A business coach can certainly give you the guidance and motivation you need to help your business grow, but how do you know what you’re really getting?

One way is to skip the fuzzy title of “business coach” and, instead, hire a part-time financial controller. Our part time controllers are all experienced Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). This means we’ve gone through extensive training and education, passed exams, and have real-world experience in using financial statements with benchmarking to challenge you in improving your operations.

As CPAs, we understand the numbers. As experienced business people, we understand what’s behind the numbers, too — and that’s how we can assist you with business coaching to take your company to the next level.

We will not only manage your books on a day-to-day basis, but we will issue monthly and quarterly reports and explain the real-world meanings behind those reports. We take the numbers and make sense of them, so that you can gain better control of your small business.

We are experts in financial forecasting and business dashboard management, and have the knowledge and expertise to offer you advice on the best course of action for your company. We won’t tell you what to do — you always have the last word and final say when it comes to your business — but your part-time controller is a trusted financial and business advisor.

Are your plans practical? Financially feasible? What are the chances your decision will be profitable? Financial reports, financial forecasts and the business coaching of your part-time financial controller will reveal the truth, so you can move forward with a greater sense of control.

If you’ve been doing your own books as a small business owner for a while, you know that QuickBooks and Peachtree accounting software have many features. Maybe you only know the basics, though, and try to ignore those tabs and windows that you don’t understand. If this sounds like you, you’re doing a dis-service to your business and putting yourself in danger of being one of those small businesses that goes under due to poor financial management.

If you use accounting software like QuickBooks or Peachtree to manage your books, the information you need to run your business and make the best money management decisions is right in front of you, if you know where to look.

What Is a Business Dashboard?

A business dashboard is a snapshot of various reports that show how well your company is doing by displaying things like cash flow, inventory management, even outstanding accounts, in easy to read charts and graphs. A business dashboard is, most frequently, a compilation of a variety of related reports, all on one screen in a graphical format.

You can use a variety of plug-ins for QuickBooks to create customized financial dashboards or use the QuickBooks software to display different company dashboards. These business dashboards give you insight into where your company’s been, where it is right now, and, from this data, you can make projections for where it’s going.

When you first delve into the world of business dashboards and the more advanced features and reports of QuickBooks and Peachtree accounting software, you may feel lost and alone. That’s where a part-time financial controller can help you.

There’s no reason to stay in the dark about your business; the information is available to you through today’s technology. The people who can help you access and analyze this information are available, too, and you’ll find part-time financial controller services a lot less expensive than you may think.

Click here http://www.thecontrollershipgroup.com/services/ to read more about our services at The Controllership Group.

But most larger businesses, and any companies looking for help from venture capital firms or outside investors, rely on a method of accounting called accrual based accounting. Using this methods, expenditures are recorded when they take place, but Accounts Receivable are logged when the work is started and profits are earned, not when the money is collected from the customer or client.

This can help a business show a larger bottom line, since you’re accounting for money that’s not yet actually been collected. But it may not paint an accurate picture of cash flow.

Additionally, it becomes more difficult to interpret financial statements when using accrual-based accounting.

Benefits of Accrual Based Accounting

In spite of its perceived flaws for small business owners and sole proprietors, accrual based accounting has its benefits. It is part of the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) method of accounting used across the U.S. and is used by all larger businesses. It makes sense to become accustomed to accrual based accounting early in the game to ensure a smooth transition. If you are looking for investors, your books will need to show accrual based accounting methods.

Accrual based accounting also gives you more control over tax liabilities and deductions since, to some degree, you have control over when income is earned. Similarly, you can better control profit-and-loss since you show profits as they are earned, even if your clients pay on Net-30 or Net-60 terms.

Your Outsourced Controller Can Help with Accrual Based Accounting

If you’ve decided its time to join the big dogs make the switch to accrual based accounting, your outsourced controller can help you make the transition and interpret financial statements so you’ll always be in control of your cash flow and will be able to see, at a glance, just how well your company is really doing.

Let’s take a look at these two methods and see how they work.

