Here are some mistakes that entrepreneurs often make when starting a business.  If you can avoid these, then you will be more likely to succeed.

First, do not have more payroll than you need.  Entrepreneurs often think they need employees as part of the business.  Some do – you are not going to have a restaurant without employees, for example.  However, many types of businesses can operate with contractors or keeping the employees to a minimum.  Payroll should be less than your income, not more.

For example, few new businesses need a full time book keeper, but you can hire an outsourced book keeping company to help you do a lot.

Office space – if you are looking at having an office, you need to ask yourself if you really need one.  You may feel like you need one – because you are starting a business – but is it really required to operate?  You can build a virtual team using online tools to manage them.

Messy financials – When you start out, you do not need to have a very sophisticated process to keep your financials straight.  However, that can sneak up on you because if you ignore book keeping, budgeting and financial issues, eventually you can end up with a mess and it is hard to fix.  The easiest thing is to start out doing it in an organized way.

Legal requirements – this is an area that can really hurt a new business.  Find out about everything you need to file and report.  Missing forms or not filing something may not come back to cause problems for years, but it is terrible to have to dig up old stuff to settle simple issues years after the requirement has passed.  You need to get small business payroll services.

I strongly suggest you start your business off on the right foot by working with a financial expert that can help you keep your costs in line, keep your documents filed on time and help you budget for success.

First, when you hear the word outsourced, you are thinking overseas.  Don’t.  Outsourcing book keeping or any other service just means you are not hiring an employee in your business to do the work.  Outsourcing is when you hire someone, or another company, to do the work for you instead.  In the right relationship, you will save time and headaches because you are not hiring, training and replacing a book keeper.

Think about his scenario.  Your company needs part time bookkeeping help.  You place an ad, interview lots of very nice people, get a few final candidates, reinterview those bookkeeper candidates, do a background check (they have access to your financials remember) and then you make an offer to the best candidate and hope they accept.  Then you do the paperwork, set your new part time book keeper up on payroll, begin paying his taxes and start the training process.

Are you done?  No.

Now you have to train that new hire in how to be a Quickbooks Pro.  You might send them to some courses, help them learn about small business tax issues, etc. etc.

At then end of this, hopefully you are happy.  If not, you have to get up the courage to fire them and start over because this is too important of an area to let be sloppy.

For the sake of this article, lets assume you like them and move on.  Now you are very happy with your new part time bookkeeper, but he or she now has a new set of skills and great experience, so they get bored and someone else makes them an offer for more money – and they accept.

Now you have to start all over – and what happens to your book keeping in the time it takes to do this whole process again?  How much money will you lose during the transition?

When you think through this process, it is easy to see that outsourcing bookkeeping to a company is a huge value.  Your CPA may suggest a company but they are usually way overpriced.  A professional bookkeeping company like Dashboard Accounting does nothing but maintain great people and systems in the United States that do book keeping for companies.  There is a good chance Dashboard Accounting can lower your costs, improve your book keeping and eliminate the book keeper churn headache.  Plus they are offering up to 2 free hours of consultation just to see if there is an opportunity.  Why not book your free book keeping assessment today?

There is a lot of good payroll software small business editions out on the market, but ultimately someone needs to enter the data and make sure all the accounts sync up and make sure deadlines are not missed.  Missing payroll deadlines can be very costly and frustrating for a small business – and takes their eye of of the mission of the business.

Outsourcing payroll has gotten so efficient, that even outsourced book keeping companies and outsourced accountants of any merit will use a big company to process the payroll.  Then they help manage the small business to be sure things are being done properly and deadlines are not being missed.

This is the best of both worlds, because you have an outsourced book keeper keeping an eye on everything while you have the muscle of a big payroll company assuring that taxes and other payroll items are being properly transacted, usually backed up by a large team and good insurance.

If you are working with a book keeper or accountant that is manually doing your payroll, you should ask them why they are not using a payroll company to process everything.  You will still need someone overseeing it and reviewing it, but you do not need someone manually processing the whole thing every week.  Smart Outsourced Bookkeeping services do just that.

If you are working with someone that is manually processing your payroll, you should get a free review from Dashboard Accounting and see how they can reduce your book keeping costs while increasing the reliability and efficiency of your operations.

Virtual bookkeeping can help your small business can do better than that.

When times are tight, an outsourced book keeping or outsource CPA service can give you the bookkeeping help you need, while helping you run your business at greater efficiency. It helps make your “break even” and your profitability easier to manage.

A basic break-even analysis is the number of units you need to sell in order to make a profit of zero. When your total revenue equals your total costs, you’re at break even. That’s the sweet spot – anything over that amount is the gravy that makes business profitable and worthwhile.

