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Quick quiz
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Each month I'll give you a new question.
Just reply to this email for the answer.
William Shatner was born on March 22 of which year? |
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The Easy Way to Track Business Petty Cash |
Small businesses typically hold some amount of petty cash as a convenience for making minor purchases, particularly when reimbursing employees. But even a solo entrepreneur is likely to withdraw some cash from the business bank account to pay nominal expenditures, such as coffee with a client.
One of the problems with petty cash is properly accounting for its uses. This is accomplished by a simple system for tracking cash disbursements and replenishing the money. Withdrawals from petty cash should be replaced with receipts equaling the amount of funds spent.
Periodically, the receipts are collected and a bookkeeping exercise is conducted to reduce petty cash and increase the expenses paid. The sum of remaining cash and the expenses should equal the original amount of petty cash. If there's more money than expected, funds must have been transferred from the business bank account or the enterprise is an operation with some customers paying cash.
Businesses that hand petty cash to employees must make the workers accountable for how the money is spent. While an employee has the money, a note should be placed with petty cash stating who has the funds along with the amount and date advanced. The employee should return later with receipts and the unspent cash. This procedure permits the business to record the expenses as if it had paid them directly. Similarly, an employee may turn in a receipt and obtain a reimbursement from petty cash. That method also allows the business to deduct the expense paid by the employee. Since the cash outflow is recorded as a business expense, the amounts are not being paid as wages, and therefore the employees don't incur personal compensation. |
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How to Win Big in Today's Economy
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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."
Just reply to this email and I'll send it right out to you.
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A Fresh Approach to Finding New Clients
and New Business |
Finding clients is often described as both an art form and a science, and this rings true now more than ever, thanks to the uncertainty of our current market. Regardless of the unprecedented times, it's still possible to shake things up when it comes to generating new business.
Start by diving in with ideas first. It may feel contradictory to give ideas away for free. But offering them up is a great way to set yourself apart from the competition and introduce yourself to a company or client you want to work with.
For example, if someone posts on LinkedIn looking for a graphic designer to redesign their webpage, take the initiative and review their website, come up with a brief idea and offer it up in an email. Instead of just pitching your services, you're starting a valuable conversation. When you approach someone with valid and creative ideas, it shows them exactly what you can do for them.
On that note, don't underestimate the power of LinkedIn. It's a powerful prospecting tool that allows you to mine company pages, start conversations, find job postings and discover hidden opportunities: for instance, a director welcoming new hires is a signal that their company is expanding and there may be opportunities to outsource work. It pays to be bold and follow up, regardless!
Social media platforms have made it easier than ever to make digital connections with clients, but it's still incredibly important to meet face-to-face. In a socially distanced world, the next best thing is the humble video chat. Putting a face to a name makes you tangible in a way that electronic communication simply can't. People buy into people, after all. |
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Worth Reading |
Your Step-by-Step
Guide to Reaching
Inbox Zero
By Alyse Kalish
The Muse |
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A cluttered inbox can create stress. Dedicating time for a digital deep clean will help to put you (and your inbox) closer to a state of pure Zen. From identifying the issues that got your inbox pouring over in the first place, ways to lessen the inbound load and creating some strategies to organize attention to incoming messages in the future, here
are some tips to get you to "inbox zero." |
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The Designer Approved
List of Free and Cheap
Stock Photo Sites
By Mariah Althoff
mariahalthoff.com |
Is the price of quality stock photos getting
you down? Including relevant, engaging images in your contentboosts views by
an astonishing 94%. Helping others build
successful careers in graphic design, here's
one professional graphic designer's top five
go-to sites for those with tight marketing
budgets. Click to find the perfect free photo
to up your marketing game. |
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Spruce up Your Business (and Keep it Safe)
with Digital Spring Cleaning |
Whip out the digital broom and dustpans. A cyberattack can paralyze businesses overnight and create a long road to recovery. In fact, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) estimates cybercrime costs small businesses an average of $80,000 each year. Here's an overview of basic steps to protect yourself and your customers' data.
Polish the passwords. Using the same password for multiple accounts or creating one that's easily guessed is like Christmas for hackers. Share some internal guidelines about how to create secure passwords. Providing access to password management software can also encourage employees to follow this guidance.