FIFO Inventory Accounting

In this form of inventory accounting, the oldest items in your inventory are assumed to sell first. In inflationary times, your inventory will have a higher value, you’ll show higher gross profits and, as a result, may have a higher taxable income.

LIFO Inventory Accounting

LIFO accounting assumes that the most recently acquired items are the first to sell. In an inflationary economy, this means your older inventory, which has less value, will stick around longer, giving you a lower ending inventory but also a lower gross profit as items that cost more and yield a lower profit, are sold first.

This method of accounting can reduce your tax liability and increase your cash flow in an inflationary economy.

LIFO or FIFO?

LIFO inventory accounting is more closely related to your company’s real-life inventory situation and so can paint a more realistic financial picture of your company. But switching to the FIFO method can help your company improve its cash flow during inflationary times.

A part time controller can explain the tax and real-world ramifications of making a switch and help you manage your inventory accounting, regardless of which system you choose.

Placing orders involves a lot more careful decision making and review of your financial records, and you may need professional guidance from an outsourced controller to help you. The experience and knowledge of a financial controller can be invaluable; after all, your controller has worked with other companies and can use that experience, along with his knowledge of today’s economy, to help you make the right inventory management decisions.
Understanding the Specific Identification Method of Inventory Accounting
In addition to balancing your inventory with orders, as your business grows you may find yourself in need of more extensive inventory accounting processes, too. The Specific Identification Method is the simplest type of inventory accounting.

Using this method, the cost of each inventory item equals exactly what you paid for it. When the item is sold, the inventory account is credited and the cost of good sold column is debited by that amount.

With this form of inventory accounting, profits are clear cut and there’s no way to leverage inflation to your advantage when it comes to cash flow or tax liabilities. A financial controller can also recommend other forms of inventory accounting that can give you an advantage in an inflationary economy.
Confused About Inventory Accounting?

If you’re confused about inventory accounting and why it’s so important to your business, it might be time to look into the services of an outsourced financial controller. A part-time controller can assist you with inventory management and help you leverage just-in-time production to maximize profits.

1. Make sure you’re using the latest version of your Web browser or smart phone software before you access your accounting files. – In most cases, our SSL encryption measures won’t permit you to log in to your files if you’re not using the latest version of Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari. But just in case, it’s important to always make sure you’re using the latest software versions available, as this software will contain important security updates to make it harder for hackers to break into your files.

2. Always access your accounting files from a secure Internet connection. – On our end, your data is kept secure in the cloud. But all of our security measures won’t help if you access files through an unsecured network. While one of the benefits of cloud based accounting is the ability to check your financial statements and other records from anywhere with Internet access, we recommend against accessing your Peachtree or QuickBooks files over an unsecured wireless network, such as at your local coffeehouse.

3. Follow common sense measures to protect your data. – Use a strong password with a combination of numbers and letters that no on will be able to guess. Make sure no one is looking over your shoulder when you log in to your cloud based accounting software. Don’t leave your computer unattended in a public place. All of these common sense measures can help keep your financial data secure in the cloud.

If you’ve ever made a purchase online, you’ve put your trust in the same SSL encryption used with our cloud based accounting system. We do everything we can to keep your financial data and accounting records safe; if you do the same by following common sense measures to protect and limit access to your account, you can be assured that cloud based accounting is secure.

Depending on the size of your business as we start the New Year, you may need both services, or just a bookkeeper to get your records straight. The Controllership Group can offer both of these services on an as-needed, part-time basis, at less cost to you than hiring paid accounting staff and with none of the overhead associated with in-house bookkeeping or financial controllership services.

Outsourced Bookkeeping or a Part-time Controller?

If you have a good mind for making the right financial decisions, every time, and if you have a knack for seeing the birds-eye view of your company even when you’re in the thick of things, but it’s the details that get you, you may just need outsourced bookkeeping services. The Controllership Group can get you set up with Peachtree or QuickBooks accounting software, hosted in the cloud so you can access it at any time, maintain your records and provide you with all the necessary financial statements each month.

