Author: Complete Controller

Determine Your Average Income and Expenses

If you’ve had inconsistent revenue for a few years, one technique is to compute your average net income over the last three years, divide by 12, and use that number to create your current monthly budget. If this amount is insufficient to meet all your costs, consider how you may supplement and raise your income regularly or reduce your spending to bring your budget back into balance.

Choose a System for Budgeting

You’ll need to pick a budget strategy that you’re confident will work for you. It is entirely up to you. Keep in mind that the budget always works.

You may budget with an unpredictable income in various ways, but one of the easiest is zero-based budgeting.

As the name says, this strategy assigns a distinct category to each dollar, peso, or equivalent currency in your budget. This strategy presupposes that you will accidentally discover a way to spend the unallocated funds. You’ll give each dollar a purpose each month to prevent wasting money.

Prioritize Your Expenses Based on Your Variable Income

After you’ve created your budget, you’ll need to rank your spending in order of significance. It entails figuring out which bills should be paid first, second, and third. The four walls, shelter, food, transportation, and utilities are usually in good order.

Suppose you have this priority in place; it guarantees you correctly allocate your money to your most essential budget items when you are paid. Despite your fluctuating income, you have the critical items paid for even if your salary doesn’t cover everything in your budget.

It may also entail making difficult choices and letting go of items you can’t afford, such as eating out or your Netflix membership. It’s critical to keep focused on your objective while determining your budget and avoid spending on things that aren’t required.

Create Your Emergency Fund

The easiest method to deal with periods of low income is to have a sufficient emergency fund. An emergency fund is money to cover costs incurred in an unexpected event, such as a medical crisis or a damaged automobile.

When planning for an irregular income, having an emergency fund might make you feel more at rest, knowing that you’ll be able to pay your obligations if anything unexpected happens or if you’re trapped in a period of low income for longer than intended.

Always Set Your Salary

You calculated your average earnings after calculating your wages for 6 or 12 months. And, regardless of the amount computed, you must specify your wage. This method helps you manage your money and gives you a sense of financial stability.

For example, assume you previously earned $1,500 monthly for six months. However, their monthly income for the remaining six months was 500 dollars. In other words, your 12-month earnings would be 12,000 dollars (1,500*6+500*6= 9,000+3,000). Divide 12,000 dollars by 12 months for an average income of 1,000 dollars. However, we must not forget that these values must be withdrawn from their tax and contribution commitments. You determine your compensation amount only after you have calculated your taxes and contributions.

Remember that you are not entitled to a holiday or a Christmas bonus as a self-employed individual. So, if you wish to plan your finances to save money for your holidays or Christmas, split the amount you withdraw to fulfill your commitments by 14 months.

Conclusion

Try using these five tips as soon as possible to help you solve your irregular expenses and get you on the path to suitable savings! Incorporating these practices into your financial management approach can help you maintain control over your finances, even when your income is unpredictable. With careful planning and discipline, you can achieve excellent financial stability and peace of mind in the face of irregular earnings. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted global activities, especially in the economies of different countries, due to the hindrance businesses face. There are a lot of restrictions put on business operations, which are decreasing their sales; unemployment has increased globally during the pandemic, causing people to spend less, resulting in fewer sales for most businesses in different sectors. According to various research, the most challenging goal for companies to achieve during the pandemic is finding new customers for the industry, especially for new and startup businesses. Finding new customers is not the only challenge for new companies, but having existing customers revisit their businesses is tricky. Finding funds and sources of finance is also quite a challenge for new and established businesses. Even some stable companies find it hard to get references for finance to expand during the pandemic. Keeping up with laws and other policies and regulations was also very hard for new business owners. Another big problem businesses are facing is finding the right people for their business during COVID-19.

Many startup businesses cannot find a good HR team due to the lack of funds in the company, and they end up with no professional help to recruit employees, especially during the pandemic, which forces the entrepreneurs to do this job themselves. For an inexperienced recruiter, understanding all the rules and laws for employees, shortlisting applications, interviewing candidates, and running a background check can be extremely hectic and challenging. Finding the right people to operate the business is significant as a business’s real success depends on its staff’s productivity and behavior. Staff recruitment issues that are happening in startup businesses during the COVID-19 are listed below.

