Bookkeeping Challenge Questions
Ever been faced with a bookkeeping challenge and didn’t know where to turn to have your questions answered? Well here’s your chance. Ask your questions about bookkeeping and managing your company’s books and we’ll respond to you within 36 hours. Just leave your questions in the comments below.
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Are we our business’ keeper?
I find it quite interesting that we tend to be everything to everyone except ourselves. The same principle applies when it comes to business. How is it that we can provide stellar services to our client, but our own housekeeping remains in disarray? Have you ever seen the beautician with his/her hair not done?; or, the contractor whose own home needs renovation. How about the Accountant that hasn’t updated their own books since they don’t know when? This is the unpleasant cycle that we as small business tend to fall into.
I think the disconnect occurs during our planning phase. We plan for major business events such as the initial start up, the funding, the marketing, and even performing the service. It feels great to pull this all together into one neatly packaged profile, but let’s not forget the very service or product that we provide to others, we should also provide to ourselves. Let’s face it, the reason most of us went into business was to have the freedom and flexibility of expressing our creative selves. Who better to benefit from that creativity than yourself? Think of it from this perspective, when you are happy and fulfilled because of the realization and actualization of your potential, that positive energy will flow outward towards all who are ready and willing to receive it. You’re able to give your best because you’ve had firsthand experience with the most important element; YOU!
Explore ways to enhance your business by providing to yourself the very service that you give. Don’t think of it as selfish, but instead as self-ful. Even if you can’t provide it directly, find ways to get the help that you need by outsourcing. You’ll find that when your needs are being met, you’re in a better position to meet the needs of others.
Partnering for your success!
Jacqueline E. Williams
Financial Strategist
Certified Payroll Software Options
For those of you who execute payroll for your companies, you know that it can be a complicated and consuming process. The demands of maintaining the employee records along with tax payments and schedules can be a full time job in itself. As a small business owner your objective should be to streamline your process so that the majority of your time isn’t spent doing administrative tasks such as payroll. And what about specialized payroll functions and processes? Contractors and construction businesses will know what I’m referring to when I mention certified payroll.
Certified Payroll exists when contractors and subcontractors perform work on federally financed or assisted construction contracts. The Copeland Act (40 U.S.C. § 3145) requires these contractors to “furnish weekly a statement with respect to the wages paid each employee during the preceding week.” U.S. Department of require contractors to submit weekly a copy of all payrolls to the Federal agency contracting for or financing the construction project, accompanied by a signed “Statement of Compliance” indicating that the payrolls are correct and complete and that each laborer or mechanic has been paid not less than the proper Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rate for the work performed. Okay, that’s a mouthful; however, this is what the typical contractor deals with on a weekly basis when handling this special type of payroll. The good news is that this process can be automated with the proper software package.
The software of choice for my business and my clients has been Quick Books. Quick Books already comes with features that handle payroll, but even better, there are software packages out there on the market that integrates with Quick Books for various purposes. One of those purposes is certified payroll. Currently there exist several add-ons that streamlines the whole process of downloading payroll data into modules that will generate this government required certified payroll report. If you have ever had the privilege of completing certified payroll reports, then you know how time consuming it can be, especially when you have workers who are spread across various jobs during different periods. Depending upon the job and the hours performed on each, you may have to prorate that time at different wage rates. This involves numerous calculations. In addition, if you are reporting for union workers, we’re talking about more complications. Integrative software such as Sunburst Certified Payroll Solution or Quantum Certified Payroll Project Manager will assist in collecting the weekly time and wage data needed to complete the report. These programs are designed to import all job specific information from Quick Books directly into its program. Once the data is culminated, reports can be generated that are in a format which complies with governmental standards. The key features of these programs will not only save you time but will allow you to become more efficient so that you can concentrate on your business instead of the paperwork.
Automation is the key, and it’s best that you take full advantage of it to stay competitive in this market. The money you spend today on one of these programs today will save you valuable time and money in the long run.
Partnering for your success
Jacqueline E. Williams
Financial Strategist
Business Coaching: A Winning Resource
Today I just wanted to step back and smell the roses. With all that it takes to manage a business, there comes a time when reaching out for help is necessary. As good as we would like to think we are, everyone can use a little help to polish their professional profile or get the needed guidance to guarantee success for their business.
As a business owner who provides bookkeeping services to others, I continually find myself needing the very services that I offer, for myself. Strange huh? Not really. Particularly with small business, we tend to take the most cost effective method when it comes to managing our resources. Need I say, this can lead us down a road of destruction and fast. Having been in business for almost 7 years now, I realized that in order to operate at the level I so desired, I needed some help. So, I enlisted the services of a business coach, who by the way is phenomenal. With this new partnership my business has re-invented itself in a way that operates smarter, which keeps me from having to work as hard. I fee like she’s part of my team, which gives me ease of mind in knowing that I have a skilled professional looking out for the success of not only my business, but my life as well. What a partnership!
So the next time you pull out your “Jack of all trades” hat, think twice and get the help you and your business needs.
Partnering for your success!
Jacqueline Williams
Financial Strategist