Outsmart your accountant and other financial friends with these accounting-related definitions: Fiscal Year Most companies report their results on a calendar year, from January 1 through December 31. Some companies use a different year for reporting, and that’s called a fiscal year. For example, Intuit’s fiscal year runs from August 1 to July 31. A nonprofit commonly runs from July 1 to June 30. The word fiscal alone refers to government or public revenues and…
Read MoreIt’s good to know some basic accounting terms, and here are ten terms with friendly definitions for your review. Asset: Essentially, assets are what you own. These include your bank accounts, business equipment, and even the amounts that customers owe you. Revenue: Revenue is what you make. Another word for it is Sales. You generate revenue in your business when you make a sale to a customer. The amount of the sale is included in…
Read MoreSmall business owners have a lot on their plates, and time simply does not allow you to become an expert in all the areas required for running a business. Here are a couple of common mistakes that we see all the time. Correcting them will help you be more productive and profitable in your business. 1. Mismanaging receipts Maintaining receipts are challenging for everyone, but the IRS requires that you have proof of business expenditures.…
Read MoreSome numbers need reviewing on a daily basis, and one example of this is cash. When cash is coming in from a number of places, it’s great to have a daily summary of what was collected. It’s also great to make sure all the collections hit your bank account so you can feel confident that no errors were made along the way. A daily cash reconciliation report will serve both needs very well. A daily…
Read MoreDoes Your Accounting Department Have Holes in It? You’ve got someone to do your federal and state income tax returns, and you have a bookkeeper. So that’s all that a small business needs when it comes to having an accounting department, right? Wrong. Large companies have many functions in their accounting departments, and small and mid-sized businesses need many of the same functions as well. They just won’t need as many staff to handle them.…
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