How our accounting firm can help small business owners save time and improve financial management

As a small business owner, you will have countless decisions to make regularly. For example, which supplier will you give you the best deal? What wage rate is correct for your workers or positions? What business structure is best for your situation, and is your organization built for that structure?

From an accounting standpoint, there are numerous issues that must be decided. For example, should you use accrual or cash basis accounting? Which expenses give you the best tax deduction advantages, and which ones do not? Are your cash deposits managed in a manner that allows them to offer added revenues, or are they just offering a meager return while parked in a bank deposit?

Regardless of the decisions that you will make, most owners know they are experts in their field or industry rather than in financial management. That is how an accounting firm or advisory firm can help; they can bring the expertise to the business owner for these types of issues. Powell Finance Group is this type of firm. As a firm, we pride ourselves on offering the correct and experienced information you need to properly manage your business and, most importantly, its financial management.

Expertise is the advantage that an accounting firm offers. Most people recognize that they need tax advice from an accounting firm, as the laws are constantly changing. To get the best deduction, one must know how to apply all tax laws properly and efficiently. But accounting firms can offer far more advice and expertise. For example, a business can use proper accounting techniques to turn its cash flow management into an advantage. Bookkeeping and budgeting that is properly managed can offer a business added efficiencies in finances, where your cash management becomes a larger asset to the firm than just savings. These are just a few of the ways a professional firm, such as ours, can help clients manage their finances properly.

Time Management

Time management may be one of the main reasons business owners use an accounting firm. Most people understand the basic ideas of accounting- revenues, expenses, profits, etc. However, accounting is more tedious and time-consuming than most business activities. Each expense must be properly entered into either digital or physical books.

The classification must be exact to ensure that the items are properly treated in the books. Even for a small business with only a few employees and average revenue streams, the amount of time each week to enter info into a system could take a couple of hours. That time might be better spent meeting with potential or existing clients.

The biggest time saver that an accounting or bookkeeping firm can offer is just taking away the tedium of entering info into a system or reviewing it for accuracy. The best time management offer from an accounting firm is adding free time to your day, allowing you to do what you need.

Additionally, adding time to your day by assisting in accounting operations is not just limited to inputting data. An accounting firm such as ours can help save time by offering multiple software options for managing books and tracking expenses and profits. Our firm, Powell Finance Group, offers several different systems to help you manage your books. The founder, Matt Powell, recently mentioned this statement in an interview,

"We always recommend QuickBooks Online to our clients since it has many functional uses outside of bookkeeping, like Payroll, Bill Pay, Invoicing, and more. However, if QuickBooks Online isn't your favorite, we also recommend Xero. If you're looking for something budget-friendly, check out Wave Accounting for free software to start."

A firm offering multiple options will always work to satisfy a client, which is how Powell Finance Group was conceived and built.

Bookkeeping Services

Bookkeeping services as a tool to save time are relatively easy to understand. By passing on the tedium of inputting data into an accounting system or having a service manage your books, you will have more time to focus on other operations. However, a bookkeeping service has other selling points than time savings. The expertise that the bookkeeper brings to the table can be much more valuable. Experience and a detailed understanding of accounting rules can help any business and owner decrease errors and save "worry" time.

Accounting can be a challenge even for the most knowledgeable business owners. Accounting rules such as the standard GAAP rulings are developed to help accountants apply laws and rules to their clients' books uniformly. However, the rules are often written in "legal" language and written by accountants with PhDs. In addition, the rules may be complex, especially the more focused it is on specific situations. Thus, having a professional that can apply the rules to your specific situation or facts will help in reducing errors in the bookkeeping process.

Cash Flow and Budgeting

As implied, accounting is more than properly inputting revenues and expenses into the books. Indeed, understanding accounting and how to use financial management can turn finances into company assets. Properly managing the cash flow and budgeting of a company are not only proper accounting standards, but they can turn the company's finances into another revenue stream.

For example, by managing the cash flow and accounts payable, a company can develop short-term "free" loans from their cash flow. The interest earned on these "free" loans may be negligible, but the expanded base of your deposited assets could improve your overall financial position and health. This example is just one way cash flow and budgeting can become an asset.

As an advisory service or an accounting firm, one of the best services they can offer is their judgment. Judgment is how to treat an expense or other bookkeeping item and how to manage your firm's money. This advisory service, helping businesses manage their funds, can be one of the best benefits of using a firm such as Powel Finance Group. Since accounting is applying standardized rules to financial management, it is helping business owners better understand their business operations.

Because they are not accounting experts, many small business owners look at the amount of money in the bank as the measure of business success. But a professional accounting service can use cash flow and budgeting to demonstrate the real measure of the success of a business. As Matt Powell recently put it, "Business owners tend to look no further than the Profit and Loss Statement but are quick to judge its success by the bank account balance. Cash Flow is vital to a business's operations and does not end with the Profit and Loss Statement. Understanding how that affects the Cash Flow Statement and the Balance Sheet ultimately tells a full picture. Without cash, you can't get very far."

That is why a firm like ours can be your best ally in building a profitable venture.

In Summation

Working with a professional firm such as Powell Finance Group assists a firm in better understanding its financial position and managing it to its ultimate benefit. Accounting firms can offer clients the professionalism to properly input data into their books, but their experience and knowledge are the key benefit of a firm. For a company like your small business, imagine how a firm like Powell Finance Group can help you succeed. Contact us, and let's schedule an appointment to review your situation and develop a plan to manage your accounts for future growth.