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What You Need To Know About Cash Flow Statements

Gresham Business Owners Can Seek Help From Business & Accounting Solutions

Gresham business owners in need of accounting tips and assistance can rely on Business & Accounting Solutions. At Business & Accounting Solutions, we’re eager to help Portland businesses thrive with our expert assistance in accounting services. When you need assistance with things like cash flow, finance consulting and more, rely on Business & Accounting Solutions!

What Is A Cash Flow Statement?

A cash flow statement is one of the important financial statements every public company issues quarterly and annually. Gresham business owners will need to learn how to put a cash flow statement together — or hire someone to do it for them. Having the services of an accountant simplifies the process and ensures accuracy.

A cash flow statement provides aggregate data regarding all cash inflows a company receives from its ongoing operations and external investment sources. It also includes all cash outflows that pay for business activities and investments during a given period. A Gresham company's financial statements offer investors and analysts a portrait of all the transactions that go through the business, where every transaction contributes to its success.

How Cash Flow Statements Work. Every company that sells and offers its stock to the public must file financial reports and statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The three main financial statements are the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. The cash flow statement is an important document that helps open a window for interested parties' insight into all the transactions that go through a company.

The cash flow statement is focused on cash accounting in particular. Even profitable Gresham companies can fail to adequately manage cash flow, which is why a cash flow statement is a critical tool for companies, analysts, and investors. The cash flow statement is believed to be the most intuitive of all the financial statements because it follows the cash made by the business in three main ways—through operations, investment, and financing. The sum of these three segments is called net cash flow.

Don’t Fail To Properly Manage Cash Flow – Hire An Accountant. When Gresham businesses fail to properly manage cash flow, it can be detrimental to overall business. Don’t risk failure – hire an accountant. Part of your accountant's job will be to keep up with the information that is needed for cash flow statements. An accountant will easily be able to put together and manage cash flow statements for your Gresham business. This allows business owners to focus their efforts elsewhere. An accountant is trained and experienced in matters like cash flow statements and will be able to help you put together the necessary statements quickly and properly. When you’re ready to hire on an accountant’s services, consider outsourced accounting with Business & Accounting Solutions.

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services in Gresham With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in Gresham.  We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with our bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

What Is A Profit And Loss Statement?

Tips For First Time Business Owners In Portland

There’s a lot to learn when you go into business for yourself. Business & Accounting Solutions is here to help small business owners in Portland on their journey to success. We’re eager to help small business owners in Portland succeed with expert financial and accounting advice.

Stay On Top Of Quarterly Accounting. A profit and loss statement, also known as a P&L statement, is one of three financial statements every public company issues quarterly and annually, along with the balance sheet and the cash flow statement. It is often the most popular and common financial statement in a business plan as it quickly shows how much profit or loss was generated by a business. Learning how to put together these statements is an important part of the accounting side of owning a business in Portland.

Profit And Loss Statements. A P&L statement summarizes the revenues, costs, and expenses incurred during a specified period, usually a fiscal quarter or year. The P&L is synonymous with the income statement. These records provide information about a company's ability or inability to generate profit by increasing revenue, reducing costs or both. Having an accountant to aid you with your P&L can give your Portland business a huge advantage. P&Ls are crucial to planning for the future of your business. An accountant is trained both in putting together P&Ls and using them to help you plan for the future of your Portland business.

Putting together a P&L begins with the entry for revenue, known as the top line. You must then subtract the costs of doing business, including the cost of goods sold, operating expenses, tax expenses, and interest expenses. The difference, known as the bottom line, is net income, also referred to as profit or earnings. It is important to note that Portland business owners should compare income statements from different accounting periods, as the changes in revenues, operating costs, research and development spending and net earnings over time are more meaningful than the numbers themselves. For example, a company's revenues may grow, but its expenses might grow at a faster rate.

Hire An Accountant To Make Sure Your Paperwork Is Done Right The First Time. An accountant is useful in both helping you put together P&Ls as well as helping you utilize the information given to you by P&L statements to help plan for the future success of your Portland business. It is an accountant’s job to stay on top of all of the financial goings-on in your Portland business, so they will likely already have gathered all the information you need for a P&L. Accountants are also trained in strategic planning and will help move your Portland business forward. If you’re starting a business in Portland, consider hiring the services of an outsourced accountant through Business & Accounting Solutions!

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO and Accounting services to businesses in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

Does Every Small Business Need An Accountant?

Starting a new business in Gresham is an exciting and nerve-racking experience all at once. There’s a lot to figure out and keeping track of your finances is one of the more important things to stay on top of. When you’re trying to get the most bang for your buck, however, sometimes Gresham business owners are tempted to put off hiring an accountant. Gresham business owners should know, however, that hiring an accountant is one of the most important steps they can take towards a successful business. Most successful business owners who work closely with an accountant will tell you that an accountant is an absolute must.

WHEN TO HIRE AN ACCOUNTANT. Gresham business owners will find that hiring an accountant will save them time, money, and headaches. There are several key moments in the lifecycle of your Gresham business where you don’t want to go it alone. Hiring an accountant provides your business with a greater probability of success.

FORMING YOUR OWN GRESHAM BUSINESS. Having an accountant’s help right from the beginning can be a huge advantage for Gresham business owners. A few ways that an accountant can help as you begin your Gresham business include:

  • Helping you write your business plan
  • Advising you on your business’s entity structure
  • Helping you get all the appropriate licenses
  • Helping you set up your bookkeeping software

COMPLIANCE AND TAX ISSUES. Another pint when having an accountant can be advantageous to Gresham business owners is during tax season. Doing accounting properly takes a lot of training and learning. Your accountant has dedicated their time to make sure they know all of the current laws and regulations requirements. An accountant can help you with complex payroll issues, sales tax issues, and so much more!

CAN’T I HANDLE ACCOUNTING ON MY OWN? Gresham business owners may ask – can’t I do the accounting on my own? The answer is that, with the right amount of time and dedication, you probably can. But do you really want to? Remember that 89% of small businesses credit higher success to working with an accountant. It is widely accepted that an accountant improves your chances of succeeding as a small business in Gresham.

CONSIDER OUTSOURCED ACCOUNTING SERVICES WITH BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS. Gresham business owners should consider hiring on outsourced accounting services through Business & Accounting Solutions. With an outsourced accountant, you have all of the accounting expertise you need exactly when you need it. Hiring on a full-time accountant can be especially hard for a Gresham business that is just getting their start. After all, a full-time accountant requires full-time pay. With the outsourced accounting services available at Business & Accounting Solutions, Gresham business owners can have professional and affordable accounting advice and services.

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO and Accounting services to businesses in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

7 (More) Tips On How To Manage Inventory For Your Small Business

Learn How To Manage Your Inventory With Business & Accounting Solutions

The end of the year is approaching faster every day. Are you ready for year-end inventory management? For Portland small business owners, inventory management can be especially stressful – even moreso if your business is new! Business & Accounting Solutions is here to offer guidance to Portland business owners in need assistance with year-end financials. With the right steps and the assistance of an accountant, year-end inventory management and filing requirements become a done deal.

Because inventory is closely tied to the financials, it will factor into the filing of the taxes. Hiring a professional accountant to help you with the details of reconciliation will save you from a huge reconciliation migraine.

1. Track Your Stock Levels At All Times. Portland business owners should have a solid system in place for tracking stock levels so as to prioritize the most expensive products. Effective software saves you time and money by doing much of the heavy lifting for you. Ask your accountant if they are trained in inventory software. They may be able to help you learn it or save you the hassle by operating it themselves.

2. Reduce Equipment Repair Time. Essential machinery isn’t always in working order, so it’s important to manage those assets. A broken piece of machinery can be costly. Monitoring your machinery and its parts is crucial to understanding its life cycle, so you can be prepared before issues arise.

3. Don’t Forget Quality Control. No matter your specialty, it’s important to ensure that all your products look great and are working well. It could be as simple as having employees do a quick examination during stock audits that includes a checklist for signs of damage and correct product labeling

4. Hire A Stock Controller. Stock control is used to show the amount of inventory you have at a given time and applies to all items, from raw materials to finished goods. If you have a lot of inventory, you might need to designate one person to manage it. A stock controller processes all purchase orders, receives deliveries, and makes sure that everything coming in matches what was ordered. They will likely work closely with your accountant to help keep track of the finances that pay for inventory.

5. Remember Your ABC’s. Many businesses find it helpful to have tighter controls over higher-value items by grouping inventory items into A, B, and C categories.

6. Consider Drop Shipping. If your business adopts drop shipping methods, you can sell products without actually holding the inventory yourself. Instead, a wholesaler or manufacturer is responsible for carrying the inventory and shipping the products when a consumer buys from your store. That way, you don’t worry about inventory holding, storage, or fulfillment. Many owners who start an online store adopt drop shipping methods, but this supply chain fulfillment strategy can be adopted by many types of businesses across all industries.

7. Hire Accounting Services Through Business & Accounting Solutions. When you’re ready to take on the services of an accountant to help with year-end inventory management and taxes, consider hiring outsourced accounting services from Business & Accounting Solutions to get the job done. With our outsourced financial services, you get expert accounting advice in your back pocket. Our accounting services are always available, and you only pay for the time you need. Portland business owners come out on top with Business & Accounting Solutions’ outsourced accounting services.

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO and Accounting services to businesses in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

How To Manage Inventory For Your Small Business

One of the most important tasks to tackle for your Portland business as the end of the year approaches is inventory management. Inventory will, after all, affect how you submit your taxes and how you order product for the new year. Business & Accounting Solutions is eager to offer Portland businesses advice on how to approach this important task.

What Is Inventory Management?

Inventory management is the part of supply chain management that aims to always have the right products in the right quantity for sale, at the right time. When done effectively, you can reduce the costs of carrying excess inventory while maximizing sales for your Portland business. Good inventory management can help you track your inventory in real-time to streamline this process. By effectively managing your inventory you can avoid products being out of stock and funds being tied up in excess stock. You can also ensure your products are sold in time to avoid spoilage or obsolescence or spending too much money on stock that’s taking up space in a warehouse or stockroom.

Inventory Management Techniques

When managing your Portland business’s inventory for the first time, it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are some basic techniques that can help you get on the right track.

1. Hire An Accountant To Help Make The Inventory Process Run Smoothly. A lot of inventory management is linked to your business’s accounting. Having a proper stock of your inventory will help your accountant to keep your business’s finances in order. Make sure you have an accountant hired to help make these processes easier.

2. Fine-Tune Your Forecasting. Accurate forecasting is vital. Your projected sales calculations should be based on factors such as historical sales figures, market trends, predicted growth, the economy, promotions, marketing efforts, etc. Business & Accounting Solutions recommends having an accountant on staff to aid in this process. Your accountant will be tuned in to the sales and history of your business and help you get the most accurate forecasting.

3. Use The FIFO Approach (First In, First Out). Goods should be sold in the same chronological order as they were purchased or created. This is especially important for perishable products like food, flowers, and makeup. With non-perishable goods, items sitting around for too long might become damaged, or otherwise out of date and unsellable. The best way to apply FIFO in a storeroom or warehouse is to add new items from the back so the older products are at the front.

4. Identify Low-Turn Stock. If you have stock that hasn’t sold at all in the last six to 12 months, it’s probably time to stop stocking that item. Your accountant should be able to provide you with the numbers backing up the relative success of each product you stock. Consider different strategies for getting rid of that stock, such as a special discount or promotion. Excess stock wastes space and company capital.

5. Audit your stock. Even with good inventory management software, you still need to periodically count your inventory to make sure what you have in stock matches what your records indicate. Businesses use different techniques, including an annual, year-end physical inventory that counts every single item and ongoing spot-checking, which can be most useful for products that are moving fast or have stocking issues.

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services With Business & Accounting Solutions. Business & Accounting Solutions is eager to help Portland businesses succeed. Don’t miss out on the professional advice and accounting services available through Business & Accounting Solutions, including bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213.

 

4 More Reasons To Hire An Accountant For Your Taxes

The end of the year is coming fast! Business & Accounting Solutions urges Gresham business owners to make sure they are prepared for the business of year-end reporting. For any Gresham business owner, the end of the year brings an opportunity to look back at the trajectory of your business over the past year and plan for the future. However, there are things that need to be made current and reconciled before jumping too far ahead. Taxes need to be properly completed and filed on time, and the best way to make sure your business’s taxes are filed correctly is to hire an accountant. An accountant has the training, experience, and know-how to make sure your Gresham business’s taxes are done right the first time. Here are a few more reasons why hiring an accountant to help file your Gresham business’s taxes this year is so desirable.

1.Save on Deductions. There’s no way around it – running a Gresham business keeps you busy. Busy business owners sometimes find themselves waiting until the last minute to compile a list of deductions. However, this doesn’t allow you enough time to review all of your possible expenses. In fact, a majority of business owners don’t think to include certain deductions like donations to charity. Some other deductions to consider include advertising, property rental costs, depreciation, contract labor, and even business lunches. A tax return accountant can keep track of all your deductions during the year. This helps Gresham business owners avoid from scrambling at the end of the year. Having an accountant also ensures that your business will benefit from every deduction that is available to it.

2. Concentrate on Your Business. Doing taxes is hard work. Keeping track of receipts, expenses, and trying to decipher tax laws is enough to make your head spin. On top of all of that, Gresham business owners still have to keep track of their regular day-to-day business operations. Why not hand the task off to someone else instead? Having an accountant will give you enough time to concentrate on running your business and providing customer satisfaction. When someone keeps track of your finances for you, you can be worry-free.

3. Less Stress. When you do your own taxes, there’s always the risk of something going wrong. The stress stays with you from record-keeping to filing of the return. If you often stop to question whether you’re doing something right, you should know that this type of stress isn’t worth it. Reduce your stress! Have a professional accountant handle it for you. When you find an accountant that you trust, you’ll feel a huge weight lift off of your shoulders.

4. Tax Loopholes. You don’t always get the full benefits of tax loopholes just by using tax software. Successful businesses often save thousands of dollars by taking advantage of legal loopholes. For example, someone who works in a home office can receive a huge tax break on certain business expenses. When the home office takes up a portion of a home, the business owner can deduct these costs from property taxes, mortgage interest, and even insurance premiums. Deductions can even be taken off of utilities like heat, water, and electricity. In addition to all of these savings, a person who works from home can also get deductions from anything related to their business, such as travel, office supplies, and marketing campaigns. An accountant will know how to help you take advantage of these possible loopholes.

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services in Gresham With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in Gresham.  We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with our bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

 

4 Reasons You Should Hire An Accountant For Your Taxes

Gresham business owners know that one of the busiest times of year is the end of the year. The holiday season brings in a rush for a lot of businesses, and on top of that, the end of the year means tax preparations are underway for everyone. Gresham business owners will want to make the end of the year process easier on themselves by hiring an accountant. Accountants have skills that are particularly useful for preparing your business’s taxes.

Why You Should Hire An Accountant For Your Taxes

1. Eliminate The Chance Of An Audit. The last thing any Gresham business owner wants to deal with is an audit. Your business could be subject to an audit if you have too many errors or too many write-offs. Many businesses, however, make the mistake of neglecting to hire an accountant until it’s too late. By hiring an accountant, you can avoid this risk.

