Business Franchise Opportunity

by David Powelson

Are you considering firing your current accountant in favor of a new one? If so, you're probably not sure if you're overreacting or if you have just cause. The following warning signs will help you decide if it is time for you to change accountants:

Your accountant does not return your phone calls in a timely manner, if at all.

The bottom line here is you have hired your accountant to work for you. If he/she is not returning your telephone calls, or waits until you've left several messages before calling you back, take this seriously. A few incidents here and there are not something to worry about, as your accountant likely has many other clients and may not be in the office for days at a time. However, if not returning phone calls are the normal state of affairs, you will want to set up an appointment to discuss your concerns.

Your accountant is never in the office.

This could mean he or she is very busy and out with other clients the majority of the time. It could also mean they do not take their business, or your business, very seriously. Regardless, if you have a difficult time connecting with your accountant, it may be time to look for someone who has more time in their schedule to see to your needs.

Your accountant never delivers your financials/taxes/ or other forms to you on time.

This is not a good scenario! You have hired your accountant to be on top of the financial aspects of your business. If they are not able to get your forms to you on time, you need to first ask yourself if it is your fault. If you are late getting them the material they need, then it probably has little to do with them, but if they have everything they require from you with ample time -- and are still consistently late, you will probably want to consider changing accountants.

Your accountant does not take the time to discuss your financial reports with you.

This is your business. You have the right to understand your financial reports, and if your accountant is unwilling to schedule the time to go over them with you, this is a warning sign you shouldn't ignore. Think of it this way -- if you don't understand your reports, then you can't feel confident that the IRS is getting correct information. It is essential to your peace of mind, and to your business, that you understand all of your financial reports.

The staff member assigned to your account does not seem competent.

If staff is unable to answer your questions, or if you seem to know more about the accounting aspects of your business than they do, you should request a different person to handle your accounts. If this is unable to be done, you may want to consider switching accountants.

You begin to receive a lot of IRS notices in the mail.

This is a serious warning sign. If the IRS is sending you repeated notices, then your business's financial affairs are not being taken care of correctly. Too many of these notices, and your business will be red-flagged by the IRS, which could lead to years of issues every time a form is filed. Speak with your accountant and demand to know what the problem is. If you are unsatisfied with the answers, it is time to search for a new accountant.

Trust your instincts!

Often overlooked, but it shouldn't be. If your instincts are telling you something isn't right, pay attention.

With any of the above warning signs, it is always best to speak with your accountant about the issues at hand first. Sometimes, you may gain a clearer understanding and then feel more comfortable, but if you don't, you need to move on. Changing accountants isn't easy, but if it is the right decision, then it is absolutely what you must do!

If you need to find a new accountant in your area visit the Accounting Aisle.

David Powelson is a graduate of Wharton and currently owns Sales Star Networks and Power World in Colorado. He is also writing the definitive book on successfully managing a small business.
David Powelson may be contacted at www.dataguardusa.com

by Michelle Barkley

Spending hours on drafting and redrafting the accounts books of your business can try out your patience. Moreover checking each of the transactions can also consume a lot of your time, resulting in exhaustion and irritation. Accounting is just no child's play and requires tremendous amount of expertise and accuracy. Moreover maintaining accounts is indeed a tiresome process, wherein most of your time you will need calculate and recalculate your transactions. But then this entire tedious process can not even be overlooked as maintaining a daily and accurate hard copy of your financial transactions is something that helps in determining the financial standing of your business. This further helps you to determine the graph of the profit or the loss that your firm is experiencing. Despite knowing the fact that maintaining accounts is an important task, you might be short of people who have proficiency in this field and can handle the work efficiently. In this scenario the best solution you can opt for is accounting outsourcing. In fact accounting outsourcing could help you solve all your problems and queries related to the accountings of your firm.

Any business firm, whether a large scale one or a small scale one, should be crystal clear while stating their financial transactions. This can only be done if the regular accounting work and financial reports are made precisely. This precise accounting work does call in for the investment of apt professionals who have thorough connoisseur in their work. Considering this fact you can always have an upper hand by adopting accounting outsourcing services. Considering accounting outsourcing services for your business will not only guide you and your business towards the right path of accounting, but will also help you in delivering the best and the most accurate accountings. Accounting outsourcing vendors make sure that the accounting outsourcing services provided by them help your business earn the maximum amount of profits and revenue. Apart from being assured of good revenues, once you adopt accounting outsourcing services you can also be rest assured about accurate and precise financial data at your disposition.

