Build Business Financial Awareness this February
February 2, 2022
Running a small business is an exciting enterprise, capable of offering significant gratification for owners, employees and customers alike. Now is the perfect time to address the financial wellness of your business endeavor. But managing business finances is a complex, never-ending process and often a deciding factor in your ultimate success. Many business owners did not start their business to manage finances and many lack the experience or knowledge to do so efficiently.
Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress (GOPIP) can help by offering our expertise to direct you to the knowledgeable experts and programs that will make financial management an advantage in your business success. We recommend working with our local Small Business Development Center (SBDC), America's SBDC Iowa at Indian Hills Community College, a business management consultant entity which can provide financial expertise and link to assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Financial experts can assist entrepreneurs and small businesses with business essentials, such as how to create an initial budget, develop financial projects and learn how to manage cash flow.
Technology Assistance
After getting a start on managing your finances, it becomes important to manage these plans on a daily and monthly basis - something that is not always easy for business owners. As a company grows, it can become possible to hire a full-time accountant, controller or CFO. Technological applications have made it easier than ever for entrepreneurs and small business owners to manage their finances. The following tools offer many advantages for solopreneurs and small business owners to manage company finances on their own:
Keeping track of business expenses is not always easy, especially for business owners who are incredibly busy or on the road a lot. Expensify allows for integration between the app and credit cards and debit cards. This way, expenses can be uploaded and managed without manual data entry.
Service-based businesses will find the customizable invoicing features of FreshBooks to offer significant advantages. Beyond invoice management, the cloud-based bookkeeping and integrations with many other financial software programs make FreshBooks a program small business owners should investigate to help streamline their daily operations.
This app allows companies to manage their payroll, tax and benefits. The app reports any new hires to the government, ensuring that nothing is accidentally missed during the onboarding process. Plus, they handle state and federal taxes and even email digital pay stubs to employees. This means that a business owner can manage everything from their phone late at night or on the road. There is no need to print out paystubs or worry about tax filings.
QuickBooks is still a popular tool for small business accounting. It can sink with your bank accounts to make it easier to reconcile the books at the end of the month, manage invoices, keep track of vendor payments and more. Most businesses can benefit from using this software daily, or at least monthly. Since QuickBooks is a full accounting software, it can take time to learn how to use it. Fortunately, we have resources who can help.
Accepting payments is easier than ever thanks to Square. It is possible to order a card reader that plugs into any smartphone. This means that business owners, salespeople, and employees can all take payments on the spot. Doing so can improve cash flow by providing quick access to capital, rather than waiting for invoices to be mailed and paid at a later date.
Small businesses looking for free accounting software should investigate the features offered by Wave. Accounting, invoicing and receipt scanning is made simple with its mobile app, which seamlessly incorporates multiple businesses into one account.
Micro-businesses are defined as those small businesses with only a few employees, who often wear multiple hats to keep their operations running smoothly. These individuals will find the accounting software Xero to be extremely appealing. Its cloud-based platform offers flexibility with a mobile app, along with payroll integration with Gusto and inventory management, all at a subscription rate that makes sense for small businesses.
In-person help from the GOPIP or SBDC
New tech is changing the business landscape by making it possible for business owners to do more with less time. Still, technology cannot replace the benefit of sitting down with an expert knowledgeable in your region. Either Sharon Stroh (641-799-1203) with GOPIP or Darrell Sarmento (641-683-5127) at America's Small Business Development Center Iowa at Indian Hills Community College are available to help with your business health and plan for financial success!
