Accounting Blog
Support, tips, and more for accountants.
Understanding Operating Expenses
A Comprehensive Guide for Financial Professionals Operating expenses (OPEX) are vital for any business, covering day-to-day costs such as rent, utilities, payroll, and marketing. Properly managing OPEX is essential for financial health and profitability. This blog...
Common Questions About Reach Reporting
What is Reach Reporting? Reach Reporting is a comprehensive financial reporting and analysis software designed to streamline the process of creating insightful and visually appealing reports. With its robust features, it helps accountants, CFOs, business advisors, and...
Top 5 Financial Reporting Tools
Integration Capabilities Reach Reporting boasts strong integration data synchronization capabilities, particularly with popular accounting software like QuickBooks Online & Desktop, Xero, and CSV imports. This enables seamless data flow and consolidation...
Advisory Services or Fractional CFO Services
Introduction Effective financial management is a cornerstone of success and sustainability in the dynamic landscape of modern business. Entrepreneurs and business leaders often find themselves at a crossroads when deciding how best to navigate the complex financial...
Streamlining Financial Consolidation
Financial consolidation has emerged as a critical yet challenging task for businesses operating across multiple entities and currencies in the digital era. Traditionally bogged down by manual data entry and complex spreadsheet formulas, this process demands...
8 Elements of a Tech Stack for CAAS Firms
As traditional accounting firms are pivoting towards advisory services or entirely shifting away from tax, technology becomes pivotal. This post delves into eight crucial elements of a technology stack for Client Accounting and Advisory Services (CAAS) firms,...
Reach Reporting Enhances Business Success
Reach Reporting Enhances Each Stage of Small Business Success Small businesses go through various stages of development, each with its unique challenges and success factors. Reach Reporting, with its advanced features, can play a pivotal role in aiding businesses at...
CPAs Revolutionizing Client Service
As we sail into a new year, it's clear that the landscape of client service is evolving. Firms everywhere are on the lookout for smart ways to serve their clients better while easing their own workload. This often means welcoming new tech solutions into their daily...
CPAs Transforming Client Engagement
We live in a dynamic business world where financial advisors, accountants, and consultants' roles extend far beyond just managing numbers. It's about illuminating the path for clients and helping them make informed decisions through insightful guidance. To elevate...
How Big of a Deal is Financial Forecasting
Financial forecasting is a critical tool in the business landscape, helping companies to anticipate future trends, manage resources efficiently, and steer their business in the right direction. But what exactly makes it such a big deal? Let’s delve into the...
10 Essential Questions to Ask Your CPA
In today's intricate financial world, having a reliable Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is increasingly vital. But how can you be sure that your CPA is not only well-informed but also in tune with your financial aspirations? Here are ten crucial questions you should...
Crypto Standards CPAs Should Know
In a unanimous decision that marks a significant shift in the financial landscape, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has voted to implement a new rule on cryptocurrency accounting and disclosure. This change is expected to offer a more accurate...
How IRS Interest Hikes Affects Businesses
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently announced an interest rate increase effective from October 1, 2023. This decision will have a ripple effect across various sectors, impacting everyone from individual taxpayers to small businesses, corporations, CPAs,...
3-Way Forecasting Made Easy
Here at Reach Reporting, we have developed a feature that disrupts the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) industry and changes the way that 3-way forecasting will be done moving forward. One of the biggest problems with setting this up is the time and...
11 Ways To Become Financially Savvy
Accounting, for many, brings to mind images of number-crunching accountants buried under mountains of financial statements. However, accounting is not just for accountants. With the advent of software like QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Gusto,...
How to Create a Profit and Loss Statement
In this Reach Reporting tutorial, we will show you how to create a profit and loss statement for your business. Whether you use QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, or import other data, Reach Reporting can help you generate professional and accurate financial statements. What is...
Revolutionizing Accounting Reports
How do small accounting firms network? How important is communication? How do you use reporting to improve communication?