But if you often get “too close” to your business to know the best next step to take, or if you find yourself wondering if you are making the right financial decisions for your future growth, a part time controller could become your new best friend when it comes to your business.

Many small business owners don’t imagine they can afford a CFO or financial controller. Full-time CFOs often demand six-figure salaries, plus full offices and hefty benefits packages.

Our outsourced controllers have all the experience, knowledge and credentials of a full-time, in-house CFO, without the financial outlay. You pay us on an hourly basis, so you’re only paying for the services you need, when you need them.

Much more than just a bookkeeping or accounting service provider, your part-time controller works with you to analyze your financial statements, make projections for the future, and will advise you on the best decisions to keep your company growing through any economy.

Our passion is using our knowledge and experience to help business owners succeed, giving you the support you need so you can focus on your company’s core competencies and your passion.

1 – The Controllerships Group (TCG) employees  work virtually reducing your business overhead. – From unemployment taxes to benefits and office space, when you hire independent contractors who work remotely, you can save thousands of dollars a year. You don’t need to supply your virtual bookkeeper or part time controller with a computer, office supplies, or even paid time off. You’ll sign on with us and pay only for the financial controllership and bookkeeping services you need.

2 – Save money on hiring and training bookkeepers. – Have you been through strings of bookkeepers who claimed to know accounting software but then were lost when it came to performing everyday tasks through QuickBooks? Even when you find a good bookkeeper, it takes time to train your new employee in the way you like to do things at your company. And finding good people, too, takes time and money.

The Controllership Group has a full staff of qualified financial controllers and bookkeepers. We’ve done all the legwork of hiring and training employees, to provide you with highly qualified staff that get the job done on time and within your budget.

3. Financial controllership puts you in better financial control of your company, so you can make the smart decisions that save your company money. – While it’s possible to quantify the cost savings of contractors who work remotely, it’s tougher to put a price tag on the biggest thing that virtual financial controllership provides: greater financial understanding of your company, so you can make the best, money-saving decisions for your future.

A financial controller provides you with the financial reports and information you need, and helps you see through the “numbers in boxes” to get a clear financial picture of your company.  You can reduce your budget, increase spends where it makes sense, and make more informed financial decisions with the guidance of a knowledgeable financial controller, ultimately saving your company money in a myriad of ways.

You might start 2012 with the best intentions for bookkeeping and your business. Like any other New Year’s resolution, your goal to keep your books straight, to log every invoice, expense and payment on time and in detail begins well. But commonly quoted statistics say that most (four out of five) New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by February. Your January books look clean and organized and, most importantly, balanced. Then by mid-February, you forget to log a check when it comes in, and find yourself backtracking.

By Spring you’re scratching your head wondering why your books aren’t balanced. A few months later, you fear opening QuickBooks because you’re not sure what you’re going to find or how to make sense of it all. You know you’re making money. Your business is growing. But you can’t make the fast financial decisions to keep your company on top because you don’t have the right facts in front of you. That’s when you start to realize you need some help. Instead of stubbornly staying the course and going it alone, you’re ready to turn to outsourced bookkeeping.

Why let it go so far? If you’re reading this in the first week, or even the last week, of January, it’s not too late to get some part time controller help before your books become a mess.

We’ll even go back and work with you to balance your 2011 books before tax time, saving you money, IRS late fees, and lots of time and headaches (not to mention decreasing the chances that you’ll face an audit because of bookkeeping errors.)

A New Start with The Controllership Group 

When you sign on to take advantage of controllership services with us, we will work with you to set up a bookkeeping system that works, on the best bookkeeping software for you. If you’re already working with software you like, you can continue using it, and we’ll help you store your financial data in the cloud so it will always be available to you, from any computer, tablet or smartphone with Internet access and the latest browser.

After we get you set up, we will not only keep your books up to date with our bookkeeping services, but will be trusted advisors arming you with the knowledge you need to make the best financial decisions for your company as it grows.

There’s no need to be frustrated with your books. Make 2012 the year you make a real fresh start with online bookkeeping solutions and a virtual financial controller.