|
|
|
|
|
|
FINANCE |
|
We're Reexamining Our Processes: Any Thoughts? |
|
Small businesses are the envy of larger companies: they're nimble and able to adjust their marketing and customer offerings on a dime. However...when was the last time you audited your company's processes, including bookkeeping, accounting, inventory, and production, and made them earn a place in your business?
The key is in asking tough questions. One in particular often elicits a response known as "the six deadly words."
The question is: "Why do we do it this way?" And it likely produces the following answer: "We've always done it this way." The six deadly words.
Chances are, few of your processes exist because they're the best option for today. They were convenient, cheap, a temporary solution or one that worked well...10 years ago. So, reexamine them now.
Ask questions. Don't accept the six deadly words as a response. If a process is outdated, ask your employees for suggestions to improve it. Ask your customers: they may see problems you didn't even know existed.
Listen to the answers. Look for patterns. Are there tweaks that would improve your company's operations, or are there deeper systemic problems?
While it might not be an option to overhaul your company's systems now, looking for processes that are past their prime will help you plan a more efficient future for your company. And perhaps even get buy-in for changes from your employees and customers.
Don't fear the six deadly words. Replace them with this positive eight-word statement: "We're changing our processes, thanks to your input." |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
HOT BIZ TRENDS |
|
| What's New
about This Hybrid Office Space? Everything |
| |
Shopify, an e-commerce company that develops software for online stores, has implemented a hybrid work environment with elements of traditional corporate offices and open concept workspaces at its headquarters in Toronto, Canada.
And the 35,600 sq. ft. (3307 m) office has business and architectural media breathless: According to CBC News, Inc. magazine dubbed it "one of the 'world's coolest offices.'"
As open concept offices are hardly new, and it's notoriously difficult to impress media, what's afoot here?
Innovation # 1: A philosophy that makes sense: not all people work or think the same way. Therefore, the environment must be conducive to extroverts and introverts. (Shopify's employee population is half and half.)
Commented Satish Kanwar, Shopify's director of product, in a CBC interview: "We recognized there are people who are predominantly introverts and others who are extroverts...so we wanted to create a very flexible environment that was both extremely private and extremely open."
Witness "Sofa Boxes" - rooms on wheels, with noise-canceling cushions and one see-through wall. It's private, but still in the open; it can be pushed together for meetings; and, bonus...it's comfortable!
Innovation # 2: The desks, on the other hand, are the ultimate in communal working. Called "hot desking," they're a nod to the fluidity of work at Shopify; desks are identical - no one has a defined space.
The focus of the layout, as designed with assistance from a design firm and Shopify employees, totally reflects the employees and the work they do. Now there's a concept! |
|
| |
|
WORK/LIFE BALANCE |
|
|
Job Burnout Is Hazardous to Your Job...and Your Life |
 |
If you're like half the working population, you may be experiencing burnout. And if you are, the good news is, you can take action. According to the Mayo Clinic's Healthy Lifestyle website, "Job burnout is a special type of job stress - a state of physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work."
In a recent online article, Dr. Travis Bradberry, coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, wrote: "You get burnt out when you feel like you're putting more into your work than you're getting out of it. Sometimes this happens when a job isn't rewarding, but more often than not it's because you aren't taking care of yourself ..." Bradberry reports that a recent Society of Human Resource Management poll found burnout "was one of the top reasons that people quit." He lists signs to watch for:
- Health problems
- Cognitive difficulties
- Difficulty with relationships
- Fatigue
- Negativity
- Decreased satisfaction
- Decreased motivation
- Performance issues
Adds Bradberry, "If you recognize many of these symptoms in yourself, don't worry. Fighting burnout is a simple matter of self-care."
The Mayo Clinic offers a number of self-care action steps to fight job burnout, including:
- Managing contributing stressors
- Evaluating options by assessing your skills and passions
- Adjusting your attitude
- Seeking support
- Exercising regularly and sleeping seven to eight hours a night.
|
|
| |
|
FINANCE |
|
| How to Record the Selling of a Business Asset |
| |
Selling a business property is an opportunity to develop an accounting system for properly recording these events and ensuring your small business is using the appropriate tax rules.
When you are selling business assets, the correct accounting procedure is to remove these transactions from ordinary income categories because they are nonrecurring items.
This process permits an improved perspective on routine sales, so you can happily compare past periods and assess trends without concern for any income distortions triggered by nonrecurring asset sales.
Selling an asset used in business is always reported on a different tax form than normal business income. Therefore, you (and your bookkeeper) need to ensure the sales price of each sold asset is recorded in a separate account for Other Income on the Profit and Loss Statement (P&L).