No Human Resources (HR) Team

Due to the lack of funds in the business, startups usually cannot hire a whole recruitment team that comes under the HR department. That means the business owner will have to recruit the employees by themselves, which takes up a lot of time and creates high costs. During the pandemic, it is already hard for entrepreneurs to make decisions as they are always worried about making the wrong move, resulting in disasters and failures.

Strict Checks on Employees

 After the world has been affected by COVID-19, new rules and regulations are starting to happen. For example, the recruiter should ensure their employees are vaccinated, follow the COVID regulations, and wear masks. It would also be the recruiter’s job to provide leave to the affected employees and bear the cost of the time they will not be working.

Not Finding the Right Match 

Due to facing a lot of financial struggles and losses during COVID-19, startup businesses prefer employees who are not demanding pay that could cost you an arm and a leg. But due to the sudden price increase worldwide, the employees would want enough salary to meet their ends. Finding the right candidate for your business during COVID-19 is quite challenging.

Frequent Changes and New Regulations

As the new Delta variant has emerged globally, the governments of different countries are putting up new rules and restrictions to prevent the spread of it. The new changing rules result in a change in consumer demand, which means you cannot predict how much staff you need to operate your business and meet the requirements to generate sales. This pressure can significantly affect your and your employees’ mental health.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurs who have started new businesses during COVID-19 should consider staffing tips and find ways to overcome the issues they face to make their businesses successful during this crucial time. It is challenging for new companies to survive during the pandemic, but it will not be hard to make their business successful and stable if they follow the right tactics. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Unlocking the Power of Cloud Hosting: Boost Your Business Today!

What if you could transform how your business operates—lower costs, speed up processes, and increase flexibility—all through a single solution? That’s the game-changing promise of cloud hosting. Over the past 15 years as the founder of Complete Controller, I’ve guided countless businesses toward the tools and technologies that help them thrive. Cloud hosting ranks high on that list of transformative tools.

Let’s get specific. Cloud hosting drives scalability, strengthens security, enhances uptime, and makes remote work a seamless reality. More than just a “nice-to-have,” it has become the foundation for any modern company looking to stay competitive in a fast-moving market. Here’s the why and how behind cloud hosting’s power and what it can do for your bottom line.

Scalability: Grow Smarter, Without Growing Pains

Why scalability matters

Picture a holiday surge wiping out an e-commerce site because the servers hit capacity. Or a business burning cash on underutilized IT infrastructure in quiet months. I’ve seen companies waste tens of thousands of dollars because they focused on rigid tech solutions and failed to anticipate growth.

With scalable cloud hosting, those scenarios simply don’t happen. Resources automatically adjust with demand, scaling up when traffic increases and scaling back during slower times. This flexibility means you only pay for what you need when you need it.

Benefits of cloud scalability:

• Seamlessly handle traffic surges without downtime.
• Avoid overpaying for unused server capacity.
• Enable startups—and established businesses—to grow at their own pace.

Case Study: A Sneaker Startup’s Success

Imagine a small sneaker business launching a viral campaign. Sales opportunities multiply tenfold overnight, along with web traffic. Thanks to cloud hosting, extra server resources kick in seamlessly, avoiding site crashes and capturing every order. According to cloud hosting benefits, scalable systems mean capturing growth opportunities without unnecessary headaches.

Stat: By 2023, 31% of organizations expect to run 75% of their workloads in the cloud, with 54% planning to move operations within 12 months [1].

Cost Efficiency: Do More While Spending Less

Smart spending with pay-as-you-go

As the CEO of Complete Controller, I’ve always told clients: “Why buy a fleet of trucks for one delivery?” Similarly, cloud hosting operates on a pay-as-you-go model. Instead of massive upfront costs for hardware and IT teams, businesses use only what they truly need.

Key advantages:

• Eliminate large upfront expenses for physical equipment.
• Slash maintenance and repair costs.
• Redirect budgets toward innovation, hiring, or product development.

