It All Adds Up
Streamline your business by computerizing your accounting system.
One of the most important tasks facing a small business is
keeping watch over the money flowing into its coffers and out to
its vendors, employees and advisors. Fortunately, today's
full-featured-yet inexpensive-accounting programs allow business
owners to track and manage every aspect their companies'
finances. And by automating income and expense information, a
business can reduce its accounting expenses and save its accounting
firm time and effort. "The key to managing a business is knowing how it's
doing by keeping accurate income and expenses records," says
Eugene A. Schnyder, a CPA and emerging enterprise consultant in
Shushan, New York. Even a moderately successful emerging business,
however, soon outgrows cash-drawer/checkbook recordkeeping. The
cash balance at the end of the day doesn't tell how well a
business is doing, nor does it help in making business decisions.
In the past, accounting records were maintained by hand, in
columnar ledgers, which involved tallying transaction totals at the
end of each week or month. A computerized accounting system can
track and analyze considerably more information than a manual
record system-and with less effort. John Eason owns and operates Southeastern Sales &
Specialties Inc. and Advanced Distribution Technologies Inc.,
software development and distribution companies in Carrollton,
Georgia. "A typical start-up company tends to rely on its
owner's ability to 'keep the figures' in his or her
head," Eason says. "As the company grows, the owner's
time is diverted from his or her area of expertise and to the areas
he or she is usually less capable or experienced in-accounting,
collections, determining costs and so on. The single most important
factor for most businesses is cash flow and the ability to manage
it properly. Most small-business owners don't know their true
costs of doing business because they don't accurately track or
monitor all the costs. They tend to discount their time and profits
because of this. Small companies do the same things and need the
same information as large companies. Selecting the proper
accounting software can save most of the accounting costs incurred
by a company and will give its banker confidence in the
company's ability to provide proper, timely and accurate
financial information." Content Continues Below
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