The continued growth of social media has made human communication and information sharing faster than ever before. Nowadays, on the internet, mindshare is the most valuable currency; unless you can keep the people’s attention on your brand at all times, you’ll get left in the dust. 

Websites want new content to keep their audience engaged and consistently bring in fresh eyes; this is where digital marketing excels. Brands will assemble internal digital marketing teams or outsource the responsibility to external digital marketing firms specializing in the field. 

Because the cycle of content on the internet is ever-flowing, work is always ongoing for those working in digital marketing. With such an intense and demanding workload, digital marketers must be consistently productive. 

Here are four ways to boost your digital marketing team’s productivity. 

Establish Team Goals

Working together in a large team can be challenging; every team member must be unified under an agreed-upon set of short-and long-term goals. After establishing these goals, you must regularly check in with your team. 

Weekly team meetings can keep every member aligned with how these goals progress and what needs to be done moving forward. If any part of the process falls short, the team can collectively map out contingencies and decide what they will do to correct course. 

In larger organizations, the goals of every company level can get lost in translation. Often, senior management needs to convey such messages and decisions so that lower-level employees receive changes and new information positively. 

A business that can keep its staff unified with the same goals will see higher productivity levels in the long run. 

Target Existing Customers

Growing your consumer base is essential for long-term sustainability, but in the short term, keeping existing customers engaged with your brand is easier; this goes back to the marketing concept of the ‘buyer’s journey. 

For instance, if someone has reached the ‘Customer’ stage of their journey, where they’ve already paid for a good/service from the brand before, it is easier to lead them toward the ‘Loyalty’ stage than it would be to take a new buyer from the Awareness stage to the Customer stage. 

For this reason, digital marketers may find it more efficient to boost their productivity and the productivity of the team as a whole by focusing their attention on existing customers rather than trying to influence new ones. It is especially effective when the business finds itself in a downward slump, but the downside is that it can lead to stagnation in the long term. 

Team Productivity vs. Company Goals

Naturally, a company’s goals would be more significant than every employee. Large organizations have several moving parts and must consider various metrics for success. Such organizations rely on operating like a well-oiled machine with consistent daily output. 

Humans are not machines. A business requires each employee to maintain a certain level of productivity every day, but some days are better than others. On some days, people are less productive than usual. 

This lack of productivity is especially true for jobs that require people to be creative. Creativity is difficult to harness consistently, and the obligation to do so can cause employees to become demotivated, leading to decreased productivity. 

Businesses may find value in focusing more on their employees’ emotional and mental well-being instead of solely on analytics and traditional metrics for productivity. Employees who feel cared for and heard by their employers are more likely to stay motivated to work, producing higher output and higher quality work. 

Use Digital Marketing Tools

These days, there are endless unique digital marketing tools for employees to use, and new ones are released yearly. Such tools can help boost individual productivity and encourage more vital employee teamwork. 

Your digital marketing team’s tools may vary depending on your business’s exact nature and field or that of your clients. Automation is already an industry-standard in digital marketing; every digital marketing team relies on some form of virtual tools to help them do their job. 

Such tools can help strengthen communication between team members and clients. It can make new markets more readily available. It helps foster creative thinking and the sharing of ideas as a group. 

Conclusion

Maintaining employee productivity can be challenging, especially in an industry as competitive as digital marketing. What matters most is talking to your employees. Remember that they are humans, consider their feelings, and understand what inspires them; this will lead to significant productivity and more positive outcomes in the long run. 

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.

Before saving money for your company, you must understand why you are in business and what your objectives are. Most people start a business out of necessity or a desire to run their own business in the industry of choice. However, the main aim of any business is to earn money. 

Part of your money-saving plan for your company will have to include the evaluation of expenses. Many businesses get in trouble because the owner has difficulty handling expenses properly. It is a problem since it is critical to earn and save money.  

To save money for your company, you must understand and handle all your expenses. Ultimately, saving money in your company is more about money management and controlling costs than it has to do with how much your company generates in income.

While you want to bring revenue into the company continuously, you should be equally focused on saving money and controlling expenses. Many companies have a department dedicated to expenses and recommend ways to save money.

There are different types of expenses within a company. Those costs that are the same month after month, such as a lease, are considered fixed costs because they will be constant and often the same. Fixed costs include electricity, water, internet, rent, and payroll.

What can you do to save money here in fixed costs? The answer is almost nothing because most of the fixed expenses are commodities with a low cost and resources on which your business depends, and that, if they are not well maintained, can affect your operation.

Therefore, you must find other ways to save money on these costs.

