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It’s no secret that, as a business owner, you take on a great deal of responsibility and overwhelming  financial stress. Here at Apple Guerin, the main goal our our accounting team in Baton Rouge is to help you achieve financial freedom so that you can completely focus on leadership and business growth. The following tips will help you create a more solid foundation for your business and help you along in your financial journey.

1. Organization is key. It is important to make sure that you always have systems in place. This will ensure that no details are missed and that everyone has a protocol to follow. Disorganization can quickly lead to unhappy customers, and ultimately, the downfall of a business. Efficient organization can also help bring opportunities for improvement to your attention.

2. Dream big.  Your business will only be as successful as you envision it to be. Set clear goals with deadlines to use as a ruler for your success. Goals will help with financial decisions that present themselves. By setting goals with clear expectations, you will be able to assess how small decisions can have a true impact on your business in the future. It will help you define a clear path toward your financial freedom.

3. Always have a plan. Without both short-term and long-term financial plans in place, you will be setting yourself up to fail. How will new earnings be allocated; how much will go toward savings? Are you budgeting for new purchases? Where will money come from if business gets slow?  If you don’t already have the answers to these questions, this is a great place to start. Planning for the unexpected helps to ensure that your business will survive surprise expenses.

4. Make wise financial decisions. When starting a business, our certified accountant in Baton Rouge agree that it is inevitable that you will acquire some strategic debt. The key to success in the business will be an analysis of your return on investment. Don’t make big purchases without a thorough analysis of the value that it will bring to your business.

If you need help creating a plan or making a financial decision, Apple Guerin is available to help. Our goal is to put you on the path toward financial freedom. We want to help take some of the financial stress away so that you can focus on your community, clients, and business growth. Contact our accounting firm in Baton Rouge, LA today for a business consultation.

Business management tools refer to applications, methods, and systems that are used in everyday operations. The tools can be used to ensure that you maintain a successful, growing business. In today’s world, it is important to stay on top of changing markets, increasing costs, and supply shortages. The following business management tools shared by our accounting team in Baton Rouge can help you to manage your operations and deal with the challenges that business owners are currently facing.

Strong Leadership

Behind the scenes of every successful business is a strong leader. Empathy, confidence, and accountability are three of the top characteristics of a strong leader. As the owner of a business, it is important to make every attempt to fill the leadership role. Consistency is key in this situation.

Developing the leadership role can take some time, but don’t be discouraged. Consider enrolling in a business leadership course. Communicate with your team to see what they find important in a leader. Communication is essential and a happy team often correlates with a productive, successful business. Contact our Baton Rouge financial consultants to get started.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process of analyzing data to improve relationships with customers. Your business website, social media, and marketing materials are all sources that you can use to help compile data. This method allows you to analyze your customer base and learn more about their wants and needs.

The best way to incorporate customer relationship management into your business is to invest in a CRM system. These systems are programs that can track transactions and meetings, store customer information, and help to manage marketing campaigns. Some popular all-purpose softwares include Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot.

Mission Statements

Mission statements help to define your business philosophy and goals. A mission statement must address four questions:

1. What does the business do?
2. How does the business work?
3. Who is the customer?
4. What value does the business create?

Mission statements help create a clear, defined purpose to the business. In turn, this will create motivation for your team and help everyone to work toward a common goal.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning goes hand in hand with mission statements. Planning involves defining a direction for your business. A proper business strategy will state how your business goals will be achieved with the resources that you have available.

To begin planning, start by writing down your core values and your five year vision. Then, determine what steps you will take to reach that vision. Meet with your team to help them understand the vision and goals. You can even ask them to help you brainstorm ways to achieve the goals. Team involvement helps tremendously with business success.

The management tools listed above, along with many other strategies, can help enhance the performance of your business. Contact our accounting firm in Baton Rouge, LA to find out more about maximizing your business potential and the business management tools we can provide you.

A main principle of financial planning would be to establish an emergency fund. It is important to have extra money saved up, especially in today’s society when the economy is changing constantly. You should be prepared for things you can’t control like a natural disaster, staffing upset, or an unplanned event. These things can all interrupt your business flow, and we are here to help. 

Defining a Financial Emergency

According to each practitioner’s unique circumstance, the criteria that constitutes a financial crisis may differ. If several team members were to quit at a larger, financially stable business, it would likely go unnoticed. However, for a small business this could be a big problem.

If there was a fire, flood, or other damaging event, it would be disastrous for any business, big or small. All of these scenarios are prime reasons for setting up a business emergency fund because you truly never know what could happen.

How Much Should You Set Aside?

The majority of financial advisors recommend saving between 3-6 months of salary in individual emergency funds. Nevertheless, these amounts probably won’t be enough for even a small business. There are several variables, but here are some questions you should ask yourself to find out what would be the best decision for you:

• What risks are not covered by insurance?
• How much are replacement costs for essential equipment that is damaged?
• What are your limits on insurance?
• How long can your business stay afloat if you are unable to generate revenue?
• What would it cost to arrange coverage for staff members who quit on short notice?
• How long can you wait for insurance claims to be processed?

Knowing Where to Start

A lot of people don’t anticipate financial crises, which means they won’t think to save money for a rainy day. If you have not started an emergency fund for your business, now is the time to start setting money aside and creating a plan. Don’t know where to start? A great place to start is by scheduling a consultation with our accounting team in 70808. We can assess your assets and figure out the next steps to make sure your business is financially secure for any crises that may occur. Call our accounting office in Baton Rouge, LA today.  

When managing the finances of your business, it is important to hire an accounting professional that is able to pay attention to detail to a high degree. This is why hiring a certified public accountant (CPA) should be one of the most important first moves you make.

