No one is busier than a small business owner. If you don’t believe it just ask them. Too often small business owners become so bogged down in the behind-the-scenes part of business they can’t focus on the reason they opened their business in the first place.
Small business owners have more important things to handle than keeping their own books. The best bookkeeping and accounting services in Minneapolis can handle your books, freeing you up to run your business, satisfy your clients and customers, and make a reasonable profit.
Why you Need a Bookkeeping and Accounting Service
Income Statement
Also known as a profit and loss statement, the Income Statement gives you an itemized reconciliation of expenses and revenues for your business during each time period. An accurate and detailed income statement enables you as a business owner to:
• Track expenses and revenues so you can verify your business’ performance.
• Discover areas of your business that are either over-budget or under-budget.
• Recognize unanticipated expenditures such as added utility costs, Internet services, or shipping costs.
• Flag unwarranted increases in product returns or costs or as a percentage of overall sales.
• Precisely calculate tax liability.
Bank Statement Reconciliation
Many small business owners are more than capable of balancing a bank statement but find it much more cost effective to have an outside expert handle this task. Reconciling your checking account on a monthly basis enables you to keep your accounting procedures, bank accounts, and taxes up to date. A bookkeeping and accounting service will ensure that:
• Any excessive or inappropriate bank charges are detected and steps are put in place to prevent any future wrongful charges.
• Lost deposits and checks are identified.
• Transactions are properly posted by your financial institution.
• Should any embezzlement of funds occur within your company, it is detected quickly.
• Cash and assets are effectively managed.
• Fraudulent or unauthorized checks presented to your financial institution are detected in a timely manner.
• Accounts are properly reconciled and you are protected from possible fraud.
Balance Sheet
A properly prepared balance sheet provides a clear perspective of your business’ financial condition for any specific moment in time. This allows you to:
• Identify and analyze trends in receivables and payables.
• Recognize the financial strengths and capabilities of your business in a timely manner.
• Make intelligent decisions about future business endeavors like planning for expansion.
• Identify the need for and steps to guarantee improved cash reserves.
• Recognize possible cash shortages and enact plans to respond to them.
General Ledger
A business’ general ledger is the heart of its financial records. Since every transaction of your business flows through your general ledger, it is critical for it to be clean and trustworthy. By reviewing a business’ general ledger system on a monthly basis, your bookkeeping and accounting service can identify discrepancies such as double billing or unrecorded payments and correct your books accordingly.
Consultation
One of the greatest needs of any small business owner is to have someone they trust and can consult with about business decisions. Part of the role of the best bookkeeping and accounting services in Minneapolis is to become a silent partner in making your business work the best it can.