This document outlines the key elements that should be included in a sole financial plan, including profit and loss statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, sales forecasts, personnel plans, and additional calculations like business ratios and break-even analysis. It provides descriptions and examples of each element, emphasizing that even basic numbers at the beginning stages can be helpful for understanding how the business operates financially. Developing these core financial statements gives owners and potential investors or lenders a clear picture of the business's financial position and performance.
The newsletter provides articles on financial topics like cash flow management, planning retirement withdrawals, understanding credit reports, and paying off debt. It also includes tax tips, QuickBooks tips, and financial planning tips. The document emphasizes the importance of cash flow for businesses and outlines key factors to analyze like accounts receivable, credit terms, inventory, and accounts payable to better manage cash flow. It also discusses the differences between profit and cash flow and highlights options for partial or full withdrawals from retirement plans.
This document provides guidance on analyzing financial statements, specifically profit and loss statements and balance sheets, for small businesses. It discusses performing vertical analysis on a profit and loss statement to understand revenues and expenses as percentages of total revenue. For balance sheets, it recommends checking that cash balances match bank statements, reviewing accounts receivable and payable aging reports, and using a 10-point monthly checklist to quickly review key financial indicators. The overall message is that taking just a few minutes monthly to analyze financial statements can help small business owners identify potential problems early.
This document discusses the revenue realization principle in accounting. It defines revenue as the value of goods and services transferred to customers, usually in exchange for cash or accounts receivable. For revenue to be recognized under the accrual method, there must be objective evidence that a sale has occurred, such as when ownership of goods or services is transferred from the seller to the buyer. The timing of when ownership transfers can depend on shipping terms like FOB (free on board) destination or shipment. The cash basis method only recognizes revenue when payment is received rather than when a sale occurs.
This document discusses the general ledger and provides details on its purpose and function. It begins with definitions of accounting terms like ledger and general ledger. It then explains that the general ledger contains all individual accounts and is where all business transactions are recorded. It emphasizes the importance of the general ledger detail report for analyzing accounts and tracing transactions. The document also distinguishes the general ledger from the trial balance and financial statements.
This document discusses the concept of "net profit or loss", also known as the "bottom line", on financial statements. It explains that the bottom line is the amount remaining after total revenues are subtracted from total expenses. If revenues exceed expenses, it is a net profit, and if expenses exceed revenues, it is a net loss. The bottom line amount is reflected on both the income statement and the equity section of the balance sheet. The document also addresses questions about why an owner's draw from a sole proprietorship is not taxable income and how double taxation can be avoided in a corporation.
This document provides explanations and examples of various accounting and inventory estimation techniques. It begins by defining key retail method terminology used for valuing ending inventory such as original sales price, markup, markdown, etc. It then provides an example of how to use the retail method to estimate ending inventory costs based on retail prices, markups, and markdowns. The document also discusses how to estimate inventory values if lost in a fire using gross profit percentages. Throughout, it emphasizes that these are rough estimation methods that can be used by small businesses when full physical inventories are not practical.
The newsletter provides articles on financial topics like cash flow management, planning retirement withdrawals, understanding credit reports, and paying off debt. It also includes tax tips, QuickBooks tips, and financial planning tips. The document emphasizes the importance of cash flow for businesses and outlines key factors to analyze like accounts receivable, credit terms, inventory, and accounts payable to better manage cash flow. It also discusses the differences between profit and cash flow and highlights options for partial or full withdrawals from retirement plans.
This document provides guidance on analyzing financial statements, specifically profit and loss statements and balance sheets, for small businesses. It discusses performing vertical analysis on a profit and loss statement to understand revenues and expenses as percentages of total revenue. For balance sheets, it recommends checking that cash balances match bank statements, reviewing accounts receivable and payable aging reports, and using a 10-point monthly checklist to quickly review key financial indicators. The overall message is that taking just a few minutes monthly to analyze financial statements can help small business owners identify potential problems early.
This document discusses the revenue realization principle in accounting. It defines revenue as the value of goods and services transferred to customers, usually in exchange for cash or accounts receivable. For revenue to be recognized under the accrual method, there must be objective evidence that a sale has occurred, such as when ownership of goods or services is transferred from the seller to the buyer. The timing of when ownership transfers can depend on shipping terms like FOB (free on board) destination or shipment. The cash basis method only recognizes revenue when payment is received rather than when a sale occurs.
This document discusses the general ledger and provides details on its purpose and function. It begins with definitions of accounting terms like ledger and general ledger. It then explains that the general ledger contains all individual accounts and is where all business transactions are recorded. It emphasizes the importance of the general ledger detail report for analyzing accounts and tracing transactions. The document also distinguishes the general ledger from the trial balance and financial statements.
This document discusses the concept of "net profit or loss", also known as the "bottom line", on financial statements. It explains that the bottom line is the amount remaining after total revenues are subtracted from total expenses. If revenues exceed expenses, it is a net profit, and if expenses exceed revenues, it is a net loss. The bottom line amount is reflected on both the income statement and the equity section of the balance sheet. The document also addresses questions about why an owner's draw from a sole proprietorship is not taxable income and how double taxation can be avoided in a corporation.
This document provides explanations and examples of various accounting and inventory estimation techniques. It begins by defining key retail method terminology used for valuing ending inventory such as original sales price, markup, markdown, etc. It then provides an example of how to use the retail method to estimate ending inventory costs based on retail prices, markups, and markdowns. The document also discusses how to estimate inventory values if lost in a fire using gross profit percentages. Throughout, it emphasizes that these are rough estimation methods that can be used by small businesses when full physical inventories are not practical.