A CPA is responsible for much more than just balancing your finances at the end of each quarter. Change your mind to think of a CPA as more of an advisor. Being a business owner, you can experience different obstacles and barriers.

The role of a CPA is to guide you through the various pitfalls you may encounter. Some routine tasks covered by a CPA include overseeing point of sale transactions (POS), billing, cash flow, and accounts receivables/payables. Unlike a general accountant, a specialized CPA can counsel you on industry-specific best practices.

Sound Financial Advice for Business Owners

It is difficult for many business owners to hand over control of their office finances. A specialized CPA can provide additional understanding to strengthen the financial health of your business and to provide an extra set of eyes to give you the financial advice you need when making an important business decision.

Maybe your staff is not matching your production levels, but you would not notice it unless an outsider told you. Also, they can give you advice on when it comes time to invest in new equipment and tips on what you can do now in order to minimize your tax payments in the future. 

Fraud Prevention

One of the most common occurrences in business is fraud, and it can derive both internally and externally. Businesses can lose thousands of dollars from employee theft and insurance claim irregularities. 

You know how hard you’ve worked to grow your business, and it would be a shame to damage that. A specialized and experienced CPA knows how to spot red flags and methods relating to industry-specific fraud. They will help protect your business and livelihood with their keen understanding of how to apply fraud-deterrent policies and procedures to your everyday routine. Even if there is no fraud suspected, it is still necessary to conduct a risk assessment to indicate the likelihood of it occurring in the future. 

A Smart Investment for Your Business

In order to run a successful business, it takes more than being able to type in numbers on a spreadsheet. A specialized CPA has an intricate understanding of the variables that will help the production of your business, and also will be able to listen to you and communicate clearly when it comes to goals and best practices. 

Partner with a specialized CPA today to guide you towards a successful future. Contact our accounting office in Baton Rouge, LA today for a consultation. 

Bookkeeping is a task best left to a professional accountant, but many small business owners want to do it themselves. Either way, as a business owner you need to become familiar with basic bookkeeping principles.

Bookkeeping is little more than recording financial transactions and organizing them. It is the only way to determine your business’s health and profitability. The daily entry process tracks expenses, identifies excesses, and helps you identify expansion opportunities.

Ways to Manage Your Bookkeeping

While there are reliable bookkeeping software packages designed to save you time, you get a more complete picture of your business’s financial health when you hire an accountant who has knowledge of your field. Relying on a small business CPA with deep knowledge of your sector allows you to focus on growing your business and managing day-to-day operations. 

Why Hire a Small Business Accountant?

Specialized business CPAs can turn your bookkeeping into tax advantages, as they see the big picture and spot trends. They are also intimately familiar with changes in tax laws that affect your field, so you are assured of staying compliant without worry.

Industry-specific accounting professionals can step outside of the balance sheet and provide useful benchmarks that help your business stay competitive. This insight can help you make informed decisions when it comes to expanding, hiring, and adding new products or services.

Investing in new equipment and technology, for example, might be critical to keeping your business on the leading edge. A specialized accountant can advise you on the financial benefits and risks associated with these kinds of investments, so you can make informed choices that save money over time.

A savvy business CPA can also connect you to other financial professionals who will benefit your operation. Maybe you have been eyeing a larger facility or thinking about adding a partner. If so, a specialized business accounting firm can link you with banking professionals and loan officers who understand the subtleties of your field. They can also provide information on best practices to change a business structure or create a partnership.

If you are interested in handing off your bookkeeping to an experienced and trustworthy team, contact us. We can also handle your business income tax preparation, offer you sound business advice, and analyze the overall financial health of your operation.

You want to trust the people who work for you; after all, you probably hired them and work side by side with them. But a wealth of statistics shows that worker theft is on the rise, including embezzlement. A full 95 percent of all businesses worldwide have experienced some type of employee theft, according to the latest Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. 

Which industries are most affected? According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, banking and financial services have the highest number of occupational fraud cases; manufacturing is second; government and public administration is third; healthcare is fourth; and retail is fifth.

As a business owner, you have many responsibilities, so it’s vital to create safeguards and internal controls to prevent worker theft. Educating yourself and putting processes in place can minimize the possibility and detect it early. Here are some tips to get you started.

Know Your Hires

It’s not enough to select a new employee based on resume, recommendation, or personality. Any hire who will handle confidential information should undergo a professional background check. It’s also smart to check references.

Look for Common Embezzlement Red Flags

Keep your antenna up for common theft indicators. The Global Study says employers should pay attention if someone is suddenly spending beyond their means, is always the first in the building and last to leave, or is overly protective of their work.

Learn All Aspects of Your Business

While it is important to delegate, you need to know what is going on with every department or area of responsibility. Over time, employees will learn which clients pay with cash, who writes checks, the average daily and weekly deposit amounts, and how much money comes from outside sources. Require each employee to keep detailed logs in your accounting software. Your small business accountant can recommend a program that includes a check and balance system with daily opening and closing reports. That way, either you or the accountant can run and analyze these reports.

Delegate Shared Responsibilities

No individual in your office should control any financial process from start to finish. Implement a controlled team approach instead. This will let you know who recorded which transactions and offer a higher degree of accountability.

Schedule an Outside Audit

Serious financial damage can add up quickly if you’re the victim of embezzlement, so it’s important to let a small business CPA audit your finances for irregularities. He or she will be able to monitor your employees’ work and catch errors, whether honest mistakes or intentional.

If you notice the numbers in your business aren’t adding up, it’s best not to tell your staff, as the suspect could destroy evidence. Instead, talk to a trusted CPA first so they can put a theft-detection process in place.

Hiring an accountant as an expert, neutral third party is a smart defense against employee embezzlement. Schedule a complimentary initial consultation with our firm in Baton Rouge, LA today. We can help you put the right systems in place.