Category: CLear Charge Solutions

Maintaining accurate and up-to-date financial records is crucial for the success of any business. While comprehensive accounting tasks often fall to professionals, incorporating key activities into your daily routine can significantly improve your financial health and streamline your operations. By consistently performing these tasks, and leveraging the convenience of online credit card payment processing, you can gain valuable insights into your business’s financial performance, identify potential problems early on, and make informed decisions that drive growth and profitability.

When tax season rolls around, neglected accounting tasks can haunt small business owners. It’s a pain to categorize income and expense transactions from memory or track discrepancies among hundreds of entries.

A daily accounting checklist can streamline routine activities and improve year-round cash flow. Here are the day-to-day accounting duties that should be on your bookkeeping checklist.

Why do small businesses need to stay on top of accounting regularly?

Accounting tasks involve recording and tracking financial data. When completed regularly, these activities help small businesses categorize expenses to streamline tax deductions and stick to a budget.

Here’s why daily accounting tasks are crucial for small businesses:

• Regular bookkeeping routines increase tax compliance. Late or inaccurate filings can result in IRS penalties. Recording revenue and tracking expenses helps companies submit error-free forms and estimated tax payments.
• Daily accounting practices enhance cash flow management. Over half of respondents told PAYMINTS that they faced challenges managing cash flow. With a habit of checking cash flow daily, you can boost awareness and pivot quickly if there’s an issue.
• Well-maintained accounting systems support data-driven decisions. Accounting reports and dashboards can inform business decisions about scheduling, pricing, marketing, and inventory.
• Daily accounting tasks keep financial records audit-ready. Whether seeking funding, reporting to stakeholders, or awaiting an IRS audit, maintaining professional bookkeeping standards helps you avoid legal or credibility problems.

Daily accounting checklist for small business owners

With the proper accounting system setup, you can spread out bookkeeping tasks to avoid a backlog of work. Since every company has different needs, this small business accounting checklist provides activities in four key areas. Customize your template to build a daily bookkeeping routine.

Update and review financial data

Daily monitoring and cash flow tracking are simple ways to keep tabs on your small business’s health. With accounting software for financial reports, you can complete these bookkeeping tasks in minutes using automated workflows and alerts, real-time dashboards, and software integrations.

Add these activities to your daily accounting checklist:

• Update data or confirm integrations are syncing correctly. Export sales and payment data or enable automatic updates by syncing your bank feeds, point-of-sale (POS), e-commerce, and payment apps with accounting software.
• Check cash flow and A/R reports. Schedule reports to arrive in your inbox so you can review cash flow summary and accounts receivable aging reports daily. Alternatively, glance at your accounting dashboard for current balances.
• Monitor cash flow. Understand your cash on hand by inspecting discrepancies between actual and estimated balances and addressing alerts for unusual expenses or anomalies.

Reconcile transactions and receipts

Financial experts often highlight the importance of daily reconciliations in small business accounting to ensure accurate records, detect errors early, and simplify monthly and quarterly tax filings.

Focus on day-to-day accounting activities, such as:

• Match transactions to receipts. Start with ones that could affect cash flow. Compare the receipt to the journal entry, verifying the amount, date, and vendor or customer name.
• Cross-check bank deposits and sales reports. Confirm that the POS system sales match bank deposits and that sales reports align with payment processor deposits.
• Scan and save receipts. Maintain an audit trail and comply with recordkeeping requirements by digitally attaching invoices or receipts to recent transactions.
• Spot-check recent transactions. Review major inflows and outflows and flag any unknown or duplicate entries for further inspection.

Manage daily expenses

Employee expenses affect cash flow, financial reports, and tax deductions. Proper tracking prevents overspending and enables accurate tax preparation.

Include these tasks on your small business accounting checklist:

• Log employee expenses. Use expense management tools to automate receipt uploads.
• Track petty cash. Log and reconcile funds daily using a spreadsheet or cash tracker app.
• Manage expense requests. Approve or deny expenses using business automation tools.
• Reconcile credit transactions. Match receipts to card data to prevent overcharges.

Handle inventory accounting entries

Restaurants and grocers selling perishable items and retailers and e-commerce stores with high-volume sales may manage inventory-related accounting tasks daily. Service-based businesses or companies with low stock turnover may prefer to handle these activities weekly or monthly.

Your inventory checklist for accounting might include:

• Update inventory and accounts payable if your company receives new stock daily.
• Record sales and stock adjustments to write off expired or sold items nightly.
• Sync sales, inventory, and accounting to record or update the cost of goods sold (COGS).
• Reconcile physical inventory with sales or purchase records for fast-moving stock.

Can you handle accounting in-house, or do you need an accountant?

Small business accounting tools can automate many daily, weekly, and monthly activities, saving time without sacrificing financial insights or visibility. Still, if you’re handling the routine tasks of an accountant by yourself or notice your team falling behind in bookkeeping duties, your company may benefit from outsourcing accounting.