Eight Ways to Prevent Client Churn for CPAs
As businesses enter a new year, many are looking to grow their clientele. However, before increasing marketing spending, firms should consider investing in strengthening their client relationships to reduce client losses and keep their most valuable assets. In fact,...
Overcoming Accounting Startup Challenges
With more and more accountants striking out on their own, here are a few things you should consider as you begin your firm.
5 Steps for Meaningful Financial Reporting
Quality financial reporting is vital to help point your client in the right direction. By ensuring your reports are meaningful and measurable, you are showing your knowledge of your client’s company, its current situation, and its goals.
Why Accountant are Critical for Success
People are leaving their jobs in droves in search of their own promised land. During this great exodus, the need for accountants rises, creating opportunities for accountants who see the signs.
Overcoming Common Financial Worries
As an accountant, you understand the fear that many business owners face when it comes to their finances. Confusion and uncertainty can lead to fear, which in turn can hold your clients back from future success. Your job as an accountant is to dispel that fear by...
Avoiding Growth Pitfalls for Accountants
Congratulations! Your accounting firm is growing! You are no longer a small mom-and-pop business with just a handful of accountants doing all the work. So, now what?? This transitional time is critical for firms and their future success. This article will dive into...
How Accountants Evolve into Trusted Advisors
Your clients are wisely searching for the right financial professional who can help them unlock their financial growth. “Financial success does not fall in your lap,” says Justin Hatch, CEO of Reach Reporting. “You have to be intentional with your choices. How...
Financial Reports that Make a Difference
The Problem Dave Carlson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Summit Technology As President and COO of Summit Technology, I know this business inside and out and which KPIs are most important to our short and long-term goals. As a business owner, I need regular...
How to Streamline Financial Reporting
Contributing factors to Accounting stress Today's business structures make financial and managerial reporting daunting, overwhelming, and just downright frustrating. With businesses implementing more systems that need reporting and each company seeming different from...
How to Analyze Financial Reports
Have you ever forgotten the "Why" of Financial Reporting and Analysis? As you sit at your desk and create this month's financial reports for your clients, you may ask yourself, "Why am I doing this? Is this helping my clients at all? "It is essential always to keep...
Adapting to the Future of Accounting
Accounting is at a defining moment. With businesses looking for more than just end-of-month statements, IT has stepped up their AI efforts, while accountants are improving their deliverables and communications.
Who will succeed?
How to Communicate Financials to Clients
Not everyone thinks financial statements, spreadsheets, and numbers are exciting. I know, weird, right? Most of your clients are business owners with talents in other areas. They are not accountants; that's why they hired you!! Giving a non-accountant a spreadsheet...
Understanding GAAP Accounting Principles
Accounting Principles Accounting Principles, commonly known as GAAP, are an essential aspect of financial accounting policies and practices. These principles provide guidance on how accounting transactions should be recorded and reported, ensuring transparency and...
Who to Choose, Accountant or Advisor?
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event. In this corner, weighing in at 225 pounds and having been an official profession since 1897, THE ACCOUNTANT. In this corner, we have THE ADVISOR; while newer in the industry, the advisor weighs in at 207 pounds and...
How Accountants are Getting More Clients
As Director of Technology, I implement and create best practices for tech delivery to our clients. I was instrumental in getting the structure and templates set up within Reach Reporting to support our team with financial dashboards and reports they provide their clients.
QuickBooks Removed Fathom. What Do I Do?
Fathom HQ has been part of the QuickBooks Online Advanced reporting package since October 2018. With Fathoms’ Smart Reporting free offer ending soon, the question most users are having is why?
How to Improve Client Confidence
So let’s chat about how the proper Financial Reporting can give your clients the lightbulb moment and raise their confidence in their business finances.
