Author: Complete Controller

Our company is growing and evolving on a day-to-day basis. Our primary purpose is the standardization of the full-charge bookkeeping cycle, which has moving parts that vary by industry and client needs.  Bookkeeping has multiple options; the challenge is to define best practices and choose the one best for the company. At first, we added to the process manual for each role within the company. We made sure the processes had accountability points where a person outside of the process would be aware if it weren’t completed or proper. Our manuals became robust, and there was no way to ensure that the staff members in a given role had a working understanding of all the material. We applied these tools for knowledge management, and our knowledge share is now more efficient and exciting than ever:

Training Videos – We created a series of training videos to help orient new staff members or those entering into a new role within the company. They are supported by outlines on which we require our trainees to make notes and give them to their supervisor. This does the following: we are reaching the visual and written learners, we are ensuring that videos are being watched all the way through, and we are mining information about the content and the trainee. If we keep seeing the same questions pop up on those outline notes about a given subject, we know we need to improve our training in that area. If we see inconsistent or off-subject notes, we know that the trainee cannot learn this way, be meticulous, or stay on point – all indications that the role may not be a good fit for them.

Testing & Continuing Education – After they have watched all the videos and taken one long read through the process manual that applies to their role, we give them an open-book test. All the answers are searchable within the manual, and this practice helps us to get their head into the manual, using it as a reference guide and bringing attention to the details of critical processes. Since our process manuals are continually evolving, continuing internal education is critical. Our staff answers a quick set of continuing education questions every month that set them up for success in their roles. Some processes occur once a year, so the continuing education questions are a great way to refresh their knowledge about how to handle seasonal tasks properly. Of course, we also include questions about the new or changed processes so they come to attention. This has been effective in reducing requests for support in tasks that are already outlined in the manual, increasing our staff efficiency.

Management Brainstorming – We have five levels of accountability within our company: Data Entry, Bookkeepers, Controllers, Operations, and Executive staff. At all levels, we have talented, experienced, and highly educated people who love the company and want to see us become more valuable, more efficient, and more effective in the market we serve. I believe that executive staff who do not recognize the talent of their team and instead ‘dictate from on high’ miss out on great feedback and have a hard time creating the passion that fuels collaboration and personal responsibility. If a staff member is always carrying out someone else’s wishes and doesn’t have the opportunity and encouragement to share their thoughts and ideas, they won’t be excited about their workplace. We offer a forum for brainstorming where our management-level team members air concerns, discuss potential solutions, work through processes that aren’t working, and discover untapped opportunities. Our non-management staff is recognized when they bring a good idea to the attention of management, and they get a bonus if implemented in part or whole.

These strategies have drastically improved knowledge management within our small business environment, and they are affordable – we were able to create all our training and tests in-house by the people who are closest to work. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive to be effective. 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.

As a company that has grown into a nationwide presence over the past decade, we at Complete Controller take pride in being the first ones to acknowledge the benefits of a virtual workplace. Our team has never been restricted to cubicles, time-consuming commutes, or structured 9-5 workday schedules. Our entirely cloud-based workplace has proven to be highly effective. Here are some of the benefits of a virtual workforce, and what you should look out for:

Keep Costs Down

As accountants, we are always mindful of our expenses. One of the most significant benefits of having a virtual workforce is the considerable savings on leasehold improvements, rent, and overhead expenses. By not having a physical office, we can direct those resources to other critical areas of our business. Additionally, having a virtual team allows us to access a wider pool of talented professionals, regardless of their location. This way, we can hire the best fit for the job, regardless of their proximity to our office. Overall, the freedom and flexibility that comes with having a virtual workforce are highly advantageous for our business.

Keep Morale Up

By keeping it virtual, we are naturally more concerned with work product than work time. We already know how long it takes to do the work, so we can determine if a staff member is struggling and give them the training or support they may need to get up to speed. If their work product is excellent, they can have a job for life, no matter what life changes may occur.

Hire Smarter

A virtual workforce allows us to select from an entire nation of talent. This virtualization of the workforce breaks open the talent pool and brings potential employees from all over the world. Our recruits are hired solely on their merit and abilities, so we do not care about how they dress, what ethnicity they are, or where they live. Since we are dealing with people’s money and sensitive documents, we chose to hire within the U.S., but other types of businesses can draw from an even larger talent pool.

