Hear us on the radio!

Linda Logan and Jennifer Heifort are going to be on the radio! Linda and I were guests of Peter McClellan Show today. It will be broadcast on AM 1570 from 4:00 to 5:00 PM today June, 3rd, and again tomorrow June 4th from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. You can also hear it at: http://www.business1570.com/. It was a lot of fun to do. Thanks Peter!

Why Small Businesses Fail…

A staggering 95% of small businesses fail within the first five years.

Here are the most common reasons why…

1. Poor Financial Management 32%
2. Management Competence or Experience 15%
3. Economic Conditions 12%
4. Poor Books and Records 12%
5. Sales and Marketing Problems 11%
6. Staffing Problems 9%
7. Union Problems 6%
8. Failure to Use External Advice 3%

Perhaps knowing about the most common pitfalls can help new small business owners avoid them and increase their chances of success.

Tips to Simplify Your Bookkeeping

• ALWAYS back up your accounting data file, daily or weekly.
• Print your checks.
• Direct Deposit and email paystubs.
• Print deposit summaries to attach to bank receipts.
• Get online access to bank accounts and credit card statements.
• Pay all payroll taxes online.
• Use bill pay through bank account.
• Email invoices/statements to customers.
• Routinely send out W-9′s to subcontractors before year end.
• Make up and post a schedule of tax deadlines for all taxes and forms.
• Organize pending files for payables and receivables by name.
• Organize paid invoices/check stubs and file by customer name.
• Organize paid bills/check stubs and file by vendor name.
• Organize personnel files by employee name.
• Create payroll tax files for each type of tax: 941, State withholding, 940, SUI.
• Use Smead Viewable tabs for your files (You can see them from any direction – top, side, back).
• File with your newest transaction in front.
• Box up, label and store each year’s files after tax returns have been filed.
• If you find that doing your own bookkeeping is frustrating, confusing, or too time consuming – outsource it.

About Fiscal Foundations

I am one of the owners of Fiscal Foundations Accounting and Bookkeeping Services. We provide on or off-site bookkeeping, as well as accounting consulting and training services to Minnesota, Western Wisconsin and Colorado. The company has been around since 1994. We currently have a staff of 10 experienced people, and I am hoping to expand the business to several different markets in the next few years. I started this blog to communicate with other small business owners who may be struggling with their accounting. Accounting is such an important part of running a business, both from a legal standpoint, and from a management standpoint. In this blog, I am hoping to provide useful articles and information regarding what business owners need to know about bookkeeping and other related topics.

To learn more about Fiscal Foundations, the website is www.fiscalfoundations.com.