2. Communication With The IRS. An accountant can make communication between your Gresham business and the IRS easier. For example, if you receive a letter from the IRS inquiring about substantiation for a purchase, it needs to be taken seriously and responded to correctly. It is in your business’s best interest to allow a professional accountant to handle it.

3. Save Money On Software. There are several accounting software options that you can utilize for your taxes, but much of this software has a high cost. If you pay for a cheaper software, you’ll be missing out on certain helpful features that you actually need. When hiring an accountant for a tax return, you don’t have to worry about finding and paying for expensive software. Accountants have access to high-quality software and are already experts at operating said software.

4. No Need To Learn Tax Laws. An accountant knows taxes. They’re aware of the laws and regulations that affect and benefit your Gresham business. In fact, you can actually make more money on your taxes by hiring an accountant. They can help you take advantage of the latest changes in tax laws, resulting in savings that can go towards your business. Not only will hiring an accountant help you save money, but you’ll save time as well. Not having to learn about complicated tax laws can give you more time to focus on your customers.

Get The Best Outsourced Accounting Services With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in Gresham. We bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with our bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, financial reporting, QuickBooks consulting, and other services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

Prepare Your Business For Year’s End

Portland business owners who have been around the block more than once will know that now is the time to begin preparing for the end of the year. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you have time enough to put off preparing for the end of the year because it will be here before you know it. Now is the time to make sure your accounting is in order. Now is the time to make sure you have the professional assistance of an accountant who knows how to balance the books for your Portland business and get ready all the paperwork that needs to be completed for taxes.

Here are a few things that Portland business owners should be thinking about as the end of the year approaches.

Are You Happy With Your Payroll Provider? Portland business owners who are looking to switch payroll providers will actually find that one of the best times to switch is at the end of the year! This is because switching providers at year-end means you won’t have to worry about gathering and re-entering details like prior-to-service wages, and you can start fresh in the new calendar year.

Make Sure Your Employees Get Paid Too. Unhappy employees are the last thing you want at the end of the year, especially if your business tends to pick up around that time. The holidays come with extra expenses for everyone, too, which is all the more reason to stay on top of payroll! Your normal payroll schedule at the end of the year may be impacted depending on which day of the week various holidays fall, too, so be prepared for that. A great way to make sure you’re on top of payroll is to hire an accountant’s services. The last thing any Portland business owner needs is to have too much on their plate at the end of the year. Hiring an accountant will mean you have a professional who specializes in keeping your accounting orderly on the job. Additionally, this is a good time to make sure your employee’s information is up to date in your systems. Changes in marital status, address, or contact details are all important to keep up with. Make sure your information is accurate!

Prepare For Taxes. Make things easier for yourself in the new year by getting all your ducks in a line now. Taxes need to be done in a timely manner, and preparation is the key! Check in with your accountant to make sure things are in order for tax season.

Mentally Prepare For The New Year. As the end of the year approaches, Portland business owners are in the perfect position to reflect on how business has gone for the past year and plan for the future. Have you reached the goals you hoped you would with your business? How can you ensure you will achieve your goals in the coming year? Use your experience from this year to plan for success in the future.

Need help with your business’s end of year planning? We provide the best outsourced accounting services in Portland. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in Portland. BAS brings knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with our accounting and bookkeeping services. Portland businesses can also look to BAS for other services including cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Accounting End Of The Year Checklist, Continued

One of the most important ways an accountant can help your small Gresham business is in helping you to prepare for the end of the year and tax season. Making sure your accounting books are in order and taxes are filed correctly is no small task. Incorrect or late filing could even result in fees that could be a hard blow to your Gresham business.

The year is more than halfway gone – start preparing for the end of the year now! To make sure that your Gresham business is prepared for all that the end of the year brings, it is a good idea to have a checklist for the tasks that need to be done. Business & Accounting Solutions recommends adding the following items to your checklist and hiring on an accountant's services to ensure the end of the year for your business runs smoothly.

5. Send Out 1099s. Don’t delay sending out 1099s to your employees. After all, they will claim income regardless of whether you provide them 1099s. Gresham business owners can save themselves some trouble by collecting W-9s along the way and sending out 1099s early. It’s much easier to take care of things early than to scramble at year-end. Additionally, an accountant can help make sure that all of these documents are in order and are sent out in a timely manner.

Gresham business owners should know that sending out 1099s in a timely manner is about more than just saving yourself from scrambling at the end of the year. Failure to send these documents also costs your Gresham business money! Unless you’re keen to pay a $250 fine, don’t delay. Make sure to get your 1099s to their recipients on or before January 31 and to the IRS on or before February 28 (or March 31 if you file electronically).

6. Plan For Income Taxes. Take the time to identify tax needs now! Your accountant can help you to minimize your payments and capture potential savings. To avoid nasty surprises and save your company serious money, invest time now. If you find that your plate is full and you’re wanting to delay planning for the end of the year taxes, that is all the more reason to hire on the help of an accountant. You don’t want to be among the estimated 40 percent of small businesses that rack up $845 per year in penalties. Hire an accountant to take care of this important, necessary task.

7. Ensure You Have Enough Money For The Coming Year. Did you know that almost 30% of startup failures are due to “running out of money?” Gresham business owners should be careful not to count their chickens before they hatch. Don’t get caught in January wondering if you have the money for a new hire or new equipment. Start planning and budgeting now! Involve investors and anybody else to make sure all your funds are in order.

8. Look Back On The Work You’ve Done This Year. The sense of urgency that fuels your end-of-the-year push shouldn’t preclude you from looking back at the work you’ve done. Early-stage companies, especially, have much to do – including filing their taxes – and little time to do it. Review the year’s performance and stack the results up against intended goals and milestones. This will help Gresham business owners to judge the coming year’s objectives.

Outsource Your Accounting With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions helps Gresham businesses stay in compliance and helps put them on the path for growth by offering a wide range of outsourced accounting services including bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

Accounting End Of The Year Checklist

Gresham business owners should know what services an accountant can offer your small business to help it run smoothly. The most important of these involves closing the books at the end of the year. With more than half the year gone, now is the time to make sure you’re prepared for the end of the year accounting needs. Don’t wing it when it comes to your business’s taxes. Not only do you risk a potentially harmful financial fallout, but it also damages company morale and suggests a disorganized operation.

Use the following checklist to make sure your Gresham business has its accounting affairs in order for tax season. Here are four important year-end tasks an accountant can do for you:

End Of The Year Checklist For Taxes

1. Keep Internal Operations On Point. The best thing you can do to make sure that your Gresham business is prepared for the end of the year is to make sure that everything is running smoothly now. Double-check the internal controls you already have in place. If necessary, you have time to create fail-safe procedures. When you stick maintaining to internal control operations, it helps you to maintain accurate financial records, prevent fraud, and detect possible embezzlement early on. Gresham business owners who hire on the help of an accountant will have an even easier time making sure that all things are running smoothly.

At this point in the year, take an honest look at your business. Does your plan contain holes that make you susceptible to errors? Ensuring that your procedures are in place and working smoothly can help you maintain a solid year-end close as your company grows.

2. Make Payroll Compliance A Priority. Gresham business owners should make sure employees get their W-2 forms no later than January 31, and include accrued bonuses or special gifts. This not only calms impatient workers, but it also prevents major penalties. If the IRS suspects and proves you intentionally avoided filing to pay, you could be charged with a federal violation.

3. Collect Accounts Receivable. Small businesses especially can’t afford to let accounts receivable slip for too long. Before the year is up, aim to close out all outstanding receivables. Gresham business owners need to be prepared to collect on all unpaid invoices and reissue or void checks as needed. A strong push to collect as much as possible and clean up reconciliation issues will help you maintain better control over your company’s cash flow. Expediting payments, before taxes are due, will help. Gresham business owners who find themselves too swamped to chase down accounts receivable bills should hire the help of an accountant. Part of an accountant’s job is to make sure your Gresham business gets the money it is owed.

4. Mind The GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Clean books are essential to satisfying both investors and for acquiring companies. If your company’s finances are not already in line with accounting principles, they need to get there – now. An accountant can offer professional advice and make sure your books are GAAP-compliant.

As you prepare for the end of the year, you should consider taking on an accountant's services for your Gresham business. End of the year preparations and tax season are some of the most stressful times for any Gresham business owner. Rely on the help of a professional accountant to keep everything running smoothly and your books accurate and on time.

Outsource Your Accounting With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions helps Gresham businesses stay in compliance and helps put them on the path for growth by offering a wide range of outsourced accounting services including bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

More Reasons To Outsource Accountant Services

Business & Accounting Solutions Offers Professional Outsourced Accountant Services

Portland business owners should know that an accountant is an invaluable addition to their business. Accountants can provide your business with a level of expertise that will take the burden of handling the financial aspects of business off of your shoulders. With Business & Accounting Solutions, Portland business owners can benefit from the expertise of an accountant without the cost of hiring an accounting professional full time. Business & Accounting Solutions invites Portland business owners to try outsourcing their accounting services.

How Can Bringing On An Outsourced Accountant Help With Your Portland Business?

There are a lot of ways in which outsourcing an accountant can be an invaluable decision to any Portland business owner. Here are 3 more to outsource accounting services for your Portland business.

1. Access To the Top accounting Software. When considering your business's financial needs, it can be difficult to choose which software is the best for you. There is a wide range of options and, to the untrained eye, they all look the same. Your outsourced accountant will already have software that they have chosen based on their experience. This frees you from wasting your time and money on trial packages which may not offer you the accounting services you need. Another benefit is that you don’t have to learn how to use a new piece of software, or potentially end up making mistakes in financial entry because you are not familiar enough with the new system.

2. Invaluable Advice. Portland business owners looking to expand their business or seeking investment opportunities will find that an experienced financial expert can be a great asset and offer invaluable advice and knowledge during important decision making. Your outsourced accountant will have knowledge of similar scenarios and might have invaluable information for you to consider. In this way, your outsourced accountant could help you avoid unreliable investment advice and reduce the costs of implementing those decisions that you decide to move forward with.

3. Peace Of Mind. An outsourced accountant with the right qualifications, training, and experience can provide you and your leadership team with peace of mind. Portland business owners who take on an outsourced accountant will know their company's financials are being managed and reported properly and accurately by an accounting professional. When you turn up for meetings, you can be assured that financial data and reports for your company are accurate and presented in a way that everyone understands. Your outsourced accountant will keep your Portland business in line with state and national government regulations as well, leaving you with one less herculean task to worry about for your growing business.

Outsource Your Accounting With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional accountant to support your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions helps Portland businesses stay in compliance and on the path for growth by offering a wide range of outsourced accounting services including bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

 

3 Reasons You Should Outsource CFO Services

Outsourcing CFO services can be hugely beneficial for your small Portland business. An outsourced CFO can offer your business important experience and knowledge which will keep everything running smoothly and within state and national regulations.

Did you know, however, that you don’t necessarily need to take on a full-time CFO? Your Portland business can thrive with the help of outsourced CFO services as well. Here are just a few ways in which an outsourced CPA can help your business:

1. You Can Concentrate On What You’re Good At. Accounting is no easy task, which is why outsourced CFOs are specially trained for it. Allow an outsourced CFO to fulfill their areas of expertise while you turn your expert skills elsewhere. Portland business owners who outsource CFO services will have more time to concentrate on other tasks, leading to improved productivity and quality of work.

2. Lower Employee Costs. Did you know that when you outsource CFO and accounting services, you can save up to 40% of the costs when compared to the cost of a full-time employee? With an outsourced CFO, you don’t have to pay for things like benefits packages, training, or equipment. Your insurance may even lower. The cost to hire a new employee can be as high as 150% of their annual salary. By outsourcing, you could really be saving money.

3. Reduce Fraud. Most businesses suffer from employee fraud at some point or other. No business is immune to some sort of theft. This can be even more of a risk for small Portland businesses. Statistics highlight that companies with fewer than 100 employees are most vulnerable to fraud and face an average yearly loss of $155,000. Outsourcing your accounting and CFO services can be a way to detect fraud within a business.

Outsource Your Accounting With Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper and accountant to support your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions helps Portland businesses stay in compliance and on the path for growth by offering a wide range of outsourced CFO services, including bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

The Differences Between an Accountant and a CPA

One of the best things any Portland business owner can do for their business is to hire a capable, knowledgeable accountant or CPA. Hiring someone whose profession is working with finances to help with your Portland business will be a huge benefit to you. Portland business owners may wonder who is best to hire – an accountant or a CPA? What is the difference between the two?

ACCOUNTANTS

An accountant is simply someone who works professionally with accounting. Accounting usually entails the recording and reporting of business and financial transactions. Anyone who performs these functions can call themselves an accountant. Although many accountants do have an accounting-related degree, a degree is not required to call oneself an accountant. This is important for Portland business owners to remember. If you feel more comfortable with an accountant who has some level of formal education, be sure to ask if they have a degree.

Non-certified accountants usually perform tasks such as bookkeeping, maintaining general business accounts, and taking care of simple tax-related matters. However, all accountants with the appropriate training and experience can perform a wide range of services.

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

A Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, is an accountant who has met state licensing requirements. Although requirements vary by state, they typically include minimum education (usually a bachelor’s degree in accounting) and experience requirements, plus passing the CPA exam. CPAs also have to complete 40 hours of continuing professional education every year, which means they are informed of all the latest in requirements for their field.

What Are The Advantages Of Hiring A Certified Public Accountant For Your Portland Business? Portland business owners should consider their needs when hiring an accountant or a CPA. Keep in mind that a Certified Public Accountant will be more thoroughly familiar with your particular state’s legislature and how that changes over the years. Additionally, there are some things a CPA can do that an accountant cannot. For example, CPAs prepare three main types of financial statements: audited, reviewed, and compiled. Only a CPA can prepare an audited financial statement or a reviewed financial statement, although any accountant can prepare a compiled financial statement.

If you’re ready to hire an accountant or CPA for your Portland business, you can discuss your options with Business & Accounting Solutions.

Portland Business Owners Seek Help With Bookkeeping And Accounting Through Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper or accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC., brings a level of knowledge and capability in finance and accounting to Portland businesses to help them stay in compliance and on the path for growth. We offer a wide range of outsourced CFO and accounting services including bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

4 Tips For Hiring A CPA That’s Right For Your Gresham Business

Running your own business is no easy task. Although Gresham business owners may be tempted to try to do it all on their own, it is highly recommended that small business owners in Gresham hire a CPA. By hiring a Certified Public Accountant, you get a level of expertise in business finance matters that you simply could not accomplish on your own.

Once you’re ready to hire a CPA for your Gresham business, it’s a matter of finding the right CPA. You need someone who is a good fit for both you and your business. Here are some tips to help you hire the best qualified Certified Public Account for your business:

1. Find A CPA Or ACCOUNTING Firm That Understands your needs. Make sure you hire a CPA who you can openly communicate with you and truly understands your Gresham business. Even if you’re only hiring a CPA for the sake of doing your taxes, he or she needs to understand your business to do their job well. Ask your potential hire to walk you through their process so you can have a clear expectation of their performance. Look for a CPA who is eager to work with you.