How to Create a Management Report
More than Financial Numbers Today’s business leaders are no longer satisfied with pure numbers. They demand valuable insights that contribute to better decision-making and strategy execution, especially around their most vital asset: their people. Increasing Your...
How to Increase Efficiency & Grow
Helping Clients Achieve Financial Goals Duncan Lloyd, the Executive Director of Cloudaccountant.com, a traditional firm of Profit First accountants, recently sat down with Reach Reporting to discuss how financial reporting helps his clients achieve their financial...
Essential Traits of Successful Accountants
What makes a person genuinely good at what they do? What are those essential traits they possess to help them raise the bar in their profession? We all possess different characteristics and talents that make us unique.
The Importance of Effective Communication
Effective communication between an accountant and their client is the key to a successful partnership. Without it, all the numbers and data are useless.
How Accounts Balance Work & Life
There have been far too many times in my own life when I would go into work at 4:00 am to go home at 10:00 pm and go into my home office to work some more, only to do it all again in 3 more hours. I was not checking to make sure my business and life books were balanced, and I began resenting every day and becoming a person people avoided.
How to Calculate Net Profit Margin
Net profit margin (NPM)is defined as the percentage of revenue left over once all expenses (this includes but is not limited to operating expenses, interest, taxes, and specific stock dividends) are deducted from a company’s total revenue.
Understanding the Cash Conversion Cycle
The cash conversion cycle (CCC), also sometimes referred to as Cash Cycle or as the Net Operating Cycle, measures the time it takes for a businesses’ investments to become sales and then into revenue.
How Much Do Accountants Make?
The faux pas of discussing money and salaries is out the door for this article. Whether we like it or not, money, and in turn salaries, are a BIG deciding factor in what career we study for, where we live, what jobs we accept, and how we live each day.
Calculating Average Revenue Per Customer (ARPC)
Just as the name suggests, ARPC is the average revenue generated from each customer per month. A company may also choose to calculate per quarter or year.
How to Enhance Financial Reports
Financial reporting is SO much more than raw data in a spreadsheet. It is the story of your client’s business. A well-constructed financial report gives your client all the relevant information they need to make prudent financial decisions in a digestible, easy-to-understand form.
6 Degrees to Combine with Accounting
Before you get into accounting, or even if you are already years into your career, you may want to consider adding any of these six degrees to your accounting degree to give you the edge.
Making Your Accounting Job Enjoyable
There can be a lot of soul-sucking repetition in accounting. However, there can also be intrigue and passion, and you don’t have to be a mafia accountant to experience it.
Three Accounting Options for Businesses
Every company, big or small, in any industry can benefit from financial accounting. However, the best way to handle financial accounting varies depending on the company's size, growth, and structure. In this article, we'll explore the different options for financial...
How to Understand Cash & Succeed at Business
As a financial advisor, part of your job is teaching your clients. You are more than a report generator, number-puncher-inner, and tax preparer. Educating clients not only helps them but helps you as well. They become more versed in how the finances of a business run, which in turn can make their chances of success skyrocket. And you get a grateful client for life.
How to Turn Financial Data into Wisdom
You can help your clients ask the right questions about the data you provide by presenting it as information. Data turns into information with context. By doing this, you will increase your value while improving your client’s decision-making for their business. When your clients don’t understand their data, they may miss opportunities to propel their business forward.
How Successful Accountants Simplify Data
Now more than ever, clients are expecting clear communication from financial professionals. When a firm is lacking in its communication skills, that firm is missing out on revenue. The better a firm understands the value of good communication, the more likely it will implement and improve communication practices and policies.
How Accountant’s Have Evolved
Are you familiar with the DIKW pyramid? No, it is not one of the Great Pyramids of Giza. No, you did not learn it in elementary school, akin to the food pyramid. It’s ok. Most people are unfamiliar with this pyramid.