Knowledge Share in Real-Time

We are comfortable conversing and collaborating via email and have learned to clean and extract written knowledge and make it available on the group level. This allows for the quick evolution of the process and the continuous knowledge to be shared within the roles in our organization. To support the quick identification of data, every team member should understand the organization’s mission and core values. The main objective is to be able to share knowledge and best practices in real time, which can positively influence every team member’s workflow.

Build a Culture

One of our values is the promotion of “Autonomy– Independence without Isolation.” By facilitating collaboration and knowledge shared with each member of our team, we are empowered to make smart decisions. We encourage exchange between team members on a technical level as well as a social level. Although some employers may view it as a waste of valuable time and resources, a great deal of bonding occurs during ‘water cooler’ or ‘coffee break’ time together. Through these virtual interactions, loyalty is developed, and our team is greatly enhanced by glimpsing into one another’s lives beyond the workplace.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurs, small business owners, and larger corporations continue to move in the direction of total office virtualization. It is the smart choice for most service businesses, as the business ‘community’ continues to become a web of interdependent experts that support each business size and type. Businesses today have unprecedented access to expertise outside of their geographic area at a lower cost than ever before due to quick access via the Internet. You can be assured that they will continue to move away from choosing the local in-office standard and begin to move towards a virtual environment. This virtualization opens a world of possibilities for sales, expertise, and employee talent pool. 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.

I am the CEO of a small business, and learning the art of delegation has proven to be the most critical lesson to my company’s growth, workplace satisfaction, and work product standardization.

What was the best advice you’ve gotten about delegating work? I was mentored by an executive at the Coca-Cola corporation who taught me that, to grow my business into a national brand, I must create a reliable and consistent experience for the end-user. Why are customers loyal to Coke? They are loyal because they like it. Naturally, they expect it to be the same every time they buy it. They would be disappointed if it weren’t. I had to handle my brand the same way. But how was I to grow my small bookkeeping business with three bookkeepers and 30 clients into a national brand that delivered a reliable product and service? By delegating the work to the team and making it easy to duplicate.

What made it so valuable? When I fully adopted her way of thinking, it made my refusal of non-conforming clients easy. Instead of trying to change our processes to meet their needs, I was able to tell them that I did not believe we would be able to meet their needs. Thereby eliminating any clients that were looking to run the show themselves, deviate from our established standards for quality, or make demands that caused us to be inefficient. That left me with a client base that valued our service and was pleased to work with us. It also helped me to define for our sales team what we do and what product our clients can expect when they engage us. This training on the sales side helped us to avoid unfit clients in the future. Now, we were ready to grow….but how was I going to teach all those Bookkeepers how I wanted the work done? I couldn’t do it one at a time, so I created precise instruction sets that were combined to become our operating manuals for the positions within our organization.

How would you rate your ability to delegate? Why? My ability to delegate is excellent. I think a major hurdle to delegation is the idea that ‘I can do it better and faster, so I may as well get it done.’ Of course, you can, but that is a self-defeating and task-oriented mentality. What happens when that same situation arises again – as surely it will repeat itself if your department or company is growing – and this time you don’t have the bandwidth to get it done? Now you have become the problem – not the solution. I always suggest my managers do everything at least once so they can understand the concepts and steps involved in any given task. Once they know it, they need to create an instruction set and delegate the task. When we delegate, we either record it in a manual or instruction set or record the training in video format, which can be shared with anyone who needs to do that task in the future. Yes, this takes a lot more time than doing it yourself, but it is much better for the team and the company.

What do you wish you could improve about your delegation skills? I need to be careful to express the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ when I delegate a task. I find that if I explain the purpose behind the task, team members will carry the torch and be more studious about quality and timeliness. They take ownership of it, and often, they will improve upon the instructions to make the task more efficient or find overlap benefits in other areas.

What do you have trouble with? What have the consequences been? Since ours is a small business, I have the propensity to wear all the hats. I want to know what’s going on in every area, and I want to learn about each facet before I decide who is best for the job. The cure for this is to remember that I have qualified, intelligent, dedicated staff members on the team, and they want what’s best for the company as well. When I resist the urge to be involved and instead delegate the learning curve and team selection decision to someone else, the flow begins again, and we can move forward on more fronts than ever before.

How do you choose the right person to whom to delegate a task? One of the keys to delegation is the creation of Quality Control checks that allow you to decide if the work is completed properly and on time. Good, strong QC checks will help you avoid a culture of micro-management. I will typically choose the person who can do the task most efficiently, and then I will select another person to whom they have to be accountable. The accountability partner receives data from the task performer, and the sign that something is amiss is the absence of communication or data. In this passive role, that person can oversee a multitude of tasks and offer support when and where needed to get something back on track.