The document provides 9 practical finance tips for entrepreneurs to confidently discuss finances with their CFO, including understanding key financial statements like the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement; the differences between accounting and finance, revenues and expenses; as well as budgets, depreciation, and the differences between profits and cash. It aims to demystify financial concepts in a straightforward way for business owners.
This document discusses the differences between accrual and cash basis accounting methods and provides guidance on which method is better for organizations. Accrual accounting records transactions when economic events occur, while cash basis accounting only records cash receipts and payments. Accrual basis provides a more accurate financial picture but can result in cash flow issues, while cash basis is simpler but does not account for unpaid expenses or uncollected revenue. The document recommends accrual basis for large organizations and provides techniques for choosing the most appropriate method.
Any business whether small or big needs bookkeeping to keep track of the progress of the business. In this document, you will learn what bookkeeping is all about. https://make-money-with-sam.com/bookkeeping-101-for-small-businesses/
This document provides tips for detecting and correcting various types of accounting errors. It begins by defining the common types of errors such as transposition errors, errors of principle, errors of omission, and errors of commission. It then provides techniques for finding errors such as proving account balances, using comparative reports, and applying tests of reasonableness. Specific tips are given for correcting errors like writing journal entries and using suspense accounts. The document concludes with guidance on finding and fixing errors in bank reconciliations.
This document discusses the importance of bookkeeping for businesses. It defines accounting and bookkeeping, noting that bookkeeping involves systematically recording financial transactions and is a key part of accounting. Maintaining proper bookkeeping provides answers to important business questions about resources, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses. It enables balanced budgeting and financial planning. The components of a good bookkeeping system include source documents, books of original entry, general ledgers, financial statements and subsidiary ledgers. Sample books, ledgers and financial statements are presented to illustrate a bookkeeping system. Overall, the document emphasizes that a proper accounting system is essential for business success through profit maximization and loss minimization.
This document provides an agenda and learning objectives for a workshop on managing cash flow for small businesses. The workshop will use a case study of a coffee shop owner, Bob, who is facing some cash flow issues. Attendees will learn about cash flow management tools like balance sheets, cash flow diagrams, and cash flow statements. They will then discuss strategies Bob could implement to improve his cash flow, such as increasing sales, negotiating better supplier deals, and reducing costs during slow periods. The document emphasizes the importance of cash flow management and seeking expert advice from accountants.
Why You Should Monitor Operating Cash Flow and How to Do ItDan Bowser
Operating Cash Flow (OCF) is a practical measure of a business’ cash flow and may be the single most important metric for measuring the health of your core business operations.
Accounting Steps to get your startup on trackFaith Audi
Accounting is a systematic way of keeping financial records that is important for businesses for several reasons: to gauge financial health, ensure savings, secure funding, and achieve goals. Some key accounting terms and concepts include assets, liabilities, income statements, and balance sheets. To properly account for a new business, one should open a bank account, track expenses, develop a bookkeeping system, set up a payroll system, determine tax obligations, and reevaluate methods as the business grows. Maintaining accurate financial records is essential for effective decision making and long-term success.
This document provides information on managing cash flow for a business. It discusses the key activities of a business - production, marketing, and accounting. It emphasizes the importance of understanding flows of activity through an organization. This includes communication, sales, treasury, production, quality control, public relations, and executive functions. The document stresses establishing systems to free up an entrepreneur's time and empower others. It defines important financial statements and ratios used to analyze a business's performance and cash flow. Accounting software and bookkeepers are addressed. The purpose of accounting is to improve profits and manage cash flow through coordination of production, marketing, and accounting. Cash flow management involves accelerating cash inflows and slowing outflows.
This document provides an introduction to managing cash flow for small businesses. It includes:
1) An overview of key cash flow concepts like the cash conversion cycle and how cash flows in and out of a business.
2) An example cash flow statement for a fictional bakery café called The Wired Cup that is experiencing cash flow issues.
3) Suggestions for how the owner of The Wired Cup could increase sales, negotiate better payment terms with suppliers to improve cash flow, and plan for seasonal fluctuations.
The document aims to help small business owners understand the importance of cash flow management and provides tools like a cash flow statement template and glossary of terms to assess and improve a business's financial health.
creating your financial statments-slideshareRob Place
This document provides guidance on creating financial projections for a business plan. It introduces an example solopreneur business owner, Bill, to demonstrate how to project the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement. Specific transactions are used at first to illustrate how each type of transaction affects the different financial statements. The goal is to empower the reader to understand the numbers behind their own business so they can create meaningful projections without advanced accounting knowledge. Projecting trends over time rather than isolated transactions is more realistic but concepts are introduced through isolated examples first for clarity.
Accounting is a comprehensive system to record, analyze, and communicate financial information according to certain principles. It has evolved over time as business transactions have increased. The accounting process involves collecting documents, journalizing transactions, posting to ledger accounts, preparing an adjusted trial balance, and ultimately generating financial statements. The objectives of accounting are to keep systematic records, ascertain profitability and financial position, assist in decision making, and ensure compliance with relevant laws.
Finance is the language of business. You have to make the best decisions possible for yours or your client’s business. And, understanding financial analysis is the key to making this happen.