Case Study: Sunny Delight Saves Big

A company like Sunny Delight illustrates the impact of cloud hosting’s cost-efficiency. Moving insights and operations to the cloud saved $195,000 in staffing costs and added $2 million in profits, as highlighted in Salesforce’s report on cloud benefits.

Real Insight: Deloitte reports that small to medium-sized businesses using cloud computing see 21% higher profits and grow 26% faster [3].

Security: Protect What Matters Most

Built-in protection

Cybersecurity might not seem like a daily concern until it becomes an issue. Trust me, I’ve worked with clients whose data breaches inflicted serious financial and reputational damage. Cloud hosting shifts data protection responsibility onto providers with industry-leading security protocols.

Included features:

• End-to-end encryption shields sensitive information.
• Routine audits ensure data vulnerabilities are caught early.
• Access controls limit who can view or alter critical files.

Google Cloud security measures include firewalls, SSL certificates, and robust multi-factor authentication. When your hosting solution is secure, you can stop worrying about losses and focus on delivering value to your customers.

Stat: A Salesforce survey showed that 94% of IT professionals believe cloud services offer stronger security than on-premises IT solutions.

Reliability and Uptime: Keep Your Business Running

The cost of downtime

Server crashes cost time, money, and—most importantly—customer trust. Reliable cloud hosting leverages redundancy: data stored across multiple servers ensures that services remain available even if one system fails.

Real perks:

1. Near-perfect uptime that guarantees availability.
2. Automated data backups for swift recovery in emergencies.
3. The ability to maintain continuous customer service during disasters.

Preventing Catastrophic Downtime

Consider the case of a retail chain that leverages multi-cloud hosting for disaster recovery. The company bounced back from an outage in hours instead of days using automatic server backups, avoiding financial losses [1].

Work From Anywhere: Accessibility Transformed

A cloud that travels

Whether you lead a team in one city or across multiple time zones, the ability to access data anywhere empowers agility and collaboration. When I shifted my team at Complete Controller to cloud-based systems, productivity skyrocketed. Cloud hosting keeps businesses—and bookkeeping—running smoothly anywhere there’s internet access.

Practical Benefits:

• Team members can collaborate in real-time—even while continents apart.
• Mobile workflows integrate effortlessly for hybrid work scenarios.
• Bookkeeping processes stay streamlined, whether at home or in-office.

I recommend researching efficient bookkeeping practices to maximize these tools for global teams and solo entrepreneurs alike.

Innovation: Stay Cutting-Edge

Always evolving

Here’s the thing about cloud technology—it doesn’t stagnate. Providers are constantly introducing new features, from AI-powered analytics to blockchain security enhancements, giving businesses the ability to stay on the cutting edge without constant spending.

Competitive Advantages:

• Roll out new apps or services quickly using managed cloud capabilities.
• Automate repetitive tasks to save labor hours.
• Tap into emerging tools like predictive analytics to make smarter decisions.

Need proof? According to a Salesforce survey, 77% of businesses using cloud hosting report outpacing competitors. The ability to adopt innovation faster is cash conversion cycle management done right.

Better for the Planet—and Your Peace of Mind

A greener tomorrow

Moving to the cloud isn’t just smart; it’s sustainable. Shared server resources mean less energy waste, which is good for both your wallet and the environment.

Stat: Despite storing massive amounts of global data, cloud data centers only use about 3% of the world’s energy consumption [5].

Around-the-clock support

Another lifeline? Cloud providers offer robust 24/7 customer support to guide you through upgrades, server issues, or maintenance hiccups. Think of them as your tech insurance policy: always there when you need it.

Wrapping It All Up

Over my career, I’ve witnessed how embracing cloud hosting transforms businesses, giving them the agility and confidence to scale, save money, and serve customers better. From its high uptime to unmatched security and team accessibility, cloud hosting simplifies so many pain points.

So, are you ready to unlock new opportunities for your business? Whether you’re running a budding startup or managing a global enterprise, cloud hosting works for you. Let us at Complete Controller help you choose the right cloud solution for your business—and ensure it’s a perfect fit.

