Tag: entertainment business management

How to Hire Bookkeeping Services in Los Angeles

Rick_E_Norris,_An_Accountancy_Corporation_How_to_Bookkeeping_Services_in_Los_AngelesBookkeeping: The mere mention of the word can give business owners a headache. But it doesn’t have to be painful. In fact, if you follow these ten tips for  hiring business bookkeeping services , you can reduce errors, increase productivity, and improve profitability.

1. Don’t Do It All Yourself!: Most small business owners hate the idea of handing over the bookkeeping reigns to someone else. They feel like they’re losing control. Does this sound like you? The truth is that having small business bookkeeping services in fast-moving Los Angeles actually frees you up to focus on your core business and serve your customers better.
2. Communicate: Communication is key when you hire a small business bookkeeping services in Los Angeles. Make sure you keep the firm up-to-date on all financial transactions—especially such things as new property purchases and employee bonuses that are often overlooked.
3. Save Receipts: This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget to keep receipts or even misplace them in the day-to-day hubbub of a busy office. It’s important to have the backup documentation for your deductions so tax time can be easier and more beneficial.
4. Track Expenses: As a small business owner, you may pay for expenses out-of-pocket. While this is not ideal, the real problem is forgetting to track these expenses and submitting them to the company to be reimbursed. A small business bookkeeping services in Los Angeles specializes in keeping you on track so you can reduce your tax liability.
5. Reconcile Properly: It’s a fundamental aspect of bookkeeping. The books and bank statements must be reconciled each and every month. This can be a time consuming process for a business owner, so again this is another task that can be managed by a small business bookkeeping services in Los Angeles.
6. Backup!: A paper trail is imperative. Documentation or verification should always be available. You don’t have to have all of it on-hand. Just sign-up with an automatic data back-up service to ensure everything on your system is backed-up on a daily basis.
7. Properly Classify Employees: Do you know who is an employee, who is a contractor, a consultant, a freelancer? It can get confusing. Make sure you hire a small business bookkeeping services in Los Angeles to help you classify each and every employee so you can get the biggest benefit at tax time, not to mention avoiding penalties for misclassification.
8. Know Your Petty Cash: How much money is in petty cash at any given time? Setup a system and make sure a petty cash slip is filled out whenever money is removed for any purpose. Something as simple as petty cash can really mess up a company’s bookkeeping.
9. Categorize Expenses: Are you using the right categories for expenses? Again, this can get confusing. Your small business bookkeeping services in Los Angeles can help you follow generally accepted accounting practices.
10. Deduct Appropriate Sales Tax: Many retail businesses make mistakes when deducting sales tax. This can actually be a huge problem if you have many total sales because it results in a higher total sales amount without lowering the taxes due. Of course, this can be easily corrected and regularly monitored by a small business bookkeeping services in Los Angeles so you can avoid any tax burden as a result of sales tax.

These may seem like second nature to some business owners, but keeping focused can keep your books clean.

FTC Helps in fighting back identity Fraud

 

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You may have noticed, but the Federal Trade Commission is trying to help consumers fight identity fraud.Their literature outlines three phases of protection:Deter, Detect, and Defend.

Deter Fraud from happening to you:

  • Shred financial documents and personal information. (Just think, that old tax return thrown in the trash can linger at the dump for a very long time.)
  • Protect your social security number: Do not carry your card; never write it on a check; don’t give it over the phone to unknown callers.
  • Do not give out personal information on the phone, internet, or mail unless it is a secured site. (The bottom of secured pages used in money transactions have a seal linked to a web site that certifies that the site is secure.)
  • Never click on links sent in unsolicited e-mails, but type in the address.
  • Don’t use obvious passwords like: birthdate, maiden name, last four of social.
  • Keep you personal information in a secure place, especially if you have roommates, domestic help, and parties.

Detect Fraud when it happens:

  • Periodically run a free credit report
  • Review your credit card and bank statements each month.
  • Register for online banking. You can set up alerts that e-mail you when certain events happen in addition to letting you know your balance at all times.

Defend yourself when Fraud happens to you:

  • If your identity is compromised, place a “Fraud Alert” on your credit reports, and review carefully.
  • Close accounts tampered.
  • File a police report. Law enforcement officers may help with creditors who may want proof of the crime.
  • Report theft to FTC. Ftc.gov/idtheft

Common Thefts that lead to Identity Fraud:

  • Dumpster Diving: Rummaging through trash
  • Skimming: Stolen credit/debit card numbers using a special device when processing your card.
  • Phishing: Information sent by the thief masquerading as a bank or financial institution.
  • Change of Address: Diverts your mail with a change of address form.
  • Stealing

Selling a Small Business?