The document discusses the importance of cash flow projections for managing finances and avoiding running out of cash. It explains that a cash flow projection looks ahead to see if there will be enough incoming cash to meet outgoing expenses. There are four components to a cash flow projection: beginning balance, incoming cash from operations/investments/financing, outgoing cash, and ending balance. Having a cash flow projection warns of potential cash flow problems in advance so businesses can take actions like reducing spending or increasing income to avoid running out of money.
Managing The Financial Health Of A Services Business (Wasserteil)hwasserteil
The document discusses using financial tools and metrics to manage the financial health of a professional services business. It emphasizes that the balance sheet, not just the profit and loss statement, provides key insights. Ratios like those from RMA and the Z-score use balance sheet figures to assess financial stability. Understanding metrics like billing rates, utilization, and productivity helps set goals and budgets more accurately. Managing one's time as a valuable asset is also important for achieving financial objectives.
The document discusses the causes of the recent mortgage meltdown and economic recession. It argues that blame can be shared among many parties, including homeowners who took on mortgages they could not afford, real estate agents seeking commissions, mortgage brokers, banks, credit ratings agencies, Wall Street firms, the Federal Reserve, and the federal government. It maintains that while predatory lending practices on Wall Street exacerbated the crisis, a lack of financial literacy among many homeowners also contributed to the situation, as they failed to understand the terms and costs of their mortgages. The document aims to explain what happened during the meltdown and identify who deserves responsibility.
Material for PGPSE participants of AFTERSCHOOOL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP. PGPSE is an entrepreneurship oriented programme, open for all, free for all.
A cash flow projection estimates the money expected to flow in and out of a business over a period of time, usually 12 months. It involves calculating estimated receivables/cash in such as revenue and loans, and estimated payables/cash out like expenses, to determine if the business will have surpluses or shortfalls. Creating a cash flow projection can help a business predict cash needs, prove ability to repay loans, and make strategic financial decisions.
10 Ways to Prepare a Cash Flow Statement Model That Actually Balances_Rephras...Invoicera
The cash flow statement shows how much cash a business brings in and spends over a period of time. It's important for businesses to understand their cash flow because it helps them see if they have enough money to cover their expenses.
This document discusses key accounting principles and concepts, including:
- The purpose of key financial statements like the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
- Accounting principles like relevance, reliability, and comparability.
- Key terms used in accounting like assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses.
- The accounting equation that balances assets with liabilities and owner's equity.
- The difference between accrual and cash-basis accounting and how transactions and balances are treated.
The document provides 9 practical finance tips for entrepreneurs to confidently discuss finances with their CFO, including understanding key financial statements like the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement; the differences between accounting and finance, revenues and expenses; as well as budgets, depreciation, and the differences between profits and cash. It aims to demystify financial concepts in a straightforward way for business owners.
This document discusses the differences between accrual and cash basis accounting methods and provides guidance on which method is better for organizations. Accrual accounting records transactions when economic events occur, while cash basis accounting only records cash receipts and payments. Accrual basis provides a more accurate financial picture but can result in cash flow issues, while cash basis is simpler but does not account for unpaid expenses or uncollected revenue. The document recommends accrual basis for large organizations and provides techniques for choosing the most appropriate method.
Any business whether small or big needs bookkeeping to keep track of the progress of the business. In this document, you will learn what bookkeeping is all about. https://make-money-with-sam.com/bookkeeping-101-for-small-businesses/
This document provides tips for detecting and correcting various types of accounting errors. It begins by defining the common types of errors such as transposition errors, errors of principle, errors of omission, and errors of commission. It then provides techniques for finding errors such as proving account balances, using comparative reports, and applying tests of reasonableness. Specific tips are given for correcting errors like writing journal entries and using suspense accounts. The document concludes with guidance on finding and fixing errors in bank reconciliations.
This document discusses the importance of bookkeeping for businesses. It defines accounting and bookkeeping, noting that bookkeeping involves systematically recording financial transactions and is a key part of accounting. Maintaining proper bookkeeping provides answers to important business questions about resources, liabilities, equity, revenues and expenses. It enables balanced budgeting and financial planning. The components of a good bookkeeping system include source documents, books of original entry, general ledgers, financial statements and subsidiary ledgers. Sample books, ledgers and financial statements are presented to illustrate a bookkeeping system. Overall, the document emphasizes that a proper accounting system is essential for business success through profit maximization and loss minimization.
This document provides an agenda and learning objectives for a workshop on managing cash flow for small businesses. The workshop will use a case study of a coffee shop owner, Bob, who is facing some cash flow issues. Attendees will learn about cash flow management tools like balance sheets, cash flow diagrams, and cash flow statements. They will then discuss strategies Bob could implement to improve his cash flow, such as increasing sales, negotiating better supplier deals, and reducing costs during slow periods. The document emphasizes the importance of cash flow management and seeking expert advice from accountants.
Why You Should Monitor Operating Cash Flow and How to Do ItDan Bowser
Operating Cash Flow (OCF) is a practical measure of a business’ cash flow and may be the single most important metric for measuring the health of your core business operations.
Accounting Steps to get your startup on trackFaith Audi
Accounting is a systematic way of keeping financial records that is important for businesses for several reasons: to gauge financial health, ensure savings, secure funding, and achieve goals. Some key accounting terms and concepts include assets, liabilities, income statements, and balance sheets. To properly account for a new business, one should open a bank account, track expenses, develop a bookkeeping system, set up a payroll system, determine tax obligations, and reevaluate methods as the business grows. Maintaining accurate financial records is essential for effective decision making and long-term success.