Once you build the processes and QC stops for each position, delegation is not a problem, and the future growth of a department or business is reliant on adding new clients and new team members.

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.

Keeping yourself informed about your credit score will help you stay one step ahead of creditors and avoid errors that could hurt you later. It’s easy to do, and often it’s free!
Keeping on top of your credit score can prevent identity theft or being denied loans. Checking your scores regularly will help you stay informed and on top of any discrepancies so you will never get hit with any credit surprises.

Keeping Track of Your Credit

Your credit score is an important tool. It will be used your whole life to determine your eligibility for each of the financial decisions you make. Knowing where this number falls on the credit scale will make sure that you are positively portrayed to creditors. When your credit score is correct, you can optimize the chances of qualifying for whatever loan you might apply for. If you don’t know the status of your score, you might be missing out on the advantages that come with a high credit score.

Keeping track of your score and fixing errors that may appear is the best way you can detect issues that may have been missed by the credit bureau. You can also fix larger issues like identity theft earlier, which can be crucial under those circumstances. When accessing this information is free, why not put yourself one step ahead in the game of credit?

Let us discuss what resources we can use to access our credit score, how often is often enough to check that everything is up to date, and how to catch issues such as identity theft before they develop.

Easy and Free Resources to Calculate Your Credit Score

Checking your credit score is easier than you might think. All you have to do is Google free credit reports. You can also contact any of the three credit bureaus to get information on your credit. You can check your score for free once a year by going through Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. Most sites will require some basic information, name, social security number, etc. With that information, they can look up your credit score in detail. These sites will provide you with a number between 300-800 represented on a scale that indicates if you are in a good or bad credit range. They will often also provide a summary of what actions have affected your score. This way, you can adjust behaviors you didn’t know were negatively affecting you and catch any errors that should be removed from your history.

How Often to Check My Score

Making sure that everything looks right and correcting any discrepancies is manageable if you don’t let problems get out of hand. Check your credit score at least once a year. This way, you have an idea of where you sit on the scale. Also, check your score a couple of months before you plan to apply for a loan or a credit card; this way, you have time to correct any issues. On free sites, you can check your score as often as you want without any negative consequences. Most credit score websites will offer free monitoring and will alert you to issues or goals.

Besides the obvious advantages you will have when you are looking to use your credit to get loans or other credit-related benefits, knowing your score gives you control. It can also be a strong motivator to stay on top of your finances and to live within your means.  A good relationship between you and your credit score will mean financial and identity security for you.

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.

Budgeting and keeping track of your finances can seem impossible.  Using a spreadsheet to create a budget worksheet will make budgeting easy! No matter what your financial situation may be, a budget worksheet will be useful to you. Making a budget can seem like a difficult task when you look at your paychecks and bills and wonder if it will even be possible to get through the month. It may be hard to conceive what your potential budget will even look like. You can feel like the numbers will bury you in an unmanageable amount of stress or debt. You do not have to wait for more stability before you face the truth. Having a solid plan will relieve the stress and help you avoid debt.  Creating a budget worksheet is fast and easy, and you may already have access to all the tools you need right in Microsoft Excel. If you do not have Excel, there are identical spreadsheet programs available for free online. Whether you spend more than you make or make more than you need to spend, knowing where the money you earn is going each month is vital. Focusing on your spending habits is crucial when thinking about your budget. Also, it is important to know where to direct the money you have left over.

Making a Budget Using a Spreadsheet

When setting up your spreadsheet, you will have two categories: income and expenses. Both will have three columns: listed sources of income or expenses under the designated category, projected earnings or costs, and actual earnings or costs.

When making a budget, it is important to remember that you will have estimated budget amounts that may differ from your actual expenses. If income or expenses are not a set amount, an estimation will become necessary when setting up the budget columns of the spreadsheet. The suggestion would be to round up to the nearest ten on expenses and round down to the nearest ten for the income estimate. Even if your income or expenses are a fixed amount, this rounding will ensure you do not spend more than your means and also that you have adequate coverage of your expenses.

Under income, in the first column, you will add all your sources of income. This could include your paycheck, cashback on credit cards, financial aid, or other allowances, each of them in their own row. In the next column, “Projected Income”, you will add what you expect to earn in each of these categories. In the last column, “Actual Income”, you will enter what and when you received your respective earnings.

