Accounting Pitfalls That Can Derail Your Business

How to Correct them Before Year-End
Ready or not, the fiscal year-end for many small to mid-sized businesses is looming.
The last few remaining weeks of the quarter and fiscal year typically culminate with a
concerted push towards maximizing revenue to finish on a financially strong note.
However, just as impactful to company financials as a strong finish are clean and
orderly financial records. The weeks leading to a company’s fiscal year end are also a
good time to review financial practices and records in order to correct any accounting
mishaps that could impact the integrity of your company’s financials. Following are
several areas to revisit in preparation for year-end:

1. Receivables: Before pursuing new prospects, small to mid-sized businesses
should attempt to fully saturate their existing client base and narrow, targeted
audience. Have you pursued all possible sales options for upselling or cross selling
your services to your existing clients? Client retention and repeat sales are less
expensive growth strategies than driving new business and pursuing new leads. New
leads need to be educated on the value your company delivers to them.

2. Expense Recording: Diligently tracking and recording expenses is essential to
small to mid-sized companies, as expenses have a direct impact on both profitability
and cost containment. Businesses need to track and record expenses so that they can
accurately classify the expense. In addition, the expenses should be applied to the
timeframe in which they were incurred. Timely tracking and recording of receipts and
expenses can be a tedious task for business owners, but matching.

3. Reconciliations: Account reconciliations can be tedious and easily put aside,
especially for business owners who have numerous other responsibilities to juggle.
However, allowing a backlog of account reconciliations is detrimental in the long run.
If accounts have gone unreconciled for some time, start scheduling time for regularly
performing this function in preparation for year-end so that you still have time to
resolve any outstanding issues that may arise.

4. Accounting System Back-up: The Accounting system exists as the financial
backbone in a small to mid-sized company. Implementing a system of regularly
scheduled back-ups to the accounting system is critical for business continuity in the
event of a system failure. Some small to mid-sized businesses may never recover
from a crash in their accounting system. As year-end approaches, make certain that
this is a routine practice and not one which has fallen by the wayside.

We are currently offering a free analysis of your business processes and accounting system.
If you would like to learn more on how Virtual Bookkeepers USA can help move your business forward, please call us today at 251.216.7911 or email us at BestVirtualBookkeepers@gmail.com

I'm Mike McVay, Accountant and Founder of Virtual Bookkeepers USA. Consider a subscription to the NEW QuickBooks Online Simple Start and I will pay for 1-full year. Become a client and I will pay for the life of your business!! PLUS, with and new subscription I pay for, you will receive a 1-hour One-On-One business consultation. No purchase necessary, I want to show you my devotion to your businesses success.