This document provides information on managing cash flow for a business. It discusses the key activities of a business - production, marketing, and accounting. It emphasizes the importance of understanding flows of activity through an organization. This includes communication, sales, treasury, production, quality control, public relations, and executive functions. The document stresses establishing systems to free up an entrepreneur's time and empower others. It defines important financial statements and ratios used to analyze a business's performance and cash flow. Accounting software and bookkeepers are addressed. The purpose of accounting is to improve profits and manage cash flow through coordination of production, marketing, and accounting. Cash flow management involves accelerating cash inflows and slowing outflows.
This document provides an introduction to managing cash flow for small businesses. It includes:
1) An overview of key cash flow concepts like the cash conversion cycle and how cash flows in and out of a business.
2) An example cash flow statement for a fictional bakery café called The Wired Cup that is experiencing cash flow issues.
3) Suggestions for how the owner of The Wired Cup could increase sales, negotiate better payment terms with suppliers to improve cash flow, and plan for seasonal fluctuations.
The document aims to help small business owners understand the importance of cash flow management and provides tools like a cash flow statement template and glossary of terms to assess and improve a business's financial health.
creating your financial statments-slideshareRob Place
This document provides guidance on creating financial projections for a business plan. It introduces an example solopreneur business owner, Bill, to demonstrate how to project the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement. Specific transactions are used at first to illustrate how each type of transaction affects the different financial statements. The goal is to empower the reader to understand the numbers behind their own business so they can create meaningful projections without advanced accounting knowledge. Projecting trends over time rather than isolated transactions is more realistic but concepts are introduced through isolated examples first for clarity.
Accounting is a comprehensive system to record, analyze, and communicate financial information according to certain principles. It has evolved over time as business transactions have increased. The accounting process involves collecting documents, journalizing transactions, posting to ledger accounts, preparing an adjusted trial balance, and ultimately generating financial statements. The objectives of accounting are to keep systematic records, ascertain profitability and financial position, assist in decision making, and ensure compliance with relevant laws.
Finance is the language of business. You have to make the best decisions possible for yours or your client’s business. And, understanding financial analysis is the key to making this happen.
The document discusses the importance of cash flow projections for managing finances and avoiding running out of cash. It explains that a cash flow projection looks ahead to see if there will be enough incoming cash to meet outgoing expenses. There are four components to a cash flow projection: beginning balance, incoming cash from operations/investments/financing, outgoing cash, and ending balance. Having a cash flow projection warns of potential cash flow problems in advance so businesses can take actions like reducing spending or increasing income to avoid running out of money.
Managing The Financial Health Of A Services Business (Wasserteil)hwasserteil
The document discusses using financial tools and metrics to manage the financial health of a professional services business. It emphasizes that the balance sheet, not just the profit and loss statement, provides key insights. Ratios like those from RMA and the Z-score use balance sheet figures to assess financial stability. Understanding metrics like billing rates, utilization, and productivity helps set goals and budgets more accurately. Managing one's time as a valuable asset is also important for achieving financial objectives.
The document discusses the causes of the recent mortgage meltdown and economic recession. It argues that blame can be shared among many parties, including homeowners who took on mortgages they could not afford, real estate agents seeking commissions, mortgage brokers, banks, credit ratings agencies, Wall Street firms, the Federal Reserve, and the federal government. It maintains that while predatory lending practices on Wall Street exacerbated the crisis, a lack of financial literacy among many homeowners also contributed to the situation, as they failed to understand the terms and costs of their mortgages. The document aims to explain what happened during the meltdown and identify who deserves responsibility.
Material for PGPSE participants of AFTERSCHOOOL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP. PGPSE is an entrepreneurship oriented programme, open for all, free for all.
A cash flow projection estimates the money expected to flow in and out of a business over a period of time, usually 12 months. It involves calculating estimated receivables/cash in such as revenue and loans, and estimated payables/cash out like expenses, to determine if the business will have surpluses or shortfalls. Creating a cash flow projection can help a business predict cash needs, prove ability to repay loans, and make strategic financial decisions.
10 Ways to Prepare a Cash Flow Statement Model That Actually Balances_Rephras...Invoicera
The cash flow statement shows how much cash a business brings in and spends over a period of time. It's important for businesses to understand their cash flow because it helps them see if they have enough money to cover their expenses.
This document discusses key accounting principles and concepts, including:
- The purpose of key financial statements like the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
- Accounting principles like relevance, reliability, and comparability.
- Key terms used in accounting like assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses.
- The accounting equation that balances assets with liabilities and owner's equity.
- The difference between accrual and cash-basis accounting and how transactions and balances are treated.
Stop fearing the cash flow roller coaster(finished)RandyBett
Stop fearing the ups and downs of cash flow management in your business. Understanding your business's cash flow allows you to plan ahead and ensure you can meet your goals. While having cash on hand provides security, your business will stagnate if you fail to deploy excess cash to opportunities for growth and expansion. Properly assessing your company's cash flow through statements prepared by your accountant will help you evaluate expenses, prioritize objectives, and determine how to fund goals that improve or expand your business in a safe and sustainable manner over time.
As a small business owner, you have to figure out a lot of things you’ve never done before. Creating a good business budget is the most important component.
The document provides an overview of accrual accounting. It defines accrual accounting as requiring transactions to be recorded when they occur rather than when cash is received or spent. The advantages of accrual accounting include compliance with GAAP, increased transparency through reflecting future cash flows, and better strategic planning. The disadvantages include complexity, difficulty switching methods, and potential vulnerability to fraud. The document also discusses accounting transactions, balances, assets, liabilities, double-entry bookkeeping, and the fundamental accounting equation.