How to Help Clients Understand Financial Data
One of the most confusing aspects of a financial report is when accountants provide data without context. A 5% increase in revenue from last month sounds impressive but is it? Is the growth taking in the 10% increase in the cost of goods or the additional employees? Though there was a 5% increase in revenue, is your client realizing they dropped 8% in net profit?
Podcast | Making Effective Financial Reports
Today we’re going to talk about dashboards and financial statements. So this is a chance that some of our CPAs made over the last year. I would venture to guess this is probably one of the most impactful changes we’ve made.
How to Help Clients See Business Challenges
Most accountants feel a solid GAAP financial statement is what their clients need but they need more to take advantage of the fair or foul winds of their financials.
3 Strategies to Improve Financial Understanding
If you don’t kiss your clients every time you meet you should. Here are a few tips on how to kiss your clients to help them understand how you feel.
Enhance Your Reports with Chart of Accounts
Think of your chart of accounts like a filing cabinet. Each drawer represents an account. Each file is an accounting transaction. The better organized and structured your filing cabinet is, the more granular your reports can be.
Managing Work-Related Stress for Accountants
The causes of stress can be different for each of us and different based on industry. Some pressures come from within ourselves, and some come from outside sources.
Financial Reporting & Analysis for Business Success
Accurate and proactive reporting makes a huge difference in analytics and financial performance. By increasing the perceived value of financial reporting, most companies help their decision-makers understand the importance of these powerful tools to help them grow, innovate and compete effectively.
Improve Decision-Making with Visuals
Learn tips on providing visualized financial data with insight that business owners are demanding so they to be more agile, more innovative, and more profitable than their industry peers.
A Guide to Financial Data Storytelling
As the CEO of Reach Reporting, Justin Hatch has met countless business owners struggling to understand their financial data. However, the pain point of data comprehension has created an opportunity for savvy financial professionals to differentiate their services and...
Technology Adoption is Critical for Accounting
As technology continues to evolve, accounting firms must adapt to stay competitive. However, many small to medium-sized accounting firms hesitate to adopt new technologies. According to Sage, 13% of firms lack time, 38% lack money, and 25% lack expertise. Benefits of...
Transform Financial Data into Business Insights
Discovering and finding the most crucial data insights for your clients is only the first part of your job as their accountant and financial advisor. Transforming those insights into understandable financial stories is the second, and I believe, the most critical part.
Managing the Remote Work Schedule
The pandemic has not only brought about health and economic concerns, but it has also significantly impacted the way we work. As we slowly emerge from this unprecedented time, we have learned that allowing employees to work remotely, at least part-time, may lead to...
Transforms Data into Actionable Knowledge
Simply creating and then giving clients a financial report is NOT ENOUGH. The message needs to tell the story of their financial situation.
Making Data Visualization Effective
Here at Reach Reporting, we're all about creating charts and graphs that bring financial data to life. After all, a well-crafted chart can make complex spreadsheets much easier to understand and consume. But, in order to make charts effective, proper layout and color...
Standardizing Financial Reports
Reach Reporting is the only solution that we’ve found in our price range that allows us to standardize our custom solutions. That’s been critical in our growth.
Become a Proactive Financial Advisor
It is becoming less and less acceptable to be a reactive accountant who prepares taxes once a year, producing tedious and confusing financial reports. Your current and future clients want a forward-thinking approach to their financials.
Understand Cash Flow Reports
Every business owner, CFO, CEO, or Company President knows the importance of cash flow when running a business. Regardless of the size of the company or the industry they work in, cash is king.
Knowing Your Business’s Break-Even Point
No matter if your business provides a service or produces and sells a product, you have a break-even point (BEP). Knowing your break-even point will be critical in your success and your ability to make your company’s best financial decision.
Simplify Financial Reports
We define accounting as “The Language of Business” because the accountant plays an essential role in interpreting that language to their client. Therefore, the small business owner values an accountant who can help them understand the financial details of their business.