2. Keep Other Qualifications In Mind When Hiring A CPA. Your CPA is going to be doing more than just crunching numbers. In addition to working with the complex financial aspects of your business, a CPA should be able to communicate well and work cooperatively with you and other coworkers. Your CPA should have the skills and qualifications that will enable him to perform the accounting duties required by your business’ accounting structure. For example, technical accounting requires a certain skill set and personality of someone who frequently dives into complex technical guidance, so you would probably need a CPA who is patient and does not get frustrated with complex technologies.

3. Figure Out What You Need Before Hiring. What are the specific accounting needs of your business? Are you looking for someone to process your accounts payable and sales invoices, do taxes and payroll or create your budgets and financial statements? Before a Gresham business owner even starts the hiring process, it is important to know exactly what services are needed. This includes services that you will need down the road. Once you have a clear idea of what types of services your CPA must perform, then you can search for a CPA or firm that fulfills all those needs.

4. Find A CPA Who Also Does Financial Analysis. A CPA or accounting firm can review your business's financial health. Ideally, you want to get key health indicators such as gross profit margin, aging accounts receivable, net profit, etc., on a daily basis. This allows you to make the most informed business decisions with the most relevant information made available by your accountant.

Hire Your CPA or Accountant Through Business & Accounting Solutions. Looking for a professional bookkeeper, accountant, or CPA to support your growing Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC., offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to Gresham. We bring knowledge, capability, and expertise to Gresham businesses in need of accounting and bookkeeping services. Business owners in Gresham can also look to BAS for finance consulting, cash flow, and other services. Contact us or call us at (503) 710-6213 today. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

4 Ways A Bookkeeper Can Help Support Your Gresham Business

The services of a good bookkeeper are invaluable to the small business owner in Gresham. Gresham business owners walk a tight line trying to keep their business afloat and growing at a productive rate. The services of a bookkeeper can make navigating the financial aspects of your business much easier.

There are a wide range of benefits to taking on a bookkeeper for your small business. When thinking of hiring a bookkeeper for your Gresham business, consider the many critical tasks they can help you with. Here are 4 ways a bookkeeper can help support your Gresham business.

1. better cash flow for your Business. The routine recording of revenues, expenses, liabilities, and receivables, will allow you to track when your customer and vendor invoices are paid. All of this means your Gresham business will have better cash flow. Your bookkeeper can help you make sure that your customers are paying you on time and that your vendors are being paid on time as well. Good bookkeeping provides information regarding your outstanding invoices – customer/vendor info, amount, date issued and due date – which can be used to implement better cash flow policies.

2. you can focus more on business strategy. Gresham business owners need tactical and strategic planning to grow their businesses. Having bookkeeping as a tool for your business brings you much closer to your short and long-term goals. Gresham business owners can use the information that bookkeeping offers to focus on company strategy. Your bookkeeper can help you can track the results of your strategy with bookkeeping and adjust goals accordingly.

3. more prepared for irs Audits. Being prepared for the unexpected is important as a business owner. Should the IRS audit you, you want to make sure your books are in order. Messy books prolong the auditing process, making your business more susceptible to fees and penalties. If the IRS feels that your books are disorganized or outdated, they have more motivation to impose penalties. Being able to provide the IRS with what they request in a timely manner could save you from further hassle.

4. Requirements Under Law. The law requires you to keep financial records for your company. Depending on your legal structure, the law requires you to keep financial records separate from your personal expenses. Failing to do so can lead to termination of your business.

Business & Accounting Solutions Offers Quality Bookkeeping Services To GRESHAM businesses. Looking for a professional bookkeeper or accountant to support your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC., brings knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with outsourced CFO, Accountant, and Bookkeeper services. Bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services are just some of the outsourced services we offer. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

5 More Reasons Why Bookkeeping Is Important To Your Portland Business

Small Portland businesses, even at the start, need to be sure to maintain good bookkeeping practices. Although it may seem like a cost you can avoid, a professional bookkeeper is going to bring a level of expertise in financing that your business sorely needs. The benefits far outweigh the cost.

If you're still wondering if hiring a bookkeeper for your Portland business is a smart move, here are five more reasons a bookkeeper is important to your business.

1. For Planning Purposes. Good bookkeeping helps track the past financial performance of your company. Knowing your past performance is crucial to planning for the future. Bookkeeping will give you a clear picture of what exactly works or doesn’t work. In addition to helping with planning for strategic purposes, bookkeeping also plays a major role in tax planning. It gives your CPA the necessary information to properly categorize revenues and expenses. Bookkeeping allows you and your CPA to structure certain expenses to be more favorable. For example, if you have regular meetings with your clients, you might decide to provide lunch during your meetings, which has favorable tax benefits for your business.

2. Easy Reporting To Investors. Having easy access to financial statements for your Portland business is crucial to courting potential investors. Naturally, investors want to know the financial performance of your business to be assured that their investment in your Portland business is beneficial to them as well as you. A good bookkeeper can provide the necessary numbers easily. The balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement all present the value of your business. Bookkeeping allows investors to have up-to-date and accessible information. Investors will be able to make better, well-informed decisions.

3. Financial Management. Bookkeeping allows you to take control of your business’s finances. With good bookkeeping, you’ll have a clear picture of what money is being spent, what money you owe or are owed, and so on. Your bookkeeper’s ability to manage financials allows you to pay your bills on time as well as receive payment for your products or services on time.

4. Peace Of Mind. Portland business owners need a clear, level head to successfully lead their business. The last thing you need is to be worrying over is disorganized books. With quality bookkeeping done by a professional CPA, you can rest easy knowing that your company’s financial information is review ready. Banks or the IRS no longer have to give you anxiety. Instead, you’ll find your mind at ease and more focused on other elements of your business.

5. Track Profit And Growth. Organized bookkeeping shows the profitability of your Portland business. For example, the income statement is one of the financial statements that is prepared from bookkeeping and shows whether your business is profitable or not. Bookkeeping also allows you to track growth from financial data that is accumulated over the life of your business. This information allows you to observe trends and helps you to gain a greater understanding of your business cycles.

Business & Accounting Solutions Offers Quality Bookkeeper Services To Portland. Ready to hire a professional bookkeeper or accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC., brings knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with our outsourced CFO and Accountant services. We offer bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

5 Reasons Why Bookkeeping Is Important To Your Portland Business

Failing to implement proper bookkeeping for your small Portland business is a big mistake. Besides the fact that maintaining accurate books and records is required by law, doing so will save you frustration later on. Poor accounting or bookkeeping is one of the top reasons small businesses fail.

Portland business owners should take bookkeeper services seriously. Hiring a professional accountant or bookkeeper will go a long way towards setting up your business for success. Below are 5 reasons why a bookkeeper is important to your business.

1. Bookkeeping Helps With Your Budget. It is very important to know exactly where the money is going for your Portland business. Bookkeeping helps you budget. An accountant can keep income and expenses properly organized, which makes it easier to review financial resources and expenses. With an organized budget, you can plan for future expenses and the anticipated resources that would cover those expenses.

2. Tax Preparation. Tired of scrambling with paperwork at the end of the year to prepare for tax season? Let a bookkeeper help. As a Portland business owner, getting your business’s tax preparation in order is important to being able to file your personal taxes too. In order to know how much you made over the year, you must know how much your business made. With the help of an accountant in charge of bookkeeping, you can have financial information ready for tax time. Instead of scrambling for receipts or invoices, all of your financial information is organized on one central system.

3. Organization. Portland business owners should be able to easily access information about their business at any given time. Not only does this help you as a business owner know where your business is at, but it means that you can provide information easily to anyone interested in your company’s financial records – such as the IRS, employees, customers, investors, and lenders. Failing to provide this information could result in fees from the IRS, in a stoppage in cash flow if investors and lenders aren’t kept informed, and so on. A professional accountant or bookkeeper can keep this information well organized and easily accessible.

4. Analysis. Your bookkeeper can use bookkeeping as a tool to analyze the performance of your Portland business. Your bookkeeper will provide you with financial statements that are regularly generated and used for analysis. While analyzing financial statements, you can track your cash inflows and outflows. Bookkeeping gives you information on which business lines are working or not working. This type of analysis allows to focus on your company’s strengths and improve on its weaknesses.

5. Better Decision Making. With analysis comes better decision making. In order to make the best decisions possible, you need to have access to all available information. Bookkeeping provides this information.

Business & Accounting Solutions Offers Quality Bookkeeper Services To Portland. Ready to hire a professional bookkeeper or accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC., brings knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with our outsourced CFO and Accountant services. We offer bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow, finance consulting, and financial statement preparation along with QuickBooks consulting services. Contact us or call us today at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

How An Accountant Can Help Grow Your Gresham Business, Part 2

Growing Your Gresham Business With THE HELP OF AN ACCOUNTANT

Hiring an accountant as you begin your Gresham business is one of the surest ways to make sure it is on the path to positive growth. Your accountant’s experience and knowledge can help provide the foresight necessary to help guide you through upcoming challenges and opportunities. Gresham business owners who have the assistance of an accountant from the beginning will have a cutting-edge advantage over their competition.

What ways can an accountant benefit your Gresham business?

Below are just a few ways that hiring an accountant can benefit your Gresham business:

Use Industry Benchmarks To Compare Your Numbers. Your accountant can offer you financial benchmarking analysis tools to help you see how your Gresham business compares to other companies in your field. Knowing what the industry-specific standards are for your KPIs is a good starting point and allows you to begin planning ahead. By knowing these standards, you will be able to tell if you are performing better or worse or if your cost ratios are too high or within the norm. Knowing this opens up a conversation as to whether changing one thing could make a big and positive difference to the bottom line. In many cases, you can find one or two quick wins and go from there.

Know The Value Of Your Gresham Business Today. Even if you are a long way off from considering retirement, knowing the value of your business today is important so you can plan for the future you want to have. Don’t let opportunities pass you by. Be prepared and ready for it with the appropriate valuation consulting so you have an estimate of how much your business is worth given market conditions. An accountant can help your begin some degree of business succession planning to build up the people who may eventually take over key parts of the business.

Create An Advisory Board With Your Accountant. Your accountant is likely to be well connected within their field. They will know other top professionals who serve clients like you but have diverse areas of expertise. When you can tap into the connections your accountant has, it will be like “renting” the C-suite. When your Gresham business is growing, it may be difficult to buy C-level expertise in legal, finance, operations or other functional areas to have in-house as employees. Advisory boards are a cost-effective way to bounce ideas off of professionals in a safe environment. Tap into the connections available to you through your accountant and receive quality, professional advice for a fraction of the price of hiring C-level employees.

Business & Accounting Solutions — WE PROVIDE Excellent ACCOUNTING Services TO GRESHAM BUSINESSES. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO and Accountant services in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call us today (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

How An Accountant Can Help Grow Your Gresham Business, Part 1

Hire An Accountant To Set Your Gresham Business On The Path To Growth

One of the most crucial things any Gresham business owner can do to aid the growth of their business is hiring an accountant. An accountant can bring both big-picture strategic thinking and detailed financial expertise to your Gresham business. Your accountant will have a unique view of your business’s challenges and is in a position to help it grow.

Here are a few ways an accountant can assist in the growth strategy of your Gresham business:

Test Growth Options With Break-Even Analysis. Your accountant can help you set up budgeting and forecasting reports. You can begin by setting up goals for your Gresham business to achieve within the next 12 months. Your accountant can generate simple charts and graphs of projected scenarios and help to interpret forecasted results. This reporting doesn’t have to be complex. It will aid you in identifying how your business has performed in previous periods and allows you to make better decisions for growth.

Among the reports that your accountant produces, you will see how fixed costs (rent, administratiion, etc.) and variable costs (inventory, shipping, manufacturing, labor, etc.) compare with sales volume at different periods. This leads to determining how seasonality, market conditions or other factors impact the bottom line. Once you have determined a target for projected earnings, your accountant can create a break-even analysis—and ultimately provide your strategic team with a better sense of the market conditions needed to grow your Gresham business.

Help You Find Key Performance Indicators In Your Business. Knowing your key performance indicators, also known as KPIs, is crucial to growing your Gresham business. You can start by looking for the KPIs that really matter to your business type and build from there. For example, if you’re in retail, you may want to look specifically at inventory turnover. Or, if you’re in construction, an important KPI may be job costing. For manufacturing, reviewing your direct costs can identify opportunities to focus on more profitable products.

Every business has key performance indicators and your accountant will likely have this knowledge and vocabulary from working with other clients. Your accountant has a well of knowledge to help you understand the KPIs important to your Gresham business. Your accountant can advise on methods to set up KPI reporting and help you to see how they perform over time so you can make the better decisions that help your business achieve growth.

Understand Cash Flow Projections. When your accountant helps you create financial reports and identify KPIs that affect your business, they are helping you to manage your cash flow. It is important to know how scenarios such as expanding product lines, increased direct costs, adding employees or changes in location can impact cash flow—so you can mitigate surprises and take a more controlled approach to growing your Gresham business.

Business & Accounting Solutions — Excellent ACCOUNTING Services FOR PORTLAND BUSINESSES. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO and Accountant services in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

5 More Reasons Why Your Small Portland Business Needs An Accountant

Hiring An Accountant Benefits Your Small Portland Business

Even in the beginning stages of business, hiring an accountant can be extremely useful. Portland business owners will find that accountants can save on money, time, and stress in the long run. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s better to wait before hiring an accountant for your small Portland business. Choosing to hire an accountant early on will result in your business running smoother is so many ways.

Accountants do much more than crunch numbers. Here are 5 ways an accountant can help your small business grow:

Managing Cash Flow. Cash flow can make or break your Portland business. To keep your Portland business healthy, you need an accountant to keep track of your company’s cash flow—and be able to present information in an accurate and organized manner. Your accountant will know which reports are needed and how to analyze them. He will will know what red flags to look for. Has there been a change in a customer’s paying habits that could signal trouble ahead? Do you have a larger tax liability this year than last? Is it time to re-negotiate payment terms with one of your vendors? All of these factors affect the cash flow of your business. With an accountant’s help, you can minimize unwelcome surprises and plan ahead.

Handling Audits. An accountant can guide you through the process of an audit as smoothly and painlessly as possible. It is your accountant’s job to know your books well and to have an accounting system in place that conforms to accounting standards. This gives you an advantage in the event that the IRS comes knocking. Tax laws can change from year to year, making compliance difficult. Your accountant, however, will keep up with those changes to save your Portland business from expensive fines and hours of labor.

Staying Informed. As mentioned above, tax laws change often on all levels – local, state, and federal. Keeping abreast of these changes and knowing how they will affect your Portland business is an accountant’s job. Keeping up with changes in tax rules and regulations on your own would consume countless hours of research, and the information may still be confusing. Allow a finance professional to guide you through instead.

Managing Growth. Of course, it is the goal of any business to grow, but there is such a thing as too much growth. Too much growth too quickly can kill a business. Your accountant will be able to help you plan ahead and help you understand the implications of any proposed changes, like additions to your product line or expansion to new locations. Planning ahead in detail is only possible with the information that an accountant can easily provide. You accountant can keep your Portland business moving forward while keeping an eye on how you company can generate the most profit.