Cost-Saving Strategies for Efficiency

1. You can save money on services like water and electricity if it takes a short time or affects your service quality and operations. Either way, this will bring small savings for you.
2. Try to reduce rental income only if your business is independent of the location, as in restaurants, stores, or personal assistance services.
3. Try to reduce the total cost of fixed employees. Here, the key is that you learn to differentiate which roles of your company are fundamental for your organization and which can become a variable cost, which you can hire through services to freelancers.

Other operations costs can also be looked at to save the company money. These are the necessary expenses directly associated with the product or service, which can go up and down according to the production demand, your sales, or projects.

You can save by doing the following.

1. Get discounts or suppliers that allow you a percentage of savings in raw materials.
2. Change one expensive material for another, as long as it does not affect the quality of the product
3. Have better inventory management, decreasing the number of products that can be cold in your stock.
4. Outsource services such as customer service or specific activities that are demanded according to sales.

Saving money in your company and how you do it is not the same for every company. Some companies will find it more difficult. However, all companies can look at ways to save, such as through opportunity costs. 

The opportunity cost is a way of measuring if we are doing what interests us. Measure what we could be doing instead of what we do (opportunities).

For example, if I have a women’s clothing store, brand A, I lose the opportunity to sell brand B clothes. If my employees are on a project, I lose the chance to work on another. 

It can confuse the execution cost, but the opportunity cost tells you you are doing your best with your resources.

In this case, there are no specific tips. The director of the company has some practices to help him make decisions.

1. Purchasing policy based on turnover based on sales
2. Make decisions based on market share and product or service potential 
3. Management of human resources, considering the specialization and alternatives of outsourcing

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.

Accounting is of extreme importance for every business. It is the process of reporting and recording a company’s financial information. Businesses often use accounting mechanisms to determine how well their company generates profit compared to their investment in resources and inputs.

With advanced software and technology, businesses are becoming increasingly dependent upon accounting tools for achieving targets rapidly and thus growing.

As an entrepreneur, you must require basic accounting skills to run a smooth and successful business. Fortunately, nowadays, you don’t have to count numbers by hand. Numerous accounting tools make it easy to maintain financial records and let all your focus be on the business’s prosperity.

Although many business owners don’t have a diversified range of accounting experiences, they can learn the basics of accounting mechanisms using the right tool at the right time. Businesses focus primarily on scalability. For instance, some want instant access via the cloud, while others prefer a mechanism that embraces website integration or inventory management elements.

Before diving into the business world, it’s essential to have a firm knowledge of accounting and the entrepreneur’s financial operations.

Here are some of the top reasons business growth increasingly depends on accounting tools.

Budgeting

Accounting tools are pivotal to forming a company’s budget, which sets the roadmap. A budget is a written agreement for how much money the business owners will spend on economic resources and business functions. Many companies prioritize setting a budget on an annual or semi-annual basis, and this activity allows business owners to highlight the financial goals for the current year. SMEs might not need an evaluated budget as they have fewer costs that You can effortlessly manage through traditional financial reporting and a basic spreadsheet.

Generating and Analyzing Financial Statements

Generating financial statements is one of the most fundamental ways accounting tools make businesses increasingly dependent on them. The balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow records are the financial reports business owners can use to calculate how well their business is operating financially.

Entrepreneurs might use the essential financial ratios to seize their financial statements and compare them to the leading industry standard. These ratios indicate how a company is generating profit through sales, the usage of debt to finance the company’s assets, the potential cash flow level from current operations, and the ability to recollect the outstanding receivables owed by the customers.

Cost Allocation Analysis

Cost allocation analysis is an operational accounting function used to determine how a business assigns costs among its goods and services. The price is appointed for raw materials, employee benefits, and overhead. Business owners need assurance that the commodities have accurately allocated the cost since the customers are the primary way to recover the investment. Small enterprises might also review that cost assignment process to anticipate whether the procedure is going smoothly.

Revenue Projection and Forecasting

Forecasting is an evaluated and often complicated accounting function businesses can utilize to anticipate potential sales in the economic market. Accounting tools play a crucial role in carrying out this function. Prediction or forecasting may be uttered by reviewing the business’s previous sales history or demographic information revealed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) or appraising how many competitors are present in the current business industry. An increment in the number of competitors might indicate a higher sales probability, whereas a reduction might represent a lower consumer demand.

Financial Leverage

Another great benefit of accounting tools includes the “Financial leverage ratios,” which determine the company’s long-term solvency ratio. Entrepreneurs use this ratio to measure the capacity of the competitors to use debt and equity financing for business management. The debt-to-equity and debt ratios are the two most used accounting ratios.

The debt ratio provides entrepreneurs with information on how much their competitors invest in purchasing assets. In contrast, the debt-to-equity ratio calculates whether the business is financed through public investment or the owner’s account. You can also express it in the form of a percentage.