Skills to Succeed as a Financial Advisor
As you are preparing to offer more financial advisory services at your firm, there are opportunities to up your chances of success. Of course, being a total pro with your accounting skills is at the top of your list of assets!
Remove Financial Reporting Stress
With the pandemic and financial, political, and social unrest, financial professionals are experiencing an unprecedented level of stress at work. According to a recent survey by staffing firm Accuntemps, 52 percent of financial professionals are stressed at work, and...
How Accounting Firms Use Social Media
Social media has become an essential tool for businesses, and accounting firms are no exception. With an estimated 3.96 billion people on social media in 2021, there is a massive audience waiting to hear from you. The opportunities social media presents for accounting...
Delivering Financial Clarity
Small business owners are the backbone of the American economy, with over 30 million businesses driving growth and innovation. However, many of these businesses struggle to understand their financials, leading to cash flow management problems and, ultimately, business...
Quotes to Inspire Financial Professionals
As an accounting and financial professional, you work tirelessly to keep your clients' finances in order. However, there are days when the "BLAHS" set in, and you need inspiration to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Where to start can sometimes be the...
7 Tips to Create Happy Clients
Happy clients are the lifeblood of any business, and this is especially true for those in the accounting industry. But how can you create happy CPA clients? How do you keep them coming back and referring you to their friends and colleagues? The key is to focus on...
Technology Benefits for Accounting Firms
In today's fast-paced business world, companies that do not adapt to new technology may fall behind. Accounting firms are no exception to this rule. However, many small and medium-sized accounting firms are hesitant to adopt new technology, as per Sage's Practice of...
Value-Based Pricing for Accountants
Are you tired of hourly billing and the constant pressure to track your time? Have you considered switching to a value-based pricing model that focuses on delivering the best possible results for your clients? If so, you're not alone. Many accounting firms are moving...
Financial Literacy in Business
When it comes to your business and having the necessary tools to reach your goals and grow the company, an accountant can be your best friend. Take advantage of their expertise and listen when they explain what changes can help improve your business. It all begins with the words, “I don’t understand.”
How Accountants Become Financial Advisors
A change in market mind-sets and a shift in industry demographics are causing accountants to expand their offering to advisory services’ with value-based pricing. You have to ask yourself if you try to change the direction of the market, or do you go with it?
Understanding and Calculating COGS
Financial statements are full of valuable financial information. They often have SO much helpful information; some of it gets lost in the shuffle and missed. Make a concerted effort not to overlook your “Cost of Goods Sold” data.
The Ultimate Accounting Playlist
Here are eight songs that you should add to your accounting playlist. Let us know what you think.
Successful Value-Based Pricing
In 2021 Accountants are returning to value-based billing to increase their revenue stream by offering year-round services to their clients.
5 Tips for Engaging Financial Report
As a small business owner, you know how vital it is to keep your books updated. Unfortunately, up to date books do not automatically translate into understanding your financials.
4 Financial Reports Vital For Businesses
As a CPA, you want to take care of your clients, give them everything they need to make prudent financial decisions. Here are 5 Reports you should be giving your clients.
Entrepreneurial Journey of Justin Hatch
You’re out there, and you’re doing your thing. You are excited to tune in and get some more motivation, more inspiration, and more clarity to achieve extraordinary results in your business. The person who’s going to do that today is our guest, Justin Hatch.
Make Financial Data Understandable
Create visual financial reports and your clients will begin seeing the whole financial picture of their business. Your report will help them make better decisions but also make your contributions invaluable to them.
Business Planning & Analysis With Visuals
Change the game by taking advantage of how the human brain naturally collects information. The connection between the human brain and the eyes is truly amazing. Let’s take a peek at a few studies to teach us how “seeing is believing” works.
Benefits in Offering Advisory Services
One of the emerging, positive trends we have seen this year is CPA firms moving more towards offering strategic advisory services. This trend changes from the more traditional accounting and compliance services we have seen in the past.