Paying Employees Properly. Your accountant can quickly spot mistakes when it comes to employee compensation. A good accountant knows what to look out for and will advise you on specific concerns. Making sure each worker is properly classified, as well as knowing when an exemption applies and when it does not, are examples of the expertise you can rely on when it comes to payroll challenges.

Business & Accounting Solutions — Excellent AccountANT Services FOR PORTLAND BUSINESSES. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO and Accountant services in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

5 Reasons Why Your Small Portland Business Should Hire An Accountant

Hire An Accountant To Ensure The Success of Your Small Portland Business

Many Portland small business owners may think they’re better off handling their company’s finances themselves rather than hiring an accountant. The truth is that hiring a professional accountant for your Portland business will save you a lot of stress in the long run. The top cause of failure for small businesses is cash flow problems so making sure the financial aspect of your business is handled correctly actually saves you money. Here are 5 important ways an accountant can reduce your workload and increase peace of mind at every stage of your business.

Getting Off On The Right Foot. When you hire an accountant during the early stages of your business, you will have systems in place to support its success from day one. This saves you from running around putting out fires when you need to be focusing your energy and efforts elsewhere. You accountant will set up a proper accounting system and choose the best accounting software for your business type. If you wait to hire an accountant for your Portland business, you may wind up needing to backtrack, clean up disorderly books, or switch systems to something more functional. Save yourself the headache and hire an accountant right from the get-go.

Tracking Your Numbers. Small business owners need to have someone with training and experience looking at monthly reports right from the beginning. Your accountant will help you set measurable business goals and track the company's progress towards meeting them. Having software like QuickBooks allows easy access to the most minute details of your financial reports, but having an accountant who can understand and study those reports on a deeper level lets you know where your Portland business stands and what changes need to be made.

Making Deadlines. Portland business owners are no doubt familiar with the many deadlines that must be met every year, especially those required by the IRS. For every deadline, there are corresponding fines and penalties for filing late. An accountant will be able to keep up with all those federal, state, and local deadlines. Additionally, a good accountant can direct you to the best resources for automating the most tedious tasks of filing and data entry to save time and money and ensure accuracy.

Making Informed Decisions. Portland business owners often take on multiple roles in running their small business. Your business depends on the constant flow of decisions that you make for your company. The only way to make the best decisions for your Portland business is to be as informed as possible. Having an accountant who manages your company's financials means having access to quality information when you need it. This is the kind of information that makes decision making easier and makes you more effective in all your roles as the owner.

Year-End Reporting. The end of the year comes with a holiday rush for just about any business. It’s also an important time to get the professional input of an accountant. Your accountant will be able to take a detailed look at your books. A few small changes can make a big difference to your bottom line. Your accountant will know what steps to take to minimize tax liability for your Portland business. He can analyze year-long financial reports and perform a complete health check on current operations. An accountant is one of your best assets in year-end procedures.

Business & Accounting Solutions — the best cfo and accountant for your PORTLAND business. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in Portland. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

Interviewing An Accountant For Your Gresham Business

Guide The Interview To Choose The Right Accountant For Your Business.

Gresham business owners know that the experience and knowledge an accountant can bring with them is invaluable to helping grow their business. Accountants don’t come in a “one size fits all” option, however. Gresham business owners need to make sure they hire an accountant who has experience with small businesses and their specific industry. The interview is key here. By knowing what to look for and asking the right questions, you can make a more informed decision about the person you are hiring to manage the finances of your Gresham business.

What To Look For When Hiring An Accountant In Gresham. The ultimate goal of your interview should be to glean insight into the accountant’s services, personality, and fees. Learning these three things about your candidate will give you the most insight for being a good fit for your company.

SERVICES. It is important to know exactly what services an accountant can perform for your Gresham business. Generally speaking, most accountants offer tax and auditing services. You may need more than that, though. Ask potential hires if they provide bookkeeping, management consulting, estate planning, or any other services your Gresham business needs. Will the accountant help you design and implement financial information systems? A CPA may offer services that include analyzing transactions for loans and financing; preparing, auditing, reviewing and compiling financial statements; managing investments; and representing you before tax authorities. Be specific about what services you need. If the accountant’s firm doesn’t offer the specialized services your business needs, they may be able to refer you to one that does.

PERSONALITY. You need to know in advance if the accountant’s style and personality will mesh well with you and your Gresham business. Ask candidates how they would handle situations relevant to you. For example: How would you handle an IRS office audit seeking verification of automobile expenses? Listen to the answers and decide if that's how you would like your affairs to be handled. Keep an open mind, though. Having an accountant who takes a different approach can be good for your Gresham business. These questions will help draw out some of those nuances.

FEES. Be sure to ask about this up front. Some accounting firms charge hourly, some charge monthly. Compare quotes from different accountants. Try to calculate how much you’ll spend yearly on an accountant’s services. Cost shouldn’t be your only deciding factor, of course. A more experienced accountant who charges more will be able to work faster and more efficiently than a novice who charges less. The best way to get more bang out of your buck when you need an accountant for your Gresham business is to consider outsourced CFO and Accounting services.

Business & Accounting Solutions — the best cfo and accountant for your gresham business. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in Gresham. We bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO or Accountant services? Consider our referral program.

 

4 Basic Services Accountants Offer

Hire An Accountant For the Future of Your Gresham Business

They say that a dollar saved is a dollar earned, and Gresham business owners know how crucial is it to get the most bang for their buck. Managing your finances properly and saving where you can means you are able to put more back into your business. However, while it can be tempting to save by handling your business’s accounting yourself, that will only bring your Gresham business so far. Broken down into the simplest of categories, an accountant can offer the following services to a business.

Business Advisory Services. An accountant will be familiar with the ins and outs of your business. They will be knowledgeable about your business environment, tax situation, and financial statements. With a level of insight that comes with their training and experience, your accountant will be able to advise you on insurance needs, expansion, and other strategic decisions to help steer your Gresham business towards its best future.

Accounting And Record Keeping. Hiring an accountant will mean that the accounting and record keeping for your business is done in the most thorough and organized way. An accountant can set up bookkeeping and accounting systems and show you how to use them. These systems provide important information about your financials at your fingertips allowing you to make better business decisions faster.  An accountant can evaluate profitability, modify prices, monitor expenses, track a budget, spot trends, and of course, produce financial statements and tax returns.

Tax Advice. One crucial area an accountant can help your Gresham business with is taxes. Accountants that provide assistance with tax-related issues usually can do so in two areas: tax compliance and tax planning. Planning refers to reducing your overall tax burden. Compliance refers to obeying the tax laws. Handling either improperly can lead to a disaster that could easily put your Gresham business under. Having an accountant on board ensures that your taxes are done properly

Auditing. Auditing is most commonly required by banks as a condition of a loan. There are many levels of auditing, ranging from simply preparing financial statements to an actual audit, where the accountant or other third party provides assurance that a company's financial information is accurate.

An accountant can offer these services and much more to your Gresham business. When you’re ready to hire an accountant to grow your Gresham business, rely on Business & Accounting Solutions.

Business & Accounting Solutions Brings the Best in Accountant Services to Gresham. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in the Portland area. We bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Benefits of Outsourcing an Accountant’s Services for Your Portland Business

When Looking To Hire An Accountant For Your Portland Business, Consider Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the process of delegating specific operations to a company outside of your company to capitalize on benefits that were previously not available. Especially for a business that is just starting in Portland, outsourcing an accountant can have many benefits and may be a better choice than hiring a full-time accountant.

 

The most important benefits of outsourcing an accountant’s services are:

 

Increased Profitability

When you hire an outsourced accountant for your Portland business, you allow yourself to focus your limited time and resources to your core business. You’ll be able to concentrate on making your Portland business more profitable. You’ll have more time to spend on your customers and will be able to offer them better service.

 

Reduced Costs

By using an outsourced accountant’s services, you require less staff time for internal accounting functions. You are also able to choose exactly the types of services you need from your outsourced accountant. Not only will you be able to hire employees where you most need them – for your main business and not for auxiliary roles – but you also are able to eliminate costs by making sure you’re not paying for unnecessary services. When you’re growing your Portland business, every dollar saved is a dollar that you can use to focus on making your business succeed and grow.

 

Better Business Decisions Faster

Your outsourced accountant will be able to provide higher quality accounting information faster, more efficiently, and with greater effectiveness. A professional accountant will give you more reliable information and enable you to make better business decisions. You want accurate information as quickly as you can get it for your Portland business to succeed in today’s highly competitive market.

 

Minimize Risk

Accounting errors can be very costly and very serious. When mistakes are made, you may find yourself needing to pay penalties and interest charges for payroll and income tax – costs that quickly add up. You may even find yourself facing litigation expenses and resulting fines, which is enough to make many businesses go bankrupt. Entrust your accounting to a professional and minimize these risks.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions Brings The Best In Accountant Services To Portland

Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in the Portland area. We bring knowledge, skills, and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Basic Qualifications to Look for in Your Portland Accountant

When running your own business in Portland, hiring an accountant can be a huge step towards your business’s future success. An accountant can help you lay down a plan for success for your Portland business and execute that plan. However, if you’re hiring an accountant for the first time, you may not know what you need to look for. After all, Portland business owners don’t want to hire just any accountant, but an accountant with the right credentials and experience.

When looking into hiring an accountant, there are some basic qualifications you’ll want to make sure they have first.

 

College Degree

A good place to start is to see if your potential hire has an accounting degree. Accountants who have a degree will be better informed and thus better able to help your Portland business than those with just on-the-job training. The state of Oregon specifically requires CPAs to have a bachelor’s degree.

 

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) License

Qualifications for obtaining a Certified Public Accountant’s License differ from state to state. CPAs must be educated in their state’s specific tax and financial laws to effectively do their job. In the state of Oregon, a license is required to practice accounting. This means that an accountant helping you in Portland must be a CPA. In addition to nation-wide mandatory qualifications, such as a minimum standard of 150-semester units of post-secondary education, Oregon has further qualifications for CPAs.

As mentioned above, CPA Exam applicants must have a bachelor's degree, with a minimum of 24 semester hours in accounting courses. Of these 24, certain classes must be taken including auditing, financial accounting, management accounting, and taxation. As for business courses, graduates must have taken a minimum of 24 semester hours. Principles or introductory courses do not qualify in the 48 required hours. After completing the Uniform CPA Exam, the new CPA must also pass the AICPA Professional Ethics Exam for initial licensure. No CPA can get licensed in Oregon without passing the ethics exam.

 

Continuing Education

Bookkeepers and accountants need continuing education to keep up with changes in the income tax law and financial reporting requirements, as well as changes in how the business operates. For CPAs specifically, there is a strict requirement to continue their accounting education to maintain their license after it is obtained. They are required to have a certain amount of education each year, and Oregon specifically requires four hours in the area of accounting professional conduct and ethics yearly.

When looking for an accountant in the Portland area, the above requirements are the most basic must-haves. An accountant without the proper education and qualifications cannot legally help you with your Portland business and likely doesn’t have the knowledge to help you be successful. Once you’re sure a potential accountant has these basic credentials, you can interview to determine whether they are suited for your Portland business.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions — Best Accountant Services in Portland

Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in the Portland area. We bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

How an Accountant Can Help with Your Small Business Start-up in Gresham

Hiring an Accountant for Your Gresham Business from the Get-Go is a Smart Move

When you’re starting your own business, it is crucial to make every dollar of your investment work in your favor. Of course, as a small business, you want to save money where you can. Cutting costs where possible allows you to further stretch the funds available to you.

 

However, cutting costs by not hiring an accountant isn’t the smart choice to make. Unless you have an accounting background and a solid understanding of business finances, handling your own accounting can cause problems. Managing your own accounting system incorrectly can hurt your business not only now, but also in the long-term. Making mistakes with your accounting now will only force you to hire on an accountant later to fix those mistakes.

 

Hiring an accountant for your Gresham business early on can be incredibly useful. Accountants are skilled in helping to grow businesses, even if your Gresham business is in its start-up stage.

 

How an Accountant can Help Your Gresham Business at the Start-Up Stage

When you’re starting a business in Gresham, laying the proper foundation is the key to future success. An accountant can help you expertly navigate those early days of your Gresham start-up and set you on the path to positive growth from day one.

 

Here are a few things an accountant can help you do as you start your Gresham business:

 

  • Determine the best business structure – such as sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, partnership, etc. – for your situation.
  • Assist with the financial analysis in your business plan.
  • Provide advice on the type of accounting software you may need.
  • Provide advice and assistance on opening a business bank account.
  • Make sure your accounting procedures comply with government regulations and requirements.
  • Provide advice on how to track expenses during your daily business activities.
  • Explain the importance of keeping personal and business expenses separate.

 

With the assistance outlined above, an accountant will keep you focused on what matters most – the success of your Gresham business.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions Brings the Best in Accountant Services to Gresham

Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Gresham business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in the Portland area. We bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

More Unexpected Tasks an Accountant Can Do for Your Portland Business

When you’re opening your own business in the Portland area, hiring an accountant can help you in so many ways. It’s more than just tax returns and crunching numbers. Your accountant can be an invaluable part of your team that helps drive your business forward.

 

Here are a few more tasks you didn’t know your accountant can do for you.

 

Write and pitch loan applications. There’s more to securing a loan than just pulling together the necessary numbers. True, a lender needs to see solid financial and credible forecasts, but you also have to capture their attention. A good accountant will not only have solid numbers to deliver to a lender but will be able to help you create a compelling story to sell the wider vision of your business. An accountant knows just want a lender wants to see and will help you use forecasting tools that loan officers trust.

 

Budget smartly. In depth, detailed budgeting takes a lot of time and energy – time and energy you may not have to spend. It may be tempting to simply not dig deep into the details to save time, to work with vague numbers, assumptions, and estimates. This isn’t good for your business! An accountant can help give you an accurate budget that gives you confidence and shows you the real cost of doing business. You’ll know how much money you can reinvest, what you can pay yourself, and you’ll be able to keep your business operating smoothly.

 

Get you staffed up. If you need hired help but aren’t sure where to start, an accountant can help here as well. They can figure out what sort of hire will benefit your business the most. Next, they’ll be able to work out the cost of hiring, training, and paying that employee to make sure your business can afford it. Finally, your accountant will be able to make sure your payroll is on track with all the proper government paperwork, tax, and insurance requirements.

 

Help you manage inventory. If you find yourself spending too much on storage, losing money to writing off obsolete or damaged goods, or losing revenue because you run out of stock, then you need an accountant’s help. An accountant can help you manage inventory smartly. After looking at current costs of holding inventory, they’ll come up with strategies to save money. They’ll also be able to review your sales data to help predict stock needs, so you can place accurate orders. They can even set up software that tracks stock levels and auto-orders items as they run low.

 

Make your business more efficient. There are many things that contribute to the cost of a business – physical and IT storage, energy consumption, staff, and so on. Your accountant will be able to manage all these costs strategically. He’ll identify each cost and determine a strategy for efficient use of the company's resources.