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.

The process of buying a car involves a few crucial steps. However, some critical steps must be completed pre-purchase. The steps that one needs to complete before the purchase include the following:

• Analysis of the financial situation
• The setting of a budget
• Listing down of required specifications
• Payment Methods

These are the four most essential steps that must be completed before a car is purchased. All these contribute to making buying a car simple and stress-free. Analysis of the financial situation helps decide the amount a buyer can spare for the car. Having a strict budget and listening to requirements gives the buyer an upper hand in price negotiations with the car dealer. 

After all this has been done, the most significant decision has to be made: the payment method. Selecting the payment method varies with the type of car one wishes to purchase. 

Here are three ways to pay for a vehicle and their advantages and disadvantages.

Paying Cash

Cash is the most straightforward of the three payment methods for buying a car. To make it simple to understand, it is just like buying shoes or a burger. A customer pays and gets the item without any stress or difficulties. 

Advantages 

The main advantage is that people save themselves from monthly payments through this method, freeing themselves from the liabilities attached. It does not affect their monthly responsibilities, and their lives stay balanced. 

Secondly, they must pay the exact amount, free of any interest. The addition of interests reduces the chances of reselling the car for profit. In addition to this, the reselling of the car becomes more accessible and more straightforward. The chances of earning profits are higher in this case.  

Disadvantages 

Everything has downsides, and even paying for a car directly with cash has disadvantages. Cars are costly. A person needs to work tirelessly for a long time to gather such a vast amount. Paying fully in cash takes a massive chunk of money from the savings, exposing an individual to the stress of emergencies. 

A car’s value depreciates yearly, which is not a good investment option. After four years, a car’s price drops to half its original price, which comes as a massive blow to the car owners at the time of resale.  

Financing

The most common payment method for car purchases in America is financing the car by a third party. An external party, i.e., banks, financial companies, and credit unions, pays off the car dealer. It is a feasible method for many. Due to this payment method, many middle-class Americans can get a car. 

Advantages

There are some fantastic benefits of getting a car financed. The financial balance is not significantly affected when a buyer uses someone else’s money to pay the car dealer. It helps maintain the lifestyle as only monthly payments have to be made. 

Cutting out only a few expenses helps people pay off their monthly payments. The buyer becomes the car’s owner once the payments have been successfully paid. People with good credit scores can enjoy loans with lower interest rates. It gets easier for them to get loans on acceptable terms. 

Disadvantages

Besides great benefits, there are some non-negligible disadvantages of financing a car. The very first drawback of this payment method is the interest rates. With financing plans, a buyer is liable for monthly payments and pays more than a car costs. 

It is true that after ultimately paying off the loan, a buyer becomes its owner. But when these payments are completed, the car’s value drops to 50% of its original value. When reselling the vehicle, there are negligible chances of earning any profits. Things are worse for people with a bad credit score. They are unable to get feasible financial plans. Either they pay high-interest rates, or the payments are too large. 

Leasing

The last payment option is leasing the car. It is a highly unpopular payment method in the United States. Its unpopularity is because a person cannot buy a car; instead, they are forced to rent it. 

It is similar to financing, requiring a down payment followed by fixed monthly payments. Unlike financing, after the payments are completed, the buyer must return the car to the dealer or replace it. 

An individual is not asked to pay the whole loan but only the depreciated value. It means that if a lease is five years and the cost of the car after five years equals 40% of the original cost, the buyer will have to cover only 60% of the actual price. Advantages

A buyer does not have to pay the whole loan to get a car on a lease, only the depreciated value. This makes the method one of the most affordable options. Also, the amount of monthly payments is much lower than in the case of a financed car. When the payments are completed, an individual does not have to stress about selling it off. They can return it to the dealer or get it replaced. 

Disadvantages

Compared to other payment options, car leasing has minor disadvantages. The permitted period to keep a car by a lender is not more than three years, which forces an individual to change their rides. A significant downside to getting a car on a lease is the limited annual mileage, restricting a driver’s driving habits. If a driver goes over the limit, a high cost is imposed on them. 

Making the Right Choice 

The payment option depends entirely upon a car buyer’s budget, financial situation, and preferences. Few people can afford to pay with cash as it will eat a significant portion of the total savings, making the economic situation unstable. But it depends on the buying capacity and the mindset of the buyer. 

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.

In many ways, business and government institutions in a nation are interdependent and interrelated. In today’s world economy, entrepreneurs and people in business are the economy’s driving force.

In a deliberate or market economy, the government gives control to shape a country’s business actions. The government should make the environment appropriate for business organizations to maintain upward and steady economic growth. An organization should follow governments’ rules and laws to track businesses and efficiently ensure a level playing field.