Under expenses, in the first column, you will add all your expenses in the same way you listed your income.  You will also add the projected cost of each item and the actual cost after receiving the bill. You can list your expenses two ways, by largest to smallest or by due date. This will be dependent on what works best for you. 

Most spreadsheet programs will total each column automatically. These totals can now be compared to determine whether your income exceeds your expenses or your expenses exceed your income. Knowing this will help you make smarter spending and saving decisions.  If you have a surplus at the end of the month, you can put it in savings, spend it on items you desire, or take a vacation. If you have spent more than you make, you can use the spreadsheet to identify expenses that can be reduced or cut out.

No matter what your financial situation may be, making and keeping a budget should be a priority. This type of personal bookkeeping can make a difference in your bottom line while also positively affecting your future financial health. Now that you can see that creating a budget worksheet is easy, you can view it as a worthy tool to help control your finances and live stress-free.

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-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure 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.

Your credit score is incredibly important when it comes to your finances. It is vital to know what affects your credit and to what extent. Once you understand what is adversely affecting your score, you can formulate a plan to eliminate the culprit of the lower score. These issues could involve late payments or defaults on loans, numerous hard inquiries about your credit score, or mistakes that should not be on your credit report. Once you know what is affecting your score negatively, planning to reverse and avoid these issues is relatively simple.

We have all seen commercials emphasizing the need to check our credit scores. Individuals who are on top of their scores have confidence and can improve their buying power and stay on track for financial freedom. Those who have let their score go unchecked may have problems lying beneath the surface that, if not attended to, can cause financial hardship.

These dramatic representations of good credit vs. bad credit are a reality. You may not find yourself in those ridiculous situations depicted in the ads, but you can find yourself unable to buy a home or a car. Even worse, you can make those purchases but with unbelievably high interest rates. Despite ads and would-be creditors stressing the importance of good credit, most people don’t give it any serious thought.

In this article, we are going to discuss three factors that hurt your credit score so that you can watch out for these financial behaviors and start improving your score.

1. Making late payments/No payments

Making late payments on your credit cards, loans, or any credit reporting accounts makes up 35% of credit scores. The simple solution is to make your payments on time, every time. One or two late payments add up quickly. You don’t want to see your credit score drop drastically because you can’t make payments on time.

Making no payments will have collections knocking at your door. This is the worst-case scenario for your credit score. Avoid this disaster by making sure you are aware of the monthly payments you owe.  

2. Maxing out your credit cards

Idealistically, you should be using no more than 20-30% of your available credit. Keeping your credit cards maxed out at all times looks terrible to lenders and ultimately drops your credit score. Emergencies happen, and that’s why we have credit cards, but in case of emergency, make sure you make those payments on time and pay more than the minimum payment. That way, you won’t get stuck in debt or only pay the interest.

3. Applying for multiple credit cards over a short length of time

When a lender sees that you have opened up several new credit cards, this sends up a red flag. It’s pretty simple; creditors assume the more credit cards you’ve opened up, the more you’ll be buying things on credit. To them, this possibility means that you may not have the finances to pay them back. This is most important when applying for mortgages.

Places to Check Your Credit Score

Free and fee-required websites that do credit checks are out there. The top two we recommend are FICO and Credit Karma. Both of these websites offer a surplus of information when it comes to your personal credit. You will find everything you need to know about your credit score. You will also find a lot of information about how to improve your credit and refinancing options. Once you’ve taken the leap to check your credit score on one of these trusted sites, take some time to familiarize yourself with the website and all they offer.

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.

Remember how hard entering the real world is as an adult? Actively teaching your kids skills you wish someone had shown you will make life a little easier from the start. One of the most essential skills to teach is how to spend money and, more importantly, how to save it.

So This is Growing Up!

The transition from kid to adult hits you like a ton of bricks. Everyone can remember when they left the nest. Trying to shuffle through the information our parents taught us through the years. Then, we try to put the advice to use. We can also remember all the times we tried something new and wondered why had no one taught about this in school?  Talking to your kids about life and money matters now will help prepare them for the future. They might roll their eyes, but they won’t forget these lessons. Always lead by example. Remember, your kids will watch your behavior and are sure to mimic it. Explain to your kids the decisions you are making and practice good spending habits when possible, and when not possible, remind them to do as you say, not as you do.