To make this easy for you, plug in your fixed and variable costs and other details into the free calculator tool at the Dashboard Accounting website,  www.DashboardAccounting.com (see “Resources” for “Financial Calculators” for the Sales Volume Break-Even Analyzer).

But use your best judgment here. As wonderful as our free calculator tools are, they may not give you the complete picture… especially if you don’t have solid data to feed into the equation. (It helps is you use bookkeeping firms or at least part-time bookkeeping to make sure your data is up to date and accurate.)

For instance, one area often underestimated without a small business accountant is your fixed costs (versus variable costs). This is the sum of all costs involved in producing any product at all. This fixed-cost number should include the salary you ought to be paying yourself. Also remember that the fixed cost amount does not change as sales/production volume increases or decreases. Consider it your core expenses.

Professional small business accounting is highly valuable to your business growth. Once you have a solid break-even analysis, your expectations become clear. You can create realistic goals… and then have “stretch goals.” You’ll know your “at least” amount you can afford to sell… and then your specific requirements for increase from there.

When you outsource bookkeeping, you’ll have professionals helping you to gather the details you need so your calculations are based on fact — and not on hunches and “guesstimates”. It gives you the edge you need – for less than you’d expect to pay for the quality support you receive.

For more information about accounting outsourcing service, and great calculators and other business tools, check out www.DashboardAccounting.com.

If you don’t have a business plan (or if yours is not quite organized or polished), you can use QuickBooks’ tools to create or fine-tune one. Dashboard Accounting is QuickBooks Certified and can show you how to use this (and other tools) to get the job done quickly and easily.

To get started using quick book accounting software for your business plan: select Company > Planning & Budgeting > Use Business Plan Tool.

It’s easy. QuickBooks’ business plan tool allows you to use its lengthy “wizard” tool to walk you through each step of the process. This tool supplies information and asks questions about what’s needed on each screen. You fill in the answers (or select from options). The Business Plan Wizard works in the background to put your data in the correct place.

One of the first things the wizard will ask you is information about your company. If your business is brand new or has yet to establish a track record, you’ll have to give it your best estimate when it comes to sales (its best to be conservative).

Next step is income. Hopefully, you’ll already have data in Quick book accounting. If that’s the case, use the “Income Projection Wizard.” Otherwise, you’ll have to fill in the spread sheet manually.

Income is obviously among the most important aspects of your business data. Expect these numbers to be carefully scrutinized at some point (by your accountant, your bank, the IRS auditor, etc.), so be sure you have the facts and proof to back them up.   

After income comes “expenses.” Here, you can use the wizard or input data by hand. You’ll need to gather some specific details for this section, such as: beginning account balances; assets you own or need to purchase; cash available to invest, and amortization and depreciation… plus numbers on inventory, vendor financing, lines of credit, total credit limits, etc.

Once all of this information is loaded into your Business Plan program (within QuickBooks Pro), it’s time to write up the plan for your business. Using the three sections you’ve already completed, you now have a solid foundation to work with. You’ll also have examples of text-based sections to inspire you. These come in handy when it’s time to put your business approach and details into words.

By assembling your Business Plan step by step, you’ll get a stronger picture of where you are and where you’re going in the year ahead. Even if you never look at your business plan again… even if you don’t share it with another soul… the process of assembling the details and examining your numbers is highly valuable to most business owners.

For a vivid snapshot of your day-to-day financial data, to making sure your plans are on track, be sure to work with a professional outsourced book keeping service, such as Dashboard Accounting. They offer the accounting help you need to ensure your business goals stay on track, so your vision becomes your reality.

Everyone has to pay taxes — you can’t avoid it — but you CAN avoid paying too much.

As your income grows, and as you reap more rewards as a small-business owner, it helps to be aware of your personal bottom line — before your next bonus goes to the IRS instead of to your wallet.

You deserve to keep what you earn — or as much of it as possible!

Dashboard Accounting small business accountant services can help. As your small business accountant and outsourced book keeping services, we can also advise you, personally, on strategies to minimize your income tax implications. It’s the bookkeeping help that can actually save you money.

Something as simple as knowing your personal income tax rate can help you calculate your 2009 tax liability for unexpected income, retirement planning or investment income. We offer tools to help guide you as you estimate your average tax rate, your current tax bracket, and your marginal tax rate for the 2009 tax year — depending on your filing status (married, single, etc.)

For instance, if you’re married, and you’re planning on paying yourself $137,500 for 2009… well, you may want to consider a pay cut!  Earning anything over $137,050 moves you into a higher tax bracket — from 28% to 33% — which means you’ll hand over a whopping 5% more in taxes than had you stayed a slightly lower pay. 