FAQ

What is cloud hosting’s main scalability benefit?

It scales resources automatically based on traffic, avoiding server overloads or wasteful costs.

How does cloud hosting cut expenses?

Pay-as-you-go pricing eliminates significant upfront hardware investments.

How secure is cloud hosting?

Providers offer advanced firewalls, encryption, and access controls.

What makes cloud hosting reliable?

Multiple servers ensure near-perfect uptime and secure data backups.

Is cloud hosting suitable for remote teams?

Absolutely. It fosters real-time, location-independent collaboration.

For expert guidance, click here, and let’s transform your business together.

Sources

1. CloudZero. “101 Shocking Cloud Computing Statistics (UPDATED 2024).”
2. G2. “160+ Fascinating Cloud Computing Statistics for 2024.”
3. Clarity Ventures. “The Benefits of Cloud Hosting – Clarity Ventures.”
4. DigitalOcean on Cloud Hosting Benefits.
5. Salesforce. “Top 12 Benefits of Cloud Computing | Salesforce US.”

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Here are expert guidelines for launching your new business successfully.

Starting a new business requires much hard work and effort as you must deal with many legal, financial, sales, marketing, human resources, and other issues. But without this struggle, you cannot turn your idea into a successful business.

In this article, we will give you some expert tips for entrepreneurs who are starting a new business.

How to Start a New Business

In the beginning, you might be wondering where to start. What should be the name and logo of your business, and how to tackle your business structure? It might not seem easy to know the proper steps to take. But don’t worry, that’s fine and happens to everyone. Starting your new business is about trial and error, and you must work to find out how that works for you and your customers.

Following are the steps you can take to help you kick-start the development of your business.

Determine What You Want

Before starting and launching your business, taking stock of yourself and your situation is essential.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your reason for starting a new business?
• Which skills do you have?
• What do you know about different industries?
• Are you going to provide a service or a product?
• How much money do you have to invest?
• Will it be a part-time or full-time business?
• What do you like to do?

The answers to these questions will help you choose better options.

Conduct Self-Assessment

Before starting, you must plan, set goals, and know yourself. Try to analyze your strengths and weaknesses and how they will affect your day-to-day operations.

As your business grows, it will probably dominate your life, so make sure that what you do is challenging but not entirely outside your expertise. You will be in this phase for a long time, so choose wisely. It is better to ask the following questions from yourself on this step:

• What would you like to do if money was not an issue?
• Which is the one thing that matters the most to you?
• Is your family supporting you? Especially your immediate family? These people must make sacrifices at the beginning of your business, so they are there to help you.
• According to you, is money necessary? If it is crucial for you, you will cut out several options.

Conduct Market Research

Once you decide on the business that fits your goals and lifestyle, it’s time to evaluate your idea. Who is going to buy your products or services? Who will be your competitors? It will help you address your opportunity, competition sections, and your lean plan market size.

You can do this in several ways, including:

• Perform general Google searches.
• Talk to people already working in the relevant industry.
• Read a book by the people belonging to your industry.
• Research key people
• Read relevant industry magazines and news sites.
• If possible, take one or two classes.

Note Down Your Business Plan

A business plan is a necessity if you are seeking outside financing. A business plan will help you if you will finance the venture yourself. It will also help you figure out how much money you need to get started and how to make your business profitable. This business plan will be a road map to help you chart your progress and show you the right direction. It will also highlight what you need to do to reach your goals. Instead of using this plan only once, utilize it as a tool to help you manage your business and achieve your goals faster. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Recording all the economic data of a business relating to the company’s financial health is known as accounting. The accounting side of a business is what makes or breaks an organization.

A company’s accounting system includes a set pattern of recording all the data: the investment, the cost, profit, loss, or an asset. All this information is noted in different avenues of the accounting system of a business; this would include a balance sheet, an income statement, a profit & loss report, and cash flow statements. These financial calculations allow a business owner to judge their business and assess its progress in the market. 

But first, let us understand why you should keep paying attention to bookkeeping. Those business owners who do not pay any heed to business accounting and do not have a proper bookkeeping system could be in deep trouble. You should be a better business owner and keep your accounting system in check.