 

LISTEN AND SUPPORT YOU. Running a business is tough. When things get hard and you begin to have doubts, your accountant can help keep you grounded. They know what your business means to you and can help keep you on the journey you’ve started. A good accountant can offer moral support to keep you moving forward and help you navigate the ups and downs of running a small business by breaking big problems down into manageable parts.

 

BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS OFFERS QUALITY ACCOUNTING SERVICES TO PORTLAND BUSINESSES. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in the Portland area. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

5 Things You Didn’t Know an Accountant Can Do

Having an accountant for your small Portland business is more useful than you might think. There are many tasks an accountant can do for you that you may not even be aware of. Accountants can use the knowledge and expertise gleaned from their field to come up with clever ways to save money or boost revenue, or even remove or automate administrative tasks that distract you from your core business.

 

What can an accountant do to help grow your Portland business? For starters, accountants can:

 

LAUNCH A START-UP. Starting a new business takes more than just having a good idea. You need to know your idea will make money and convince investors and lenders of the same thing. An accountant can be instrumental in in this. Your accountant can go through each step with you – testing your idea, identifying startup and operating costs, creating credible revenue forecasts, and more. An accountant will know which lenders to approach and how to make the pitch to draw those lenders in.

 

HELP WITH BUSINESS STRATEGY. When you find your attention drawn in too many directions at once, an accountant will help you focus on what’s important. They’ll help you set personal, professional, and financial goals—then give you what you need to measure your progress. With key performance indicators in place, you’ll know exactly how your business is progressing. Additionally, with the right accounting software, your accountant can help set up dashboards that will allow you to check on these key performance indicators any time you like. When things go off-plan, your accountant will help you troubleshoot issues and find solutions.

 

FIX YOUR CASH FLOW. The last thing any new business needs is to run out of money. If you can’t afford to pay suppliers and staff, that only spells out disaster for your business. Accountants will be familiar with the ebb and flow of revenue and costs. They will be able to help you predict the effect of cash flow. When necessary, they will come up with management strategies to keep everything flowing properly. With spending plans and organized cash reserves, a good accountant will make sure there is always money in the bank for your business.

 

MANAGE YOUR DEBT. An accountant can tell the difference between good debt and bad debt. They can help find the least expensive borrowing strategies for your business, and even help with refinancing. An accountant will know when spare cash should be used to pay back a loan or if it’s better reinvested in the business. All advice will be based on the numbers behind your business and the structure of your debt. You accountant has a finger on the pulse of your business and their advice is invaluable.

 

DEAL WITH UNPAID INVOICES. Every business has unpaid invoices. When running a business, you likely can’t afford the distraction of chasing the debtors down yourself, but you can’t ignore them either. Your accountant can handle the job. With invoice systems set in place, your accountant can send automatic reminders to customers when their bill is due or overdue. Some accountants will go the extra step of calling businesses that haven’t responded to emails. If invoices remain unpaid, your accountant can arrange for an accounts receivable financing services to buy your unpaid invoices from you and chase the payments themselves.

 

BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS OFFERS QUALITY ACCOUNTING SERVICES TO PORTLAND BUSINESSES. Ready to hire a professional accountant for your Portland business? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services in the Portland area. We bring knowledge and capability to Portland businesses with expertise in services such as bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make By Not Hiring a Bookkeeper

While maintaining the books yourself when your business just starts may be feasible, Portland business owners will quickly find that the responsibilities of a bookkeeper – such as managing ledgers, journals, financial statements, income tax records – can quickly become overwhelming. Proper bookkeeping is essential for growing a business. It helps with cash flow and allows you to make better, more informed decisions.

Avoiding hiring a professional bookkeeper simply isn’t a wise choice. Inevitably, business owners who insist on maintaining the books themselves end up making costly mistakes.

 

Here are some of the most common mistakes business owners make by not hiring a bookkeeper:

 

ASSUMING BOOKKEEPING IS EASY. Bookkeeping is a task that can be easy – but only when one has the knowledge required. When bookkeeping, you need to be aware of required by industry regulators and tax authorities in the area you live in. Professional accountants will, by nature of their career, already have this knowledge. If you find yourself needing to do your own bookkeeping for a time, then it is highly recommended you speak to a professional accountant first. Their advice will be incredibly valuable.

 

NOT UNDERSTANDING THE REQUIREMENTS OF A BUSINESS STARTUP. People who are starting their own business for the first time often dive in without the necessary research. They know they provide a service or a product that they are skilled in delivering and believe they can profit off of it. But there are other things to consider, too. For example – what registrations and licenses are required for you line of business? Discuss they particulars with an accounting professional to give yourself a base knowledge to work off of.

 

USING A PERSONAL ACCOUNT. You may be tempted, when starting a business, to use your personal credit card or bank account for business transactions, but this only leads to complications down the road. Eventually, as your business grows, you’ll find it’s difficult to segregate personal and business expenses for tax purposes. Even if opening a business account isn’t a viable option to start with, then open a separate personal account to use only for business.

 

MAKING ERRORS IN DATA ENTRY. You cannot rely on accounting software to catch all your errors. The software will allow you to input errors, so you much be incredibly careful while entering data. You must know how to recognize errors and how to fix them. Common data entry errors include: entering incorrect dates for transactions, applying full payment for an invoice when only a partial payment has been received, applying a payment to the wrong invoice, selecting the wrong bank account, etc. A professional bookkeeper is both less likely to make entry mistakes and more capable in finding and fixing them.

 

NOT UNDERSTANDING BUSINESS WRITE-OFFS. One must understand the difference between what can and cannot be added as a business write off. For example, when you have a meal with a client you may write off a portion of that bill. Personal purchases cannot be written off. An accounting professional will have a more detailed knowledge of how business write offs work, so you aren’t left figuring that out on your own.

 

BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS OFFERS QUALITY ACCOUNTING SERVICES TO PORTLAND BUSINESSES. Avoid the mistakes that are all too easily made when you handle your own bookkeeping. Hire a professional accountant for your Portland business instead. BAS offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to our business clients in the Portland area. We bring our extensive knowledge and years of experience in bookkeeping and other accounting services to your growing business. We are certified in cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

More Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Potential Accountant

HIRING an ACCOUNTANT for YOUR PORTLAND BUSINESS

Your accountant needs to be someone who can help your business thrive—a person who can look ahead, plan thoroughly, and help grow your business alongside you. Hiring an accountant to allow your Portland business to grow is a huge step along the path to success. However, you must make sure you are hiring someone who can put your business on the right path toward forward growth. Here are some more helpful questions to ask your potential accountant during the interview process:

 

Can you represent me in all the states where I do business?

If your business operates across more than one state, check to make sure your potential accountant is certified in the states that you operate. Different states sometimes have different requirements for what makes an accountable qualified.

 

By what means are you be willing to communicate? Are you open to email or other online communication?

The digital age of communication makes it easier than ever for us to keep in touch and exchange information. Most professional firms will use email, Skype, teleconferencing, and other online means to stay in touch with their clients. Open communication is key to building a successful business relationship and the more up-to-date your accountant can keep you on your finances, the better. There are some individuals, however, who may not feel comfortable emailing due to security reasons. You will ultimately do better business if the preferences of you and your accountant line up.

 

How often should we meet to discuss my business taxes?

One of the primary services your accountant can perform is tax consultation. Generally, it is recommended that you meet with your accountant mid-year, after the June financial statements are prepared. Some firms and accountants even recommend meeting quarterly. While you may pay a little more to meet more often, it is better than finding out at the end of the year that you have a tax problem. Orchestrating a last-minute rush to secure the issue may prove to be just as costly in the end.

 

What are your tax philosophy and tax planning priorities?

Have an open and honest discussion about the tax philosophy of your potential hire. Make sure that their approach to doing taxes is one that you are comfortable with. For example, is your potential accountant cautious, assertive, or aggressive about taking deductions? Which do you prefer? Which would suit your business best? Some good examples to discuss with the potential hire are things like travel expenses and home office deductions. If you find yourself uncomfortable with the accountant’s style of approach, it is best to keep looking.

 

Looking for outsourced accounting services in the Portland area? Business & Accounting Solutions can help you manage your company's financials for healthy growth.

Consider hiring the services of Business & Accounting Solutions for the accounting needs of your Portland business. BAS offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to our business clients in the Portland area. We bring our extensive knowledge and years of experience in bookkeeping and other accounting services to your growing business. We are certified in cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

 

Questions to Ask When Hiring an Accountant for Your Portland Business

Your business needs an accountant and, after some looking, you have some hopeful candidates. Before you make the decision to hire, though, there are some key questions you should ask. Your accountant will be helping you to grow your Portland-based business, after all, and you want to make sure you’re making the right choice.

When considering hiring on an accountant, ask the following:

 

What are your fees?

You’ll want to know about billing options and what services are covered by the accountant’s fees. For example, many firms will charge an hourly rate, but some will have a monthly rate, which may be more of a deal. Ask what is included in the monthly rate, as this will likely differ from one accountant to the next. While some might include posting cash receipts and disbursements in accounting software, another might also include preparing monthly journal entries, balancing the bank statement, and printing a profit and loss report for you. It’s about more than getting the lowest price. Make sure you’re getting enough bang for your buck with your accountant.

 

What services do you provide?

Although there are some basic services that accountants generally offer, they may not all offer or specialize in the same types of services. Generally speaking, your accountant can likely assist with monthly bookkeeping, payroll processing/payroll taxes, and taxes and audit representation. However, if the firm you’re hiring from has several accountants on staff, they likely will have different areas of specialization. Those specializations may lend themselves better to your particular business. If you prefer the all-in-one option, though, consider hiring a Certified Public Accountant, as they are qualified to do more, including representing you at a tax audit.

 

Can you represent me if I get audited by the IRS?

While you may never be audited, it’s still wise to have someone on your side who knows what to expect with the IRS. All CPAs are certified to represent clients before the IRS, but not all accountants are.

 

Do you have experience with my type of business?

Different business will naturally have different nuances when it comes to dealing with taxes and accounting. Hiring an accountant that understands the particular ins and outs of your business is extremely useful. For example, healthcare professionals such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists, psychologists, and so on would benefit from an accountant who is knowledgeable about valuing equipment and accounting for patient receivables.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions offers quality accounting services to Portland.

Consider hiring the services of Business & Accounting Solutions for the accounting needs of your Portland business. BAS offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to our Gresham clients. We bring our extensive knowledge and experience in bookkeeping and other accounting services to your business. We are certified in cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

 

 

When to Hire an Accountant for Your Gresham Business

When growing a small business, the truth is that there are many stages in which an accountant can be useful. Keep in mind that you may not need a full-time accountant. Hiring an accountant part-time, or outsourcing accountant services, can be beneficial if you only need a few hours’ worth of advice.

For example, an accountant's knowledge and experience in filing corporate taxes is worth their cost in labor. You’ll have peace of mind knowing your taxes are filed correctly and your time can be spent toward benefitting your business in other ways.

 

YOUR GRESHAM BUSINESS CAN USE THE ASSISTANCE OF AN ACCOUNTANT FOR THE FOLLOWING:

When you need advice on a business plan. An accountant can add important financials to the business plan of your Gresham business such as projections and other reports that will figure into strategy and growth. Knowing the numbers behind implementing your plan will make it more likely to succeed. Although making a business plan is done early on, hiring a professional accountant at an early stage of your business’s life will mean you have the benefit of their financial knowledge right from the start. This could ultimately save you time and money later in your business’s life.

 

When you need advice about your company’s legal structure. Different types of business have different types of legal structures and they can vary from state to state. You need to carefully consider which type best suits your business. Each one has its benefits and drawbacks. For example, as a sole proprietorship, you are self-employed as the owner and may be able to offset some of your living expenses against taxes. However, you could also be held personally liable for any business-related obligations. If your business fails to pay a supplier, defaults on a debt, or loses a lawsuit, the creditor could legally come after your house or other personal possessions. A limited liability company stricture, on the other hand, limits your business assets to those owned by the business so your personal assets are protected. Your accountant can explain these different business structures and help you figure out which structure is best for you.

 

When you need help with finances. Accounting can seem easy enough when your business is just starting out, but as it begins to grow it can quickly become complicated. If you feel that you’re in over your head and can’t keep your finances straight, it’s time to hire an accountant. An accountant can help you keep track of what you owe and what’s owed to you. He can manage payroll and cashflow and share the information with you. Cloud-based accounting software makes it even easier to share accounting information. Your accountant can help monitor the pulse of your business and be able to break down the finances in a way that is easy for you to understand.

 

When you’re ready to delegate. Many small business owners value the freedom and control that comes with managing a small business. Too much control, however, can lead to being overworked. Owning your own business may require you to delegate certain jobs to other people. You need to take on help to allow your business to grow. A good start is to delegate your company’s financial affairs to a good accountant. Handing over your company's finances to someone more experienced in accountancy than you are will allow you more time to concentrate on other aspects of your business.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions offers quality accounting services in Gresham. We offer a wide range of outsourced CFO services to our Gresham clients. We bring extensive knowledge and experience in bookkeeping and other accounting services. We are certified in cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Choosing the Right Accountant for Your Small Gresham Business

Growing your business in Gresham. Growing a business is no small task. To ensure that your business keeps growing and doesn’t stagnate, there comes a point where every business owner needs to take on an accountant. The task, however, can seem daunting. With so many options out there, how can you be sure you’re making the right choice?

Choosing the right accountant is key to running a successful business. A good accountant, after all, can save you time and help your business grow while a bad one could end up costing you in fines and fees. Ask yourself the following questions as you consider hiring an accountant for your Gresham-based business:

 

Why should I hire you? When you have a potential candidate for an accounting position, make sure you ask yourself if they are truly the right choice. You need someone who can act as your business partner – someone who demonstrates the skills and knowledge for supporting a small business.

Take your time choosing. Research each candidate and meet with multiple candidates before making your final choice. In the interview process, make them prove themselves. Ask about their qualifications. Are they regulated by a professional body? Have they worked with small businesses before? Have they worked with businesses in your field?

 

Can you get more bang for your buck? Your accountant can do more than just look after annual accounts and tax compliance issues. Utilize your accountant’s time and skills to the full extent of their capabilities. Accountants can help you with finding grants, government funding pots, and tax relief schemes. They can help you sell shares in the business, crowdfund or find angel investment.

 

Are we a good match? If your accountant has previous experience working with businesses related to your sector, they will naturally be adept in the operations of your business and be able to guide your small Gresham business towards growth. Ask your accountant which companies they’ve worked and if they’ve worked with businesses in similar life stages to yours.

Different accountants offer different levels of engagement. Be clear and upfront with your expectations about how often you’ll be in contact and how you’ll stay in contact – be it by phone, with personal meetings, through email, skype, or other means.

 

Are things working out? The process doesn’t stop once the accountant is hired. When you’ve finally taken on an accountant, continue to measure their performance. Hold monthly meetings where you can ask for their views on the business and its finances. It can be a good sign if you find that their view is close to yours, but keep in mind that you should still want to see a degree of challenge and initiative. If your accountant is only telling you what you want to hear, they aren’t doing their job properly.