The business’s primary goal is to make a government goal, and profit ensures economic growth and stability. Both are different but very co-dependent. 

For this, organizations, businesses, and governments always try to persuade and influence each other in many ways in different manners. A stable relationship between the company and government is for the welfare of the economy and the nation.

Let us see how business and politics are interconnected and try to influence each other.

How Does Business Influence Politics?

Businesses try to power politics to perform in a manner that benefits the business events or activities. Of course, for that, an organization should go by legitimately. But occasionally, it is noticed that organizations try to go over the line. These are the standard techniques business organizations use to affect government rules.

Lobbying and Personal Conducts

The political leader’s gov, government officials, and corporate executives are in the same social class. It builds a personal relationship among both parties—companies formally from the group to show their problems to government bodies.

Chamber of Commerce and Forming Trade Unions

The Chamber of Commerce and trade unions is an association of business organizations with a mutual interest. They work to figure out the present reports and common problems of business and hold dialogues to discuss them with government bodies.

Political Action Committees

Years back, in the 2012 US election, the term “super PACs” was a common topic in various discussions. Political action committees (PACs) or prominent organizations are shaped to ask for money and distribute it to political contenders.

Most times, wealthy officials contribute money to the political contenders whose political views are like them.

Huge Investment 

Organizations can impact government rules if they can invest in projects or industries.

These are often in developing nations where foreign business wants to invest in these nations. The government attempts to implement the rules to attract foreign investment in these investments.

How Politics Influence the Business Sector

The government tries to shape business practices indirectly or explicitly by implementing policies and rules. The government often directly affects business by creating laws, rules, and regulations that dictate what organizations can and cannot do. To implement legislation, the government usually builds special agencies to control and monitor aspects of business activity.

For instance, the Environment Safety Agency manages central banks, drug and food management, securities, exchange commissions, and labor commissions.

These agencies directly build and implement rules and monitor their application in the company. Governments occasionally use indirect tactics to determine the actions of business organizations. Governments will choose rules and regulations, but they are always necessary.

For example, the government occasionally attempts to change business policies through its tax codes.

The government can provide tax inducements to organizations with an environment-friendly leftover management system in a manufacturing factory. You can give tax incentives to organizations that have started their production services in a less developed area in the country. As a result, more often, the business would do so. However, this rule and its implementation should be to an ideal degree.

Bottom Line

Business and politics have some impacts on one another. Every nation’s economy depends on the company or trade rate; the more revenue generated, the more government enhancement occurs. Likewise, politics also impacts the business, so a more politics-free environment helps business owners make decisions better. If the scenario is not delicate nationwide, the owner hesitates or resists taking a decision that directly affects the business and indirectly affects the country’s economy.

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.

Balance Sheet Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide

A balance sheet serves as a vital foundation of financial reporting, offering a clear picture of a company’s financial position at a specific moment. This important document enables stakeholders to evaluate the financial health of a business, making it an invaluable resource for investors, creditors, and management. By understanding the components and significance of balance sheets, we can better appreciate their role in effective financial management and decision-making. Let’s take a closer look at how balance sheets function and the insights they provide.

What is a Balance Sheet?

A balance sheet is a financial statement that provides a clear picture of a company’s assets, liabilities, and equity. It adheres to the fundamental accounting equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

This formula is a cornerstone of double-entry bookkeeping, a system designed to maintain balance in financial records. By requiring that each financial transaction be recorded in at least two accounts, it guarantees that the total debits equal the total credits, thus ensuring that both sides of the balance sheet always align. This mechanism enhances accuracy and provides a comprehensive view of an organization’s financial position.

Khan Academy offers an excellent resource for those looking to deepen their understanding of this accounting principle.

When planning for long-term financial health, it’s crucial to consider self-employed retirement alternatives alongside regular financial statements.

Key Components of a Balance Sheet

To truly grasp a balance sheet, you need to understand its three main sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity. Let’s break them down:

Assets

Assets represent everything a company owns that has economic value. They’re typically divided into two categories:

Current assets: These are assets that can be converted into cash within one year. Examples include:

• Cash and cash equivalents
• Accounts receivable
• Inventory
• Prepaid expenses

Long-term assets: These assets have a useful life extending beyond a year. They include:

• Property, plant, and equipment
• Intangible assets (patents, trademarks)
• Long-term investments

For a more detailed explanation of assets, check out this comprehensive guide on Investopedia.

