Accounting and Budgeting

RE: Paper or Plastic

rouldph — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:11:31 GMT

SBOCTeam

Did a good job in this article, yes its true when you have the opportunity to spend
cash which is always king over credit or credit cards, but sometimes we need credit
for a short time in order to work into our business needs.
Lets say we may need to stock items that we buy in bulk and we don't have the cash
on hand to do this, then credit is needed in place of cash.

I do not like to use credit or credit cards,but cash is not on hand I use my credit card
just for a 30 days and than I pay them off and this keeps me from the interest rates which
will be charge to me. As you well know the credit card company receive their service charge from the point of sale from the vendor side.

I can say the team that posted this article has shown a good outline or guide for a new start up business point of view on how to not make to pitfall trap that some will make while starting a business.

The first thing to always to keep in mine, when and if you must used credit or a credit card make sure to pay them off (ASAP!). And pay off all your over head that you have as fast as you can and do Not buy more then you need only what helps your business make profits
and if you must only pay your self what the business can afford to pay you and yes this can
be hard to do! at times but the reward will be worth it in the end.

RE: Reassessing Your Business Plan

AndrewRSA — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:42:44 GMT

Yes! You've hit the nail on the head. Business plans aren't just something you throw together to bring to the loan officer, nor are they something you can just download from the internet. They're an important tool for business planning, so they must be truly tailored to the business in question, and for operating so they must be constantly revisited. So many people think they're merely a formality for raising capital. Many of my clients come to me hoping to just throw one together and then, in the process of building one, have an epiphany through which they discover a better way to do something. Sometimes we discover a flaw in their thinking that sends us back to the drawing board. Better to discover something like that BEFORE it's too late.

Andrew Levinson
Managing Director
Riverside Strategic Advisors LLC

RE: Reassessing Your Business Plan

CleanGreenGuy — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:26:47 GMT

Here's a write-up on business plans along with a sample Table of Contents:

http://www.cleangreenguy.com/thought-leadership/logs/nikhil/how-long-should-be-my-business-plan

RE: Reassessing Your Business Plan

artforart — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:46:30 GMT

Thanks Rieva for the reminder and it is all so true. I've been looking at the down-turn and not seeing the opportunities presented when interest rates are now lower than our beginning. It might be a good time to access expansion rather than downsizing prematurely. Again, thanks for your expertise and advice, it was well received. artforart

RE: Reassessing Your Business Plan

SEMWarrior — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:15:38 GMT

Rieva writes a profoundly ignored fundamental of business in an article with good business sense. The market is now shifting around and progressive business people need to dust of their business plans to meet that new need in the marketing analysis.

Simple, clean and helpful. Thank you for sharing.

Gabriel
CEO
Business Oceans Internet Marketing Consulting
http://www.businessoceans.com

RE: Accountant in a Box

prestopink — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:10:12 GMT

To SBOCTeam: For someone who has no idea how to do their own accounting or even where to begin, how easy are these softwares to use? In particular, I am thinking of the needs of new entrepreneurs, especially young entrepreneurs, could they use a readily understand these products?

RE: What�s the Best Way to Pay My Bills?

solidcactus — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:29:19 GMT

This article is very true. Bank of America has some of the best small business banking I have ever experienced. I recommend using online bill payment through the Bank of America web banking, and scheduling the payments based on your expected cash flow.

Joe P.
http://www.solidcactus.com

RE: What�s the Best Way to Pay My Bills?

sejallc — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:13:03 GMT

very true

RE: Cash Flow and Accounting

southernman — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:05:32 GMT

great article will take this system but convert it to cover each job(i'm in construction) to chart the daily in and out cost of each job...Thanks a Lot.

RE: Cash Flow and Accounting

mikanui — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:03:56 GMT

This is a good starting point for new businesses to see whether they are in the green or not. If you don't track what's happening, you will lose track of everything and end up with nothing. It really goes along with your business plan. If you can show that you have a projected revenue stream that seems realistic, (this goes along with your market research and target marketing plans) then you have a great tool to provide your banker or investor to show them as the article says that your not pulling numbers out of the air. You are in fact prepared to account for the true revenue as it pertains to your new or even existing business.

Many times when you have an investor looking at your company they want to see what has been in the past and they want to know if you have a plan for the future. Being able to provide this information in a simple format will make it easier for them to make an educated decision. Do your best to be conservative on your numbers. You don't want to make it seem "to god to be true". This generally scares of investors and bankers alike. Be a close to reality as you can and be prepared to show how you intend to make use of funds to promote your business and grow its revenue stream enough that your company is seen as a "low risk" and not a high one.

Good luck!