Some sales are complicated because they involve multiple assets. For instance, a sale of land with a building and a fence comprises three distinct assets. You must divide the total sales price among the assets sold.
Of course, the entire sales price is not profit. You also have the costs of the sale. These are recorded in an Other Expense account on the P&L. Examples of these expenses are commissions paid to a selling agent and delivery costs for sending the sold asset to the buyer.
Account for the gross sales price in your Other Income account. Then apply all the deducted selling expenses to your Other Expense account. Any amount withheld from the sales price that repays indebtedness you owed is applied to the Liability Account on your Balance Sheet for the loan. A loan payoff for more than the liability account balance is interest expense on the P&L. The net amount after all deductions goes to your cash account on the Balance Sheet.
Removing the asset
The biggest expense related to a business property sale is normally the original cost of the asset. This was not an expense deduction when you acquired it. Rather, it was added to an asset account on the Balance Sheet. A bookkeeping procedure that may be unfamiliar to you, but can be easily explained by your bookkeeper or your accountant, is the removal of a sold asset's original cost from the Balance Sheet. It's transferred to the Other Expense account.
It's crucial to remember that some of the original asset cost has already been expensed as depreciation. Prior depreciation expense was offset by equal negative values to an asset account for accumulated depreciation.
This negative Balance Sheet figure combined with the account for the asset's original cost shows net depreciated cost. The bookkeeping procedure that transfers the original asset cost to Other Expense must also move the accumulated depreciation for that particular sold asset to Other Expense. Consequently, the net depreciated cost becomes the primary component of Other Expense.
A complex collection of tax statutes applies different rules to different types of sold business property.
But this is a piece of cake for savvy entrepreneurs who know to account separately for each asset sale and its associated costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
Gold Gerstein Group
505 Pleasant Valley Avenue
Moorestown NJ 08057
856-727-0100 Office
856-727-0772 Fax |
| |
| www.g3cpa.com |
| |
| info@g3cpa.com
|
| |
 |
| |
|
|
|
| How to Win Big in Today's Economy |
|
| The altered economic landscape presents innovative and nimble businesses
with opportunities to thrive. |
|
| Find out how by requesting my free report "How to Win Big in Today's
Economy" by replying to this email." |
|
| Just reply to this email and I'll send it right out to you. |
| |
|
| Share This Newsletter |
| |
 %SOCIALSHARE-GPLUS%  |
|
| Click here to forward this email to a friend |
|
| Click here to see a web copy of this newsletter |
|
|
| Quick Quiz |
| |
Each month I'll give you a new question.
Just reply to this email for the answer.
What does an onomastician study? |
|
|
| Worth Reading |
|
The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers
By Adam Grant |
| |
|
TED
To Adam Grant, "originals" are nonconformists who come up with great ideas and put them into action despite their doubts, fears, and...their tendency to procrastinate. This isn't a bad thing. Moderate procrastination is vital because it allows for time to think and incubate ideas. Now we can feel good about procrastinating!
Great Leaders Embrace Office Politics
By Michael Chang Wenderoth
Harvard Business Review
Getting ahead in the corporate world is more about managing up and networking with influential decision makers than working hard. Managing a career is critical, but surprisingly few people do it, largely because it's perceived as Machiavellian. So? At least we're not languishing at the bottom of the corporate food chain.
We Are Now Witnessing Elon Musk's Slow-Motion Disruption of the Global Auto Industry
By Steve LeVine
Quartz
Love him or hate him, Elon Musk is trying, some say successfully, to fill a void left by another great disrupter, Steve Jobs. By taking the lead in producing the Model 3 Tesla, Musk has disrupted the auto industry - perhaps forever - as his competitors frantically retool to welcome the "new" electrics.
|
|
LINKS YOU CAN
USE
This Month: The Art of Bleisure |
|
Over half of American workers didn't take all of their vacation time last year. But "bleisure," which combines business travel with leisure time, is becoming increasingly popular. You
can be all things to all people with this trend!
Get the full scoop on the bleisure trend:
4 Things to Know about the Bleisure Trend
Learn who's enjoying bleisure and how:
Benefits of Mixing Business Travel with Leisure
Both solo bleisurites and those with family in tow can take a moment to enjoy the sights. Check out these suggestions:
Bleisure Travel
Over the past several years, this emerging trend has influenced travel, tourism, and even fashion. Review the changes here:
Bleisure Overview
Hotels are starting to cater to the bleisure crowd. Find out what they are offering for your next trip:
Targeting 'Bleisure' Business
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