Your accountant should have questions for you, too, as you continue to work together. A good accountant is proactive and will approach you with concerns and questions. The key to building a trusting relationship with your accountant is continual, open communication.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions can help grow your Gresham business. Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in the Portland area. Our services include: bookkeeping, finance consulting, cash flow management, system design, and capital needs assessment. We bring knowledge and experience to your company’s financials. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Benefits of Strategic Planning

To grow a business, you need to have a vision of your organization's future and the basic steps required to achieve that future. Simply put, you need a strategic plan for achieving that growth.

 

What is strategic planning?

A strategic plan is used to communicate the goals of the organization, the actions needed to achieve those goals, and all the other critical elements developed during the strategic planning process.  In short, strategic planning is the process of determining what a business should become and how it can best get there.

 

What are the benefits of strategic planning?

Strategic planning allows your business to be proactive rather than reactive. Taking the time to put together a strategic plan allows you to take the time to plan for your future – the good and the bad. You’ll be able to anticipate unfavorable scenarios and take precautions to avoid them. As you hit milestones along your plan, you’ll know exactly what needs to be done next to keep growing your business. When you are proactive with your business decisions, you are better able to keep up with the ever-changing trends in the market and always stay one step ahead of the competition.

 

Strategic planning sets up a sense of direction. A strategic plan allows you to find your way from where your business is now to the future you envision for it. Your strategic plan is like a map that helps you plot out the path your organization must travel. Part of strategic planning is establishing realistic objectives and goals what align with the vision and mission you have for your business. It’s the foundation upon which an organization can grow, evaluate its success, compensate its employees, and establish boundaries for efficient decision making.

 

Strategic planning increases operational efficiency. Having a map to follow allows your employees do their job more efficiently. Your strategic plan should guide management discussions and decision making in determining resource and budget requirements to accomplish set objectives.

 

Strategic planning helps to increase market share and profitability. Taking the time to develop a strategic plan allows organizations to get valuable insights on market trends, consumer segments, as well as product and service offerings which may affect their success. Taking an approach that is targeted and well strategized can help to turn sales and marketing efforts into the best possible outcomes, which will in turn increase profitability and market share.

 

Strategic planning can make your organization more durable. The business world can be fickle. Industries and world markers are constantly changing, and a business that does well one year may falter then next year. Organizations that lack a strong foundation, that don’t have focus and foresight, have the most trouble making it from year to year. With a strategic plan, though, you know exactly what you need to do to ride through that harder years. Preparation can bring your business through the roughest waters.

 

Rely on Business & Accounting Solutions to help with your strategic planning

Is your business in need of a part-time finance professional? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in the Portland area. Our services include: bookkeeping, finance consulting, cash flow management, system design, and capital needs assessment. We bring knowledge and experience to your company’s financials. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

How to Choose an Accountant in Portland, Part 2

While hiring an accountant is a critical step in growing your Portland business, there are several things that Portland business owners will want to look for in the recruitment process. Portland business owners who are looking into bringing an accountant onboard will want to follow this advice:

 

Make use of your connections online. This doesn’t mean that you should rely on Facebook or other forms of casual social media to make decisions about the future of your business. Connect with other professionals to find good referrals. For example, LinkedIn is one of the largest websites used by professionals globally and can be helpful in finding accountants that come highly recommended.

 

Five ways to use your social network to gain more information. Using Linkedin or other similar networking sites gives you the opportunity to dig deeper into the credentials and background of any potential hires. When considering a possible account, try to get answers to the following questions:

  • Who are they connected to?
  • Do they have a strong network of professional people?
  • How do they talk about their services?
  • Are they enthusiastic and interested in their work?
  • Have they received any recommendations from their clients?
  • What do those recommendations say?
  • What is their experience?
  • How long have they been in business, and what were they doing before?
  • What are their qualifications?
  • Are they a chartered or certified accountant, a bookkeeper, a financial adviser or something else?

 

Decide how accounting work will be divided. Although your accountant can handle every aspect of bookkeeping if needed, this may not be the best use of their time and your money. You pay your accountant by the hour, so do you want them to spend a lengthy time on tasks like simple data entry? Not likely. Delegate accounting duties accordingly. For example, you could choose to enter the basic accounts data in-house, while leaving your accountant to handle the more involved tasks such as bank account reconciliation, filling out tax return forms, payroll and capital depreciation calculations. Investing in good accounting software will also simplify tasks like invoicing, automatically sending the invoice and recording its contents at the same time.

 

Get someone who is proactive about saving you money. Before hiring, ask your accountant where your company could save money. The best accountant will not only help to manage your finances but look for ways to help you keep it as well. Your accountant should also be familiar enough with tax laws to save you money without legal consequences.

 

Interview several candidates before you decide. Don’t rush into hiring an accountant. Allow yourself time meet and compare your options. By the end of several interviews, you will be even more familiar with what an accountant can offer you and what you need most for the future of your business.

 

Is your business in need of a part-time finance professional? Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in the Portland area. Our services include: bookkeeping, finance consulting, cash flow management, system design, and capital needs assessment. We bring knowledge and experience to your company’s financials. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

How to Choose an Accountant in Portland, Part 1

Finding the right accountant for your Portland business is an important process, and one that should be done with much consideration. You’ll want an experienced and capable accountant to help your Portland business develop and grow. The right accountant will save you both time and money and be a remarkable asset in helping your business achieve greater successes. Here are a few things to consider when looking for an accountant in Portland.

 

IS LOCATION IMPORTANT? What suits your company best? If you’d rather have your accountant with you in person to conduct business and go to meetings, you’ll have to pull from local resources. However, your accountant doesn’t necessarily have to be from the local area. With outsourced CFO or accounting services, your accountant can operate from anywhere in the world and still offer you real-time data.

 

MAKE SURE YOUR ACCOUNTANT IS CERTIFIED. Qualifications differ from country to country for certified or chartered accountants. Depending on the country you’re in, professional accountants may be called Certified Public Accountants or Chartered Accountants. Chartered Accountants (CAs) are highly qualified professionals who have completed degree-level study along with workplace experience and a professional competence program. A certified or chartered accountant will have greater knowledge and experience to bring to your business.

 

LOOK FOR AN ACCOUNTANT WITH RELEVANT EXPERTISE. Look for an accountant with experience preparing tax returns and financial documents for companies of a similar size and revenue to yours. If your company uses cloud-based software for much of its business, you'll probably want someone who’s savvy with cloud computing. Better still, if your accountant has worked with companies in similar market sectors to yours or have larger clients, the knowledge and experience will show.

 

TALK TO GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS. Governments like to encourage the growth of small businesses because they contribute so greatly to the economy. You may be able to find voluntary organizations and local chambers of commerce willing to advise you. Make use of these resources, as they are there to help you and advice is usually free. Join a local business organization and start networking with other business owners. You may end up forming a mutually beneficial partnerships and perhaps even have an accountant recommended to you.

 

TAP INTO SOCIAL NETWORKS. Ask friends and family who own small businesses if they would recommend their accountant. You may find the accountant you need right under your nose. Keep in mind, however, that the accountant that works for your friend’s business may not work for yours. Businesses may differ in their accounting methods and operations.

 

IS YOUR BUSINESS READY TO GRADUATE TO FULL SERVICE ACCOUNTING? Business & Accounting Solutions offers certified accounting services that can help drive increased profits and growth for your company. We offer a wide range of outsourced CFO services to Portland area businesses including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, forecasting, system design. Contact us or call us at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

 

 

More Qualities of a Reliable Bookkeeper

Gresham business owners, having a professional bookkeeper is absolutely essential to helping your business develop and grow. Your bookkeeper will not only help you keep track of your finances, but help you plan for the future. Of course, you want to be sure your bookkeeper has the right qualities. Gresham business owners, here are a few more key qualities you will want to look for when hiring your bookkeeper.

 

REGULARLY UPDATES KNOWLEDGE. A good bookkeeper will make the effort to stay abreast of evolving tax and business regulations rather than relying on past knowledge. You will want a bookkeeper from a firm whose skills, business services, and technological savvy are continually being updated. Your bookkeeper needs to keep you ahead of the competition, so their knowledge and abilities must but cutting-edge.

 

UNDERSTANDS YOUR INDUSTRY. In order to ensure your business succeeds, our bookkeeper must have a solid understanding of the specifics of your industry. When your bookkeeper is familiar with your industry and how that relates to your financial situation, they are more likely to spot oversights and patterns in your data. This ability can not only prevent reporting errors, but also help you capitalize on potential tax savings.

 

SEES THE BIG PICTURE. Your bookkeeper mustn’t bee too near-sighted. Your bookkeeper needs to be able to keep in mind the big picture and help improve your long-term profitability. Your bookkeeper should help you effectively plan for maintenance, growth, fundraising, and acquisition. Be sure your bookkeeper has the expertise to plan for your business’s future.

 

PRIORITIZES YOU. Your bookkeeper should be prepared to make your business a priority. They should be respectful of your time, proactively keep communication open, and be able to understand your professional objectives. To ensure your bookkeeper will work closely with you and prioritize your need, look into their customer services habits and client relationships.

 

WHERE CAN I FIND A GOOD BOOKKEEPER IN GRESHAM?

Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to business in Gresham. The professionals at Business & Accounting Solutions bring knowledge and capability to Gresham businesses with our bookkeeping services. In addition to bookkeeping, Gresham businesses can also look to Business & Accounting Solutions for other services, including cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Finding a Reliable Bookkeeper in Gresham

THE IMPORTANCE OF HIRING A RELIABLE BOOKKEEPER

No matter the size of your business, keeping track of the flow of your finances is necessary. You need to know where your business stands regarding sales, expenses, and salaries if you hope to grow. If you’re a Gresham business owner, don't wait to find a reliable bookkeeper. A bookkeeper will have the experience and knowledge needed to help your business develop.

 

FINDING THE RIGHT BOOKKEEPER IN GRESHAM

When it comes time to bringing on a bookkeeper, there are a few essential qualities you'll want to look for. Gresham business owners, your bookkeeper should always be:

RELIABLE. Credentials aren't everything. You'll need a bookkeeper who can consistently and regularly keep track of your financials and keep you informed along the way. Look for companies with a long-standing presence that consistently demonstrates their integrity and ask them to point to current clients who can provide honest opinions on the timeliness, efficiency, and confidentiality of their services.

WELL-INFORMED. You'll want your bookkeeper to be able to understand the significance of your company’s income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity. However, they should be able to offer you more than just that. Your bookkeeper should also provide real-time, customized financial reporting and analysis. A professional bookkeeper will offer insight into your financial progress as it relates to your goals, and will be able to help with strategic planning, financial forecasting, and acquisition or expansion management.

ORGANIZED. Not all bookkeepers are necessarily naturally organized and detail-oriented. You'll want to make sure your bookkeeper can keep track of a lot of information from multiple clients. Ask about review policies and safety nets. Look for a bookkeeper who has streamlined their operations.

A GOOD COMMUNICATOR. You'll want a bookkeeper that is adept at dealing with both numbers and people. Your bookkeeper should listen closely to your needs and be able to communicate information in a way that makes sense to you.

 

WHERE CAN I FIND A GOOD BOOKKEEPER IN GRESHAM?

Business & Accounting Solutions offers a wide range of outsourced CFO services to businesses in Gresham. The professionals at Business & Accounting Solutions bring knowledge, experience, and reliability to your financials with our certified bookkeeping and CFO services. Our CFO services include bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more.

 

If you're considering outsourcing CFO services for your growing company, look no further than Business & Accounting Solutions. Contact us or call (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Signs Your Business is Ready for a Part-time Outsourced CFO, Part 2

Once your business grows to a certain point, having the expertise of a CFO is crucial to keep your business developing. For a business just reaching the point where CFO services are necessary, it is usually a smarter, more cost-efficient option to hire a part time or outsourced CFO.

 

Here are some more signs that your business is ready for a part time or outsourced CFO:

 

YOU HAVE GAPS IN YOUR AP/AR. If you notice significant gaps in your accounts payable or accounts receivable, there could be something majorly flawed within your systems. There may be cash flow issues that need to be addressed or perhaps your billing, collections, or payment processes simply aren't effective. An outsourced CFO can pinpoint the problem and help you find solutions to resolve it.

 

YOUR DEPARTMENT LACKS CHECKS AND BALANCES. If it seems like your departments are not working efficiently together, then it is time to call in a CFO. Departments shouldn't act autonomously. All pieces of your company should act as parts of a machine – relying on and helping one another to keep business running smoothly. CFOs are experienced in the operations and systems that go into an effective organization. Your CFO can help you optimize each department and bring the systems together for a more functional, cohesive whole.

 

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS ASKING TOUGH QUESTIONS. Is your board asking questions you can't answer? Are you unable to identify a problem, address a problem, analyze an opportunity, or validate a decision sufficiently? An outsourced CFO can help you answer the tough questions and empower you with the high-level financial knowledge you need to discern your own answers.

 

YOU DON’T HAVE A LONG-TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY. It is a common practice to put together a financial forecast when your company is first started. But have you looked at it since? Has it been kept up-to-date? A part-time or outsourced CFO has experience making educated financial projections based on your historical data, industry trends, and data from companies in a similar lifecycle stage. Your outsourced CFO can help create a realistic financial blueprint to help you achieve your goals.

 

The benefits to hiring a part-time or outsourced CFO are numerous. If you're considering outsourcing CFO services for your growing company, look no further than Business & Accounting Solutions. Our CFO services include bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Signs Your Business is Ready for a Part-Time Outsourced CFO, Part 1

Once your business grows to a certain point, it’s important to bring on the assistance of a CFO. A CFO’s primary role is to elevate financial strategy, streamline operations, trim fat, and maximize sustainable growth. CFOs are experts in their fields and can bring a level of strategy and organization to your business that would be impossible to find on your own.

 

The easiest way to determine if you need a CFO is to look at your company's growth. For example, if your company is generating revenues of over $6M or has over 60 employees, hiring a part-time CFO is advisable. While mid-sized companies will often have a full-time CFO on staff, a full-time in-house CFO is usually not necessary until the mid- to upper stages of small business growth. You'll want to start with a part-time CFO and could even consider outsourced CFO services.

 

Aside from the size of your company, here are some signs that your business needs to look into hiring a part-time or outsourced CFO:

 

YOU CAN'T OBTAIN EASY ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS. It takes detailed financial knowledge to make informed business decisions. If you find yourself unable to get useful data your financial team it will prove difficult to make financial or strategic decisions. A CFO aims to make sure your company can engage in a higher level  of strategy for sustainable growth. He or she will get the answers you need on your company's finances and help form a strategy for the future.

 

YOUR COMPANY IS LOSING MONEY—BUT YOU'RE NOT SURE FROM WHERE. If company spending seems to have gotten out of control but you're not sure of which costs to cut or how to make those cuts, then you need a part-time or outsourced CFO. A CFO will help ensure your business’ spending is strategic spending. A CFO can analyze your cash flow to determine where your money is going and eliminate unnecessary spending. He will also utilize his knowledge in benchmarks and vendor relationships to help optimize company spending and keep it competitive in the market.

 

YOU'RE RAISING CAPITAL. A part-time or outsourced CFO's services will be very useful when wanting to raise capital. This is especially true if you aren't sure how much you need to raise, don't have a strategy for the right debt-to-equity ratio, or are raising a series C or later.