 

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So you want to sell your small business that you built from scratch!  That’s great, but are you going to sleep at night?  Here are a few tips you should consider when selling a small business:

  1. Know what your small business is worth. Compare your small business to the industry, and the regional market share you possess. If you are the value of your small business, you will have a hard time selling it for what it is worth.
  2. Make a liquidation plan of your small business. There are “asset sales” and “stock sales” of a small busines corporation. Find out the difference and consult a financial advisor about which would be better.
  3. Value your small business by its individual assets, first. This valuation will help you understand your tax picture. You should know this before you sign the contract to sell, or maybe before you accept an offer.
  4. Don’t warrant anything. Your small business financial statements are probably not audited, so don’t act like they are. If they are audited, let the CPA attest to its validity. Be careful of what assurances you make about your small business.
  5. Have you considered the option of consulting to your small business after you sell it?  This could build a comfort level in the buyer and intice them to make the deal.
  6. Consult your financial advisor before making any decisions to sell your small business. It could be the difference between crafting a great deal, or life-long regret.

Cash is King But a Profitable Return is still Relevant For a Small Business Health

Rick_E_Norris,_An_Accountancy_Corporation_Cash_is_King_But_A_Profitable_Return_is_Still_Relevant_for_a Small_Businesses_Health

Is your small business healthy? How do you know?  Do you just look at one indicator, or several?  Combining the historical Dupont Model and Mobley Matrix tools can open your eyes to the real health of your small business, especially when presented in a graphical format.

In 2004,I was part of a team that conducted a pre-published reviewed of Driving Your Company’s Value, Strategic Benchmarking for Value, by Mard, Dunne, Osborne, and Rigby. One approach used by these authors was combining the DuPont Model and the Mobley Index to gauge the health of a business.

The DuPont Model was created in 1919 by a finance executive at E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company.It demonstrated that a company’s Return on Equity was actually a summary of the company’s profitability, turnover, and leverage.

The Mobley Matrix was created in the fifties by Lou Mobley, who became the founding director of the IBM Executive School. He discovered the relationship between cash flow and financial statements.

There is a correlation between the two tools displaying many metrics that gauge the health of your small business.  These measures can open your eyes to operating cash problems, excessive debt, and many other hidden ailments.

However,this could be a little overwhelming to the small business owner who is an expert in his/her business and did not have time to go to business school.  So, we place the model, and matrix, in an interactive graphical format.  The measures are presented in a concise format for the owner to utilize.

Small business owners need to have a complete handle on their operations.  Just knowing Sales and whether you have enough cash to make payroll is not enough.  In fact, by time a small business owner discovers what was obvious from out tools, it is usually too late.

Consumer Fraud–Identity Theft Protection Tips

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Small safeguards can save you consumer fraud giant headaches.  Many safeguards are common sense, but in today’s information age, sometimes the sence isn’t so common.

  1. Do not readily give out personal information. For example, some restaurants request a credit card number over the phone when making reservations. Do not give it, and go to another restaurant. Your protection is only as good as their security.  Even if the restaurant’s employees are trustworthy, credit card information could be left unattended for the others to view.
  2. Be careful of copied documents or identifications. Years ago, I was asked to prove my residence in a city three different ways for my son’s baseball all-star qualification. One identification they were requesting was a copy of a driver’s license. Parents were unaware that a driver’s license number and birthdate are invaluable data for bank accounts and other privacy circumstances. If you must provide a copy of such, black out the sensitive information. The document you may be handing over may pass through many hands.
  3. Restrict access to your personal information. Passwords on computers are essential. Access to your computer can provide information to undesirable eyes
  4. Do not let anyone cash your checks without a phone call from the bank. Visit your bank and arrange to block the cashing of all checks unless they phone your cell phone. This procedure has prevented the  fraudulent check cashing four times in  five years for me. The last time, a bank called me for check cashing by a client who did not write the check. Individuals produce fraudulent checks and cash them at your bank.
  5. Do not return calls to suspicious area codes. Scammers text messages, or leave phone messages with some urgent message. They entice you to call a number that is to the Caribbean (e.g., “809” area code) and keep you on the line as long as possible. That can bring charges up to $25 per minute. I have also heard of some scams that transfer your call around the world amounting to hundreds of dollars on your bill. Be careful. Here are some other area codes.

