Click to Tweet: #SmallBiz Productivity: 25 Tools to Run Your Business More Efficiently According to a study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of GoDaddy, small business owners spend over 400 hours (that’s 17 full workdays!) a year worrying about their business OUTSIDE of work. Whether it’s getting pulled away from a break to deal with business matters or having trouble “switching off” after hours, it’s no wonder over 70% of the small business owners surveyed feel they do not have a healthy work/life balance. Thankfully there are dozens of services and software platforms to make your business life ..read more

Click to Tweet: #SmallBiz Advice: 8 Things Your Business Should Do Before Dec 31st. Although December is best-known for holiday celebrations, it’s also time to think of any last-minute steps you can take as a business owner to lower your tax liability, prepare for upcoming filing deadlines, and set your business up for even greater success in the coming year. Tax-Saving Opportunities Last-Minute Purchases Now is the time to review your P&L statement to inform any last-minute purchases. If you have the cash flow, consider making major purchases before December 31 that you can write off as a ..read more

Click to Tweet: Leave the payroll headaches behind + free $100 Visa gift card from @GustoHQ! Running payroll can be a truly daunting task. That’s why I’m such a big fan of Gusto–with their easy-to-use platform, you can fully automate your payroll process to free up time so you can focus on other areas of your business. Ready to try Gusto? Download our free quick & easy Gusto Setup Checklist. When Gusto Says User-Friendly, They Mean It Gusto was designed to make handling payroll an easy task. Their interface is not only intuitive to navigate, but also visually pleasing to work with. Report ..read more

  Click to Tweet: Could your small business use an extra $10k? The Nav quarterly Small Business Grant program is accepting applications now! Nav’s Quarterly $10K Small Business Grant Program If you’re anything like most small business owners, an extra $10K would go a long way towards helping you meet your business goals. That’s why the Nav quarterly Small Business Grant Program is so exciting. It’s not a loan–it’s cold, hard cash the gets awarded to help deserving business owners take their company to the next level. What is Nav? Nav is a tool every business owner should have in their bac ..read more

  Click to Tweet: Save YOUR money! Set up minimum credit card payments to avoid late fees While you may not be able to pay your credit card in full each month, there is one easy way to avoid an unnecessary late fee. With most credit card companies charging $30-$40 for a late fee, it’s easy to see how quickly these costs can accumulate. For that reason alone, this is something I recommend to all of my bookkeeping clients, and it’s something I will implement automatically for any client who I also handle bill payment for. It’s most often referred to as “automatic payment”. But don’t get ala ..read more

Click to Tweet: Say goodbye to credit card interest and late fees with Debitize! #bookkeeping #FINTECH Have you ever gulped when you’ve seen the balance on your credit card? I think we’ve all been there, especially when we’re trying to hit the minimum spend on a new travel rewards card. Luckily, Debitize has your back! This handy tool essentially enables you to treat your credit card like a debit card and can help minimize (or totally eliminate) late fees and finance charges. Best of all, it’s free! A brief overview of how it works once you’ve set up Debitize: Just use your credit cards to pa ..read more

Click to Tweet: Easily reconcile your PayPal account with this report! #bookkeeping #accounting #smbiz Did you know there is a report that can help to easily reconcile the PayPal account in QuickBooks Online? The Financial Summary, in conjunction with the Activity Log, enables bookkeepers and accountants to reconcile the PayPal account in the same fashion as a traditional checking account. The report has all key areas covered, including: Starting balance Ending balance Sales (Money in*) Refunds and/or chargebacks Fees Refunded fees Currency conversions Transfers In/Out Online Payments Sent (M ..read more

Recently, I’ve been reading Simple Money Magazine. Its articles take a straightforward approach to managing finances. It’s not an investing guide and isn’t focused on the latest buzzwords of the personal-finance sector. Instead, it’s full of common-sense, but sometimes surprising, articles on managing money. You might not find Warren Buffet here, but you will find great down-to-earth advice for real families. Simple Money Magazine is a quarterly, digital publication aiming to provide “simple, practical financial advice for the modern family.” It’s ad-free, reader-focused, and features expert c ..read more

If you’re a small business owner, chances are you care about most about the following three details when it comes to bookkeeping, accounting and filing taxes: Accurate records Timely (no extensions, no penalties) Pay as little in taxes as legally possible But it turns out you should really only be worrying about one of these items: accurate records. That’s because items two and three should be a natural byproduct of making sure your records are accurate. Click to Tweet: Find out if your books are in order before filing taxes #bookkeeping How do you assure accurate financial records? We’re no ..read more

“You have to amend last year’s tax return,” I said to a new bookkeeping client. It was early May and I was going through our Deep Dive 25 checklist for a new client. During this audit, I discovered that the current bookkeeper never did December. While probably slightly less panic-ridden than, “You’re getting audited,” no one wants to hear they have to amend a prior year return. Sure, amending a return typically doesn’t cost more than the original tax return…but it’s still an expense (and headache) that could have easily been avoided had the business owner known there was a report available to ..read more