Disinfect devices. Keep employees up to date on the latest phishing and malware trends to keep them from clicking on that "convincing link." Remember: malware can be lurking on any device that can connect to the Internet.
Scrub the digital archives. Regulatory compliance mandates that we take proper steps to protect personal information for both customers and employees. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems, server archives and all electronic communications are a hotbed of juicy logs that hackers would love to get their hands on. If you're having difficulty confirming that you are in compliance, consider hiring a third-party provider that specializes in securing your data.
Rinse the routers. Ideally, purchase new routers that come preinstalled with the latest protections against recent cyberattacks. At a minimum, keep your router's firmware (the basic coded instructions that serve as the foundation to make your device work) up to date. Lastly, never use the default login information that comes on the router: be sure to change and customize your password. |
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Share This Newsletter
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If you find this newsletter helpful or interesting, share it with those you care about.
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Links You Can Use - New Hires |
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Finding the right job candidate comes with extra challenges in this new business environment. These resources will help you hire with confidence. |
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How to Write a Job Description (Plus 7 Job Description Templates) |
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Learn how to write a clear
and robust requisition that will
produce quality candidates. |
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15 Surefire Ways
to Find Employees
You'll Love |
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Think outside of the box to reach the best applicants. Here's how to help the perfect person find you. |
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Small Business Hiring Guide: Surviving COVID-19 |
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Whether on the hunt for new talent
or in the process of rehiring,
check out these tips on navigating
new expectations, health and safety. |
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Best Free Job
Posting Sites |
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Compare the pros
and cons of 2021's
best free job posting
sites. |
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The Least Challenging Way of Business Budgeting |
Creating a useful small business budget is typically so frustrating that entrepreneurs tend to avoid the process. Unfortunately, a mere hope for a favorable future is likely to trigger even greater frustration and possible catastrophe. Thinking about how a budget is a means to a satisfying end will help you tackle the process with conviction.
Business Budgeting Mindset
Setting a budget is less daunting when you realize that the results are simply an outline of your business. The utility of this should not be underestimated. By focusing on the ultimate purpose of the budget, the effort of putting numbers on a page is not viewed as a burden. Finishing the budget is not your objective. Having a valuable tool to guide your future is the real intent.
The budget you create is a way of controlling sustained growth. The budget timeline shows a pace that permits always having sufficient capital to acquire the resources necessary for meeting sales targets. You know from the budget how much spending for marketing, equipment, staff and materials will precede revenue generation.
Getting Started on a Budget
A useful budget starts with careful scrutiny of costs required to produce projected sales. The essential feature of a budget is forecasting the length of time between paying costs and collecting revenue.
Utilize reliable sources for budgeted costs and timeline. Input from a management team is crucial, if you have one. Your accountant is also a valuable resource for turning your rough estimates into realistic projections. A precise budget isn't as important as having a sensible direction for future business decisions.
Don't drive yourself crazy by making exact forecasting calculations. The budget is merely a compass that should be sufficient for guiding your general spending habits and predicting the sales revenue that should be realized.
Using a Business Budget
Comparing the business budget to unfolding reality reveals variances so you can adjust spending. When unanticipated events arise, you can look for expenditures to reduce. Within the budget, you will find expense categories to cut that are least likely to sacrifice sales. Also possible to occur is an unusual purchase opportunity, such as acquiring business necessities at a discount. By referring to your budget, you uncover whether a tempting purchase will wreck cash flow or improve profitability. Always looks for avenues to maximize future profit without hampering funds needed to sustain current operations.
Predictions about the future are always difficult. But your budgeting accuracy will improve with practice. A sound technique for some enterprises is creating a budget only for the next couple of calendar quarters or a few specific projects. After comparing the actual results to the budget, you learn how to revise a better forecast. This exercise soon makes your budgets more accurate and reliable. You learn more about realistic delivery dates based on your cash and other resources.
Most importantly, as you find that a business budget helps you complete work on time and sustain all business spending, the entire forecasting procedure becomes a comforting endeavor rather than an overwhelming burden. |
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This newsletter and any information contained herein are intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or medical advice. The publisher takes great efforts to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this newsletter. However, we will not be responsible at any time for any errors or omissions or any damages, howsoever caused, that result from its use. Seek competent professional advice and/or legal counsel with respect to any matter discussed or published in this newsletter. |
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