Offer More with Data Visualization
The best CFOs don’t just hand their clients a pile of financial statements and call it a day. Operating as a CPA or a CFO means taking the hard data and helping clients go beyond the what and into the why and how.
A Conversation With Justin Hatch
Mr. Hatch is an industry expert in the field of business management specializing in software development and financial reporting. Justin has had nearly 20 years of management experience, and now is serving as CEO of Reach Reporting where his mantra is to absorb complexity wherever possible.
Transform Financial Reports
Clients find Reports Difficult As an accountant, you know the importance of financial reporting and its impact on your clients' businesses. However, sometimes, clients find it difficult to understand the data presented in financial reports, making it challenging for...
How to Build Financial Reports Fast
Reporting is Time-Consuming As an accountant, you know how time-consuming it can be to create financial reports for your clients. But what if you could save time without sacrificing the quality of your reports? That's where Reach Reporting's financial report templates...
The Big 5 Financial Reports
There are five financial reports that are vital to your clients. They contain the core financial information they need to make the most prudent financial decisions.
How to Communicate Complex Financial Data
Let us show you how you are going to WOW your clients next month with a beautiful, informative, and understandable company financial report.
Transforming Raw Data into Knowledge
Business owners often don’t prioritize their time to include a deep dive into their financials. They spend their time doing what they do best, running their business!
Make Your Offering Valuable
In any relationship, whether it be marriage, parent/child, student, or employee, when we are aware of the expectations, we can measure ourselves and do a better job fulfilling those expectations. With this in mind, as a bookkeeper, what do your clients want and need...
The Future is Advising
The key to unlocking the entire chocolate factory of financial data to your clients. Become their golden ticket.
The Psychology of Visual Reporting
CPAs and Visual Psychology. You are left-brained, most of your clients are not. I bet you are wondering why, as a CPA, you need to know anything about psychology and how the brain works and behaves. You may be thinking, "I work in financial data and numbers for a...
How to Build Visual Financial Reports
Visual financial reports are a critical part of the if you are moving toward a more advisory role. Here is a quick way to create beautiful reports.
New Reach Reporting Features | September 2020
Today we would like to share with you some new quality of life updates we have added this week to improve Reach Reporting. You will now notice that we have added some new shapes to match the icons available when using conditional formatting. These can be found within...
What Clients Expect from a CPA
Whether you are new to the accounting profession or a seasoned CPA with years of experience under your belt, knowing what your clients expect from you is vital. Specific needs may change over time, but there are a few essential requirements that will never change....
Story Telling in Financial Reports
When was the last time you found yourself nodding off while listening to an accountant speak about Tax Compliance or Understanding The Complexities Of Form 5472 And Its Transfer Pricing Implications? Seriously, if we are honest with ourselves, accounting can be...
Helping Clients in Changing Times
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "change is the only constant in life." It doesn't matter why, when changing times occur, your clients will need your help and your advice. It could be another global pandemic (let's hope not!), a downturn in the economy, a major...
How to use Visual Tools in Financial Reporting
Humans are Visual Learners. Frederick R. Barnard first introduced us to the idea that “A picture is worth a thousand words” in December of 1921. He was writing a publication about the effectiveness of graphics in advertising and the phrase has only become more and...
Getting Started on Your PPP Loan Forgiveness
It is coming up on time to start working on your PPP loan forgiveness paperwork. Loans were eligible for forgiveness beginning June 30, 2020. If your bank hasn’t already contacted you to start working on the paperwork, you most likely will hear from them shortly. If...
6 Tips when Returning to Work Post COVID
As regions in the US begin to open up again and enter into this uncharted territory of post-pandemic life, there are many questions and even fewer answers about returning to work. As a business owner, there are obvious concerns about keeping your employees safe and...
UPDATE: PPPFA Loan Changes
The ups and downs and sideways changes with the Payment Protection Progam continue! On June 5th, President Trump signed into law the PPPFA (Payment Protection Program Flexibility Act). Back in April, we posted this article on How to use your PPP loan. Since then, a...