Finance professionals offer part- and full-time support for companies needing occasional, tax-related, or ongoing assistance. When choosing accounting services, consider your current challenges, which daily bookkeeping duties you plan to keep doing, and which financial tasks you want to outsource.

Streamline your accounting and improve your cash flow with advanced credit card processing. Call today at (877) 847-4478. Check our IG for more information.

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Reference: [https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/finance/daily-accounting-checklist]

Starting your own business can be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. From developing a solid business plan and choosing your payment options, there are many steps involved in turning your entrepreneurial dream into a reality. Here is some essential information and practical advice to help you navigate the complexities of starting your own business and increase your chances of success.

Starting a small business is a thrilling prospect for would-be entrepreneurs. If you like to do things your own way, then running your own store, restaurant, or salon gives you total control — not to mention the potential to earn more money than you would as an employee. However, starting a small business requires more than just passion: it takes research, planning, and dedication. This article looks at five important things to consider when starting your own business.

The Benefits of Owning a Company 

Owning a company can have personal, financial, and social benefits, such as:

• Flexible hours: Set your own schedule and take holidays when you want. And if your business thrives, you can delegate more and more tasks to employees.

• Creative freedom: Every creative decision — from branding and marketing to what kind of soda you stock in the fridge — comes down to you. You have the ability to execute your specific vision.

• Earning potential: There’s no limit to how much you can earn from running a small business. Scaling up, franchising, and partnerships all offer gateways to higher income.

• Community engagement: Setting up shop alongside other businesses can be socially fulfilling: you’ll get to know your regular customers and business neighbors.

Tips for Starting a Small Business  

In the United States, 18% of small businesses fail within their first year — often due to poor management, lack of marketing, or lack of financing. So it pays to come up with a strong business strategy that will get you through the difficult early days and put you on track for success.

1. Make a Five-Year Business Plan 

A clear and focused five-year business plan isn’t just about setting targets for yourself. If you want to land funding from a third party, you’ll need a convincing plan to sell your vision. Your five-year business plan should include:

• Mission statement: What your business is about

• Market analysis: Why you believe the business will succeed in the current market

• Company legal structure: Options include C or S corporation, general or limited partnership, sole proprietor, or limited liability company (LLC)

• Product line: What goods or services you plan to sell

• Funding requirements: How much you want from investors (as debt or equity) and the specific terms of the investment

• Financial projections: Financial outlook for the next five years, with a quarterly or month-by-month breakdown for the first year

2. Know Your Audience 

Knowing how to do market research for a startup is just as important as knowing how to run one. Before you start thinking about storefront designs, inventory, and staffing, you need to be confident that people want to buy what you’re selling. What are the demographics of your potential customers? What is the level of market saturation in your target area? How much are people willing to pay for your offering?

Be sure to understand the local demographics in any area you are considering a brick-and-mortar store. A children’s clothing store will do better in an area with many young families, while a modern barber shop will get more traffic in an area with young professionals.  Useful market research tools for small businesses in the United States include these consumer spending statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can also carry out your own research through surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups.

3. Use Products and Services Built for Small Businesses 

If you’re opening your first restaurant, you’re unlikely to be using the same equipment as a multinational company like McDonald’s. But that can actually be a blessing in disguise. Important tools like your point-of-sale (POS) system don’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

For example, SumUp POS Lite is an entry-level option suited to new businesses with a single location, comprising all the hardware and software you need to carry out transactions with no monthly fees. And you can always upgrade to a more comprehensive solution if you want to expand your business. Other essential investments like accounting software and security systems can usually be obtained on a basic plan suited to smaller businesses, while insurance providers sometimes offer small business discounts on commercial property or general liability insurance.

4. Create a Clear Identity 

Branding can be the most fun part of setting up your own business. However, every element of your business — name, logo, interior design, digital marketing assets, inventory, menu items, etc. — needs to form part of a cohesive identity so customers will remember you clearly.

If graphic design isn’t in your wheelhouse, be sure to get professional help for your logo. This little symbol of your identity can help you cut through the noise and get ahead of competitors. It’ll also end up in more places than you might predict, from business cards to third-party delivery apps. Working with a professional designer ensures you think through best practices and each use case to land on an identity that is consistent and practical, along with eye-catching.

5. Reward Your Customers 

Customer loyalty programs for small businesses are a tried-and-tested strategy for retaining customers. You could use a simple punch card system, but starting with a digital loyalty program through your POS system instead provides huge advantages:

• Build a digital customer database that can be leveraged for marketing efforts

• Segment your customer database by their spending habits to make tailored promotions

• Customers won’t lose their card (or be able to forge stamps!)

• Offer rewards for both in-store and online purchases

• Your POS system provider can market your business to customers across its network

Choosing the Right Small Business POS System 

Above all, small businesses require simplicity, reliability, and low startup costs when investing in their first point-of-sale system. With its cloud-based operation, SumUp POS delivers on all three counts, helping brand-new stores, restaurants, and salons take care of transactions, inventory management, customer relationship management, and much more.