Liabilities

Liabilities represent the company’s financial obligations or debts. Like assets, they’re categorized into current and long-term:

Current liabilities: Debts due within one year, such as:

• Accounts payable
• Short-term loans
• Accrued expenses

Long-term liabilities: Obligations extending beyond a year, including:

• Long-term loans
• Bonds payable
• Deferred tax liabilities

Equity

Equity, also known as shareholders’ equity or owners’ equity, represents the residual interest in the assets after deducting liabilities. It includes:

• Common stock
• Preferred stock
• Retained earnings
• Additional paid-in capital

The Balance Sheet Format: How to Read It

Interpreting a balance sheet may appear overwhelming at first glance, with its columns of numbers and financial terminology. However, as you familiarize yourself with its structure and components, the process becomes much more intuitive and manageable. With regular practice, you’ll find that understanding a balance sheet transforms from a challenging task into a skill that feels almost instinctive.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Start with the heading, which includes the company name and the date of the statement.
2. Review the assets section, starting with current assets and moving to long-term assets.
3. Examine the liabilities section, again starting with current and moving to long-term.
4. Finally, look at the equity section.
5. Verify that total assets equal the sum of total liabilities and equity.

When analyzing a balance sheet, pay close attention to liquidity and working capital. For more insights on managing these aspects, check out these money management tips.

Importance of Balance Sheets in Financial Analysis

Balance sheets play a crucial role in financial analysis. They provide insights into:

1. Liquidity: How easily can the company meet its short-term obligations?
2. Solvency: Can the company meet its long-term debts?
3. Efficiency: How well does the company use its assets to generate revenue?
4. Leverage: What’s the mix between debt and equity financing?

Financial analysts use balance sheets to calculate various ratios, such as the current ratio, debt-to-equity ratio, and return on assets. These ratios help in comparing companies across industries and over time.

For a deeper dive into financial ratio analysis, the Harvard Business Review offers excellent resources on balanced scorecards and performance measures.

Balance Sheet Example

Let’s look at a simplified balance sheet example:

                                         XYZ Company Balance Sheet

As of December 31, 2023

Assets:

             Cash and equivalents                                                   $100,000

             Accounts receivable                                                       $50,000

             Inventory                                                                           $75,000

             Property and equipment                                           $200,000

             Total Assets                                                                    $425,000

Liabilities:

             Accounts payable                                                            $30,000

             Short-term loans                                                             $50,000

             Long-term debt                                                             $100,000

             Total Liabilities                                                                $180,000

Equity:

             Common stock                                                               $100,000

             Retained earnings                                                          $145,000

             Total Equity                                                                      $245,000

             Total Liabilities and Equity                                           $425,000

This example shows how assets always equal the sum of liabilities and equity.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

When preparing or analyzing balance sheets, watch out for these common pitfalls:

1. Misclassifying assets or liabilities
2. Failing to record all assets and liabilities
3. Overlooking intangible assets
4. Ignoring off-balance-sheet items
5. Not considering the timing of the balance sheet

To gain a deeper understanding of financial statements, including balance sheets, consider exploring resources on liquidity ratios and their importance for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Conclusion

Understanding balance sheets is crucial for anyone involved in business or finance. They provide a clear snapshot of a company’s financial position, helping stakeholders make informed decisions. By mastering the components of a balance sheet and learning to analyze them effectively, you’ll gain valuable insights into a company’s financial health.

Remember, balance sheets are just one piece of the financial puzzle. To get a complete picture, you should also review income statements and cash flow statements. Keep exploring and learning about financial statements to enhance your financial acumen.

For more expert insights, head over to our blog!

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.

A financial analyst is an individual who processes and estimates finance-related transactions to identify a business’ performance and capabilities. They ensure that the company is operating correctly and that the business’s liquidity position is stable enough to succeed. They identify the weaknesses of the business to improve them and make the business operations run more smoothly. Creating a cash flow is also the job of an analyst. They make predictions about the business performance. They recommend a possible plan to managers and operators to ensure efficient productivity. Their role is to identify the best marketing techniques suitable for the business. Businesses with franchises hire an analyst to keep a check on them. 

A financial analyst could be a great addition to a small business to hand them over all the financial bookkeeping responsibilities while the owner emphasizes other operations. As an analyst’s job is to make the best out of the economic situation, it could be helpful for the business to determine cost-saving ideas in the expenditure. However, as a small business has limited financial resources and less information, analysts sometimes make mistakes while analyzing a company’s accounts. 

Here are the top five mistakes analysts make.

Drawbacks of Generic Financial Statements

They were using generalized financial statements. The analysts do not spend time creating the financial statements according to a business’s specifications, but they fit their financial information into a generalized template. The analysts merge the categories because of the generalization, which causes them to lose their uniqueness. When the financial statements are presented to the stakeholders, it confuses them because the activities in the business are not presented properly, and some claim that the accounts are dull.

