Tag: CPA in 70808

Baton Rouge LA Certified Public Accountant | The Power of Feedback in Improving Workplace Performance

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The exchange of feedback between leaders and their teams is an almost non-stop process. Official, or not, good leaders are as willing to listen to feedback as they are giving it out. Feedback is one of the most important aspects of improving performance, and yet it can be one of the most difficult things to hear. Very few people enjoy viewing themselves in a critical light. Below, we’ll outline some of the best ways to not only get constructive feedback, but also how to handle feedback for optimal benefit when it comes.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For It:

People will often assume that if something is wrong, they’ll be told and corrected. While in a perfect world, this may be the case, it is unfortunately not the reality. When you directly ask for feedback, you give your employees and your leaders the opportunity to give you valuable insights into the operations of your business. Without asking, you may be missing out on mistakes being made, or innovations that have changed business for the better.

Even if this feedback is not received in an official setting (such as a brief “on the fly” direction) it can give you the ability to bolster your systems and improve business. Make sure you ask for that chance as frequently as possible.

Don’t just React – Listen and Digest:

When feedback comes to us, it can sometimes be difficult to not feel personally attacked – especially if the feedback is critical. The worst thing you can do in this type of situation, would be to react without really considering what the other person is saying. Make sure you hear what them out and think about why they feel the way they do.

Do your best to stay clear headed and ask clarifying questions to help you fully understand the other person’s view point. Sometimes, the most positive and helpful feedback can be misinterpreted and turned into a destructive situation. If you need to take the time to digest, think about asking for time to do so. It never hurts to come back and be able to discuss feedback in more detail and from a different perspective. Taking whatever space and time you need will ultimately help you deal with feedback in a more constructive way and help you to understand your business and your leadership style better.

Reflection is a Form of Feedback:

A conversation with a manager or employee is not the only way to get feedback. You can also learn a lot about your strengths and potential limitations by reviewing the successes and failures you have had in your position. Is the same failure happening over and over again? It may be time to figure out the root cause of the issue and create a plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Criticism, constructive or not, can be difficult to hear. Ultimately however, that brief time of difficulty will turn in to large dividends for both you, your team, and the business as a whole. If you’re looking for constructive feedback from an outside perspective that can help your business grow, contact Apple Guerin Company LLC. We’ll be able to analyze your strengths and areas for improvement in order to help you bring your business to the next level.

 

Apple Guerin Company LLC
Phone: (255) 767-1020
6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B
Baton Rouge , LA 70808

Baton Rouge LA Dentist | Why a CPA Is Your Most Valuable Asset

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Your business is important, and you are at the heart of it as a CEO. If you own a business, or are one of several owners in a partnership-based business, you should be placing a high priority on making sure your business is successful. That means looking for ways to grow revenue, trim overhead, maximize business deductions, and minimize your tax liability. A CPA can help your business achieve all these goals. Here’s how.

They’re Specialists

A CPA is more than just a generic accountant. CPAs work with business owners like you to improve business frequently. This means that they have specialized knowledge that other accountants lack. CPAs should have an insider’s grasp of your industry, including expenses, trends, and the best ways to lower a practice’s tax burden. They also understand what new equipment is delivering the best return on investment, and how to save money every year from the depreciation of assets unique to the dentistry field.

They Can Analyze Your Firm’s Financial Health

The benefits of having a CPA go far beyond just getting an advantageous grip on your business’s taxes, though. They can also apply their financial acumen to your overall business model. An experienced CPA will be able to look at a business’s financial reports and determine how it can reduce its expenses and increase profits. They’re trained to recognize financial oversights and areas of inefficiency specific to the industry.

Given just a few months to carefully analyze your business finances, a CPA will be able to make insightful, actionable suggestions that make an immediate difference.

Industry Benchmarks

Benchmarking is the practice of comparing a business’s performance metrics with both competitors and the highest standards in the industry. While a business in Ohio may have no idea how their business compares with firms in California, Texas, or New York, a good CPA does. They’re thoroughly versed in the industry’s key performance indicators (KPIs). These include metrics like client loads, profit margins, and the percentage of active clients.

Some business leaders that are primarily focused on their customers and the day to day aspects of their profession may have never even considered evaluating their business in these ways. But benchmarks and KPIs are powerful ways to frame and understand your business. CPAs can leverage those tools better than anyone. Our office offers you expert guidance on all of these financial strategies and more. Contact us today and learn more about the many ways a CPA can help you.

Baton Rouge LA CPA | Is Your Business Healthy?

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The definition of success is subjective. However many can agree that accomplishing a healthy work-life balance seems to be one of the most important ways to achieve success on many levels. By establishing healthy business habits, you can minimize the occurrence of career burn-out. If you’re experiencing career dissatisfaction and questioning the health of your business, consider the following:

Establish healthier habits. Arrive at work at the same time each day. Consistency for yourself and your team can make a difference in creating a peaceful work environment. Dedicate time to work on your business, and stick to it. When administrative work, important decisions and other owner responsibilities stack up, it’s common to carry that stress around with you. Eventually it affects your team and patient satisfaction as well.

Know your number. Money is not the root of all evil. It’s also not the solution to every problem. It’s a necessary component to running a healthy business. It’s important to know where you stand financially and have the ability to make smart investment decisions. Before purchasing that $30,000 “high tech solution to all of your problems”, consider how it will truly aid in providing better care for your patients. What will the ROI be? How have others in your situation made this investment profitable? Our team will help advise your major financial decisions. When it comes to your numbers, it’s helpful to know where you stand at all times. We are here for you.

Owning a business can be a very satisfying and rewarding responsibility. It can be difficult to find the time needed to accomplish everything on your to-do list. Prioritize your responsibilities and create deadlines. This alone will help you make the time for the important items that often get pushed to the backburner. Once your priorities are clear, it will become easier to say “no” when necessary and to have the focus required to check off important items.