 

Your part-time or outsourced CFO will utilize his extensive knowledge and experience to benefit your company operations. Your CFO will likely have already worked with companies in similar stages and industries and draw on his past relationships and draw on his credibility to help achieve company goals. A part-time CFO will be valuable in steering your company towards key financing strategies, practice due diligence in defining contract terms, and advise on company financials.

 

The benefits to hiring a part-time or outsourced CFO are numerous. If you're considering outsourcing CFO services for your growing company, look no further than Business & Accounting Solutions. Our CFO services include bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

CFO Services with Business & Accounting Solutions

Businesses in Gresham and Portland can rely on the services of Business & Accounting Solutions to help keep their finances in order. Outsourcing CFO services is a smart, cost-efficient way to get expert assistance with your finances. Having an outsourced CFO in your back pocket means having a wealth of knowledge and experience available whenever you need it.

BUSINESS & ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS OFFERS A WIDE RANGE OF SERVICES INCLUDING:

BOOKKEEPING. We can assist with getting your books under control with exceptional, trustworthy bookkeeping services, which provides business owners the necessary tools needed to make informed business decisions. As a QuickBooks Pro-Advisor, BAS can save you literally dozens of hours of learning. Your financials contain valuable information to help you run your business, so it is important that your bookkeeping operations is accurate and up-to-date. After updating your books, BAS can develop and run the critical reports that are essential for day-to-day operations as well as for targeting and measuring future growth.

 

CASH FLOW. Cash flow measures a company's general internal growth and its ability to return profits to shareholders. BAS can do a cash flow analysis of your business to provide insight into how your company generates and expends cash and how much is left over after expenses. Additionally, we can give you a breakeven analysis, which helps to explain how each expense category is affected by an increase or decrease in revenue. BAS can break down these details for you, so you can make better informed business decisions.

 

FINANCE CONSULTING. The ability of a company to forecast for its future depends on its ability to budget properly. Having a strategic CFO consultant as a business partner can help you understand the numbers and use them to help develop accurate forecasting and budgeting decisions. Let BAS be your strategic business partner with forecasting and budgeting services. With finance consulting from BAS, you get excellent financial advisory.

 

CAPITAL STRUCTURE. When it comes to capital structure, all businesses have some difficulty understanding the right combination of financing that will allow their company to thrive in the marketplace. This is because risk assessment must be taken into consideration. Effective CFO’s collaborate with other functional leaders to develop ways to use finance to improve their effectiveness and bottom-line results. BAS can help you make the call and assist in raising capital that aligns with corporate financial strategy.

 

A company’s most important business decisions are often dependent on financial information and projections. Having a CFO consultant as a member of your corporate team can provide valuable insight to align business goals with long term financial strategy. BAS can offer this type of advisory service to achieve the goals of your organization. Let BAS provide the kind of authentic leadership style that will inspire others and make a difference to your team.

 

If you're considering outsourcing your CFO services, look no further than Business & Accounting Solutions. Our CFO services include bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

 

CFO as MVP: Why Accounting is a Team Sport

A weakness that many starting businesses share is not being truly invested in their accounting team. Often, accounting teams are viewed as a necessary evil, a cost that must be dealt with, or as just a data processing department. This mindset, however, can seriously hinder the growth of your business. When business owners only think of accounting as overhead and focus more on minimizing expense than investing in their accounting team, the functionality of the accounting team suffers.

DISADVANTAGES OF A NON-TEAM ENVIRONMENT

When all parts of your business don’t work together as a team, there are many costs and disadvantages that can develop.

  • ISOLATION. When any one department, such as accounting, becomes isolated from the rest of the business there is a greater chance that the department will begin operating more for its own benefit rather than the benefit of the business.
  • STAFFING ISSUES. When teamwork is not a priority, you will see more disengaged employees, lower productivity and satisfaction, and higher turnover rates.
  • LACK OF INFORMATION. Isolated departments tend to hoard information and, rather than share it freely, dole it out to a select few, which doesn't foster teamwork and stifles innovation and productivity.
  • POOR DECISIONS. The shortage of information between departments will inevitably lead poor, uninformed decisions that could be costly to your business.
  • INEFFICIENCIES. Efficient work cannot exist in an uncooperative work environment. Isolated departments that are mostly concerned with looking out for themselves and hoarding information will not make efficiency a priority.
  • HIGHER EXPENSES. The above-mentioned poor decisions and lack of communication and hoarding of information will soon lead to costly mistakes that will be costly to the business.
  • BUSINESS FAILURE. When left unchecked, an uncooperative, non-team-based work environment can easily lead to the kind of grave errors that will undo a business.

To prevent an uncooperative work environment, think of accounting as a team sport. Each member of the team has an important, specialized role and each team member must work in harmony to achieve a common goal. Most successful companies are those that have integrated their accounting team as a key part of the strategic planning process.

HOW A TEAM APPROACH CAN BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS

Prioritizing a team approach to accounting will allow many other critical elements to fall into place that will benefit your business. Some of these benefits include:

  • MORE ACCURATE DATA. With all departments working together and no one hoarding information, data can be shared and reported with greater accuracy.
  • ACTIONABLE INFORMATION. Data will be produced faster which will allow for more timely decision-making. The allows the company to evaluate and take advantage of otherwise missed opportunities as well as minimize potential issues which can now be forecast with accurate data.
  • INFORMED DECISIONS. More accurate, timely data means that the decisions made will be based on the best possible data. It will be easier to make the right decisions for the business.
  • BETTER PLANNING. Planning for the future is much easier with accurate and timely data. Budgets, cash flow projections, and strategic planning all depend on information that is accurate and current. This translates into savings through better inventory management, reduced shrinkage, and more efficient buying.
  • MORE EFFICIENT OPERATIONS. Departments that work as part of a team are always more efficient than isolated departments. Members of a team can hold each other accountable and help steer each other towards a common goal.
  • BETTER MARGINS. Accurate and timely data can help you reduce costs, boost revenue, and run your business more capably. As a result, you see a difference in your bottom line.
  • HIGHER MORALE. Happier employees are more productive and as your team cooperates with one another you will see a collective improvement in morale.

If you're considering outsourcing your CFO services, look no further than Business & Accounting Solutions. Our CFO services include bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Outsourcing Key Positions

Over the years, new businesses in the US have faced many challenges to keeping their company afloat. There are many costs that come with running a business, including regulatory and compliance costs, labor, infrastructure, and more. Those costs often pile up and sink new businesses before they have a chance to get on their feet. Depending on the business, just starting out can cost hundreds, thousands or even millions of dollars.

 

There are better ways to save, though. Every business uses outsourced services of some type. Many businesses don't deliver their own products. For example, a business may hire outside cleaning services or get help with taxes and audits. Outsourcing can be a smart, resourceful way to save, especially for a new business. If a particular process is not strategic to your business, consider outsourcing it. You can outsource your human resource support functions, accounting, manufacturing, and even your executive staff.

 

MANUFACTURING

It is common for companies in the U.S. to outsource manufacturing and assembly work to offshore facilities, such as those run by companies in China and other parts of Asia. This saves money because building a manufacturing plant is a significant endeavor. This would not only involve the purchase of a facility but also the manufacturing equipment and the hiring of workers. Over the last few years, outsourcing to onshore manufacturing facilities has become more viable and cost effective. When considering outsourcing your manufacturing, don't rule out the U.S.

 

TECHNOLOGY

With cloud computing, you eliminate the need for capital investment in technology, which offers usage-based pricing similar to electricity usage. With cloud-based technology, your computing resources, i.e., your hardware and software, are delivered as a service over a network—typically via the Internet. With cloud technology, you can achieve greater scale with fewer employees and little capital investment.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

Fixed costs such as office rent, administrative and support costs, utilities, security, phones, and office equipment can also add up to a healthy sum for any business. Because of this, many companies are moving to a shared location and shared administrative service concept in the form of executive office suites. Such suites have full administrative support, do not require a long-term lease, have offices already built out, are generally found in several locations in a city, have facilities worldwide, and are very cost-efficient for new and emerging businesses.

 

FINANCE and ACCOUNTING

While using simple accounting packages such as QuickBooks is effective for small and mid-sized companies, this may not help your business as it grows. The biggest expense for a finance and accounting department is often the human resource element, including hiring and retaining qualified people. Unless your business is larger, however, you may not need a full-time CFO. To save on those costs, consider outsourcing all of your accounting and finance functions, which could include using a “fractional” CFO who would spend a few hours a week as your company’s financial executive. With an outsourced CFO, you have the knowledge and experience of a high-level professional at your fingertips for a fraction of the cost of having a CFO on staff full time.

 

If you're considering outsourcing your CFO services, look no further than Business & Accounting Solutions. Our CFO services include bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact us or call (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Small Business Bookkeeping: Solutions to Common Challenges

If you've found issues with your bookkeeping, you’ll want to correct those issues as quickly as possible. After all, the livelihood of your business could be at stake if these issues go ignored. Fortunately, there are preventative measures you can take, both to correct mistakes in your bookkeeping and to make sure these issues do not reoccur.

 

TECHNOLOGY. Sometimes early-stage small businesses track and manage their finances using tools like Excel. However, Excel is an antiquated tool that won't be useful for long, especially once your business starts to pick up. You need to employ the use of a more advanced and robust system. Accounting software that provides regular, automatic updates, such as QuickBooks, is a much better solution. QuickBooks operates and saves your data on the cloud, making it easily available wherever and whenever you need it.

 

AUTOMATION. Embrace tools that make your work simpler. Automation can make completing jobs easier and, in some cases, even completely eliminate unnecessary work. For example, if your bookkeeper is overwhelmed and overworked because of data entry requirements, you can take some of the burden away by allowing your bank or another third party financial institution to automatically feed entries into your accounting or operations system.

 

TRAINING. All businesses are subject to change, and if you're not careful you can fall behind or lose your business because your accounting team has failed to keep your financials up-to-date. Ensure that your team is able to perform their jobs to the best of their ability by keeping them abreast of changes and giving new training whenever it is needed. There are a few methods to keep training up to date:

- Instructional Videos. Make use of training available online for bookkeepers. Quickbooks has free training courses available that can even lead to a certification.

- Engage a Trainer or Mentor. When significant changes to tax laws occur, or when a new state payroll regulation is passed, bring in an expert. Let them give a seminar to get your team up-to-date. Consider establishing a mentor program to help junior staff become more adept bookkeepers as future managers.

- Formal Education. Furthering education formally can greatly improve the abilities of your employees. Your company can sponsor the continuing education of employees in the accounting field with programs like tuition reimbursement and pay incentives for advanced degrees.

 

OUTSOURCING. Outsourcing is an excellent way to tap into the high-level experience and skill of a professional. With outsourcing, you get the services of a knowledgeable and experienced professional to assist with your company's financials at your convenience, while avoiding the high price of hiring a full-time CFO.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions provides quality outsourced CFO services. You don't have to address the shortcomings of your bookkeeping alone. Let Business & Accounting Solutions assist you. Founder Don Lewis has over 37 years of accounting and business experience. By hiring outsourced CFO services through Business & Accounting Solutions, those years of expertise become available to you whenever you need it. Evolve with the everchanging market with the help of Business & Accounting Solutions today.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider out referral program.

Small Business Bookkeeping: Benefits of Addressing Shortfalls

Once you've spotted problems with your bookkeeping, it's time to address the shortfalls. Bookkeeping is a vital function that is necessary for the survival and growth of your business, so any shortfalls must be approached with the utmost thought and consideration. You must have accurate and timely books in order to have numbers to review. Without that point of reference, your company can't even accomplish basic tasks such as paying employees and filing tax returns.

 

BENEFITS OF ADDRESSING SHORTFALLS IN BOOKKEEPING

Taking steps to correct shortfalls in bookkeeping must become a priority. The benefits of addressing these shortfalls include:

 

VISIBILITY TO THE COMPANY'S CASH POSITION

Once you get a handle on your company's bookkeeping shortfalls, you will be able to clearly see the cash flow of your business. You will know where you stand regarding your cash position at all times.

 

OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE TIMELY AND INFORMED DECISIONS

Having up-to-date information at your fingertips means you are better able to make healthier business decisions. You will be able to make informed choices about adding new product lines, bringing on new staff, or investing in equipment.

 

IMPROVED BANKING AND VENDOR RELATIONS

Another side effect of an accounting function that suffers is relationships with business partners inevitably suffer as well. When you work to address former shortcomings in your bookkeeping, you show your business partners that you are serious in your endeavors. This will strengthen the bond with your partners and can act as a catalyst for business growth.

 

ACCURATE AND TIMELY DATA FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Once you have addressed the shortcomings in your bookkeeping, you will have timely and accurate data from your bookkeeping team. This will allow you to create the strongest strategic plan possible for your company, which will determine the direction of your business and determine its level of growth and financial success.

 

Remember that your business doesn't have to settle for sub-par bookkeeping. Demand excellence and get your business on the right track for success. The ability to have financial reports done on a quarterly basis can give you a serious competitive edge.

 

Need help addressing the shortcomings in your bookkeeping? Business & Accounting Solutions can help you with that. Founder Don Lewis has over 37 years of accounting and business experience. By hiring outsourced CFO services through Business & Accounting Solutions, those years of expertise become available to you when needed. Your company can evolve with the everchanging market with the help of Business & Accounting Solutions.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider out referral program.

 

Small Business Bookkeeping: Signs You May Have a Problem

It is often tough for small businesses to stay afloat, especially newer ones. While there are many things that can lead to the downfall of a small business, more often than not, failure and struggle is the result of strategic and financial missteps. For example, bookkeeping challenges can adversely affect small businesses. If there is a lack of visibility in upcoming cash flow or if financial statements are consistently late, then it can be difficult for small business owners to manage their finances properly.

 

If you suspect you are having bookkeeping problems, there are some warning signs to look out for that will indicate if your business is in trouble. Look for these red flags that follow:

 

UNSUCCESSFULLY APPLYING FOR BANK FUNDING. If you are unable to secure bank funding for your business, it’s important to know why. The reason for the denials may be simple as an overlook or something that requires more time and effort to resolve. In such cases, simply defining the missing parameters may result in approved funding. The worst-case scenario would be that your business is in such poor shape financially that you don't qualify for funding at all. Business Accounting Solutions can provide your business with a capital needs assessment to help you raise capital.

 

ACCOUNTING REVEALS YOU CAN'T COVER PAYROLL. Paying your employees first should always be a priority. If accounting reveals that you can't cover payroll, especially if this comes as a surprise, someone somewhere has dropped the ball and has been doing so for a while. Business & Accounting Solutions is a certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks and offers online consultation. Learn more about our Bookkeeping services.

 

OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH LOAN COVENANTS. Loans come with stipulations. If your company borrows money and violates the covenants of that loan, then you could get into trouble with the lender. There are three types of loan covenants.

 

  1. Affirmative covenants require you to do certain things such as carry insurance or submit financial statements.
  2. Negative covenants preclude you from doing certain things without approval, such as selling assets or taking on additional debt.
  3. Financial covenants require you to maintain certain performance or liquidity ratios.