Why Is Accounting Important?

Accounting refers to jotting down all the transactions that make for the stability of your business. Setting up an inventory, sales, management, and every other aspect of business under the sun that has been added to your business plan to complete it needs to be identified and noted.

Noting down all the transactions done for the sake of the business plays a pivotal role in allowing the stakeholder to prepare their future decisions strategically. These decisions could potentially change the future of the company. 

This data also proves vital when a business owner is acquiring an investor. Accounting information reflects the company’s financial health and would cater to the organization’s future needs. The competition in the market is challenging, so the business owner needs to be fully equipped for the competitive air out there. To do this, the caretakers of the business must stay ahead in their accounts and have a correctly set system in place so that they do not have to deal with a plethora of calculations. 

Start From Day One: When you enter the market, you will receive a massive list of unsolicited advice, likely from those whose businesses have already drowned. Be smart and throw the list away because that list expects to be the suggestion: accounts can be taken care of later, do not worry.

The fact is it cannot take care of accounts later. A wise businessperson would always start on the first day of their business. Know that bookkeeping is just as essential for the business as setting up an inventory is. 

Do Not Mix Personal with Professional

You should create a separate bank account that would solely be for the finances of your business. If you do this right from the beginning, you will never face economic confusion because your personal and financial data will never intermingle. 

To open a business account, you could use your social security number (if you are the sole proprietor of your business). 

Create a Budget

Yes, we know finances can be tight when starting a new business. To keep yourself and your business in check, develop a straightforward budget to help you assess your company’s requirements. 

Once you have a budget set, the accounts clear by the end of the year. You can compare the two and see how your business has performed according to what you had in mind for it. 

A Bookkeeper or a Bookkeeping Software?

Business owners often make a mistake: they go into the business thinking they will be available 24/7 to cater to the company’s needs. It means they also decide to do the bookkeeping, which never happens. 

It would help to get a bookkeeper immediately before your financial records become a hot mess. A bookkeeper would oversee keeping your business accounts straight. 

You could also get bookkeeping software, which does the job automatically after being fed the required data. 

We hope you have read this article before diving into your business because now you know why you should pay heed to an accounting system. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Procuring capital for your brand-new venture could be one of the most challenging tasks on this planet. Assessing your business, hatching up a plan, and contacting investors could be strenuous, especially if you are new to this stream. The pressure mounts on the business owner as it is their job to land an astounding pitch that would get them the investment they need for the progress of their venture.

The company’s growth depends on the investor’s interest in your business. Regardless of where the funding comes from, the entrepreneur must devise an effective strategy to capture the investor’s attention by sharing the best bits about their business with them. Financial support plays a principal role in how the business plan evolves.

If you are new to this business, you may want to stick around to read about the foolproof ways to grab the investor’s attention.

Memorize Your Pitch By Heart

Just know that you get one chance at it.

Practice your pitch to the point that you know it by heart. While this would put your memory to evaluate, a unique angle would also beg your vocal expressions and gestures to stand out. The purpose of a pitch is to grab an investor’s attention just enough to get them to schedule a meeting with you. It would also mean that you would have to go over the minute details and instead focus on the solid facts about your business plan that make it unique.

Failing your pitch equates to you failing to land that specific investor. So, get into the rhythm and prepare an angle that would blow everyone’s minds.

Present Financial Evidence

Keep one thing in mind: numbers are everything.

You grab the investor’s attention when you start speaking in numbers. Let us get this straight: the investor is only interested in the numbers (in other words, money) you can fetch through the progress of your business.

It is vital that you set the financial records straight in front of the investor. It would give them plausible evidence to base their decision on. If your previous numbers are impressive, you can procure the check from the investor.

Know Your Audience

While pitching your idea to an investor, be smart and identify your audience. If your idea is rock solid but not pointed in the right direction, your business will fail, and the investor will not be interested in investing.

Whatever service or product you are trying to induct into the market, you should have an audience. This audience is a targeted group of people who would ideally be interested in your business plan. If you are confident about your audience, this will amplify the investor’s trust in you and your venture.