Find a Penny Pick it Up

The information you pass on to your children will be invaluable to them. You don’t have to sit them down and lecture, but when the opportunity presents itself, recognize it so you can give them advice or explain what you do. For example, when you go to the bank, this is an excellent opportunity to explain savings and checking accounts. Explain the difference to them, even allow them to set up an account of their own. This is an easy and fun way to show your kids where they can keep their money. This also opens up the opportunity to explain interest and the benefits of different banking styles, such as big banks vs. credit unions.

Another great opportunity to talk to your kids is when they reach the age, they can get a part-time job, encourage your kids to work when they have the time. They will have the rest of their lives to work. Use the opportunity for them to take small expenses off your hands, like luxuries, going to the movies, or buying a new pair of headphones. Two weeks after they start working, they will have a paycheck; that checking account is useful now! Take time to show them the different fields on a check stub, hours, wage, total income, and taxes. This will help them to see that you don’t get every penny you earn in your pocket.

This is also a great opportunity to explain the importance of saving. Make sure you give them some advice on saving, help them find a goal to save for, and get them started saving towards it. This part-time income can also be a great way to introduce tax preparation. Whether they can file for themselves or you can still claim them on your taxes, they can take part in the tax filing process. Show your kids where they can go to do their taxes, explain they have to do it every year, and the consequences of not doing it. Monkey see, monkey do

While talking to your kids about money is important, most of their habits are going to be formed from watching you. It’s a fact that when you have kids, you are always being watched. Your kids will notice when you make thrifty decisions, like when you drive a block out of your way to fill your gas tank to save ten cents per gallon. Or when you buy treats at the grocery store if they are on sale. They will also notice if you justify large shopping sprees with “the price we pay for beauty” or if you always go out to eat over making food at home. Practicing restraint is good for your wallet, and you are also teaching your kids a valuable lesson. Don’t be afraid to point out when you know your spending habits are excessive, but you can afford it because of your budget and save your money to splurge a little; every purchase can be a learning experience for your kids.

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-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure 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.

Budgeting and finances are the most unpopular topics of discussion. Unless you are trained in the art of financing, this concept can seem complicated. It doesn’t have to be that way. Anyone who has a smartphone has access to hundreds of free or paid budget apps. These can be helpful and easy to understand. We recommend following these steps before downloading one of those handy apps. This way, you have all your information in front of you, making it easier and more efficient to walk through the requirements of these apps. We recommend using a spreadsheet program or another similar system to record everything.

1. List everything you owe

Most Americans owe lenders in some form or another. Make a list of all of your debt:

• Who do you owe?
• How often do you make payments? (generally monthly)
• What is your minimum monthly payment? (If you pay more than the min-write that.)

If you want to go the extra mile, include what your interest rate is on each of these loans. It’s important to stay aware of these as they may fluctuate. Also, this is important to know if you are considering refinancing.

• • When are they due?

Student loan → $X/Month → % Interest →  due XX/01/20XX Car payment → $X/Month → % Interest → due XX/01/20XX *This does not reflect the total amount due, just your monthly payment* If you only can make the minimum payments, for now, that’s o.k. We’ll revisit this list later.

2. List your monthly expenses

Everyone has monthly subscriptions, expenses, and/or ‘dues.’ Write them down by name, what the monthly payment is, and the day they are due. Rent → $X/Month →  due XX/01/20XX Utilities → $X/Month →  due XX/01/20XX Subscriptions (such as streaming or news subscriptions) → $X/Month →  due XX/01/20XX Gym Membership → $X/Month →  due XX/01/20XX

3. Add your monthly debt & expenses

Add these two numbers together- place it at the top. This is the chunk of change you will be expecting to pay every month.

4. List your monthly income

Write what your monthly income is. If it fluctuates, look at the past six months, add them together, and divide by 6. This is your mean income. This goes to the top of your list.

5. Categorize your spending

This is probably the most time-consuming but undoubtedly, the most important step. Take a look at the last 3-6 months of your spending habits. Jot them down into categories and what their totals are. Example:

• Gas → $X → July/20XX
• Groceries (food items only if you can) → $X → July/20XX
• Going out to eat → $X → July/20XX
• Shopping → $X → July/20XX
• Beauty products/vanity* → $X → July/20XX

*If you find you are spending a lot each month on certain products, like beauty products in the example, make it a category.  This can go towards any particular hobby or interest you spend money on. The more you can categorize, the more you will be able to analyze your spending habits.