If you’d like assistance in making wise financial decisions, contact us.

Baton Rouge LA CPA | How Hiring an Accountant Can Save Time

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Staff issues, the IRS, practice management, day to day business needs; it can all seem overwhelming. It’s more than likely that you got into the dental field to be a dentist, not an accountant, and even though those are important, we know it might just not be your thing. You don’t have to worry- most dentists feel the same way. But unfortunately lack of interest or knowledge doesn’t let you off the hook. After all, the right accountant can be the difference between your practice succeeding or failing. As your best line of defense against the complex and brutal business world, a specialized CPA can save you not only a great deal of time, but also money.

 Unlike an accounting computer program, a specialized accountant does more than provide basic numbers. Unless you or someone on your staff has a background in dental accounting, you’ll need a CPA to organize and present the data in a useful way. A skilled dental CPA will go multiple steps further than a computer program ever could. Just as you gather information to help treat your patients, your dental accountant will use those reports to evaluate, diagnose and plan in order to keep your business running as efficiently as possible.

The CPA will ask questions and create solutions to problems such as: How is the financial health of you practice? What can we do to minimize taxes and generate more revenue? Is it time to add another dentist?

Services your CPA will provide depend upon your needs. You may only need your tax returns prepared. But if you’re looking for the maximum benefit of a specialized accountant, they can also provide you with added security, tax planning and expert business advice. Remember, an excellent dental CPA can save you both time and money while providing peace of mind.

If you have questions about what a specialized CPA can do for you practice, or would like to begin your search for a CPA, contact our office today.

CPA’s in Baton Rouge | Converting Leads into Customers

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Marketing is an essential part of attracting new business. Strong print and internet marketing materials can help introduce your business to potential new clients. Glowing reviews and testimonials tell people that you have a trustworthy team and offer quality services. 

However, even the best marketing efforts won’t contribute anything to your business if you fail to convert leads into customers. There are a variety of reasons outside of your control that might stop someone from scheduling an appointment at your practice, but it’s important to make sure you do all you can to help motivate people to seek treatment with you. Below are some tips to help your team more effectively sell the value of your service to potential new patients. 

Be responsive and available. As a dental professional, you know what it’s like to be busy. Often, your patients have busy lives of their own. Make sure your team is available to take calls as they come and try to offer flexible appointment times to help people work within their limited free time. 

Don’t be too pushy. While it’s helpful to be clear about all the treatments offered at your practice, patients are often turned off by overly “salesy” approaches. Take the time to get to know a patient and their needs, goals, and budget before trying to sell them on dental solutions. This will make them feel valued and understood, increasing the likelihood of treatment plan acceptance. 

Offer a friendly and welcoming environment. There are a number of people who absolutely dread going to the dentist. Because of that, some potential patients may already have a negative feeling towards you and your team despite no fault of your own. Work to overcome this discomfort quickly by offering a personable and kind environment. Make sure your team greets patients by name and gets to know a bit about them. A little can go a long way. 

Don’t lose track of people. Repetition is one of the easiest techniques for cementing something into memory. If a potential new patient contacts your office, be sure to follow up if you don’t hear from them again. You never know the reason they didn’t call back, so taking that step for them can offer a second chance to make a connection and help your practice stand out more in their mind. 

Many dentists find it difficult to think about their practice as a business. It is likely that you chose dentistry due to a passion for service and healing, not bookkeeping or sales. Yet nearly any successful retailer will say that the only way to gain business is to give customers what they want, when they want it. 

Contact our firm for more strategies on boosting new patient numbers and patient retention!

Apple Guerin Company LLC Phone: (255) 767-1020

6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B Baton Rouge, LA 70808

CPA in Baton Rouge | Common Payroll Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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Handling payroll for a business is often thought of as a simple task. The truth, however, is that there are many minor errors that can easily lead to major problems. Train your team to catch these small mistakes your business might be making, so you can be sure to avoid them in the future. 

Estimated Recordkeeping – Don’t wait until the day before payroll is due to log shifts worked for the pay period. Days can begin to blend together and it can be challenging to recall who worked which days and times after the fact. Looking through notes and emails to figure out past days’ activities can be stressful and even inaccurate, leading to incorrect pay. 

Employee Misclassifications – There are many differences, at both federal and state levels, between an employee and a contractor. Make sure you classify your team members, temporary replacement workers, and anyone else in payroll correctly to ensure an accurate, streamlined process. Depending on the infraction and your area, heavy penalties can occur for misclassified worker pay. 

Not Tracking Bonuses or Gifts – Work trips or group outings are no problem, but any sort of bonus or gift that has monetary value needs to be tracked. Gift cards are a common example of this. Make sure to keep a running log of any exchanges like these for year-end purposes. 

Paying Employees Wrong Rates – When employees are hired, given a raise, or have their pay otherwise adjusted, make sure this is correctly logged in the system or software you use. Using an hourly wage in a program to pay as salary can have rounding problems, so double-check your work. Manual error or forgetting to process a raise on the books right away can lead to owing back-pay or other issues in the future. 

Holidays or Haphazard Payroll – Try to set a fixed schedule for your payroll. When holidays affect the normal cycle, have an established plan to deal with it appropriately. Depending on your area, missing or late payroll can create tax headaches or incur penalties, as well as causing hardship for your team. 

Payroll can be a straightforward and mistake-free process at your business, but it requires proper oversight and attention. Keep an airtight system, follow up on any mistakes, and think ahead. For more information on how to handle payroll or tax concerns, contact our office. 

Apple Guerin Company LLC Phone: (255) 767-1020 6421 Perkins Road, Bldg. A, Ste. 1B Baton Rouge, LA 70808