The Ever Changing Small Business Arena!?!?

Recently a study was conducted by Intuit and the Institute for the Future says that the next decade will introduce an “era of economic decentralization” and the small business owner will look quite different than the current. By the year 2017, the study states that the small business owner will be more diversified than ever before. In particular the small business owner will include:

Professional Women tired of hitting the glass ceiling
Immigrants
“Mompreneurs”
Baby Boomers not ready to retire, and
Generation Y-ers

This comes as little to no surprise to me. In the current small business arena, these trends have already begun. With the introduction of technology, a small business owner can reach customers worldwide and this entices many diverse groups into owning their own business. I currently speak to numerous individuals that are planning on starting a business and many of them do fit in the previous categories. Diversity in the small business community will be an exciting event in the next coming years, and it will be exciting to see how these new entrants keep their Business N Synergy.

For more information regarding Intuit’s small business study, check out the following link:

www.intuit.com/futureofsmallbusiness/

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Automate Your Accounting Systems

For the past few posts I have been introducing simple ways for small business owners to automate their daily tasks to make more time for revenue producing activities. This week’s post deals with choosing and using an accounting software package to automate your daily accounting processes. There are a lot of different accounting software titles out their and each one will help the small business owner get a grasp on their businesses performance. Specifically small business accounting software will allow the business owner the following:

Accurate data entry of sales and expenses (money in and money out)
Accurate accounting for new assets and loans used with your business
Better financial reporting and management reporting for decision making
Smoother transition of data to your accountant at tax time

Many small businesses accounting software can help the owner quickly and easily enter sales data and expenses so that the owner has all this information in one place. When new assets are purchased, accounting software can also keep track of depreciation and make the necessary entries directly into the accounting software with less confusion. Accounting software can also integrate with other services such as payroll modules that can upload payroll information directly into the accounting software. Accounting software also makes it easier for an accountant to collaborate will the small business owners and less time is needed to prepare the businesses’ tax return.

There are many small businesses out there that use pen and paper, and or spreadsheets to track their accounting processes. By using an accounting software package, more time can be directed to building the business and /or spending time with loved ones instead of number crunching.

Accounting software will keep your small Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
www.thebricogroup.com

Automate Your Payroll Processes

Automating your payroll processing is one of the easier tasks that a small business owner can do. If a small business owner is using paper files to keep track of employee information, this process can be streamlined by purchasing small business accounting software and/or the payroll add on for the software. All the major accounting software packages have a payroll add on that can make the payroll process easier for you to manage. There are also payroll processing firms (ADP, Paychex, and Paycycle) that can assist in the payroll processing and can also import transactions directly into your accounting software.

To reap the whole benefit of automating your payroll processes, a small business owner will need to embrace paperless filing systems. Online filing of various payroll tax returns, W-2 and 1099 online filing, and direct deposit of employees’ paychecks is a good way to make your payroll operation run a bit smoother. By promoting these changes to your system, a small business owner can cut costs, save time and even prevent any fraudulent activity. With automation and paperless filing of payroll, small business owners can get back to growing their business.

Automation will always keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall

www.thebricogroup.com

Automate Your Processes

With the tax season off and running, many small business owners may be in a haste to get things ready for their tax professional. With the use of technology, this task can be easily accomplished. Many tax professionals have a paperless filing option to receive your source documents (w-2’s, 1099,s etc.) and transfer that information directly on the tax return cutting down processing time and you getting your refund.

The IRS also embraces automation, allowing businesses to e-file tax returns, wage data, and payroll tax payments. A small business can save thousands (paper, postage, etc) not to mention the time you will gain. The beginning of the year is a great time to start automating some of your processes, to keep your desk clear and time in your favor.

We will take a look at some other ways a small business owner can streamline these daily tasks in the coming weeks and also go into greater detail about the one’s mention in this post. Until next time keep your Business N Synergy.

Brian N. Stovall
http://www.thebricogroup.com/