How To Create Your Business Workflow

1. Introduction: Welcome to this course. It is an honor to have you here. In this course, you will understand the importance of building a well-functioning accounting system for your business. Then I'll give you a brief overview of the four key steps in building not just an accounting system, but a reliable and efficient system that will help you keep track of your business finances. Leave you enough time to do the things that really matter and move your business forward. After you get an overview, I will pay special attention to each of the total four steps you need to take when setting up your accounting system. You should now know that no step is less or more important. Each step is a prerequisite for a well-functioning accounting system, and you need to go through all of them to provide your company with the best financial control. I'll talk about opening a business account, choosing a payment processor, selecting the right accounting type and the most appropriate accounting software. By the end of the course, you will be able to make the right decision regarding your company's accounting system, which will have a positive impact on your overall business. 2. Your Business Needs a Reliable Bookkeeping System: Whether small, medium, or large, your business needs a system that records and tracks all the financial data that affects its performance. Just imagine how confusing it would be if you didn't keep track of your revenues and expenses, how would you know if your business was making a profit or a loss? How would you know if a product is profitable or not? How would you control your cash inflow and cash outflow? There's only one answer to all these questions through a well-designed recording system. Just imagine you sell ten different products. Let's assume that you don't keep records of the sales you make. In this case, you've only your bank statement where you can find the amount of all sales. However, the information on the bank statement isn't detailed and you only know the amount of each sale, but nothing about product types and quantities. This way you don't have the necessary data to distinguish between profitable and non-profitable products. Or maybe you sell some products on credit. In this case, the customers have received the products in the current month but will pay later. Logically, you will not get information about these sales transactions from the bank statement. The only way to get information about these sales is from your accounting system. Since you've have not yet received payments, these transactions do not affect cash flow for the current period. The expected amounts or future benefits to your business, which according to double entry accounting our current income for your business and increase your monthly profit. Let us take another example. You work with different suppliers and need accurate data on each purchase made. If you have this data available, you can manage your expenses properly. If you rely only on your bank statements, you will not be able to make the right decisions regarding your business expenses. You may have the amount of each purchase, but you will not have information about the quantity and amount of inventory purchased. This way, you will not be able to track the cost and units of each material purchased. Perhaps you could look at receipts and invoices, but this is very tedious and time-consuming. It would be much easier to keep a ledger or list of all purchases and detailed information about each order. This way you can find the information you need within seconds. Let us run through another possible scenario. We suggest that you buy inventory on credit. You buy a certain amount of inventory in September, you will pay the amount in November. If you do not have a record of your purchases, you will not be able to get any information from your bank statement. The only option is to find the invoice and view it. Unfortunately, this approach is very time-consuming. The only reasonable way to get information about all these purchases is through your accounting system. This type of transaction does not affect cash flow in the current period because you have not yet made a payment and there is no cash outflow. However, if you expect to make payments later, this expectation of future cash outflow is an ongoing expense for your e-commerce business that will reduce your monthly profit. As you can see, without an accounting system, you do not have accurate information about your company's performance. Therefore, you cannot run your business successfully. If your goal is to have a feasible and financially stable business, you need to build a well-functioning accounting system that records and tracks all your business transactions. Here I would like to summarize the main benefits of accounting for your business. First, bookkeeping gives you a clear view of your company's operations at all times and protects you from unpleasant surprises. At the end of the month when it's time to pay your employees, contractors, or tax bill. Second, accounting helps you plan the next steps of your business. Based on the financial data provided by your accounting system, you can make a forecast of your company's future operations. Next, accounting is the basis for making decisions related to sales and purchases. Based on the recorded sales data, you can see which products are profitable and which are not. Based on this information. You can stop selling some products and focus your efforts on others. Using the purchasing data in your accounting system, you can decide to stop working with some of your suppliers. You can see what amount of inventory you need to buy and what amount you have available. Last but not least, I would like to mention another advantage of an accounting system for your business. It will save you a lot of time and headaches when it comes to filing your taxes each year. Having all your income and expenses in one place will save you time and money and you will be able to prepare your tax returns with confidence. In conclusion, I would say that accounting is the engine of your business. This is where you update and store all the data about everything that happens in your company. We can also say that this data is the fuel of your company because it moves it forward. 3. How to Create a Reliable Accounting System: To build a well-functioning accounting system that will increase your business profitability and performance. It is not enough to choose the best accounting program. This is just one of a total of four steps in preparing and creating an accounting system for your business. You should pay enough attention to each of these four steps because they are closely related. And if you skip just one of them, the accounting system will not work properly. Let us take a quick look at all four steps you should take to create a reliable accounting system for your business. The first step you should take is to business bank account. You only need to open a business bank account if you are operating as a partnership or limited liability company. If you operate as a freelancer or sole proprietor, there is no legal requirement to set up a business bank account. However, opening a business bank account will help you monitor and track the profitability of your business effortlessly. You do not have to spend a lot of time separating personal expenses from business expenses. You stay compliant and protected and your customers benefit as well. Opening a bank account is an important step in setting up your accounting system, but it's not enough. You need a way to enable financial