Overlooking the Crucial Link: Cash Flow in Financial Analysis

They were not interpreting the connection between the three significant financial statements. Most of the time, the analysts only use the business’s balance sheet and income statement to identify the company’s financial position. The major problem is that they do not use the most essential message to calculate the performance, the cash flow statement. If the cash flow statement is not involved, then the analysts will not recognize the instabilities caused in the business. This failure sometimes results in mismatched calculations, which means that the numbers calculated through the balance sheet will differ from operating cash flows. 

Syncing Financial Statements 

They are not creating financial statements at similar time frames. A balance sheet is consistently reported in the last quarter of the year, whereas the income statement is significantly made in the first three quarters of the year. Then, an annual account is registered in the previous quarter. A cash flow statement is reported collectively by the end of each business year. It causes the dimensions to do not match. The analysts should create the accounts reporting simultaneously to prevent fraud.

Overlooking One-Time Transactions: Impact on Accuracy

Failure to pay attention to one-time transactions is a pitfall in financial analysis. Analysts often overlook write-offs, division sales, and accounting revisions, impacting accuracy and occasionally distorting outcomes. Failure to account for losses in these transactions leads to discrepancies and confusion in the reported numbers.

Underestimating Footnotes: Unseen Impact on Financial Analysis

They are ignoring the footnotes. Most analysts ignore the footnotes provided under the financial information despite being warned about it to give it a look. The footnotes sometimes include a significant asset such as property or equipment. When the analysts do not have these transactions, it significantly affects the three meaningful statements and overstates cash flow. Cash flow significantly affects bookkeeping and maintaining financial statements when such considerable information is not included.

Conclusion 

While the analysts perform many other errors, these five are the most common and biggest mistakes, creating severe business problems. Suppose the analysts are not correctly making the three primary financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement). In that case, there is no use in having professional help and guidance. The owners would not be able to assess the operational efficiency properly, and they would not be able to determine the actual position of their finances.

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.

Understanding Total Compensation

Daily, workers perceive that their gross salary, before taxes, and net salary, after IRPF and contributions, reflect their company’s monthly compensation. However, other contributions by the company are not necessarily reflected on a pay stub. Other contributions make up the total compensation to the worker for the company. 

These costs are divided into the four following categories.

Compensation: Worker vs. Company

The companies share these costs, distinguishing between the company’s contribution and the worker’s contribution when it comes to the total compensation to the worker. And this difference is reflected in the payrolls, where only the second one is remembered. 

Specifically, the gross salary reflected in the payroll is deducted from the IRPF, and the items contributed by the workers in the form of contributions for common contingencies (4.7%), unemployment in fixed contracts (1.5%), unemployment in temporary contracts (1.6%) and professional training (0.1%).

However, there are other costs that payroll does not reflect and that are contributions by the company to the worker, such as common contingencies (23.6%), professional contingencies for unemployment in fixed contracts (5.5%), for unemployment in temporary contracts (6.7%), by professional training (0.6%) and by the Wage Guarantee Fund (0.2%). 

Or, workers’ compensation is usually around 30% higher than their gross salary before taxes and contributions reflect their payroll. The OECD, the United Nations System of National Accounts, and the National Institute of Statistics (INE) define workers’ compensation as the sum of the salary or profit reflected in their payroll (and where personal income tax and contributions are deducted). Part of the worker), and social contributions by the company.

Social Contributions & Salaries

Regarding this second item, it is essential to highlight that social contributions made by workers to the public treasury are included and differentiated, such as, for example, Social Security contributions for public pensions and contributions made to private social insurance programs as can be private pension funds.

On the other hand, the European Statistical Office defines wage compensation as labor cost, this being the sum of three items: the compensation of employees (including salaries and wages in cash and in-kind and employer contributions to the social security), the costs of professional training, and other expenses.

As can be seen, the most critical organizations define similarly what salaried compensation, also called labor cost or salary remuneration, differentiating, on the one hand, the gross wages and salaries received by a worker on the payroll and, on the other, the social contributions for pensions or public unemployment contributed by the company. 

The critical question is: can wage compensations be considered salaries in their broadest sense? Can this labor cost be modeled as a wage income? The following arguments are proposed to answer this hypothesis.

One of the arguments against this hypothesis is that Social Security contributions, both by the employer and the worker, are made in different items, subject to additional tariff and rebate policies. Therefore, they cannot be interpreted as the same. 

However, all this is an accounting device since it is a fictitious assumption that the Ministry of Labor changed the law. The company was obliged to provide the entire taxable base to the worker. No significant change would be appreciated if this offers, for example, 28.30% of common contingencies (4.7% + 23.6%). As will be seen below, there are countries where their labor model works similarly.