You need a cash flow statement to understand how much money is coming into and leaving your company. Every time you examine a financial statement, you should look at it from a business standpoint. The purpose of financial documentation is to shed light on an organisation's financial situation and health.
Bookkeeping is the process of recording all financial transactions in a company's accounts on a daily basis. This includes documenting bills, receipts, invoices, and other business documents. Transactions can be recorded by hand, in a spreadsheet, or using bookkeeping software. Maintaining accurate bookkeeping allows a business to monitor its finances, performance, and progress toward goals. It provides the financial records needed to understand a company's financial situation and address any issues.
This document provides an overview of key aspects of financial management for entrepreneurs, including accounting and financial reporting, budgeting, collecting accounts receivable, and risk management. It discusses the importance of accounting systems and bookkeeping for tracking finances, as well as outsourcing to CPAs. Budgeting is described as essential for matching expenses to revenue and ensuring cash flow. Collecting accounts receivable involves following terms and aging receivables to focus collection efforts. Risk management involves identifying, measuring, and prioritizing risks to minimize their impact on the business.
The financial plan consists of 5 parts: a 12-month profit/loss projection, optional 4-year projection, cash flow projection, projected balance sheet, and break-even analysis. The 12-month projection estimates monthly profits/losses and is the core of the plan. The cash flow projection forecasts the business checking account and is critical as businesses fail if they cannot pay bills. The opening balance sheet estimates asset/liability values on the first day. Break-even analysis predicts the sales volume needed to cover total costs. Together these constitute a reasonable estimate of the company's financial future.
This document provides guidance on cashflow management for businesses. It discusses the importance of balancing cash inflows and outflows through tools like cashflow forecasts. A cashflow forecast allows businesses to predict peaks and troughs in cash balances to plan borrowing needs and ensure sufficient available cash. The document also provides tips to improve cashflow such as managing customer and supplier payments, reducing stock levels, and controlling overhead costs. It cautions that large new orders can unintentionally cause cashflow issues if not properly planned for through tools like cashflow forecasting.
6 Essential Accounting Terms for Small BusinessesSimonAllsop3
This document provides definitions for 6 essential accounting terms for small business owners. It defines balance sheet as a snapshot of a company's financial position listing assets and liabilities. It describes profit and loss statement as a summary of company revenues and expenses over a period. It explains accounts receivable as amounts owed by customers and accounts payable as amounts owed to suppliers. It outlines cash flow statement as tracking cash inflows and outflows. It defines budget as a financial plan for expenses. And it distinguishes gross profit as revenue minus costs, and net profit as profit after all expenses.
Keeping accurate financial records is essential for running a successful small business. Good records allow business owners to monitor the financial performance and profitability of the business, make informed decisions, obtain financing, prepare tax filings, comply with payroll regulations, and determine distributions to owners. Without proper record keeping, business owners risk making poor decisions, paying unnecessary taxes and penalties, and not having the financial information needed to expand or obtain capital. It is recommended that small business owners hire an accountant or bookkeeping service to properly maintain their financial records.
Accrual accounting records revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred, regardless of whether cash has been received or paid out. This provides a more accurate picture of financial performance compared to cash accounting. The document provides examples to illustrate accrual accounting, including recording accounts receivable when revenue is earned from a sale and accounts payable when expenses are incurred from purchasing supplies. It recommends that businesses use accrual accounting as it is the accounting standard and preferred method, especially as businesses grow in size, complexity, and need to attract investors who require accurate financial information.
Adjusting entries are needed at the end of each accounting period to ensure revenues and expenses are recorded in the correct period. There are two categories of adjusting entries: prepaids, where cash is paid before an expense is recorded, and accruals, where an expense is recorded before cash is paid. Examples of adjusting entries include recording prepaid rent and insurance expenses as they are used up each period, and accruing expenses like salaries that have been incurred but not yet paid. Adjusting entries ensure the financial statements accurately reflect the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses for the period.
Mike Zimmerman, CPA will guide you through the basics and also share information on accounting software that is easy to use for a new business. Your company’s books and financial statements represent a score sheet which tells how you are progressing, as well as an early warning system which lets you know when and why the business may be going amiss. Financial statements and the underlying records will provide the basis for many decisions made by outsiders such as banks, landlords, potential investors, and trade creditors as well as taxing authorities and other governing bodies. The necessity for good, well-organized financial records cannot be over-emphasized. One of the greatest mistakes made by owners of small businesses is not keeping good financial records and making improper or poor business decisions based on inadequate information. An accounting or bookkeeping system is like any tool used in your business; it needs to be sophisticated enough to provide the information you need to run your business and simple enough for you to run it (or supervise the bookkeeper).
For Mike Zimmerman's Bio check out: http://incuba8.com/speaker-michael-zimmerman-principal-yeo-yeo-cpas-business-consultants/
small business & epreneurship development U4.pdfkittustudy7
Financial management is vital for small businesses. It involves planning, organizing, and controlling financial activities like cash flow, budgets, and financial reporting to achieve business goals. Effective financial management requires skills in bookkeeping, forecasting, risk assessment, and capital structure optimization. Key aspects of financial management for small businesses include cash flow management, budgeting, and analyzing financial performance metrics like profit margins and return on investment. Common challenges include managing budgets, making payroll, paying bills on time, controlling debt, securing financing, and understanding different financing products.
Keeping accurate financial records is important for small businesses for several reasons:
1) It allows owners to monitor the success and failures of the business, and analyze key financial metrics like profits, expenses, and sales.