 

Violating covenants will have consequences, which may include the lender calling in the loan or seizing assets posted as collateral. Business Accounting Solutions can find Finance Strategy Solutions for your business.

 

A LACK OF CLEAR, REPEATABLE MONTHLY CLOSING PROCESSES. A disorganized closing process can easily lead to bookkeeping practices that result in overlooked details, which can lead to errors piling up. Unreconciled accounts, missed expenses, mistakes in payroll, and other such errors are more difficult to correct over time. Make sure a process is put in place for closing so everything is accounted for in a consistent manner. Business Accounting Solutions can resolve your company’s Cash Flow issues.

 

MONTHLY FINANCIALS NOT COMPLETED TIMELY. Bookkeepers should update books in a timely, regular fashion. You need that data to be current and available to enable you to make good business decisions. This information is crucial in making decisions regarding staffing, inventory, or equipment replacements. Business Accounting Solutions can resolve System Design issues.

 

TOO MANY EXCUSES AND NOT ENOUGH DELIVERABLES. If you are getting more excuses than results from your bookkeeping operations, it is time to make a change. Business Accounting Solutions provides Financial Consulting services.

 

If you would like a professional's help in addressing bookkeeping issues for your small business, consider Business & Accounting Solutions. We offer many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider out referral program.

 

Is Outsourcing Right for You? 9 Questions to Ask

Outsourcing is a business practice that has been popular for decades now. Many American companies depended on outsourced labor to make the products they sell. We're often told that this outsourcing of jobs saves money – both for the company and the consumer. Lower costs for the business, after all, means that they are able to pass those savings on to their clients, which can be a smart and competitive move to make.

 

However, when considering employing outsourced services of any kind it is crucial to consider if this will benefit your business. Like any business decision, there are pros and cons to weigh. You must make sure you are deciding to outsource services you need for the right reason, because outsourcing for the wrong reason can be detrimental to your business.

 

Many companies outsource in hopes of cutting cost. However, this can “lock in” your business and stifle it. When you control your business's functions, you have options to make changes as needed. Outsourced services come with a contract that takes away some of your flexibility, sometimes for years into the future.

 

Outsourcing should not just be used to take responsibilities off your plate. Outsourcing can be used to create flexibility but depending indefinitely on outsourced services isn't always the best choice. Many business leaders outsource services that they will either never consider or never intend on taking on themselves again. This can leave your management team left with little to nothing to manage and could leave you incapable of shifting with changing needs.

 

Though it's tempting to save every penny you can when you're running a business, you should also consider if outsourcing is making your business perform better. Consider not just the short-term savings, but the long-term needs of your business.

 

If you are considering hiring on outsourced services, ask yourself the following questions first:

 

- Am I doing this because I want to simplify my life, or offer the market something new?
- Am I doing this so I can focus on my "core" business?
- How will this advantage me versus competitors? Would emerging competitors do this?
- Can competitors do what I'm doing? Can this lead to a price war?
- How will this make me more competitive in 10 years?
- How will this make me more connected to markets?
- How will this make me more flexible to deal with shifting markets, and how will I exploit this flexibility?
- Am I doing this because I'm desperate to cut costs?
- What could I be doing instead of outsourcing to be more competitive?

 

If you make the decision that outsourcing it right for you, Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC offers superior outsourced CFO services. Founder Don Lewis has over 37 years of accounting and business experience. By hiring outsourced CFO services through Business & Accounting Solutions, those years of expertise become available to you whenever you have need of them. Evolve with the ever-changing market with the help of Business & Accounting Solutions today.

 

Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

Strategic Planning in 5 Steps

Strategic planning is a comprehensive process for defining your business strategy, or direction, and making decisions in allocating resources. These skills are essential and the keys to success for any business and helps in determining what your business should become and how it can best achieve that goal. Planning and looking towards the future will help you steer your business towards success.

 

Developing a plan to determine the future of your business can seem like a daunting task. Like most things, however, developing a strategic plan can be broken down into a series of smaller, easy-to-tackle steps.

 

DETERMINE WHERE YOU ARE.

Knowing where you are is a necessary step for moving forward. You want an accurate picture of your business's current standing. To accomplish this, conduct external and internal audits to get a clear understanding of the marketplace, the competitive environment, and your organization’s competencies.

 

IDENTIFY WHAT'S IMPORTANT.

Once you know where you are, you need a direction to go in. Determine where you want to take your business in the long-term. What are your goals? What is your vision for your business's future? Once you have these clearly defined, you can determine your priority issues. Your priority issues are the issues that are crucial to the overall well-being of your enterprise and require the full and immediate attention of the entire management team. Your strategic plan will focus on these issues.

 

DEFINE WHAT YOU MUST ACHIEVE.

Definite the expected objectives that clearly state what your organization must achieve to address the priority issues.

 

DETERMINE WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE.

Figuring out strategies, plans of action, and budgets are all steps towards effectively communicating how you will allocate your resources. These help you determine where to allocate your time, human capital, and finances to best achieve the defined objectives.

 

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.

The key to strategic planning is that it never ends. You must make sure the plan plays out as designed and the only way to do that is to hold regularly scheduled formal reviews of the process which allows you to refine and adapt your strategy as necessary. Having these reviews as often as every quarter will keep your plan, and your business, on track.

 

With careful and strategic planning, you can steer your business towards greater successes by reaching your goals and redefining them as your business grows.

 

Need help with putting together and executing your strategic plan? Do you need assistance in managing your small business's finances? Consider hiring outsourced CFO services with Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC. Founder Don Lewis has over 37 years of accounting and business experience. By hiring outsourced CFO services through Business & Accounting Solutions, those years of expertise become available to you whenever you have need them. Evolve in an ever-changing market with the help of Business & Accounting Solutions today. Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

Finding the Right CFO for Your Business

When you first begin your small business, you may be fine with handling all the upkeep of your finances. In those early days, bookkeeping and expense management can be handled personally with a fair amount of ease. As your business grows, however, and your attention is pulled elsewhere, you'll want someone with a more sophisticated set of skills and knowledge to handle your finance needs.

Bringing someone with experience on board to help manage your business's finances is key to allowing your business to flourish. Outsourcing CFO services allows your budget more flexibility, too. Of course, it's important to find the right CFO service.

WHEN CHOOSING AN OUTSOURCED CFO:

Ask for referrals. Tap into the network for your business. Ask service providers, fellow business founders, your advisors, and incubators/accelerators/co-working spaces. Anyone you know who has opted for outsourced CFO services is someone whose advice is worth asking.

Look for a fit for your business. Remember that the first person or firm you meet isn’t your only choice, nor necessarily the best one. Make sure that the CFO service you hire is right for your business. What works for another business may not work for you, or there may be better options to consider. Check credentials, background experience, and skill sets against your business needs.

Ask to see a client list. Ask candidates for a list of clients that display the range of services they provide. Look for clients that are your business in terms of industry, stage, etc. If the firm works with someone similar to your business, that's a good sign they have the expertise your business needs.

 

QUESTIONS TO ASK IN THE INTERVIEW:

In your interview with potential outsourced CFOs, you'll also want to make sure you're asking the right questions. CFOs offer many services – some of which you'll be familiar with and expect. They can assist with financial forecasts, budgets, business modeling, financial plans, and so on. CFOs can also help with things you may not think of – things like investor relations and strategic planning. To find the right fit, be upfront with your needs. Listen to the CFO's suggestions and find a CFO that can grow with your company.  Consider asking the following questions as you interview potential CFO's.

 

What specific experience do you have working with startup businesses?
You'll want someone with experience with startups. Accounting credentials and expertise with financial projections is important, but a startup CFO also needs to be good at negotiating and strategic planning.

What's your domain of expertise?
Different CFOs will have different specialties and strengths. Pick a CFO service that complements the needs of your business.

How do you typically work with clients?
You need to figure out if your candidates have the desire and capability to help you develop your financial infrastructure. Look for flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing circumstances in your CFO.

Ultimately, you want a CFO you can trust. They are your business partner. You'll need to keep a continued open dialog with them while developing your business.

Still looking for an outsourced CFO service that fits your business's needs? Consider Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC. Founder Don Lewis has over 37 years of accounting and business experience. By hiring outsourced CFO services through Business & Accounting Solutions, those years of expertise become available to you whenever you have need of them. Evolve with the ever-changing market with the help of Business & Accounting Solutions today.

Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider out referral program.

 

7 Benefits Outsourced CFO Services Can Offer Your Business

 

Managing your finances is the key to success for any business, large or small. However, for many businesses sometimes financial management tasks such as bookkeeping gets left on the back burner. For smaller businesses focused on just getting by, this can be especially true. The services and experience a CFO can offer your business are highly valuable. However, this also means that keeping a CFO on staff can be very costly.

What's the answer to balancing a need for financial management assistance without breaking the bank? Outsourcing! With outsourced CFO services you can get the professional service your business needs. There are a number of benefits to seeking outsourced CFO services.

AFFORDABILITY. The average salary for a full-time CFO is around $300,000 a year. Outsourcing your CFO services, however, means you are using a fraction of the CFO's time on an as-needed basis. You get all of the knowledge and experience of a CFO at a fraction of the cost.

INCREASED REVENUE. An outsourced CFO can do more than just balance your books, he or she can produce results. A skilled CFO is able to increase revenue in a number of ways, and often faster than you may think—by negotiating lower costs with vendors, invest in efficient software, offer transparency in bookkeeping and finances, advise cutting back on unnecessary expenses, increase production with strategic investment advice, project revenue and create a plan for growth—and much more!

IMPROVED TIME MANAGEMENT. Bookkeeping is a time-consuming and tedious process yet necessary for any business. By using an outsourced CFO service, you can direct more time and energy into running your business and leave all the bookkeeping to a skilled finance professional.

TAX TIME MADE EASY. Pulling together all the necessary paperwork to make sure taxes are paid properly is another time-intensive and tiresome task. An outsourced CFO can make tax time easier with regular organized bookkeeping.

FINANCIAL STRATEGY. Planning ahead is essential to making sure your business stays afloat. An outsourced CFO will take into consideration your current finances and goals for the future to create an effective financial strategy for your business.

NEW WAYS TO SAVE. CFOs are trained in seeking out ways to help you save, including using technology that helps your business run more efficiently. A CFO could introduce you to advanced bookkeeping software or other industry tools beneficial to your specific industry.

EXPERT ADVICE ON DEMAND. Learning the specifics surrounding financial management can be difficult and confusing. With an outsourced CFO, you'll get the answers you need directly from an expert.

Business & Accounting Solutions is here to provide the CFO outsourced services your business needs. Founder Don Lewis brings over 37 years of accounting and business experience to the table. Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting, and more. Contact or call us at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider our referral program.

 

Outsourced CFO Financial Forecasting Services in Portland

 

Even the smallest businesses need planning and control. Lacking a plan is one of the biggest reasons small businesses fail. Leon Herman wrote, “much like a map helps you plan a long journey, a financial forecast helps your business achieve goals.” By having a financial forecast, businesses can help reduce the risk of failure.

A Business & Accounting Solutions outsourced CFO wears many different hats. One of those hats is the ability to create financial forecasts for businesses. A successful financial forecast can do a lot of great things for a business including:

  • Allows you to guide your business in the right direction and take control of cash flow
  • Helps with obtaining loans or other funding from investors
  • Provides a benchmark when measuring future performances
  • Identifies potential risks and cash shortages that can put your business in trouble

The most successful small businesses know the value of a financial forecast. Businesses which fail to make financial forecasting as part of their fiscal duties often end up struggling to meet financial goals. This kind of oversight is common without an in-house CFO with the tools or knowledge to create such a forecast, as well as keeping it accurate and updated. BAS PDX can be your outsourced CFO, providing you with a financial forecast at a price point your business can afford.

Call Business & Accounting Solutions, LLC (BAS PDX) today (503) 710-6213 for your Financial Forecast Solution. BAS PDX provides a complete list of outsourced CFO services to Portland and Gresham, including how to raise capital, financial forecast services, high-level strategy, finance consulting, system design, cash flow, and bookkeeping.

 

What Questions Should You Ask When Hiring an Outsourced CFO?

 

Hiring an employee is always hard. It’s important to make sure that this person is the right fit and brings the right expertise with them. Hiring an outsourced CFO is very similar. Although this person may only be working with your organization a few days per week or month, it is important that they bring relevant financial expertise and that they are the right fit for your organization.

Make sure you pick the right outsourced CFO with some of these interview questions:

1. Do you have relevant industry experience?

Most likely the CFO you are interviewing will be well versed across different industries. It is still important to ask this question though. Each industry is different. Making sure that the outsourced CFO has experience and knowledge of your industry is a must. By hiring a CFO who has experience in your industry, your organization will end up saving time and money.
 

2. What is your Prior Project Experience?

It is important to know that an outsourced CFO’s experiences line up with what your business or organization needs. A CFO can offer many different services, but make sure they offer what your business needs. Get what you need done and don’t waste time or money.

3. How do you typically work with clients?

When hiring an outsourced CFO you are looking for a partner. It’s important to understand if your partners work well with each other. It is essential to make sure that your newly hired CFO has top notch communication skills and can wear the many hats it takes to complete the financial responsibilities for your business.

Business & Accounting Solutions has experience across many different industries. We understand that each business will have different needs and expectations. Our CFOs are well-versed and have the knowledge to wear the many different hats needed in the financial industry.

Business & Accounting Solutions is here to provide the CFO outsourced services your business needs. Founder Don Lewis brings over 37 years of accounting and business experience to the table. Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider out referral program.

How to Choose an Outsourced CFO in Portland

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) traditionally require larger salaries which makes hiring a CFO an unattainable expense for many small and mid-sized businesses. With the rise of outsourced CFOs, however, businesses are now able to hire a CFO without breaking the bank. CFOs can help solve budgeting problems, process payroll, financial forecasting, and even help obtain capital. Outsourced CFOs have proven to be helpful for small and mid-sized businesses, but how does a business choose the right outsourced CFO?

According to Wheeler Financial Solutions, there are four factors to consider when choosing an outsourced CFO:

SECURITY Security is an important aspect to consider when hiring an outsourced CFO due to the sensitive information that CFOs deal with daily. It is important to research which CFO agencies believe in and cherish privacy.

RELIABILITY — When using an outsourced CFO, it is common to only work with them a few days each week/month. It is important to find reliable CFO agencies, so your business doesn’t waste any time or money.

FLEXIBILITY — Flexibility is important because no two businesses are alike. Each client a CFO takes on should require adjustments and tweaks. Find a CFO agency that is efficient and that can adapt to your business.

KNOWLEDGE — A CFO should be well-versed in the world of finance. Make sure to hire a CFO that understands market trends and has experience with taxes, bookkeeping, financial planning, and operation process.

Hiring an outsourced CFO can be difficult, but Business & Accounting Solutions makes it easy. Business & Accounting Solutions is here to provide the CFO outsourced services your business needs. Founder Don Lewis brings over 37 years of accounting and business experience to the table. Business & Accounting Solutions offers many services, including bookkeeping, cash flow, finance consulting and more. Contact us or call at (503) 710-6213. Know someone in need of CFO services? Consider out referral program.