If you’re like many small business owners, you handle payroll yourself. Maybe you don’t trust using small business payroll services. Perhaps you get pleasure in personally handling the money, when each of your employees gets paid. Maybe you’re trying to save a few bucks by keeping it in-house instead of using a small business bookkeeping service.

Cutting paychecks once was much easier. But thanks to today’s laws… deductions and the IRS… the simple task of paying your staff has evolved into a time-consuming nightmare.

In fact, many payroll do-it-yourselfers don’t even realize how much time they spend on payroll alone. Recent studies showed that small business owners spend an average of eight hours a month performing payroll functions.

That’s 12 full days a year — over two working weeks! Wouldn’t that be better spent generating sales, prospecting new business opportunities, improving products or services, or servicing customers?

Instead of working on payroll, you could be generating more business so you actually can make payroll. Instead of cutting checks, you could be collecting them – from fresh sales.

In today’s competitive economy, it makes sense to outsource bookkeeping help and payroll, with small business accountant solutions that meet your business’s needs. Letting go of this one task will quickly let you to spend more time doing what you do best… like running your company.

Here’s why you should outsource your payroll:

• Save money – Use your staff more efficiently by letting professionals handle payroll and the associated legal details. This allows you to better contain your overhead, removing expense of specialized employees.
   
• Save time – Outsourced payroll services eliminate the hassle of customizing, updating and maintaining your own payroll system. No more data entry… no more researching updates or stressing about new laws… no more worries.
   
• Worry-Free Tax Filing – Eliminate the risks of calculating and filing your own payroll taxes. Have professional CPAs do it for you. Federal, state and local payroll tax laws always seem to be changing, becoming more complex. Your time can be better spent than researching new rules and updates.
• Easy-to-Understand Payroll Reports – You get a wide variety of user-friendly and accurate payroll reports. For a tiny fee, we can even include union reports, certified payroll, workers’ compensation reports and much more.
• Let the pros handle it - Our professional staff allows you to focus on the core competencies of your business. You get true accounting professionals working for you and with you.

When you’re ready for book keeping service — whether you need bookkeeping Akron or bookkeeping Cleveland — there are many bookkeeping firms and bookkeeping businesses from which to choose. At Dashboard Accounting, we specialize in virtual bookkeeping and outsource small business accounting services, giving our clients the complete financial picture and expert advice — all at a price that makes sense. We’re also QuickBooks certified, and can train you on small business software tax, payroll, and serve as a general accounting software consultant. For more details, go to www.DashboardAccounting.com.

You may not realize it, but when your small business hires an accounting firm to handle your audit work to prepare your taxes and statements, those CPAs are not required to help you with anything more than their contract. Their goal is to quickly review your books to see that everything “ties out,” and that the numbers add up. Sure, they may come across areas that you can improve — like money spent on redundant services — but it’s not their job to bring it to your attention.

Did you get that last part? It’s not their job to give you advice to help you make money. That, instead, is the job of a Chief Financial Officer or CFO.

But as a growing businesses during times like these, how you can even begin to afford a CFO – especially as you’re already worried about laying off the folks you already have on staff!?

Dashboard Accounting offers a better solution. Sure, you can use Dashboard Accounting as your outsourced bookkeeper… and your small business accountant… and now you can use them as a virtual CFO and/or virtual controller.

As a small business owner, you may have already reached that point… you need professional financial advice, but can’t afford a full-time CFO or controller.

Good for you!

If you’re fortunate enough to be in this position, you’ll be happy to know that our Part-Time CFO service gives you a professional financial manager who works with you to help guide your business to success.

The cost of hiring a full-time CFO can range from $60,000 to over $100,000 per year, plus bonuses and benefits. Our Part-Time CFO services provide you with experienced support at a small fraction of that cost.

Here’s why Part-Time CFO services make sense. You’ll get:

• More time to work “on” your business – Focus on growing your business with new services, new customers and other core business issues.
• Fewer surprises and better control – You’ll have a better understanding of the financial side of your business, with expert fiscal advisory services.
• An experienced advocate - You’ll have a wise sounding board to help you with those tough business decisions and help you clarify your business plans.
• A good night’s sleep – You can relax, knowing that a professional is overseeing, protecting and constantly improving the financial side of your business.
• Protection from within – Our part-time CFO services will help to establish strong financial controls in your business to reduce employee theft, systemize your operations, improve efficiency and increase profits.