Country Code

  • Bahamas 242
  • Barbados 246
  • Antigua 268
  • Cayman Islands 345
  • Monsterrat 664
  • St. Lucia 758
  • Puerto Rico 787
  • St. Kitts/Nevis 869
  • Jamaica 876
  • Bermuda 441
  • N. Commonwealth 670
  • Trinidad &Dominica 767
  • Tobago 868

Strategic Planning–Avoiding Sharks with a Blue Ocean Strategy

Rick_E_Norris,_An_Accountancy_Corporation_Strategic_Planning_Avoiding_Sharks_With_a_Blue_Ocean_Strategy

When I hear, “Think outside the box,” I cringe. I believe that this command frustrates analytical people; they do not know what to do, or how to do it because there are no rules or assumptions.Instead, I like to tell people to use the right side of their brain – the creative side.A strategic planning approach, The Blue Ocean Strategy, facilitates this type of thinking.

Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) is a corporate strategy and business book written by Professors W. Chan Kim and Ren© Mauborgne, of INSEAD. The strategy attempts to create an uncontested market space, and thereby make competition irrelevant. Dim & Maubourgne initially called this “Value Innovation,” in 5 articles for the Harvard Business Review published before their 2005 book. BOS is the result of a decade-long study of 150 strategic moves spanning more than 30 industries over 100 years (1880-2000).

There is no easy way to quickly describe BOS, except by example. Cirque du Soleil is a good example of a company that meets the BOS criteria (focus, divergence, and compelling tagline).For example, compare this circus to Ringling Bros. using the following factors: star performers, animal shows, 3-ring arenas, aisle concessions, theme, unique venue, and artistic dances. Cirque du Soleil concluded that the public really did not want star performers, animal shows, 3-ring arenas, and aisle concessions.In addition, star performers and animal shows were very expensive.They decided to do away with the three, but added theme, unique venue and artistic dances. This created a unique market because they were discarding what the public did not value, and added new aspects that the public would value.Instead of being in a “bloody” red ocean competing on price or quality, they could be competitive by offering a new experience for the audience.

If you are in the artistic world, maybe I can stretch this example to Paul Simon.In 1986, he could have composed music using the same style such as folk (Simon & Garfunkel), or a pop (Kodachrome).However, he used his artistic ability to expand his use of world music. In 1986 he released Grammy award-winning Graceland, which featured the groundbreaking use of African rhythms and performers. In 1990, he followed with the album The Rhythm of the Saints, which featured Brazilian musical themes. These albums helped to popularize world music as a genre.It essentially created a blue ocean for him without competition in a new genre.

Now this is not to say that every blue ocean does not turn red, because once the idea is manifested, there is a window of uncontested opportunity.So, what a business must do is continually develop blue oceans and keep ahead of the competition.

This alone will not confirm success.    To stop at a strategic plan level will only bring frustration, because the process will not be complete. In order to be successful, you must properly impliment, monitor, and alter a strategy.

How do you include social networking in your business strategy?

Rick_E_Norris,_An_Accountancy_Corporation_How_do_you_Include_Social_Networking_in_Your_Business_Strategy

I remember when I was a little boy, how I used to marvel at the futuristic gadgets that Walter Cronkite would display in the Sunday night program, The 21st Century.The program was designed around scientific advances that could re-shape our lives in the next century.The 21st Century seemed so far away to a little boy in the 1960s.But here we are.

In the 1996, my interest was piqued with Bill Gate’s books, The Road Ahead. In this book, Bill Gates predicted that we were nearing a society where financial transactions, product research, file transfers, and such could be transacted though the internet on a device the size of a checkbook.

How ironic, within the next decade, Steven Jobs would spearhead the invention of the Iphone.Users now bring up all sorts of applications including social networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc. These social networks are becoming the foundation of the new business communication.

But, how do these social networks impact business? So many businesses just stick their toe in the SN waters.  Can business really take advantage them?

The answer is a guarded “yes”.

The advantages of such networks are communication and visibility. Implemented correctly, vehicles like FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging, and others can enhance your company’s visibility, and draw the world to your web site.With increased visibility comes opportunity.
There is a downside to these opportunities, however. Employees can post criticism on blogs that may hurt the firm’s reputation.In addition, the opportunities with any of these networks can be a bottomless pit sapping into employees time with no immediate response.

Like any tool, the internet can be the piece of your strategy that increases your market share, if used correctly. If used incorrectly, it could be a wasteful tool.

So, here are a few basic tips when your business ventures into social media:

  1. Concentrate on building relationships, not just numbers.  It’s nice to see the numbers grow, but if many are not viable business contacts, then so what?
  2. Don’t spam people with your services.  Give them something to take home with them every time you connect.
  3. Build partnerships among those who have similar business interests, or work in a similar industry.
  4. Don’t just copy what others are doing in your industry. Set yourself apart by using your core competancies to create your own uncompetative ocean (i.e., Blue Ocean).
  5. Be consistent, be creative, but be real in your daily social networking business strategy.
  6. Write about relevant topics that concern your market place.