2) Financial records provide the information needed to make important business decisions by showing the potential financial impacts.
3) Banks and investors require financial statements and records when seeking financing.
4) Financial records make tax filings easier and more accurate, and help ensure compliance with regulations.
Keeping accurate financial records is important for small businesses for several reasons:
1) It allows owners to monitor the success and failures of the business, and analyze key financial metrics like profits, expenses, and sales.
2) Financial records provide the information needed to make important business decisions by showing the potential financial impacts.
3) Banks and investors require financial statements and records when seeking financing.
4) Financial records make tax filings easier and more accurate, and help ensure compliance with regulations.
Taurus Zodiac Sign: Unveiling the Traits, Dates, and Horoscope Insights of th...my Pandit
Dive into the steadfast world of the Taurus Zodiac Sign. Discover the grounded, stable, and logical nature of Taurus individuals, and explore their key personality traits, important dates, and horoscope insights. Learn how the determination and patience of the Taurus sign make them the rock-steady achievers and anchors of the zodiac.
At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
Discover timeless style with the 2022 Vintage Roman Numerals Men's Ring. Crafted from premium stainless steel, this 6mm wide ring embodies elegance and durability. Perfect as a gift, it seamlessly blends classic Roman numeral detailing with modern sophistication, making it an ideal accessory for any occasion.
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Zodiac Signs and Food Preferences_ What Your Sign Says About Your Tastemy Pandit
Know what your zodiac sign says about your taste in food! Explore how the 12 zodiac signs influence your culinary preferences with insights from MyPandit. Dive into astrology and flavors!
Building Your Employer Brand with Social MediaLuanWise
Presented at The Global HR Summit, 6th June 2024
In this keynote, Luan Wise will provide invaluable insights to elevate your employer brand on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. You'll learn how compelling content can authentically showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences to support your talent acquisition and retention objectives. Additionally, you'll understand the power of employee advocacy to amplify reach and engagement – helping to position your organization as an employer of choice in today's competitive talent landscape.
Easily Verify Compliance and Security with Binance KYCAny kyc Account
Use our simple KYC verification guide to make sure your Binance account is safe and compliant. Discover the fundamentals, appreciate the significance of KYC, and trade on one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges with confidence.
IMPACT Silver is a pure silver zinc producer with over $260 million in revenue since 2008 and a large 100% owned 210km Mexico land package - 2024 catalysts includes new 14% grade zinc Plomosas mine and 20,000m of fully funded exploration drilling.
Navigating the world of forex trading can be challenging, especially for beginners. To help you make an informed decision, we have comprehensively compared the best forex brokers in India for 2024. This article, reviewed by Top Forex Brokers Review, will cover featured award winners, the best forex brokers, featured offers, the best copy trading platforms, the best forex brokers for beginners, the best MetaTrader brokers, and recently updated reviews. We will focus on FP Markets, Black Bull, EightCap, IC Markets, and Octa.
Digital Marketing with a Focus on Sustainabilitysssourabhsharma
Digital Marketing best practices including influencer marketing, content creators, and omnichannel marketing for Sustainable Brands at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit 2024 in New York
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
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Creating sole financial plan
1. Creating A Sole Financial Plan
Wasim Ahmad
Page 1
Table of Contents
Profit and loss statement......................................................................................................... 2
Cash flow statement................................................................................................................. 3
How cash vs. accrual accounting affects the cash flow statement...................... 4
Balance sheet ........................................................................................................................... 5
Sales forecast ........................................................................................................................... 5
Personnel plan .......................................................................................................................... 6
Additional calculations you might find useful: ...................................................................... 7
Business ratios ................................................................................................................... 7
Break-even analysis........................................................................................................... 8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 8
This article is part of both our “Business Startup Guide” and our “Business Planning Guide”—
curated lists of our articles that will get you up and running in no time!
Financial experts will have different opinions about what should be included in a financial plan,
depending on the type of business you have and what you’re trying to accomplish with your
business plan. But whether you’re thinking of starting a business, expanding your current
business, or just want to understand your current business better, there are a few key financial
items that you should definitely include:
• Profit and loss statement
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet
• Sales forecast
• Personnel plan
• and maybe some business ratios and/or a break-even analysis
2. Creating A Sole Financial Plan
Wasim Ahmad
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Even if you’re in the very beginning stages of your business, these financial statements can still
work for you. Developing your financial plan from basic numbers is both possible and very
helpful.
Profit and loss statement
A profit and loss statement is essentially an explanation of how your business made a profit (or
incurred a loss) over a certain period of time. It’s a table that lists all of your revenue streams and
all of your expenses—typically for a three-month period—and lists at the very bottom the total
amount of net profit or loss.
This is a financial statement that goes by a few different names—profit and loss statement,
income statement, pro forma income statement, P&L (short for “profit and loss”)—but no matter
what you call it, it’s an essential report and very important to understand.
QUICK TIP: The term “pro forma” in front of any financial statement primarily serves to label
that version of the statement as not adhering to the strict “generally accepted accounting
principles” (GAAP) standards that all publicly-traded companies must use to produce their
financial statements. Major corporations use pro forma statements to illustrate projected
numbers, like in the case of a merger or acquisition, or to emphasize certain current figures.
GAAP standards don’t apply to small businesses, so you don’t really need to worry about
distinguishing your financial statements as “pro forma” or not—everyone you show them to
expects that they’re not GAAP-compliant. But if you want to be technically correct in your
terminology, go ahead and call your financial statements “pro forma.”