Have a Plan

A well-rounded plan would include an insight into the future of how the entrepreneur wishes to take things forward. A method for the next five years would be an excellent place to start. It would include the marketing plan, innovations for the product/service, sales target, and goals, short-term and long-term.

The investor wishes to know your plan to weigh your business’s success in the market competition. You will not get that investment if your business plan is inadequate or lacks prioritization. Ensure that your business plan checks all the boxes. It would increase the investor’s confidence in your business and credibility.

Research the Market

Make sure that you go into the conference room well-prepared.

Adequate knowledge about the market would prepare you for the worst as you expect the best. Chances are, there is already healthy competition in the field you are preparing to step into. Understanding the selling points of all your counterparts would prepare you to tackle them. Present this knowledge to the potential investor to let them know you are serious about business and give anything to take it forward.

These five steps could be your gateway to acquiring the attention of your potential investors. Despite there not being a guarantee of getting that check, your chances would significantly increase if you took the steps mentioned above.i. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

For any business operation or working relationship to work, you must follow specific rules and regulations to avoid loss and reap maximum benefit. Particularly in finance management, following a strict set of guidelines is crucial for any business. Failure to implement such rules can result in severe financial losses and even bankruptcy. It is why audits take place.

The finance department of a company, particularly its accountants and bookkeepers, has a crucial responsibility of correctly managing the financial data and reporting discrepancies without bias. Finance professionals must adapt to a strict code of conduct for their credibility as an accountant and its benefits.

This is why companies have a particular set of professional and ethical guidelines for the accounting department.

What are Accounting Ethics?

Since the individuals working in the finance department of a company have access to sensitive data, all such individuals must be bound by a code of conduct that restricts them from leaking data or manipulating the numbers in the balance sheets. This is where accounting ethics come into play.

Accounting ethics are a set of strict rules implemented for the accounts professionals of the company. Every company either creates its guidelines for the finance department or follows the standards set by the various associations of Certified Public Accountants.

Most ethics established by global bodies focus on the responsibilities of the CPAs and put a lot of stress on the academic and professional qualifications of every working individual in the finance department. A certified public accountant must lead the finance department to adhere to the state’s regulations and not succumb to the pressures of taxes, interests, and financial manipulations.

Here are some generalized accounting ethics that every company implements for its finance department.

Independent and Unbiased Accounts Operations

One of the critical issues companies face regarding finance management is the dependence and lack of objectivity among the accountants at work. As an accountant, it is essential to set aside personal priorities and manage the company’s accounts independently and objectively. Biasedness can lead to manipulating the numbers and cause long-term losses for the company. Thus, independence and objectivity are the primary elements in accounting ethics.

Integrity

Often, finance professionals fail to distinguish between what’s right by them and what’s right by the company. It is why integrity is one of the basic elements of accounting ethics. Accountants must dissociate themselves from factual information and report discrepancies without bias, especially when the case is about fraudulent information or malicious omission of essential details, which could significantly impact their financial standings.

Professionalism

The code of professionalism binds every accountant, and any intentional act of misjudgment or misinterpretation can put a question on the entire profession. Accountants need to adhere to state laws and comply with all regulations enforced within the company’s jurisdictions. This professionalism is the key to delivering the best accounting practices.

Competence and Expertise

While it is already necessary for accountants to have a proper academic qualification before starting a professional career in finance management and accounting, several other things come into play. Since the industry is evolving rapidly, accountants must keep up with the pace and remain updated with new regulations, tax laws, compliances, and technological advancements in accounting and bookkeeping tools. Many changes in the state regulations can change the outcome of an accountant’s analysis of financial statements. Thus, an accountant must have the right expertise and undergo proper training before being appointed to a professional organization.

Confidentiality

It is one of the most critical elements of accounting ethics. Since accountants have access to all the data and financial statements of a company, they must ensure confidentiality and make sure that no such data or information about a company is shared with or discussed with a competitor or any other irrelevant person.

About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Creating a household budget may not be the easiest thing in the world, but let us assure you one thing: it is certainly not the hardest either.

