, if you don’t implement a quarterly cash forecast, you are setting up your business for a whole lot of problems in the future.

Without it, your business will have difficulty getting loans or credit because financial institutions will see that you haven’t been planning for the future and that you don’t know your numbers well enough to make predictions and set goals. In other words, you’re not taking control of your finances. And if you aren’t taking control of your finances, how can a bank trust that you’ll pay back a loan?

In addition, if you’re not doing cash flow forecasting, it’s much more likely that you’ll run out of money and experience unexpected cash flow challenges. This can be devastating for small businesses. According to Fundera, around 82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems.

Quarterly cash flow analysis can help prevent this by giving you a look at what’s coming ahead—both good and bad—so that you know when to expect growth and when to tighten your belt.

 

Poorly planned use of long-term debt

Sometimes, when you’re in the middle of a growth spurt and need to expand your operations quickly, it’s tempting to use long-term debt to cover short-term costs. That’s because it’s often easier and faster to get money from a lender than it is to raise funds from investors or sell equity shares yourself.

But what happens if you continue this practice over time? You’ll end up with a lot of debt that needs paying off, and that can make your company less attractive to potential buyers or investors. Plus, interest rates are higher on loans than on equity shares or investments in your company’s stock price—which means that you’ll be paying more for the same amount of capital!

So if you’re considering taking out a loan for short-term expenses but don’t have a plan for covering those payments once they come due (like selling off assets), then it’s probably not such a good idea.

 

Cash control tips

Here are some tips to help you get your cash controls in order:

 

Cash flow vs. revenue

When you’re thinking about your company’s financial health, you’ll need to know the difference between cash flow and revenue. These two indicators measure different aspects of your business, so understanding them will help you keep track of how things are going.

Revenue is a function of sales and marketing—how effective your team is at getting people to buy your product or service. Cash flow, on the other hand, is a function of liquidity or money management—how much money you have on hand at any given time.

It’s possible for your cash flow to be negative without it being a problem because sometimes money goes out before it comes in. It’s not possible for revenue to be negative unless something is seriously wrong with your company.

One thing to keep in mind when measuring cash flow: don’t forget to include income from sources outside of your core product or service.

 

Inflow vs Outflows

Okay, you get it. You know that cash control is important.

But how do you actually get more of it?

There are a lot of ways to look at managing cash flow, but the main thing to keep in mind is this: You should identify all sources of business cash inflows and outflows and then work to maximize inflows while minimizing outflows, and to a large extent that means focusing on timing.

To figure out where your money is coming from and going, you should consider things like recurring revenue streams (like monthly subscriptions), one-time payments (like one-time purchases), and other factors like tax deductions or refunds.

Then, once you know how much money is coming in, you can set goals for how much money you want to bring in each month or year—and how much of it comes from recurring (monthly) sources versus one-time sources. Once you’ve set those goals, look at each source individually and see what steps you can take to make sure those dollars stay on track!

 

Have a bookkeeper by your side

Having an experienced bookkeeper to manage and further develop your cash flow strategy is important if you want your business to succeed in the long run. They have the expertise in the field and they also give the added bonus of checks and balances that are needed to ensure proper cash control. If you don’t know any bookkeepers or if you don’t have one, well you’re in luck! Our experienced bookkeepers are ready to help you with your cash control woes, so send us a message today!

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Small Business Bookkeeping Problems and Solutions

If you own a small business, then you know the feeling of being pulled in a million different directions and one of those directions might be bookkeeping problems. However, it’s vital that you pay attention to the financial aspects of your company and find solutions to your bookkeeping problems. Otherwise, you may miss out on opportunities to maximize your profits, and you could end up making costly mistakes. Especially if you don’t find a solution for your bookkeeping problems.

So, how can you make sure that this doesn’t happen? Are there ways to protect yourself from common bookkeeping pitfalls? Yes! Check out these common bookkeeping problems and solutions so you can avoid costly mistakes and excel at your business.

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Bookkeeping Problem #1: Incorrect Bookkeeping

When it comes to bookkeeping, small businesses sometimes get the short end of the stick. As a small business owner or manager, you’re expected to know everything and do everything. And when it comes to proper bookkeeping, it’s no different. You need to keep close tabs on your finances, but you also need to understand what records are included in your bookkeeping process and why they’re important.

All businesses need to keep proper financial records. It’s especially important for small businesses to keep a close watch on their documentation so that transactions are well-documented.

The main reason small businesses fail to maintain proper records is that they don’t have time or know which documents to track. Failing to maintain proper records becomes a much larger bookkeeping issue when tax season rolls around.