Secondly, it is argued that social contributions are contributions and cannot be considered salaries. Although it is technically correct, that is, it is a future income that is not enjoyed in the present (it cannot be used for consumption), it does constitute a contribution in the worker’s name to receive rights in the form of future contributory benefits, equivalent to payment in kind. 

For example, many companies provide part of the salary in food vouchers, gasoline for transportation, and children’s school. Instead of giving liquid money, payment is provided on future goods and services equivalent to liquid money that is not perceived.

Diverse Global Models

Thirdly, countries where the standardized methodology for measuring compensation does not include social contributions to public social security, either because it does not exist or is collected through other channels. 

The first case is proposed as an example of the United States, a country without universal public pensions. The company contributes no social contributions for this general insurance. Private pension funds are negotiated and included as “benefits” and other items, such as health insurance (private) or benefits in the form of company shares.

On the other hand, there are paradigmatic countries such as Denmark whose model work model does not include contributions from the company (“Employer SSC”) to Social Security. The following graph shows the percentage represented by Income Tax (“income tax”), the contribution to social security by the employee (“Employee SSC”), and the contribution by the company (“Employer SSC”) concerning the total cost of the worker, also called total remuneration of the employee, for different countries of the European Union.

This phenomenon is that in Denmark, social services and benefits are financed mainly through IRPF, so this item absorbs the other two. Or, put another way, unlike the payrolls of workers in the United States in which only salaries and salaries can be verified (and their corresponding contributions by IRPF and common contingencies), Danish workers’ payroll would be reflected in all the remuneration salaries.

Thirdly, countries where the standardized methodology for measuring compensation does not include social contributions to public social security, either because it does not exist or is collected through other channels. 

The first case is proposed as an example of the United States, a country without universal public pensions. The company contributes no social contributions for this general insurance. Private pension funds are negotiated and included as “benefits” and other items, such as health insurance (private) or benefits in the form of company shares.

On the other hand, there are paradigmatic countries such as Denmark whose model work model does not include contributions from the company “Employer SSC” to Social Security. The following graph shows the percentage represented by Income Tax, the contribution to social security by the “Employee SSC”, and the contribution by the company “Employer SSC” concerning the total cost of the worker, also called total remuneration of the employee, for different countries of the European Union.

This phenomenon is that in Denmark, social services and benefits are financed mainly through IRPF, so this item absorbs the other two. Or, put another way, unlike the payrolls of workers in the United States in which only salaries and salaries can be verified (and their corresponding contributions by IRPF and common contingencies), Danish workers’ payroll would be reflected in all the remuneration salaries.

Unemployment: US vs. Austrian Models

Finally, some countries implement specific quotes radically differently than the United States. In our country, the contingencies for unemployment are contributed directly to the public insurance of Social Security, where the worker contributes a part, and the company contributes another. 

However, they are implemented as an Austrian backpack in countries like Austria. The difference between one and the other is that the first contributes to an unemployment benefit only in unemployment. 

In the second case, the employee receives from the entrepreneur an annual contribution in a capitalization fund throughout their working life, becoming a de facto equity in his name that can be incorporated in the form of income when he deems it appropriate. In other words, unlike public insurance, the Austrian backpack works as a “piggy bank” that can be accumulated throughout the working life on behalf of the worker.

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.

Safeguarding Your Finances

It is crucial that when you choose a professional to prepare your taxes, you ensure they are accredited. While some tax professionals from well-known tax prep businesses may be more expensive, that reputation could ultimately save you more money.

You have to verify that your tax preparer is someone with whom you can constantly contact if there are questions about your income statement after it is filed. Although not all tax preparers who only operate from January to April represent a risk, some of these temporary preparers could expose the taxpayer’s data, making them vulnerable to fraud.

Fraud Prevention in Tax Season

An IRS representative noted that after the income presentation season closes on April 15th, complaints against some temporary tax preparers are common sense. In many cases, they present incorrect statements and try in some way to take away money from the taxpayer. During the past fiscal year, the IRS received 9,277 complaints from abusive tax preparers on suspicion of tax fraud.

It is recommended that taxpayers who do not hire preparers base their billing on a percentage of the client’s reimbursement. He also urged the community to ensure the refund reaches their bank account, not the tax preparers. You should never sign a blank tax return because you are responsible for the information presented, even if you have hired a preparer.

It would help if you were careful to avoid being the target of fraud. The taxpayer must verify the preparer’s qualifications and require him to see his PTIN number (tax preparer). You can also check them out through the Better Business Bureau, where you can see if there are any complaints with that specific preparer.

