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.