These six points will give you a start in developing a real social networking strategy for your business.  A very important point not listed, though is that you start today.

Personal Accounting: What to do when you are financially in over your head?

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So you just added up your credit card statements, and you got that sinking feeling. What                                                                           will I do now?

Our society is run on consumerism. We have seen in the last year, that without it, the US is sunk. But what if you spend more than you make? What can you do in personal accounting habits? Here are a few tips:

  1. Change credit cards. If you still have good credit and receive zero interest credit card teasers in the mail, it could be a good thing. Try rolling over your debt onto a zero interest card, temporarily. This personal accounting move can give you a little time in paying off the debt before accruing more interest. However, there is a danger. If you do not change your spending patterns, you will be worse off than before. Use the new card in your personal accounting strategy to eliminate your debt, not incur more. So, this means that you may have to cut up all the other cards until you arrive at a zero debt level.
  2. Pay cash and stop using credit. Pay cash for as many things as you can without running your bank balance into your overdraft account. This personal accounting strategy can really teach you how much you spend each month, and on what items. There are few things more sobering than seeing your cash disappears out of your wallet.
  3. Try to cook most of your meals. Yes, yes I know. You can’t cook. But, the internet is full of quick recipes that can make you a real chef Boyardee in no time. If you must go out, go to restaurant.com and get discount coupons, or buy an Entertainment Book. This way you could cut your dining cost in half, and still enjoy yourself. In this economy, even 5 star restaurants like Lawry’s the Prime Rib are offering deals. Look for them.
  4. Don’t borrow money from friends and family. They don’t need your problems, and it may be the last time they talk to you for a while.  This of course may not apply in catastrophic circumstances where families pitch in to help each other.
  5. Make a personal accounting cash flow statement. Schedule out your expenses each month, and consider where you can cut. Be honest with yourself. You want to be debt-free before the holidays, in which at that time you can spend responsibly on gifts.

Cash has been and always will be king.

So what have we learned about the financial demise of Nicolas Cage, and his entertainment accountant?

Rick_E_Norris,_An_Accountancy_Corporation_So_What_Have_We_Learned_About_the_Financial_Demise_of_Nicholas_Cage_and_his_Enertainment_Accountant

You hear the story all too often, High profile entertainer goes broke. Or Entertainer blames entertainment accountant for bad tax advice. The first question the public asks is how? Doesn’t this entertainer earn $20 million a movie? That is more than ten people make in a lifetime. What did his entertainment accountant do with it? Steal it? Invest it in speculative investments?
I have worked as an entertainment accountant, aka business manager for entertainers for over twenty-five years. The public doesn’t see the view of the entertainer that we do. In fact, the persons usually in the inner circle are the entertainment accountant, attorney, agent, and publicist. Remember, the artist’s image is everything, and if that image conflicts with reality, something is bound to surface at times. Look at Charlie Sheen, or Tiger Woods. Their personal inequities surfaced because it is extremely hard to cover. The same is for the finances. A good entertainment accountant knows when a client is spending beyond their means. I have seen entertainers’ buys real estate all over the world, planes, boats, and rare art. As an entertainment accountant, my position is sound the alarm when a client nears a crucial financial point. That alarm gets louder as their situation gets more desperate.
So, did Nicolas Cage’s entertainment accountant sound the alarm?  Did the entertainment accountant contribute to such a travesty?  The court records may have told us the answers to these questions.
So what should you learn from this? Well, many of you may not be celebrities, so you wouldn’t hire an entertainment accountant. But, you can act as your own accountant by looking at your financial situation objectively. That is what entertainment accountants do. We don’t look at the things that a client wants, but at the relationship between what the client earns and spends. We also look at the future, and how they will survive when they aren’t hot anymore.
So how to you start?

  1. Act like your own entertainment accountant. Look at your credit cards first. Are you paying them off each month? If not, cut them up live off cash at least for two months. You will see what you really need to survive in your budget.
  2. Are you paying your taxes concurrently? One of the biggest worries of entertainment accountants, is to come to the end of the quarter, or year and not have any funds to pay taxes because the client has spent it. If you are self-employed, think about paying your taxes weekly. You can do this by opening a separate bank account.
  3. Are you using your house as a piggy bank? As an entertainment accountant, the first thing I look at when a client needs to borrow money from their house is why, and what return should we expect. Don’t borrow to spend lavishly. Have a plan on paying it back.

So, if you cannot afford an entertainment accountant, or if you are even not an entertainer, be smart.