New Ways To Sync with Reach Reporting
Reach Reporting has expanded its customer base!! Since our creation, we have synced only with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. Syncing with Quickbooks has worked well, and we are proud of what we created! Like all things, though, if you're not moving forward,...
Four Crucial Business Metrics To Know
Regardless of what kind of business you are running, understanding business metrics and financial numbers are crucial to running a successful company. You may be lucky enough to have loyal customers, referrals you don't have time for, and an in-demand product. If you...
5 Tips to Simplify Financial Reporting Software
Financial reporting software is basic to the long-term success of an organization, uniquely small-to-medium sized businesses. It is the indispensable method of documentation that, in a nutshell, monitors the money coming in and the expenses going out. Mary Ellen...
How to use your Payment Protection Program Loan
Due to the unprecedented time we are living in, the US Government recently authorized the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP. The first round of forgivable loans has closed, and approximately $349 billion was distributed to small businesses across the country. A...
4 Ways to Stay Productive at Home
Most of us are spending much more time at home these days—much more time. You are most likely reading this from home at the kitchen table or living room couch. Some of you probably have a dog or cat staring at you, wondering why you are not at work. These are most...
Managing Business in Time of Crisis
If you are a small business owner, I am sure you are intensely stressed and are looking at things day to day, if not hour by hour. Did you have a plan in place for crises like the one we are in now? If so, how is it going? Let's talk about a few steps and some words...
Identifying & Combating Work Burn-Out
Ever pulled into your work parking lot and just sat in your car? Cried a little when your alarm goes off because you know what your day brings. Whether it’s a difficult client or a micro-managing boss, either way, trudging into work feels like climbing Mount Everest....
The Power of a Balance Sheet
Keeping a company running in the black is not an easy task. Sometimes it feels like balancing multiple spinning plates while juggling a couple of chainsaws. There is A LOT to keep track of, and the consequences of dropping a plate is hard, but a chainsaw well that is disastrous.
How to Network and Get Results.
Whether you like it or not, networking is vital to being in the business world. It can be the most effective and least expensive way to promote yourself and grow your business. This is especially true if you mostly conduct business in your local area. Networking is...
Finding and Retaining High-Value Clients
Your Most High-Value Client may be a Surprise We know and it's pretty common knowledge that acquiring a new customer is exponentially more expensive than retaining a current customer. Forbes has even done a study about the cost specifics. Keep this in mind as you work...
Two Key Changes to 2020 Tax Laws
Tax laws are ever-changing. This is not new, and keeping up with the changes is enough to make your head spin. This year the changes bring good news to those who want to spend less and save more money in 2020. The IRS has made revisions in two places, making it...
4 Financial KPI’s to Never Ignore
It’s the new year, and you have set some new or revised goals for your business. Excellent! Now what? How do I know if I am headed in the right direction? What information will help me course correct or tell me I am on the right path? Key Performance Indicators, or...
7 Tax Season Tips to Survive and Thrive in 2020.
The holidays are winding down, the decorations are getting put away, and you are recovering from your food/sugar coma. January is here, and any CPA (or the loved one of a CPA) you know this means you are headed into tax season (insert doom music here). There is no...
Creating a Small Business Budget
Budget, it’s not a four-letter word, but to some people, it may as well be. You work hard and spend hours gathering the expected and unexpected costs of running a business, then add in potential income, and finally create a budget. Then only to struggle (and most...
3 Red Flags That Get Attention From The IRS
How to get an Audit for your Small Business The dreaded A- Word!!!! AUDIT!!! While audits for small businesses are less frequent than audits for individuals and large corporations, they are most certainly on the rise. Audits can be scary, time-consuming, and...