If this is your first time creating a household budget, the task may seem daunting, but it is not. All you need to do is track your income, identify your expenses, and create an expenditure plan for yourself.

Before we get down to business, let us understand why you need a budget to run a household smoothly.

Why is Budgeting Important?

Before you get down to business, you must understand why you need a budget for your domestic requirements. A budget is a financial plan that clearly states and divides the usage of money for the household.

When one starts taking up these adult responsibilities, it could get overwhelming to take time and do the math to create a budget. That is why you should sit down once and for all to analyze how you wish to manage your spending by following the five easy steps below.

Track Your Income

The first step for creating a household budget is to track the amount rolling into your bank account every month. It is your income and decides how much you can spend monthly.

If you know how much you are earning after paying all your taxes, you can create the ultimate plan to cover all your monthly expenses and may even leave you some money to save up, depending on your priorities.

Identify Your Expenses

Once you have the base amount you are dealing with, you should start identifying your monthly expenses. It could include your rent, groceries, utilities, transportation expenses, money spent on hobbies, and other channels.

One tip that may significantly impact your spending would be categorizing and prioritizing your expenses. Highlighting how much you are spending on each channel will help you realize where you may need to curb your costs. It is a significant step for those who may be looking to have some savings to their name.

Create a Plan

Now that you know your net income and have narrowed down your monthly expenses, you should start creating a plan that would aid you in spending the rest of your month smoothly without worrying about any financial crisis.

It would help if you began by separating the fixed and variable expenses. The fixed costs can easily be catered to as you can always identify them by tracking your previous records and spending habits.

A plan should help you differentiate between your ‘wants’ and ‘needs.’ For example, getting the groceries done is a ‘need,’ which is why you cannot save up in this department, but getting a Netflix subscription is a ‘want,’ which is why you could always choose not to get it if you are a little tight on money.

Have Goals

Budgeting may seem like just another household chore, but it could assist you in achieving your dreams.

Before you start implementing your budgeting plan, sit down and make a list of all your financial goals that you wish to achieve in the short term and long term. Your short-term goals should be ones you would accomplish within the next year, whereas you could set long-term goals for the distant future. For example, your short-term goal is buying a new television, but your long-term goals include your child’s education and a retirement plan.

Adjust Accordingly

Any budgeting plan created is never set in stone. Priorities change over time, as may your income. It is why you must be ready to make the changes in your household budget as per the hour’s requirement to cater to all your needs accordingly.

Having a budget could bring a sense of properness to the financial situation as it would help you soothe any wrinkles stopping you from making sound financial decisions. Ensure that the plan you have created is not too unrealistic and has enough room for slight variations.About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Like everything else, an accounting cycle also has a specific time when a business owner must close it down. It is a necessary step in keeping the accounting system of a company free from any complexities. But this is not something that all business owners understand.

Closing an accounting cycle helps you smooth out any wrinkles and define the balances left at the end of the process. It enables you to stay coordinated with all the stakeholders.

You must follow specific steps when you begin closing an accounting cycle. It would help if you went about it systematically to avoid any inconveniences later. But before jumping into that topic, we must first understand an accounting cycle.

What is an Accounting Cycle?

An accounting cycle records all the company’s financial data saved, analyzed, and recorded over time. In an accounting cycle, all the data, including payrolls, investments, payments, profits, and any losses the business may have sustained in a specified period.

It assists a business owner in identifying all transactions revolving around the business and helps them analyze them, sort them out, and highlight the trial balance. Keeping the company’s finances clean and clear through an accounting cycle would allow the business owner far more than they can imagine.

Closing an Accounting Cycle and Why It Is Important 

The process of closing all accounting entries begins once an accounting cycle ends. Each accounting cycle stays in use for a specific amount of time before it is time to bring it to a conclusion. The job of closing entries is to clear out any dues and balances before a new cycle begins.

Closing an accounting cycle is one of the essential parts of having a successful accounts system for your business. Clearing any due payments means that the balances are all presented clearly, so no doubts are in the equation. Although sorting and keeping the finances organized is what accounting is based on, clearing due and balances is an equally crucial step that would keep the business in excellent financial health.