It is essential to select an appropriate resource that accurately completes your tax return and that you present it electronically so that you are not a victim of fraud and receive your refund as soon as possible as there is much fraud among the different communities, such as minority communities and older people.

The most common mistake incurred by taxpayers when presenting their taxes is an action that sometimes gives rise to fraud and delays the payment or reimbursement. Therefore, the taxpayer should verify that the names appear the same as in Social Security, that the bank account numbers and routes are correct, that the tax return is signed, and most commonly, that the credits and the deductions are calculated correctly.

On the IRS.gov website, there is the Interactive Tax Assistant tool, which helps taxpayers perform calculations correctly. During the previous year, people who earned $ 66,000 or less qualified for Free File, an IRS program free of charge, to do all the taxpayer’s mathematical calculations.

Less Undocumented Taxpayers

On the filing of returns by people without legal documents to be in the country, a figure that has been reduced in the past two years, it has been indicated that every person in that situation must make sure that their identification number of the taxpayer or ITIN is up to date because if it is not there. You have a refund. It will be sent to you once it is renewed.

In years past, the number of people without Social Security numbers who made contributions through an ITIN was 4.5 million each year, one hundred thousand less than those who declared taxes in that way in the past, according to statistics provided by the IRS.

A report published by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated, with data from previous years, that the population without defined migratory status collectively pays $ 11.74 billion each year in state and local taxes.

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 any company, small businesses also have to pay taxes. It cannot be apparent for those who do it for the first time due to the forms that must be completed and submitted to the Internal Revenue Service.

While it is suggested that you hire a tax preparation professional, if you decide to tackle your business taxes on your own, you will need to take steps to do it properly to avoid issues with the IRS. Here are four crucial steps you need to take to prepare your business taxes.

Review Your Financial Information

Ensure that information about your staff and contractors is always current and correct. Verify data such as the names of employees, social security numbers, addresses, and marital status. If you work with independent contractors, check their names, taxpayer identification numbers (TINs), and addresses.

Organizing Documents

Keep all the records and documents adequately organized to make the preparation process more efficient.

Keeping track of all the business documents allows you to keep up to date with controlling your expenses and financial statements. These details are helpful in case of an audit or demand.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires a person to submit documents supporting the deductions, income, and credits they need to report on their tax return.

List of primary records that you must keep.

• Deposits (cash and credit sales)
• Invoices
• Accounts payable and receivable
• Previous tax returns
• Canceled checks or other evidence of payments/ transferred funds
• Receipts
• Credit card receipts
• Bank statements
• Payroll records
• Any other document that serves as a support for your income, credits, or deductions that appear on your tax return

List of other documents that a person may need during tax season.

• Contracts that you may have signed with clients, employees, suppliers, and contractors
• Formation statutes of a commercial company
• Permissions
• Annual reports
• Health, safety, and any other similar documents

Consider Extensions, Deductions, and Refunds

According to the IRS, business administration costs can be deducted as long as they are “necessary and ordinary.” The agency defines such expenses as those every day and recognizes expenses within the choice of the business.

On the other hand, the necessary expenses are helpful and appropriate for the company. Some examples include the purchase of vehicles or other valuable equipment.

Look for Specialized Advice

Gathering all the required documentation while ensuring you follow all the steps correctly. This process can sometimes be overwhelming. Do not hesitate to seek the help of a lawyer or an accountant to advise you. External consulting can be the quickest and easiest way to avoid audits and save money.

Conclusion

According to the Issuer’s Report, which summarizes the results of two recent investigations that evaluate the effect of taxes on companies, the complexity of the corporate tax system is reflected in heterogeneous tax burdens that vary over a wide range.

According to recent research, firms that pay taxes and calculate the effective tax rate are not what the tax law says but what they produce and divide it between the utilities. The report explains that no company pays the nominal rate, and the vast majority pays below 30%, which is lower than the tax statute, and good news does not become negative either.

Also, the report states that smaller companies pay a higher tax rate because larger companies can invest in lawyers and accountants, allowing them to look for strategies to pay fewer taxes, and that great inequality makes small businesses, which are the vast majority, uncompetitive.

The report also indicates that the smaller companies are the ones that pay the most taxes; that is to say, the elasticity of the taxes, if they increase the tax rate, does not affect the profits of the companies because the companies manage to find ways of do not take away the profits.

In that sense, the report indicated that the estimate of the elasticity for the tax reform of 2012, which reduced the income tax rate and established the CREE tax to replace the para fiscal contributions and the social security contributions of the employees with less than ten minimum wages, indicates that, given a decrease in the TEMT, the profits of the companies responded positively and elastically.

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.