How to bring clients into the 21st Century
Everyone has at least one of these clients. Utterly uninterested in new technology or pretty much anything from the 21st century. They love their shoebox of receipts, their paper ledgers, and manual calculators and want to stick to using them. Their love of the "old...
Does Your Financial Reporting Boost Revenue?
Today’s financial reporting goes far beyond what it did in the past. Forget those QuickBooks reports of yesteryear. Technology has changed how and when we receive business information. In turn, along with how it affects the decisions we make to boost revenue. Here in...
How saying “no” can make you more successful.
“Really Successful People Say No To Almost Everything” -Warren Buffett Why is saying “no” so difficult? Whether in the business world or our personal lives, we want to help people, we want to please our friends and family. We have a fear of letting someone down or...
3 Purposes of Writing Annual Reports
Can you believe it is October? At my house, the leaves are changing, and the temperature is dropping. These things tell me it is time for sweaters, football games, pumpkin spice everything, and if you are in the accounting industry, annual reports. Most companies...
Time is Money – 3 ways be more efficient.
Time is money. Wasted time means wasted money means trouble. -Shirley Temple The original quote of "Time is Money" came from Benjamin Franklin back in 1748. He wrote it in a manual for young men entering the business world — sound business advice 271 years ago and...
Create a Financial Story with Your Reports.
Create Reports that are Understood and Appreciated This article could also be titled "Accomplish the seemingly impossible." Seriously though, as an advisor, you honestly want your clients too truly understand where they stand financially. That's why you do what you do...
Make your Annual Report SHINE!
It's coming up on that time of year again. Believe it or not, we are in the last quarter of the year, which is your cue to start gathering the information to build annual reports for your business or your clients business'. I heard that groan, don't stress! Reach...
Do I need to use Cloud Accounting?
Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you have heard the term "Cloud technology." It is becoming the new norm in many industries, including the accounting industry. Intuit predicts that 78% of small businesses will use cloud technology by 2020. Not...
Do’s and Don’ts of Financial Reporting.
Financial reporting is a tough play. We get it. You, as the financial advisor, are required to provide reports that are insightful, beautiful, and that deliver a clear message. That's a tall order. If that weren't enough, your client is judging YOU on this. They have...
Four Accounting Mistakes Hurting your Business
Did that title make you cringe a little? I promise you are not alone; we all are guilty of having at least one lazy accounting habit. It doesn't matter how long you have been in business; we could all use a small reminder (or large reminder!) of some best practices....
Work Smarter not Harder
Two ways to spend less time at the office and have happier clients We have all heard the quote "No one ever said on their deathbed they wish they had spent more time at the office." We love our jobs and find great satisfaction in what we do and how we help people....
The Why and How of Setting Financial Goals
Stop setting goals. Goals are pure fantasy unless you have a specific plan to achieve them. -Stephen Covey It is January 1st, and you are up early with your new running shoes, your headphones on with some heart-pumping music, and you are killing it on that treadmill....
Reporting Software and the Small Business Owner
using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come. -Dwayne Johnson You have done it! Gone out on a limb and started your own small business. You have...
5 Reasons to Change Financial Reporting Systems
Ever had one of those moments when you are staring at your screen debating between laughing, crying, or throwing your computer out the window? All because the software that is supposed to make your job easier is only complicating it more? Your financial reporting...
Financial Reports You Should Be Running
Running a business is a non-stop job. Keeping yourself up to date on the financial in’s and out’s of your company alone could keep you plenty busy. There are a handful of financial reports that need to be reviewed on a regular basis, monthly or at least quarterly....
Benefits of Financial Reporting Software
Has anyone ever asked you, or have you ever wondered to your self, "Is financial reporting important? Do I need to create and understand financial reports?" The quick and straightforward answer is YES!! The more detailed explanation is a little longer. There are many...
What is Burn Rate & How to Calculate
Another way to explain this concept is to estimate how fast your company is consuming (or burning) its financing to support operations above cash flow. It’s a measure of negative cash flow.