There are different formats for profit and loss statements, depending on the type of business
you’re in and the structure of your business (non profit, LLC, C-Corp, etc.).
A typical profit and loss statement should include:
• your revenue (also called sales), followed by
• your “cost of sale” or “cost of goods sold” (COGS)—keep in mind, some types of companies,
such as a services firm, may not have COGS
• your gross margin, which is your revenue less your COGS
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Wasim Ahmad
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These three components (revenue, COGS, and gross margin) are the backbone of your business
model—i.e., how you make money.
You’ll also list your operating expenses, which are the expenses associated with running your
business that aren’t incurred directly by making a sale. They’re the fixed expenses that don’t
fluctuate depending on the strength or weakness of your revenue in a given month—think rent,
utilities, and insurance.
Your gross margin less your operating expenses will give you your operating income:
Gross Margin – Operating Expenses = Operating Income
Depending on how you classify some of your expenses, your operating income will typically be
equivalent to your “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization” (EBITDA)—
basically, how much money you made in profit before you take your accounting and tax
obligations into consideration. This is also called your “profit before interest and taxes,” gross
profit, and “contribution to overhead”—many names, but they all refer to the same number.
Your so-called “bottom line”—officially, your net income, which is found at the very end (or,
bottom line) of your profit and loss statement—is your EBITDA less the “ITDA.” Just subtract
your expenses for interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from your EBITDA, and you
have your net income:
Operating Income – Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization expenses = Net Income
For further reading on profit and loss statements (a.k.a., income statements), including an
example of what a profit and loss statement actually looks like, check out “How to Read and
Analyze an Income Statement.”
Cash flow statement
A cash flow statement (also called a “statement of cash flows”) is an explanation of how much
cash your business brought in, how much cash it paid out, and what its ending cash balance was,
typically per-month.
That might sound like sales, expenses, and profits, but it’s not. Consider this: What happens
when you send out an invoice to a client, but they don’t pay it by the due date? What happens
when you pay your own bills late, or early? These kinds of things aren’t reflected in your profit
and loss statement, but they areexplained in your cash flow statement.
Your cash flow statement is just as important as your profit and loss statement. Businesses run
on cash—there are no two ways around it. Without a thorough understanding of how much cash
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you have, where your cash is coming from, where it’s going, and on what schedule, you’re going
to have a hard time running a healthy business. And without the cash flow statement, which lays
that information out neatly for lenders and investors, you’re not going to be able to raise funds.
No business plan is complete without a cash flow plan.
Without a thorough understanding of how much cash you have, where it’s coming from, where
it’s going, and on what schedule, you’re going to have a hard time running a healthy business.
The cash flow statement helps you understand the difference between what your profit and loss
statement reports as income—your profit—and what your actual cash position is. It is possible to
be extremely profitable and still not have enough cash to pay your expenses and keep your
business afloat, and it is also possible to be unprofitable but still have enough cash on hand to
keep the doors open for several months and buy yourself time to turn things around—that’s why
this financial statement is so important to understand.
How cash vs. accrual accounting affects the cash flow statement
There are two methods of accounting—the cash method and the accrual method.
The cash method means that you just account for your sales and expenses as they happen,
without worrying about matching up the expenses that are related to a particular sale or vice
versa.
The accrual method means that you account for your sales and expenses at the same time—if you
got a big preorder for a new product, for example, you’d wait to account for all of your preorder
sales revenue until you’d actually started manufacturing and delivering the product. Matching
revenue with the related expenses is what’s referred to as “the matching principle,” and is the
basis of accrual accounting.
If you use the cash method of accounting in your business, your cash flow statement isn’t going
to be very different from what you see in your profit and loss statement. That might seem like it
makes things simpler, but I actually advise against it. I think that the accrual method of
accounting gives you the best sense of how your business operates, and that you should consider
switching to it if you aren’t using it already.
For the best sense of how your business operates, you should consider switching to accrual
accounting if you aren’t using it already.
Here’s why: Let’s say you operate a summer camp business. You might receive payment from a
camper in March, several months before camp actually starts in July—using the accrual method,
you wouldn’t recognize the revenue until you’ve performed the service, so both the revenue and
the expenses for the camp would be accounted for in the month of July. With the cash method,
5. Creating A Sole Financial Plan
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you would have recognized the revenue back in March, but all of the expenses in July, which
would have made it look like you were profitable in all of the months leading up to the camp, but
unprofitable during the month that camp actually took place.
Cash accounting can get a little unwieldy when it comes time to evaluate how profitable an event
or product was, and can make it harder to really understand the ins and outs of your business
operations. For the best look at how your business works, accrual accounting is the way to go.
Balance sheet
Your balance sheet is a snapshot of your business’s financial position—at a particular moment in
time, how are you doing? How much cash do you have in the bank, how much do your
customers owe you, and how much do you owe your vendors?
The balance sheet is standardized, and consists of three types of accounts:
• assets (accounts receivable, money in the bank, inventory, etc.)
• liabilities (accounts payable, credit card balances, loan repayments, etc.)
• equity (for most small businesses, this is just the owner’s equity, but it could include investors’
shares, retained earnings, stock proceeds, etc.)
It’s called a balance sheet because it’s an equation that needs to balance out:
Assets = Liabilities + Equity
The total of your liabilities plus your total equity always equals the total of your assets.
At the end of the accounting year, your total profit or loss adds to or subtracts from your retained
earnings (a component of your equity). That makes your retained earnings your business’s
cumulative profit and loss since the business’s inception.