While you plan to adopt the accounting outsourcing services offered by an accounting outsourcing vendor or firm, you will have to look in through some details of the accounting outsourcing firm. The things that you will need to consider when selecting an accounting outsourcing firm are the authenticity of their organization and their work, the work experience and the expertise that they have in the field. Moreover you will have to understand the requirement of your business and then accordingly look out for an accounting outsourcing firm that suits your business requirements. The accounting outsourcing professionals who are hired have expertise in various fields of accounting and can handle their responsibilities very competently.

As accounting is a very sensitive issue you must make sure that you keep a track on the work of the accounting outsourcing firm that you have hired for your business. This will not only help you to stay up to dated with the work but will also help you to understand the work of accounting with more accuracy and expertise. Accounting outsourcing helps to maintain the daily record of the transactions and the various other financial issues of your business helping you to have accurate and scrutinized business records.

www.ifrworld.com
Michelle Barkley may be contacted at http://www.ifrworld.com

by Suzanne Globke

es, you can balance your checkbook every month to the penny with a minimum amount of time and effort. It is very important to do so in today's world to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of fraud and identity theft.

There are a few points to keep in mind when balancing your checkbook. First, the ending balance in your checkbook and the ending balance on the bank statement will not match due to timing. You are balancing your checkbook currently, the bank statement has a closing date which is usually printed at the top of the statement. Second, the only differences that occur between your bank statement and your checkbook are deposits in transit, deposits not recorded, outstanding checks, transfers, and adjustments. And, finally, remember that the bank is always right.

When you receive your bank statement, take your checkbook register and place them side by side. Begin with the ending balance on the bank statement. The bank statement will then list all the deposits made to your account during the time period you are reconciling for. Match the deposits on the bank statement against what you have recorded in your checkbook register. A deposit in transit is an amount that you have in your checkbook but is not listed on the bank statement due to the statement date. Add these amounts, if any, to the ending balance on the bank statement. A deposit that is not recorded is an amount that the bank shows but is not in your checkbook register. Add these amounts, if, any, to your checkbook register. This section is usually the easiest to balance since magical amounts of money don't appear into your account. These amounts result from actual money you take to the bank, deposit transfers between accounts or payroll direct deposits.

Next, you will want to see what checks cleared the bank that you wrote from your account. These are listed on your bank statement in numerical order. Follow this order and place a checkmark next to the check listed in your checkbook register that cleared the bank. Those checks in your register that do not have marks next to them, otherwise known as outstanding checks, should be subtracted from the bank statement balance. Be alert because the check can clear for a different amount than what it was written for. Either the writing on the check was unclear or the numbers were transposed.

Other withdrawals that can occur during the statement period are debit card purchases, automatic debit payment and ATM withdrawals. Make sure that all reductions on your bank statement are entered in your check register. It is important to check this section on your bank statement and make sure it matches your checkbook since this is the area where fraud is widespread. If you know where you shopped and utilized your debit card or when and where you stopped and made an ATM withdrawal, then those transactions are the only ones that should appear on your bank statement. If other withdrawals appear on your statement that you cannot justify, contact your bank immediately!

There can be adjustments to your account such as interest, service fees and the occasional bank adjustment. Yes, I realize that I stated that the bank is always right. Well, it is. Each and every employee of a bank that comes in contact with money must balance at the end of the day. Trust me, they will find their mistake. And, they often find your mistakes too! Remember to subtract your fees and add the interest to your checkbook register.

The ending balance of your statement should now match the ending balance in your checkbook register. If the amounts are not the same, I find it is usually in the withdrawals. Specifically go over the cleared checks and the amounts they cleared for.

You work hard for your money! By following these easy directions, you can have less frustration and a better understanding of where that money goes and you can protect yourself from the many occurrences of fraud in today's society.

Suzanne Globke is an accountant with over 20 years experience. To read more useful tips and techniques regarding business information like the ones in this article, please click here http://www.momsprosperityrocks.com/beancounter

Suzanne Globke may be contacted at