Your Small Business Accounting System
© by Sally Jones; all rights reserved
A small business accounting system is a must if you want to stay in business. Keeping your financial records can seem daunting at times - so when you start your business, the best money you will spend is on an accountant. An accountant will give you sound advice in setting up your bookkeeping and accounting system. He or she will also help you develop a sound financial plan, which should be included in your business plan. Your most important financial tool will be your cash flow analysis. A cash flow analysis calculates how much actual cash is coming in and out of your business. This will help you know how much cash you require to pay your monthly bills, and indicate how much cash you may need to borrow during a year of operation. Maintaining a positive cash flow (more cash coming in than is going out) is most important for your business. A business can operate with a negative cash flow (more money going out than is coming in) for a short period of time, but this is not an advisable course of action for a growing business! This is not as hard as it sounds. There is really good accounting software that can help you. I have used QuickBooks Basic. There are more sophisticated versions of QuickBooks, but I found this was plenty for my small business accounting. If you have a larger business you may want QuickBooks Pro. Quicken also has a good accounting software for small businesses. QuickBooks is not hard to learn and you can get all kinds of financial reports - accounts receivable, accounts payable, profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and information about your cash flow. It also will help you budget for the following year. In order to jump start using QuickBooks, I took a week's class from the local community college. They have many classes oriented to help small businesses. You can also find resource books to help in quickly learning how to use QuickBooks such as QuickBooks for Dummies. Another place to look for small business classes is the Small Business Development Center. The SBDC is part of the Small Business Administration. They have free counselors and free information that you may need when you are starting your business. As I mentioned earlier, you need to have controls on your cash as it is the lifeblood of your business. Protection of your credit rating and keeping your business from becoming delinquent on its debts depend on careful cash management.
Author and certified tea professional Sally Jones has been recognized by the Specialty Tea Institute after attending a series of classes and exams and has been awarded its highest level of certification obtainable at this time. She publishes tea business information on her website, Tea Business Guide.Return to top of Your Small Business Accounting System. Return to Home Jewelry Business Management Tips. Return to Home Jewelry Business Success Tips home page.
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