While most businesses (80%) make it to Birthday No. 1, something frequently happens between years two to five. According to U.S. Small Business Administration statistics, by the fifth year, anywhere from around 49% to 55% of those businesses are still around (depending on the year that the company started). In another ten years, that survival rate has plummeted to 33%. This may sound exceedingly "Debbie Downer," and we all know we don't need more of that! But, the truth is, we can use historical precedent – the challenges, victories, and, yes, failures – of those before us to be empowered and to avoid their pitfalls.
Generally, the analysts who delve into these things have commonly cited the likes of a lack of market need, a lack of capital, the wrong people "on the bus," an inability to keenly compete, and pricing (either too high or too low) as among the key reasons businesses fail. Also, not all of yesteryear's businesses had QuickBooks®! After all, this accounting software was first introduced in the early 1990s. How many companies have come and gone in the past two years, let alone the past 27 years?
This software that is synonymous with a small business can help you wrap your arms around some of the factors contributing to your sales and profits, either thriving or diving.
Quicker book(keeping) … and much more
It's always helpful to get your business off to the best start. In many respects, operating a successful business is a marathon. Yet, in this situation (when starting up), running a business is more like a sprint. If you misstep in the beginning, given the intense nature of global competition and the pace with which everything changes, it can be hard to make up the deficit. You may continue to lag behind until you fade away.
One of the beautiful things about QuickBooks is that it does much of the “heavy lifting” for you, be it routine, rote tasks, or valuable business intelligence/analytics. This frees you as an owner (and your talented staff) to do the tasks that you do best or that they were onboarded to do. Instead of spending too much time on tedious tasks or putting out fires, you'll be developing more business, innovating products, and growing sales. When you take care of your vendors, partners, customers, and top talent, they won't look to "greener pastures." After all, you are the only brand or partner that can provide said product or service or provide it the way you do! QuickBooks helps you focus on what makes your firm a “star” in their eyes.
Sustain your edge with smart tools
QuickBooks has been at this for a while. So, they’ve created and promoted features explicitly designed with freelancers, small businesses, or mid-sized businesses in mind. Additionally, QuickBooks leans hard into Intuit’s resources. They’re always adding new features; for instance, based on research into how small businesses have been hobbled in the pandemic environment, QuickBooks now has a payroll function to manage furloughed workers, among many other additions.
As a small business, there are quite literally dozens of features that will resonate with your business. We’ve highlighted some of those features below.
Managing and paying your bills
By tracking the status of various bills, recording payments, and setting up recurring payments, you avoid late fees and other penalties. You no longer stress over whether that bill was paid. The ability to pay multiple vendors and bills simultaneously transforms a process that formerly took many minutes or hours to organize and complete and shrinks it down to nothing -- as the payments may be automated. This function also allows for checks to be created and printed from anywhere on your schedule.
Contractor Management
There is nothing more damaging to your brand than leaving your valuable vendors and partners hanging. Today, you have technologies that quickly allow you to see just who you’ve paid, what you’ve paid, and when you made that payment. 1099 forms can also be prepared and filed easily – no headaches.
Expense management
The No. 1 tenant of business management: Know where your money is going. Transactions from bank accounts, credit cards, Square, and other mobile platforms can automatically be sorted into appropriate tax categories. Additionally, photos of receipts may be instantly matched to transactions.
Invoices/payments
Just as you need to have a handle on what’s going out, you need to know what’s coming in. Credit and debit cards and bank transfers may be accepted. So, you get paid faster. Additionally, partial invoices for work (such as “phased” or “staged” projects) can be rendered. The status of invoices may be monitored, and payment reminders may be sent without your ever having to worry or think about them. Real-time alerts also notify you right away when customers both view and pay invoices.
Inventory, with ease
There are many aspects of your inventory that must be tracked, organized, and managed. Through the beauty of software, you can pull up the popular merchandise at a given time, track the cost of goods, and get notifications when you're running low. So, you never have to tell a customer, “Sorry. We’re out.”
Payroll
Payday is a breeze, courtesy of Auto Payroll. You have peace of mind because notifications and alerts are sent. You also avoid late fees or inaccuracies associated with federal and state penalties because they're calculated, filed, and paid automatically. For a little extra peace of mind, “Tax Penalty Protection” has your back.
Projects
What is your business, if not a series of projects? Imagine being able to track everything from job and labor costs to money made on each project (or during each phase), with a clear report and dashboard. Furthermore, QuickBooks helps you see the true “value” of each project by analyzing the time spent on it versus the sales or income associated with it.
Analytics
You can’t grow what you don’t track and analyze. QuickBooks provides affordable and no-hassle business intelligence via reports on profits and losses, expenses, and balance sheets. Information may also be customized to provide specific insights into certain facets of your business; for instance, KPIs like the percentage of overdue invoices. Monthly KPI tracking allows for issues to be spotted and addressed quickly and proactively.
Don't miss out on tax savings.
Business expense-related deductions require collecting, organizing, storing, and retrieving recipes. You can quickly “snap and store” these documents and share them with your friendly accountants at O’Donnell, Ficenec, Wills & Ferdig. Or you can export them into important documents to stay ahead of tax season. Furthermore, these expenses can be categorized for ease of harnessing these tax deductions.
Cash Flow
Get a handle on your deposits. Save for goals and expenses. Forecast cash flow, 30 to 90 days out. Plan to stay ahead.
Secure funding, effortlessly.
QuickBooks can be a “hub” for all things lending. You can apply for various loans and see the associated costs clearly, no surprises. Compare your options and pinpoint opportunities to save (i.e., an early payoff to avoid accrued interest, without penalties).
Get the most out of your investment.
A tool is only as “good” as how you use it! Don’t let QuickBooks “sit on a shelf.” Our talented consultants, including QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisors, are here to help. We’re happy to onboard you and your team. So, you get off to a great start with these powerful functions. We’re also available to provide ongoing support, answering any questions you may have or concerns that arise.
We are more than accounting; we assist with bookkeeping and Quickbooks.