However, if you are a sole proprietor or other pass-through tax entity, “retained earnings”
doesn’t really apply to you—your retained earnings will always equal zero, as all profits and
losses are passed through to the owners and not rolled over or retained like they are in a
corporation.
Sales forecast
The sales forecast is exactly what it sounds like: your projections, or forecast, of what you think
you will sell in a given period (typically, a year to three years). Your sales forecast is an
6. Creating A Sole Financial Plan
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incredibly important part of your business plan, especially when lenders or investors are
involved, and should be an ongoing part of your business planning process.
Your sales forecast should be an ongoing part of your business planning process.
You should create a forecast that is consistent with the sales number you use in your profit and
loss statement. In fact, in our business planning software, LivePlan, the sales forecast auto-fills
the profit and loss statement.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all kind of sales forecast—every business will have different needs.
How you segment and organize your forecast depends on what kind of business you have and
how thoroughly you want to track your sales.
Some helpful questions to ask yourself are:
• How many customers do you anticipate?
• How much will you charge them?
• How often will you charge them?
Your sales forecast can be as detailed as you want it to be, or you can simplify your forecast
by summarizing. However you choose to do a sales forecast, you should definitely have one.
Generally, you’ll want to break down your sales forecast into segments that are helpful to you for
planning and marketing purposes. If you own a restaurant, for example, you’d probably want to
separate your forecasts for dinner and lunch sales; if you own a gym, it might be helpful to
differentiate between single memberships, family memberships, club shop sales, and extra
services like personal training sessions. If you want to get really specific, you might even break
your forecast down by product, with a separate line for every product you sell.
Along with each segment of forecasted sales, you’ll want to include that segment’s “cost of
goods sold” (COGS). The difference between the your forecasted revenue and your forecasted
COGS is your forecasted gross margin.
Personnel plan
The importance of the personnel plan depends largely on the type of business you have. If you
are a sole proprietor with no employees, this might not be that important, and could be
summarized in a sentence of two. But if you are a larger business with high labor costs, you
should spend the time necessary to figure out how your personnel affect your business.
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Think of the personnel plan as a justification of each team member’s necessity to the business.
If you create a personnel plan, it should include a description of each member of your
management team, explaining what they bring to the table in terms of training, expertise, and
product or market knowledge. If you’re writing a business plan to present to lenders or investors,
you could think of this as a justification of each team member’s necessity to the business, and a
justification of their salary (and/or equity share, if applicable).
You can also choose to use this section to list entire departments, if that is a better fit for your
business and the intentions you have for your business plan. There’s no rule that says you have to
list only individual members of the management team.
This is also where you would list team members or departments that you’ve budgeted for but
haven’t hired yet. Describe who your ideal candidate(s) is/are, and justify your budgeted salary
range(s).
Additional calculations you might find useful:
Business ratios
If you have your profit and loss statement, your cash flow statement, and your balance sheet, you
have all the numbers you need to calculate the standard business ratios. These ratios aren’t
necessary to include in a business plan—especially for an internal plan—but knowing some key
ratios is almost always a good idea.
You’d probably want some profitability ratios, like:
• gross margin
• return on sales
• return on assets
• return on investment
And you’d probably want some liquidity ratios, such as:
• debt-to-equity
• current ratio
• working capital
Of these, the most common ratios used by business owners and requested by bankers are
probably gross margin, return on investment (ROI), and debt-to-equity.
8. Creating A Sole Financial Plan
Wasim Ahmad
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Break-even analysis
Your break-even analysis is a calculation of how much you will need to sell in order to “break
even” (i.e., how much you will need to sell in order to pay for all of your expenses).
Consider a restaurant: It has to be open, with the tables set and the menus printed and with the
bartender and all of the cooks and servers working, in order to make even one sale. But if it only
sold one dinner, the restaurant would be operating at a loss—even a $50 meal isn’t going to
cover the night’s utility bills. So the restaurant owner might use a break-even analysis to get an
idea of how many meals the restaurant needs to sell on a given night in order to cover its
expenses.
In determining your break-even point, you’ll need to figure out the contribution margin of what
you’re selling. In the case of a restaurant, the contribution margin will be the price of the meal
less any associated costs. For example, the customer pays $50 for the meal. The food costs are
$10 and the wages paid to prepare and serve the meal are $15. Your contribution margin is $25
($50 – $10 – $15 = $25). Using this model you can determine how high your sales revenue needs
to be in order for you to break even. If your monthly fixed costs are $5,000 and you average a
50% contribution margin (like in our example with the restaurant), you’ll need to have sales of
$10,000 in order to break even.
Conclusion
Your financial plan might feel overwhelming when you get started, but the truth is that this
section of your business plan is absolutely essential to understand. Even if you end up
outsourcing your bookkeeping and regular financial analysis to an accounting firm, you—the
business owner—should be able to read and understand these documents and make decisions
based on what you learn from them.
See Also: Making Sense of Your Small Business Financial Statements
If you create and present financial statements that all work together to tell the story of your
business, and if you can answer questions about where your numbers are coming from, your
chances of securing funding from investors or lenders is much higher.
Or, if you’d rather leave it to the pros, check out LivePlan’s business consulting—you’ll get an
MBA-written business plan in five business days.
Do you have any questions about creating a financial plan for your business? Let us know in
the comments below
9. Creating A Sole Financial Plan
Wasim Ahmad
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https://articles.bplans.com/the-key-elements-of-the-financial-plan/