Bookkeeping Solution: Establish bookkeeping procedures to stay organized

It’s important to have the right information ready so that you can be prepared for what might come up. Here are some of the documents businesses typically track:

• Purchases and Expenses

All purchases and expenses must be filed for tax purposes. This includes everything you purchase or spend money on and any appropriate forms or receipts you possess. You should keep these documents for at least three years from the tax year in which you file your income taxes.

• Employment Tax Records

To ensure you are in compliance with IRS regulations, please keep a log of all employee details and payments. Include employee names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of employment, absences, and all income tax withholding allowance certificates.

• Cash Flow

To keep better track of your finances, it’s a good idea to get a receipt or invoice for any income you receive. Then add that information to your accounting system, and keep a copy as confirmation.

• Assets

Sale of business assets, purchase of business assets, and depreciation of business assets are three items that are important to recordkeeping for your business. If you sell an asset for more than you paid for it, it is often a taxable event.

 

Bookkeeping Problem #2: Wrong data entry

When JP Morgan Chase took a $6.2 billion trading loss in 2012, the company quickly conducted an internal investigation to find the cause. They found that the faulty risk model used by the company’s traders had been operating through a series of Excel spreadsheets that had to be completed manually through a process of copying and pasting data from one spreadsheet to another.

These days, despite improvements in technology over the last 30 years, this kind of human error is still all too common. More than a quarter of professionals (27.5%) reported that inaccurate data had been manually input into an enterprise system at their firms, according to the software products team at Bloomberg.

The consequences can be serious: Errors can lead to extremely expensive bookkeeping issues, especially when they lead the company to make bad business decisions or issue an improper forecast.

Bookkeeping Solution: Create a system of checks and balances

You’re probably aware that human error is unavoidable. But while it’s one thing to make a mistake in your personal life, making an error in a business can have serious financial consequences. In fact, the more complex regulatory and compliance requirements become, the riskier it is for everyone to have access to all parts of a business.

If you’re not proactive about identifying and resolving problems, you’ll never get ahead. Set aside some time to review your data and identify weak areas or past mistakes. Start by focusing on these areas first, and then build a robust plan with checks and balances.

 

Bookkeeping Problem #3: Miscalculated cash flow

As a business owner, you’re probably familiar with the term “cash flow”. It’s the amount of money going in and out of your business, and poor cash flow can spell doom for the future of your business.

One way to avoid that doom is to predict your business’s cash flow—and to know how much money you will earn and spend (on growing your business and beyond).

But it turns out that this can be easier said than done. According to a survey by Insights West, nearly half of small business owners consider profit and cash flow their main source of stress. And according to a study by U.S. Bank, 82 percent of businesses fail due to cash flow mismanagement.

Bookkeeping Solution: Revisit your cash flow projections regularly

Cash flow projections can look very different from the actual numbers you’re seeing. In fact, this is a common problem for small businesses. The best way to combat this issue is to revisit your cash flow projections every few months, and to pay close attention to any discrepancies you might find. If there’s a large difference between what you projected and what actually happened, you can use that knowledge to make better projections in the future and keep your business on track.

You should aim to project no farther than 12 months into the future because there are too many variables at play beyond that point—the economy could dip, or a new competitor could open up shop down the street. Make sure your business is projecting its cash flow monthly, whether that means delegating this task to your bookkeeper, using basic accounting software, or tracking it yourself.

 

Bookkeeping Problem #4: Undervalued time and effort

We know that many small business owners spend their time doing their own bookkeeping. We understand that sometimes it can seem easier to just do it yourself: you know your business, and keeping track of everything feels like a natural part of the work.

But what’s the cost?

Time is money. It’s a phrase we’ve all heard before—but few business owners place enough value on their own time. How much of your time is lost to payroll, bookkeeping, and issues surrounding them? This is time that you could have spent training your employees, networking or building your business. And then there are mistakes – small bookkeeping errors result in big fines. Mistakes are easy to make when you do your own bookkeeping, and they can be costly in the long run. We believe that your time is valuable, and we want to help you save it!

Bookkeeping Solution: Hire a bookkeeping professional

We get it-you’re busy. Your time is valuable, and there are some things you just have to do yourself. But when it comes to managing your finances and bookkeeping, you’re probably better off handing that task over to the professionals.

Bookkeeping can be tedious, time-consuming, and downright boring (not to mention stressful!). If you’re not a bookkeeper or financial expert, it can seem like a huge waste of your time and energy. Why not hire someone whose sole job is knowledge of accounting standards and keeping up with all the regulations?