6. Face the facts

At this point, you are either patting yourself on the back or sobbing. Hopefully, you didn’t have to pick your jaw up off the floor. Either way, you have officially graduated from Millennial Budgeting 101! Now, put all that extra cash in a savings account! If you’re still struggling to comprehend your ridiculous spending habits, it’s time to reevaluate. Do you need Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and Cable TV? Get rid of what you don’t need. And stop buying what you can’t afford.

7. Make your budget

Now that you have the numbers in front of you and you’ve gotten rid of the things you don’t need, it’s time to set budgets. Remember, the goal is to save money every month. Every category needs to have a cap, and you need to stick to that cap.

• Income = X
• Expenses = X
• Spending
  • Gas = X
  • Groceries = X
  • Going out to eat = X
  • Shopping = X

* Remember this is ALL you’re allowed to spend each month.*

Now you have your basic budget formula (Income/month – Expenses/month – Spending/month = Savings/month)

8. Manage your budget

This is where you get to explore the different apps and stay on top of your finances. You can also use spreadsheet programs and save them to a cloud to use on the go. The importance is to watch your spending and, at the end of the month, look at the numbers. Another suggestion is to save your receipts throughout the day and enter those numbers in the evening or the next day. Look for budgeting apps or other technology-based tools that work for you to help manage your budget. Remember, the goal is to save money at the end of each month. 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.

Issues concerning money are one of the leading causes of divorce. Prevent the strain that comes from financial instability by taking control of your budget as a couple. Work together to fight the battle against money instead of fighting each other.

Hey, Money, We Need to Talk

Dealing with money issues cannot be avoided. Money (and gravitational pull) makes the world go round and is also the cause of a lot of stress: where to get money, how to spend it, and, dear God, how to save it. These issues are inevitable, but why let them create arguments in your marriage? You are already fighting one battle; don’t let it turn you against your strongest ally. The earlier you confront the issue of money and how to handle it as a team, the sooner you can defeat one of the main distressing issues in marriages. Financial problems put undue strain on marriages, and it needs to stop. You may not see eye to eye about spending, but you still need to work together to create a joint budget for the income in your home and be transparent about your spending. This will allow you to avoid issues about money and resolve the problems that have already occurred. Always remember what you work so hard to preserve. Why throw away such a precious bond that has created so much beauty in your life? 

Couples that Budget Together Stays Together

Making a budget as a couple is a great tool you can use to stop the frustration of wondering where all the money goes at the end of the month. It will also help you to work together to reach the financial goals that you have been trying to achieve on your own.

Getting started, you need to sit down and review your current financial situation in depth. Start with collecting your income, combine your pay stubs from last month, and write down all their totals. If your income is consistent, it will be easier to budget, but don’t worry; you can also budget for fluctuations in your income. Then, look at your spending. Collect all your bills. You can start with communal bills like rent, but make sure you also collect all the personal finances like your golf club membership or subscription to home magazines. The next area you will have to account for is spending. Estimate or pull up last month’s credit card statement to look at about how much you spend on food and gas or personal shopping. Lastly, you must discuss savings, how much you have, how much you put away each month, and what you are saving towards or where you invest it.

When you make a personal budget, you will compare the income to the expenses and adjust until your income exceeds the expenses. As a couple, you will have to decide what to keep and abandon to reach financial goals. You will know where all your money is going and will have already accounted for personal spending too. Now, there will be no surprises at the end of each month. You can rest assured knowing that all your essential bills are accounted for and know how much extra you must spend on yourself. Having a budget will avoid a scenario where resentment about spending your money is obsolete because you have merged your total household income and know that your money can cover all your necessary expenses.

Honesty’s the Best Budget (and Marriage) Policy

Creating a budget is a great tool and will help to prevent resentments over money in your relationship. But to do it right, you must be honest about your spending and financial situation. Studies show that about 30 percent of people are dishonest about their finances and estimate that about 50% of divorces are related to financial issues. Full disclosure is critical in your marriage budget endeavors to avoid becoming the latter statistic. Full disclosure means you break down the debt, bills, and spending. No secret student loans lingering or splurging on expensive “mental health excursions” at the spa without accounting for it. This is not to say you can’t indulge, but you need to be upfront about the extent of your financial obligations. Budget preemptively for personal expenses and be ready to give up what is unnecessary for the financial stability of your household.

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-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure 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.