Women in Business

Women are rapidly leaving the traditional workplace and following their dreams into the small business world.

Here is some advice from Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation targeted towards women.

Intuit's advice:

Go for it – Every day, 1,600 women entrepreneurs in the United States take a leap of faith to start a small business and become their own boss.

Embrace technology – Tap into the multitude of online communities, social networking tools, and free services that help women network, start a business, and manage finances. Advances in technology give women looking for work-life balance the flexibility to work on their time and their own terms, according to the Intuit Future of Small Business Report.

Know your limits – Avoid costly overdraft fees and spend within your means by tracking finances.

Invest in you – Invest in your education and a healthy lifestyle to extend your possibilities and life span.

Organize and prioritize – File receipts in one place to save time and stress at tax time.
Lend a hand – Give back to the community with time or household items. This both helps those in need, and creates valuable tax savings.

Don't feel you have to do it all by yourself either. There are people out there with skills to help you stay on track and grow. Hire a professional freelance bookkeeper so you can focus on growth.

Keeping on Course

With the stock market roller coastering every day and more banks in trouble these are pretty serious times. If you are a small business owner it's more important than ever to stay on top of your books so you know where you stand financially at all times.

The credit crunch is happening and it is real. You need to know what your cash flow is and where your expenses are going. By reviewing your profit and loss statement and balance sheet on a regular basis you can keep from getting surprised.

If you don't have the time to keep your books up to date, outsource it to an independent bookkeeper. It will be worth it in the long run.

Saving Energy at the Office

Try these simple steps to save on your utility bills.

• Use energy-efficient light bulbs, such as CFL's and LED's.
• Consider sensors that automatically turn off lights when an area is not in use.
• Turn off your electronics. Even in standby mode they are using electricity.
• Try virtual meetings to cut down on travel expenses.

Debt Reduction Consequences

As money gets tighter and tighter you may find yourself in the situation of not being able to pay all or part of a debt. You may negotiate with your creditor to have part or all of your debt forgiven.

When a debt is forgiven or reduced the creditor will issue a Form 1099-C Cancellation of Debt for the amount forgiven or discharged. This needs to be reported as income on your tax return.

Accounting for "Forgiven Debt"

With the current economic conditions and the growing uncertainty over the financial markets more and more companys may end up in the situation of having to account for 'forgiven' debt.

When your company’s debt is forgiven, you include the forgiven amount in gross income for tax purposes. The exception is cancellation of a debt to the extent that the payment would have been a deduction.

For example: You use a consulting firm from which you obtain service on credit. You are having trouble paying your account, but are neither bankrupt nor insolvent, so the consulting firm forgives part of your invoice. How do you book the cancellation?

The solution depends on your method of accounting:

· If you use the accrual basis, you include cancellation of the debt as income because, under the accrual method, expenses are recognized when incurred, not when paid.

· If you use a cash basis, you do not include the debt cancellation in income because payment for the services would have been a deductible business expense.

These hard times make for some complicated accounting issues. Get the help you need - hire an independent bookkeeper. They can make sense of these issues for you.

These Tough Times

Every day it seems there is a new batch of doom and gloom in the financial sector. Stock market is falling, banks are failing, investment firms are teetering...... The sky is falling.....

Now is the time to make sure that your own finances are in good order. Do you know where your business stands as far as income to debt ratio? How about your personal finances?

You need to lay things out so that you can budget accordingly to get through this stormy weather.

Get your financial data into a software program. Whether it's just your personal finances or your business too. Only good planning will get you through this.

If you need help, consider a freelance bookkeeper to help you get a handle on things.

Freelance Bookkeepers vs. Employees

Freelance bookkeeper services run on average about $50-$70+ an hour. Let's compare this with the cost of hiring an employee. An employee's actual cost is 2 to 2 1/2 times their salary. Let's factor in some of the inevitable expenses that come with hiring an employee.

• Health/Dental/Vision Benefits
• Equipment and Space
• Supplies
• Retirement Plans
• Insurance
• Unemployment
• TAXES (Freelancers are self-employed and pay their own taxes.)
• Overtime Payment

Someone to administer and oversee all of the above. If you calculate the cost of all of the above, plus the actual salary, you can see how expensive it is to hire an employee.

Plus you will only be paying for time actually worked - not a flat 8 hours per day regardless of how much time is spent on actual work.