One of the other benefits of hiring a professional bookkeeper is that they’ll likely save you money in the long run. They’ll know exactly what information you need for tax season, making sure that you file on time and minimize any penalties or fees. They’ll also make sure your books are accurate, preventing any potential audits from the IRS.

Place a higher value on your time as a small business owner by focusing all of your time and energy on the things that matter to the success of your business. Let our experienced bookkeepers handle your bookkeeping needs from now on!

Want to see if we’re the right fit for you?

Get in touch with us today!

When to Hire a Bookkeeper for your Small Business

When to hire a bookkeeper? Well, when you’re just getting your small business off the ground, it’s easy to think you can handle most of the tasks yourself. After all, you can learn how to do anything on the internet, right?

But while that might be true, it’s also true that there are some things in life better left to other people. When it comes to keeping your books and preparing for tax season, it might be worth considering hiring a bookkeeper, but you need to know when to hire a bookkeeper for your small business.

Bookkeeping can be tedious and difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing. Plus, keeping accurate records is essential for long-term growth and success. If you wait until your business starts generating enough money that it can have a dedicated bookkeeping service provider, chances are that you’ll wish you had hired a firm sooner so that they could get a head start on organizing your finances. If any or all of these scenarios depict your current situation as a business owner it might be time for you to hire a bookkeeper for your small business.

 

Doing your own bookkeeping can be a time-consuming task.

Nobody wants to waste their time doing bookkeeping. If you’re a writer, you’d rather be writing. If you’re a business owner, you’d rather be doing things that are more directly related to your business. But if you want to make sure your taxes are done right and your financials are in order, you’ve got no choice but to do it at some point.

A recent poll shows that 39% of small business owners spend more than 60 hours a week doing their bookkeeping and taxes.

If you’re spending hours each week on bookkeeping, are you really getting the most out of your time?

Not only does overworking lead to burnout, but every minute you spend on a task has a dollar equivalent. First, start tracking how much time you spend per week on bookkeeping. Then, using an online calculator, determine how much your time is worth, and figure out how many “dollars” you spend on bookkeeping per month. Compare your “salary” as your own bookkeeper against the price of professional bookkeeping. Once you treat the time you spend bookkeeping as an actual expense in cash, you’ll have a better idea of whether you should keep doing it—or if hiring a pro is actually a bargain.

 

Struggling to keep your books up to date?

So what’s the big deal?

When you fall behind on bookkeeping, your books stop reflecting the actual state of your finances. That makes it harder (sometimes impossible) to understand cash flow and accurately gauge the health of your business.

When you don’t have accurate data, you can’t make good business decisions. For example, if you don’t know how many customers found your website last month, you can’t determine whether your marketing efforts are effective or not. Another example is if your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) hasn’t been updated in six months, you can’t subtract it from your revenue in order to determine how much profit you’ve earned in that time.

This can be a real problem when it comes time to do your taxes because you can’t just make up numbers to put on your tax forms. The IRS wants proof of every expense and income statement, so if you’re missing documents, they aren’t just going to give you a pass. And if you’re found guilty of tax evasion or fraud, you could wind up paying huge fines or even serving prison time!

We know that keeping your books up to date can be a tough thing to prioritize. It’s a bunch of extra work, and you’re busy running your business, so it’s easy to put it on the back burner. But if you don’t keep up with your bookkeeping, it can actually make the things you want to do (like grow your business or expand into new markets) more difficult. If you don’t know where your money is going or what your profit margins are, you won’t know whether or not it makes sense to invest in that new opportunity.

What’s more, if your books aren’t up to date, you’ll have a ton of catch up bookkeeping to do during tax season, making a typically stressful time of year even more difficult. With a bookkeeping service provider, you can expect to receive monthly financial statements, so you’ll know where your money is going to and coming from.

It’s important to have a clear picture of where your company’s money is going and coming from, but not everyone has time to do their accounting themselves. If you’re looking for a way to access this information without sacrificing too much time or energy on the task, try hiring a bookkeeping service. A good one will be able to provide monthly financial statements so you’ll always know what your money’s doing.

 

Tired of high professional fees?

If you’re looking for a bookkeeper, you may be offered services from a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). While you can certainly go this route, you’ll likely end up paying more than you need to.

Bookkeepers generally charge less per hour than CPAs and are able to perform the same tasks that don’t require the specialized skill set of a CPA. Bookkeepers are also more likely to be available during extended hours (and even on weekends), whereas CPAs tend to be busier during tax season and might charge more if they work outside of the hours they’ve designated as “normal.”

If you need to look back on your month-to-month financial records, an accountant won’t necessarily provide you with retroactive month-to-month financial records. Definitely a downside of having an accountant since your business records are essential if you want to secure loans, bring investors, or sell your business!