Of course, many small business owners don’t realize this until it’s too late. The right accounting service — one that includes personal evaluation and advisory services as part of the package — can help you make the necessary adjustments to prepare for such situations. It’s like having a CFO without the added expense.

Analyzing “how much should a small business owner should pay themselves” is one example of how having the right outsource CPA and small business bookkeeping service can sometimes mean thousands in savings each year.

You can find out more, and check out our Marginal Tax Rate calculator at “Resources” at the Dashboard Accounting website, http://www.dashboardaccounting.com.

With Dashboard Accounting…

• Access your data in REAL TIME, with 24/7 REPORTING.
• Map out your critical financials with a custom “Dashboard Report”.
• Receive SUPERIOR DATA; saving you time and money.
• Navigate any detours quickly with CPA interpretation and forecasting of your numbers.
• Make smart business decisions based on FACTS, not hunches.
• Document your company’s forward direction to assist in obtaining financing.

Test drive one of our small business bookkeeping services listed below for FREE! (Up to 1 hour professional CPA review and advisement)

• Cash Flow Analysis
• Financial Statement Review
• QuickBooks Company File Review
• Accounting Systems Review
• Data Security Review

Call Dashboard Accounting today at 330.908.0888 to take advantage of this opportunity!

At Dashboard Accounting our mission is to…guide you, the small business owner, with professional outsource CPA analysis and forecasting of your critical financials…empower you for making sound business decisions…save you money with outsourced book keeping, tax, and controller services.

Dashboard Accounting may service anyone worldwide utilizing virtual bookkeeping.  You may access your data in REAL TIME with 24/7 REPORTING via your custom “Dashboard”, which clearly depicts your company’s performance on a one page report, utilizing easy to interpret graphs and charts.

Keeping track of your personal life – and your personal finances – can be a task in itself. You may find it easier to employ an outsource accountant to do the job for you, if that’s an option.

But when it comes to your business, getting the right accounting solution is huge! Making that decision – deciding what small business accountant to hire, who you can trust, who you can afford for accounting services – is crucial to your business.

The best small business accountant will partner with you, helping you navigate the details important to the success and growth of your company. Beyond what a simple software program (like quick book accounting software) can provide, the right accountant helps steer you toward your goals faster.

If you are a small business owner, you may simply need a outsourced book keeping service or bookkeeping help. These services help keep you up to date and organized; they can keep you posted on transactions that may not be known to you — or even clear to you — so you get an idea of what’s going on with your financials. Solid accounting keeps your business going forward. 

Figuring out payroll can be a headache unto itself. With so many different small business payroll services available, you need to have an idea of what you specifically need them to do for your business in order to find the right one.  It helps to find bookkeeping firms that treats your small business as well as it treats big companies. They should take the time to explain the accounting help they offer. Communication between both parties has to be open and trustworthy.  Professionalism is a must.

You’re already aware that the accounting of a business is a system of recording and summarizing financial transactions so the data can later be analyzed, or used to communicate with others. The accounting process packages financial information for a variety of individual or business purposes.

Small business and entrepreneurs just starting out should remember the Accounting Equation — The value of the things you own (called assets) is equal to the value of what you owe for the things (called liabilities), plus what you don’t owe for (called equity). Of course, transactions can get a lot more complicated… but these principles remain.

For a small business owner, however, financial matters need to be taken care of by a professional. Outsourcing accounting service may be the solution — and often the missing link — in an otherwise well-run business.

Basic knowledge of accounting and bookkeeping is something you need to have. But for today’s small business, small business bookkeeping services are a must for those passionate about success. Dashboard Accounting helps you drive your business forward.

Dashboard Accounting’s utilization of Real Time Virtual Bookkeeping provides Daily, Weekly, and Monthly financial reports that are available to view at anytime.  This means the Business Owner no longer has to wait until the end of the business cycle to analyze the company’s performance!

The timely financial reporting gained from Real Time Bookkeeping is an invaluable benefit from utilizing  Dashboard Accounting for your company’s accounting needs.  The Business Owner is empowered to make intelligent decisions and allows time for critical adjustments to prevent weeks of lost income.

Let Dashboard Accounting be your company’s small business accountant, and enjoy all the cost savings that outsourced book keeping provides.  Dashboard Accounting uses Quick Book accounting software and has Quick Book Pro advisors.  Dashboard Accounting is centrally located to easily accommodate bookkeeping Cleveland and bookkeeping Akron needs or may service anyone worldwide utilizing virtual bookkeeping.