Closing entries also highlight the progress of the company. Once the cycle is closed, all remittances are calculated and compared to the past year’s. It would be vital for the business owner to conduct their expenses if they know their company’s performance.

Steps to Close an Account Manually

1. The first step in closing entries for an accounting cycle is that the accountant/business owner must identify and locate all the revenue accounts under the company’s name.
2. Once located and identified, the accountant must calculate each entry made in the accounting journals for each account to calculate the credit and trial balance.
3. The accountant should return the accounts to zero credit so that it can clear the report.
4. The next step would be to locate all accounts that deal with expenses. Once these accounts have been found, as with the revenue accounts, the accountant must calculate each entry for all the expense accounts to bring the credit down to zero.
5. The calculations then move towards the income summary accounts. If there is a credit balance by the time the funds are cleared, that would mean that the company has profited. But if the balance is in deficit, the company has suffered a loss during that cycle.
6. Finally, the accountant must turn their attention towards the dividend as well as the savings accounts. Once these have been cleared, it can calculate the company’s net income.

Let the Software do the Job

With the world undergoing a technological revolution, life has never been easier. Companies now invest in accounting and financial software to cater to their needs. The software does the job without making you go through the hassle of all the calculations, making the situation complex. Now is the time to invest in accounting software to complete the job easier and save the cost of employing an accountant.About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.

Thanks to technology and globalization, you can access innumerable investments that will make your money grow. However, knowing the difference between planning your finances and investing your saved resources is essential.

While financial planning can include investments, investment planning is generally done by a professional specializing in stocks and other investments. A financial advisor helps a person with budgets, savings, planning for retirement, large purchases, and other general personal or business financial planning and advice.

What Does a Financial Advisor Do?

A financial advisor usually gives suggestions to clients lacking in-depth financial knowledge. The financial advisor receives a commission or percentage in exchange for their work. The consults for consumers and SMEs are part of their work. Be it goods or services. They are sometimes the intermediary between buyers and sellers.

Among their tasks is keeping track of the transactions they formalize. It would be best if you were careful about the laws. You have to monitor the transactions you helped carry out, establish business relationships with customers, and keep track of those that have already been made.

Accessing and developing new products or diverse markets is part of their work. Some activities that help you succeed are market research, reviewing current trends, and looking for other areas. Keep the records up to date so that the planning of strategies is kept in order and the objectives are met.

Your communication and initiative with the client must efficiently discuss results, generate meetings, and set new goals. Financial advisors provide customized financial solutions and execute orders in the stock market and financial products, i.e., shares and annuities.

In the same way, they manage financial activities on behalf of their clients. They occasionally provide advisory and consulting services; however, their work is merely based on a relationship of planning and transactions or financial operations.

What is an Investment Advisor?

The investment advisor is a professional who uses their knowledge and experience in managing their clients’ investment portfolios. The figure of the investment advisor is known in other countries as Investment Advisor. It has been very successful so that many of the world’s most significant heritages have an advisor with them.

The advisor designs investment strategies based on their objectives, risk tolerance, and unique investment ideas. Apply these strategies to your customers’ accounts and update them according to the events in the financial markets.

It seeks to inform you as widely as possible about the product you are interested in since most of the investors’ complaints regarding their adviser are given because the client did not understand how the contracted instrument operates.

By the Securities Market Law, investment advisors should profile their clients and explain how they will obtain benefits and the risks that their investments could have. They also make investment decisions on behalf of third parties if authorized by the owner. They give recommendations and provide investment advice.

Consider if your advisor has a long or short history. Remember that someone with experience of at least four years in the same institution is better than a young person with a short time since graduation. Experience always pays off when something so precious as your finances are involved. This is not the place to be frugal. 

Check if it is someone who has credentials. Independent investment advisors and those belonging to a credit institution, broker-dealer, investment fund operator, or fund managers for retirement require registration with the CNBV and comply with the measures established by the Market Law of Values.

Occasionally, the advisor can also be an investment portfolio manager. You need to know your experience operating other investors’ money and the results you obtained. About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.