 

Tax Filing = Arm Wrestling?

We’ve all been there. You’re getting ready to send in your taxes, and you have to email your tax preparer with a few questions. And then you realize you have a lot more than “a few” questions! Suddenly it’s three days later, and you’re still sending them questions.

This scenario is often caused by handing off messy or incomplete books to your tax preparer. You’ll probably be caught in a web of emails and phone call as the two of you puzzle your way through a year’s worth of uncategorized expenses, income, and business loans.

Filing your taxes should be a breeze, not a lengthy arm wrestling match between you and your tax preparer. A comprehensive full charge bookkeeping service provider can help you make tax season a breeze.

 

Missing out on tax deductions?

Being able to deduct certain expenses as a business owner is one of the perks of entrepreneurship. But it’s not always easy to know what you can and can’t claim—and it’s certainly not always easy to keep track of everything.

A bookkeeper’s job is to take every business expense you incur and categorize it properly. In the process of doing so, they’re able to spot obvious deductible expenses such as mileage, which you can use when you’re traveling for work.

But they can also help identify deductions that are less straightforward—such as the cost of business meals, or even the annual fee for your credit card if you use it primarily for business purchases. Having the right bookkeeper can help you avoid missing out on applicable tax deductions and tax write-offs.

 

 

 

In the dark with your cash flow?

It’s a strange feeling, isn’t it? You know you’ve got money coming in from your clients—but you don’t know how much it is or when it will arrive.

It’s enough to give anyone the jitters. And if you’re a small business owner, that uncertainty can be downright maddening.

As a business owner, you need cash flow statements. A cash flow statement tells you how much money other people owe you, and how much money you owe other people. It’s kind of like a crystal ball that shows you the future of your bank account.

Here’s why cash flow is so important:

1. It shows how much money is coming in and out of your company, and why. You see exactly where all your money is going, and how it really adds up to a certain amount that you can expect to be in your bank account at a certain time. Like a little glimpse into the future of your bank balance.
2. You can make more informed decisions about the future of your business—what to do with extra capital, the best time to make an investment in equipment or hire more employees, etc.
3. Forecasting is easier—you can make projections based on data you already have access to (exactly how much do we spend on inventory each month? How much revenue do we expect to get from this new client?)

Having a bookkeeper can help you stay on top of your cash flow statement so you never have to plan for the future in the dark. You will always be equipped with the right information to plan your business expenses in the now.

 

Bottom line won’t budge?

When you’re trying to grow your business, it’s easy to focus on just the top line: revenue. But what about your bottom line? Revenue and profit are not the same thing—if you want your business to be successful, you need to think about both of these numbers, and how they interact.

If your revenue is on the rise but your bottom line won’t move, it means you need to increase your profit margins. That’s where tax-ready financial statements from a bookkeeper can help you recognize where you need to cut costs in order to make your business more profitable.

 

Concerned about your sensitive financial data security?

When you use your office computer or your personal computer to record, track, and store your financial information, you must be 101% certain that your computer is secure from fraudulent activities.

Ransomware attacks are a threat that can potentially cause you to lose years of sensitive financial information. In 2017, a ransomware called ‘WannaCry” infected over 230,000 computers in more than 150 countries. The ransomware encrypted the data of its victims making it inaccessible.

Latest research reports that over 90% of home computers have been infected by spyware at some point in time. This means that if you’re doing your bookkeeping on your home or office computer, there’s a good chance someone else has or eventually will have access to your personal and business financial data.

Bookkeepers like FAS Bookkeeping and Tax Services use the latest encryption software available in the market to ensure that the financial data it handles and stores are safe and secure from prying eyes.

 

Bottom line

When one or two things listed above fit you, it might be time to pick up the phone and start searching for the best bookkeeper you can find. Here are the things that a professional and experienced bookkeeper or bookkeeping service provider must offer to you:

Reachability

There is nothing more frustrating than having to wait days, or weeks, for a reply. If your bookkeeper doesn’t answer emails in a timely fashion, it is time to find someone who will.

Adept with taxes

Bookkeeping is closely related to your taxes. If your bookkeeping is also an Enrolled Agent that is certified by the IRS to prepare and file taxes, then you found the perfect bookkeeper or bookkeeping service provider!

High standards when it comes to security

A bookkeeper will have complete access to your day-to-day business transactions. Make sure that your bookkeeper or bookkeeping service provider puts emphasis on data security so you can avoid the risk of having all of your personal and business financial data taken by unscrupulous individuals.