 Go to Dashboard Accounting, www.DashboardAccounting.com, to find out more.

 Even with stimulus packages and banking bail-outs, it remains tough for small business to get the financing they need to stay afloat.

If you’re considering seeking financing for your small business, be sure to meet with a professional accountant before you begin the process. An outsource CPA, especially an outsource small business accountant, will help you gather the data you need to apply for financing with confidence.

Here are a few of the details and definitions you’ll need to know throughout the process.

• Loan amount – This is the total amount of your loan, the amount you borrow.
• Amortization – Payment period in years.
• Interest rate – Annual interest rate for your specific loan. Your interest is calculated monthly on the current outstanding balance of your loan at 1/12 of the annual rate.
• New monthly payment – Monthly payment for this loan.
• Annual verifiable net income – You’ll need to provide evidence that you make as much as you say you do. Your annual net income must be verified (proven) based on your IRS tax returns or other financial statements.
• Annual depreciation expense - Since depreciation reduces your net income (but not your cash flow), we add back depreciation in calculating your total net cash income.
• Other non-cash charges – Like depreciation, these are your other non-cash charges to your net income that should be added back to calculate your total net cash income for the year.
• Real estate mortgage – This is your monthly payment for any real estate mortgages for property you may own.
• Business line(s) of credit – Banks want to see your monthly payment for any business lines of credit. Lines of credit can come from banks, credit unions, suppliers, etc.
• Auto loans – Your monthly payment for any auto loans (or leases).
• Credit cards – Your monthly payment for any credit cards.
• Other loans – Your monthly payment for any other outstanding loans.
• Monthly debt payments eliminated – If you’re planning to use the money to bundle any of your older debts, the bank will want to know the amount of the monthly obligations (listed above) that will be paid off by the new loan.
• Debt Service Coverage (DSC) – The Debt Service Coverage (DSC) is determined by dividing the total annual net cash income by the total annual debt service. This is where the “rubber meets the road” when it comes to getting a loan. If you have a DSC of 1.25 or higher, there is a good chance that you will be approved for your loan.

 If you fail to get the financing you require, be sure to ask the loan officer for specifics about how the bank came to that conclusion. Then work with Dashboard Accounting as your small business accountant to make the changes necessary to put you on more stable financial footing. With Dashboard Accounting, you’ll find out how to be in a better position to get the loan you want on your next request.

Because cash flow is the blood that keeps your business alive, your outsource bookkeeper is like the nurse that keeps tabs the pulse of your small business. And if your bottom line is hemorrhaging, outsource CPA services — like those at Dashboard Accounting — can show you what to do, and where to apply the pressure so your business can heal, recover and thrive.

Having adequate cash flow is essential to keep your business running. If you run out of available cash, you run the risk of not being able to meet your current obligations such as your payroll, accounts payable and loan payments.

Quick book accounting is helpful, but often quick book pro is not enough. You need a professional outsource CPA. The right small business accountant can give you the data and statistics you need to prepare for what’s ahead. With 24/7 reporting — showing you exactly where your money is, how your cash flow is, and how you business is doing — you can make small business decisions with confidence.

Sometimes it’s the small decisions that can knock your business off course… the smaller invoices that actually add up to disaster. For instance, expenses below $100 may slip under your radar as seemingly insignificant. But just a handful of those “minor” expenses that slip past you each month can add up to thousands of dollars over time. Unless your small business bookkeeping services has constant reporting and updates, you put your business at risk.

The starting point for avoiding a cash crisis is allowing Dashboard Accounting to develop a cash flow projection for you. As your outsource CPA, they can help you develop both short-term (weekly, monthly) cash flow projections to help you manage daily cash, and long-term (annual, 3-5 year) cash flow projections to help you develop the necessary capital strategy to meet your business needs.

You also can have reporting on historical cash flow statements, to help you gain an understanding about where all the money went so you can make positive adjustments to do better as you move forward.

You’ve heard the gurus say its better to work ON your business rather than IN your business. Today, the right accounting resources help make that actually possible. Getting the complete financial picture – when you need it – keeps you efficient and productive as you navigate your road to success.