5 Signs Your Small Business is In Trouble

By Ben Kinsey

Image courtesy of Pixabay

One thing that’s certain about owning a small business is that it’s never boring.  Whether your business is a one-man band, a mom & pop shop, or you have graduated to the point where you have a handful of employees to contend with, owning a business is a challenge that many people never attempt.  That being said, owning a small business means having to deal with financial ups and downs.  While most business owners would rather deal with the issues of a business on its way up rather than on its way down, both of these indicators can lead to disaster if you don’t heed the warning signs.

Surviving an IRS Audit

By Ben Kinsey

Image courtesy wikimedia

Business owners are used to dealing with stress.  That’s because stress is part of the job.  Whether it’s dealing with difficult clients, balky vendors or recalcitrant staff members, business owners are part tycoon and part firefighter.  But when it comes to putting the fear of God into most business owners, nothing comes close causing them to panic than to receiving a letter informing them that their business is about to be audited by the IRS.  To help keep you from going off the deep end should your business ever wind up being audited, I have put together a list of steps to help you survive this calamity.

All About Bookkeepers and Accountants

By Ben Kinsey

Image courtesy of Pixabay

The first job or any business owner is to get paid.  The second is to make sure that he or she is getting paid enough to turn a profit.  Last but not least, if you want your business to grow, you need to make sure you aren’t wearing so many hats that you wind up running yourself into the ground.  When it comes to charting, planning and optimizing the metrics of a growing business, two of the most important profit builders are the company bookkeeper and accountant.  While neither of these individuals are responsible for driving profits, they are both key when it comes to deriving business profit.  That being said, their jobs are quite different.  To give you a leg up on what it is that they do, I thought I’d take the time to give you my short list that charts their responsibilities.

How Valuable is Your Time?

By Ben Kinsey, CPA

Image courtesy Max Pixel

When business owners ask me for advice that can help them enhance their profit potential, one of the first things I bring up is the matter of time control.  While you can’t buy more time, what most small business owners and managers manage to do is squander what little they have.  Since time is money, as a result this winds up affecting the bottom line.  To help you get a handle on managing your time, I’ve come up with my top-10 time wasters which will show you how to stop losing time.

It’s Not Hard to Find Good Help if You know How

By Ben Kinsey

Image courtesy flickr

When it comes to small businesses there are several complaints that are almost universally expressed by owners.  They hate paying one penny more in taxes than they absolutely have to.  They can never be too credit worthy.  And they all agree that it’s hard to find good help.  While most CPAs can help small businesses solve the first two of these conundrums, I thought I’d go the extra mile to help you handle the third.

Bulletproofing Your Digital Domain

By Ben Kinsey

Image courtesy wikimedia

In my previous blog, I detailed all the ways in which online reviews and ratings can make or break a business.  This week I’d like to delve into the other dangers that lurk just below the surface of your digital domain.  Specifically, I’d like you to take a hard look at the part of your business that resides in Cyberspace.  You know, your website, landing pages, blog, in-house server and social sites.  The problem with many business owners is that they don’t have a handle on just how vulnerable their digital assets are.  While most business owners would never think of heading home after the day is done without first locking their office, many leave their digital domain woefully ill-equipped to deal with hackers, industrial espionage or disgruntled employees.  As I pointed out in my last blog, if you don’t police and secure your digital assets, it’s quite possible that some fine day you may arrive at the office to find your business in serious financial straits.   

The Terrors of Employee Turnover

By Ben Kinsey, CPA

Image courtesy Pixabay

Ask any business owner what’s one thing that keeps them awake at night and nine times out of ten they’ll say their employees.  Whether it’s a fear of having their employees do something that harms the business or sweating the fact that all too many employees simply punch the clock while others are all too easily swayed to jump onto a competitor’s ship, the credo of many a business owner is, “It’s hard to find good help.” 

Can the Right CPA Add Value to Your Business?

By Ben Kinsey, CPA

Image courtesy Max Pixel

Every business owner is always looking to add value to their business.  That’s why they spend so much money on everything from fancy offices to first class business cards and brochures.  As they say, perception is reality.  While most business owners employ a CPA, what many don’t realize is that all CPAs aren’t created equal.  What I mean by that is CPAs are like doctors in that many of them tend to specialize.  While they are all capable of helping a business maintain and reconcile its accounts, prepare financial statements and do basic tax prep work, some of them are more adept at helping a business find every tax loophole, while others are better at showing clients how to improve their processes to either save or make money.  Depending on the type of business you operate or the stage of development that your business currently is at the moment, finding the right CPA could have a huge effect on your bottom line.