At FAS Bookkeeping and Tax Service, we put security at the top of our priority! With us, you can rest assured that your financial data is securely handled and stored with the latest encryption technology available in the market. Couple that with the experience and expertise of our Bookkeepers and our Enrolled Agent!

Are we the right fit for you? Get in touch with us and find out!

 

What exactly is Full Charge Bookkeeping?

Sometimes, your business needs more than a bookkeeper to help manage your finances. If you’re growing and need someone who can take charge of your financials—and take responsibility for them—it might be time to hire what’s known as a full charge bookkeeper. So what is full charge bookkeeping?

Full charge bookkeeping is just like regular bookkeeping, but with more experience and expertise in play. They do all the things a bookkeeper does, such as reconcile accounts and prepare monthly statements, but they also do additional, more complex duties like tax returns and balance ledgers.

Typically, full charge bookkeepers are employed at smaller companies that don’t need the expertise of someone like a Financial Controller or CPA. They’re ideal for businesses that are growing, but not yet ready to employ someone so specialized.

 

 

Responsibilities of Full Charge Bookkeepers

Here are the responsibilities of Full Charge Bookkeepers that will help you grow your business further:

 

Handles your Banking

Full Charge Bookkeepers do what it says on the tin. They’re responsible for the bookkeeping process from start to finish. This means that they reconcile your monthly bank statements, oversee all bank deposits, check your petty cash accounts, ensure that credit card accounts are reconciled, and keep track of your lines of credit, among other things.

For example, say you have a business that sells computers online. A Full Charge Bookkeeper will make sure that all checks and cash you receive every day are deposited in the bank on time and that you get receipts for these deposits. A Full Charge Bookkeeper will also make sure that when you buy parts or materials for your computers, there’s enough money in your petty cash account to pay for them. Then they’ll take care of any invoices those transactions generate so that they’re paid on time! Full Charge Bookkeepers can even help you manage invoice factoring and accounts payable to help maintain your cash position.

In short: a Full Charge Bookkeeper will handle everything related to finance with precision and efficiency!

 

General Ledger Adjustments

A full charge bookkeeper’s responsibilities depend on the size and needs of the business, but they usually include preparing and entering journal entries for fixed assets and depreciation. Full charge bookkeepers also run a trial balance at the end of each month to ensure that your general ledger accounts are in balance. During this process, they may also adjust journal entries to correct any discrepancies they find.

 

 

Prepare Tax Returns

When you hire a full charge bookkeeper for your business, you’re hiring someone who can manage your entire accounting process. This includes preparing monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial statements. They can also help with payroll management and processing.

Unlike a CPA, full charge bookkeepers are not licensed to provide tax advice or do your annual taxes. However, they can prepare all the forms needed to report your income and payroll on a monthly and quarterly basis.

This means that when it’s time to file your taxes, everything will be in order. Your CPA only has to review everything and give you any advice you need before submitting the forms to the government.

This results in a significant reduction in the amount of time your CPA needs to spend working on your taxes, which translates into significant savings for you.

One other bonus of hiring a full charge bookkeeper is if they’re an Enrolled Agent (EA). An EA is someone who has passed a difficult exam given by the IRS that qualifies them as a tax expert. They are able to advise you and handle your taxes for you without having to go through a CPA.

 

Payroll and Timesheet processing

If you’re working with a full charge bookkeeper, one of the perks is that you may have access to payroll services. A full charge bookkeeper will handle the process themselves, or they might supervise a payroll specialist who does the work. In this scenario, your FCB should be managing the relationship with the specialist on your behalf.

When it comes to payroll, there are two main options. You can outsource your payroll to a third party, or you can handle it in-house. Either way, if you use a full charge bookkeeper, they will manage your payroll processing (or oversee someone who manages it).

 

Create Financial Reports

You need to know what’s happening with your business from a financial perspective. But it’s not enough to just have your bookkeeper produce standard financial statements: you need information that helps you make decisions about the future of your business. Full Charge Bookkeepers’ financial planning and budget forecasting services will help you do just that: plan for the future, and forecast where your business is going.

 

 

 

 

Hiring a Full Charge Bookkeeper

You have a lot on your plate; why add more?

When you’re running a business, you have plenty to think about without having to worry about things like complex financial tasks, preparing management reports, processing payroll, or taking a trial balance. We get it!

At FAS Bookkeeping and Tax Services, we can help. Our full charge bookkeeper can handle all of these tasks for you. Plus, when you need your accountant’s expertise for auditing or tax purposes, we’ve got that covered too. Our team has the experience and the skillset to provide you with the quality financial service you need—without any of the hassle.

Get in touch with us today!