Ready to launch your business? Choose secure and reliable advanced credit card payment processing. Call today at (877) 847-4478. Check our IG for more information.

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Reference: [https://www.sumup.com/en-us/business-guide/starting-a-small-business/]

Selling products online has never been easier. With the rise of e-commerce platforms and digital marketplaces, anyone can start their own online business. But, like any business, you must build a solid foundation before launching your digital shop. Follow these steps to give your new online venture a flying start.

You have a viable idea, a catchy brand name, and a fleshed-out business plan. Now what? The internet has made it possible for small business owners to turn their passion into profit. Selling your product or service online is a more accessible and lower-cost alternative to the logistical hurdles and high up-front costs that a brick-and-mortar business demands.

However, as with any business, you need to establish a strong foundation before launching your digital storefront. Follow the steps below to help your new online venture hit the ground running.

Step 1: Decide your business structure

Claiming the proper business structure is important because it dictates the legal and tax requirements you need to satisfy. Most small business owners either file as a sole proprietorship or an LLC.

Do your research before making a decision, and if you have additional questions, we recommend consulting with an attorney to determine the best business structure for your online store. Because each business structure also comes with varying tax requirements, you should also reach out to your local tax professional to field any questions.

Step 2: Get the proper permits and licenses

Wait, you need a license even if you’re running your business online? Yes! And depending on where you live and operate your business, you may need to obtain several business licenses.

Getting the proper e-commerce business licenses and permits is crucial to ensuring your online business operates within the law. Don’t stress, though. Most of these licenses are easy to obtain.

The good news is that you don’t need many business licenses, and the ones you do need are relatively easy to acquire. Again, licensing requirements can vary by state, so check with your state’s licensing boards to ensure you’re applying for the appropriate licenses. Some of the most common online business licenses include:

1. Business Operation License

2. Employer Identification Number (EIN)

3. Doing Business As (DBA) License

4. Seller’s Permit

5. Sales Tax License

6. Home Occupation Permit

7. Occupational License

Step 3: Choose the right platform to sell your products on

Small businesses’ shift to e-commerce has exploded in growth over the last several years. Nowadays, 63% of shopping journeys start online, making online shops an increasingly lucrative option for selling your products. When it comes to sales channels, you have a few options to choose from.

Option 1: Create your own store

Many popular online storefronts include a fully-customized page builder to create your own store within minutes. These stores offer an all-in-one package deal; website, blog, SSL certificate, third-party app integrations, social media sales channels, and many other tools.

Option 2: Sell on marketplaces

If you’re not quite ready to launch your online storefront just yet, there are plenty of online marketplaces to choose from to help get your online business off the ground. There are several e-commerce marketplaces where you can sell your products. Some marketplaces cater to niches, while others are generalists. Some of the most well-reputed online marketplaces include:

• Amazon

• Handshake

• Etsy

• Chairish

• Swappa

Option 3: Sell on social media 

Currently, you can list, sell, and promote your goods on Facebook and Instagram. You’ll need a Facebook business page and Instagram business account to get started, but both platforms offer comprehensive guides on how to get your shop set up in no time!

Step 4: Determine what payments you’ll accept

There are several ways to get your products into customers’ hands. You can sell through an online marketplace, social media or add a shopping cart to your own website by integrating a payment processor app.

When it comes to the number of payment methods your online store should accept, the more the merrier! Beyond credit and debit cards, don’t forget to consider accepting digital payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Step 5: Decide how you’ll ship your product

Depending on what you sell, you’ll need to set up a supply and inventory management method and determine how to deliver your product to your customer. Before you list your shipping rates, it’s necessary to estimate your costs and their impact on profits.

Not surprisingly, 96% of customers report that free shipping impacts their purchase decision, and 25% are more likely to abandon their cart if shipping costs are too high. But higher fulfillment costs will drill into your bottom line. That’s why it’s essential to calculate the most competitive carrier pricing and shipping options for your online business.

Step 6: Spread the word 

While you’re working through the previous steps, you’ll also want to drum up excitement for your online business’s official launch. Your pre-launch and overall marketing strategy should be outlined in your business plan, but if you’re still struggling to determine the best way to reach your target market, we have some guidance to help get your product in front of the right people. By building up audience excitement and anticipation through social media and various advertising methods, you’ll set your business on the fast track for a successful launch.

Getting your online business off the ground doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience. Covering your bases and completing the steps on this list means spending more time doing (and getting paid for) what you love!

Take your business to the next level. Launch your online store and reach a wider audience. Our secure and reliable advanced credit card payment processing can help you grow your business. Call today at (877) 847-4478. Check our IG for more information.

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Reference: [https://www.sumup.com/en-us/business-guide/online-selling-guide/]