Send Message
Add to network
Sponsor this member
Make an introduction
Give referral
Send compliment
Bookmark
Share Great comments, Floyd! A lot of new businesses don't spend a lot of time thinking about how to structure their businesses... yet, it has far reaching effects.
Member since: Mar 28, 2008
Last activity: Mar 10, 2009
-
Posted Apr 24, 2008 Choosing the Right Business Structure by Laura Messerschmitt
-
Posted Apr 22, 2008 Turn your accounting system into a secret weapon by Laura Messerschmitt
Floyd,
Good point. We often find that businesses who work with an expert (such as yourself) tend to be a lot more successful with their financial management because they have a better understanding of what is going on in their business and what they need to do to reach their goals.
I think that QuickBooks is a great product for all of the financial management tasks, including strategic planning... but, of course, as an Intuit employee, I'm definitely biased. There are other ways to "skin a cat".
Laura
-
Posted Apr 18, 2008 Hard Facts about Financial Software by Bridget OBrien
Dennis, that is great advice! A good basic accounting CD is the "Learning Accounting Essentials" CD made by a company called Real World Training. You can buy it at www.quickbooks.com, under the training link.
Caveat: I work for QuickBooks... we don't make this CD, but we do sell it. However, I have used the CD myself and found it to be very useful. That's why I'm recommending it.
-
Posted Apr 10, 2008 Winning the Name Game by Laura Messerschmitt
At Intuit, we do encounter a lot of businesses who struggle with the naming thing... and also who later regret their choice. Glad the article was helpful.
-
Posted Apr 10, 2008 Hard Facts about Financial Software by Bridget OBrien
Thanks, Keith! Great commentary. I interpreted the point of the article to be that keeping track of your finances is extremely important for newer businesses... not necessarily that QuickBooks is the answer for everyone. If you have a good handle on your finances, you can make better decisions, detect fraud earlier, manage your cash flow, etc.
The decision on how to manage finances will vary a lot based on the business. Luckily, there are a ton of different options out there.
One other option not mentioned above is online financial software. That option can be really great for owners who work from multiple locations. (Disclosure: My company has an online version of QuickBooks. But, there are a number of different options besides that one.)
-
Posted Apr 09, 2008 Getting paid by your customers by Laura Messerschmitt
Thanks to everyone for providing additional tips! That's awesome.
-
Posted Apr 08, 2008 Mission, Money, Measurements: Effective Business Management Tools by Floyd Talbot
Great article! Cash definitely is king when you are running a business. Intuit has done a number of studies on smaller businesses and has discovered that poor cash flow management is a major reason for business failure. Yet, good cash flow management can help a business succeed.
-
Posted Apr 03, 2008 Develop your simple online marketing plan (Part 1) by Laura Messerschmitt
Thanks! Glad it was helpful.
-
Posted Apr 03, 2008 Develop your online marketing plan (Part 2) by Laura Messerschmitt
You are welcome! I'm glad that you found these helpful.
-
Posted Apr 02, 2008 Your Home Office: Tax Matters by Laura Messerschmitt
Molly, I asked a tax accountant your question about S corps. She said that you can take a deduction for the home office, if you meet the requirements. You can also pay yourself rent... but then you'd have to declare that as income on your individual return, so it would likely be a wash.
-
Posted Apr 02, 2008 Your Home Office: Tax Matters by Laura Messerschmitt
I would agree. The letter of the law and the way you interpret it / choose to implement it are different questions. That said, I also sent your question to a business tax expert that I work with. As soon as I hear back from her, I'll post her response here!