transactions between you and your customers through various channels, such as credit and debit cards or bank accounts. That's why you should take the next step and choose a payment processor. It transmits the information from your customers card to your bank and the customer's bank. The transaction will not be executed until the payment processor receives confirmation that your customer has sufficient funds to pay for the order. With a payment service provider, you can accept payments by credit card without having a merchant bank account. The third step is to decide between single entry and double entry bookkeeping. Once you know the difference between the two accounting systems, you should consider which one is best. In your case, you need to consider the expected profit, number of sales, number of products and other factors. But be careful. You can find a lot of information on the Internet, but the most reliable information you can get from a professional accountant in your area. Then you need to select, test, and implement and accounting software. It can be described as an environment where you record and store all your business transactions, following some rules. A place where you can find information about all your income, expenses, profits, or losses, everything you own. Or accounting software is a tool that automates the entire accounting process of your business and allows you to spend more time on the things that really matter, namely growing your business. Therefore, you should pay great attention to this fourth step in creating a reliable accounting system for your business. If you manage a product-based business, you should consider to choose accounting software that offers a feature to track your inventory. E.g. how could you sell ten bags if you do not know if you have those ten bags in stock. This feature will help your business minimize costs, improve cash flow, and increase profitability. Some people prefer to buy a separate inventory management software. This is something I don't recommend since you need to take into account a lot of things which you could avoid by choosing accounting software with inventory management module. As you can see, building a reliable accounting system is about more than just choosing the right accounting software. At the same time, the entire process involves only a few essential simple steps. 4. Business Bank Account - Benefits: If you own a business that operates as a separate legal entity from your personality, you are legally required to have a bank account dedicated to your business transactions. If you are a freelancer or a sole proprietor, you are allowed to use your personal account for your new business. However, having a business bank account is a better idea. Having a business bank account gives your business a more professional image and shows your potential customers that you are professional and serious about managing your businesses finances. This way you assure your clients that your venture is legitimate rather than just a hobby. If you are among those business owners who want to accept credit card payments without using a payment service or provider, you should open a merchant business bank account. Of course, there are many more business accounts, like checking accounts and savings accounts that you can choose from. Depending on your business needs, you choose the best option for you. At some point you may want to apply for a business loan to be eligible and get access to such alone, you are required to have a business account. Business bank account, keeps your business funds separate from your personal funds and protects your personal funds in case of hard times for your business. Opening a business account helps you do accurate bookkeeping when you have to categorize your business expenses. If you use or personal bank account, it will take a lot of time to separate business expenses from personal expenses. Last but not least, a business account that's separate from your personal account will simplify things for your tax professional in the future. I'm sure there are much more advantages of having a business bank account. I believe I mentioned the most important to understand the steps involved in opening a business bank account. Watch the next video. There you will learn all the important points to consider before choosing a bank account for your business. 5. Business Bank Account - What to Consider: There are a variety of bank accounts to choose from. Common business accounts include a checking account, a savings account, or credit card account, and a merchant services account. Before you open your business account, make sure you know the terms and conditions of the bank. This will help you avoid unnecessary fees and charges. It's especially worthwhile to read this section on bank fees and charges carefully. In most cases, there are account maintenance fees and fixed charges for banking transactions. Sometimes these fees look small, but they can increase over time. Many business accounts have terms and conditions that say fees are waived if you meet certain conditions such as maintaining a minimum monthly or daily balance. And if you don't meet that minimum requirement, you may pay higher fees. If you're interested in an interest-bearing business account, you need to check the interest rates banks pay on them. Choosing a business account with the best possible interest rate will ensure more growth opportunities for your business. Of course, it's important to consider the fees you'll have to pay for a particular interests bearing business account. The fees should be lower than the expected interest rates. If you plan to pay suppliers and sell to customers overseas, you should pay special attention to the fees involved. These can be fixed fees or percentage of the amount transferred. Look for the best deal that meets your international business needs. I also recommend that you check what exchange rate your bank applies. If it applies in exchange rate, that's worse than the real market rate, you should stay away from that bank. Once you've decided on a business account, you should take action. To open a business account, you'll need to submit some information that varies from bank to bank. I've tried to summarize the most common documents you can put together in advance. But you can always see the right bundle of required documents on the website of your chosen bank. In most cases, you'll need to submit your photo ID, proof of personal address, confirmation of your Federal Employer Identification Number, proof of business address, and general business purpose questions. You also should pay attention that some banks also require a minimum deposit to open an account. To finalize this video, I would recommend to stay informed regarding your bank services, make informed decisions and take action. 6. You Business Need a Payment Service Processor: Today, it's easier than ever to sell your products or services worldwide. And if you want to be part of this global online marketplace, you should create a relevant, familiar payment experience that allows customers from different countries to pay you seamlessly. Having the right tools for your online payments is key to an efficient and successful online business. Payment tools like Stripe help you accept payments, send payouts, and manage your business online. Even if you already have a checking or savings account for your business, a payment processor will boost your business because it plays a different role. Similar to a merchant account, but with some differences. At the end of the video, I will explain the main difference between the two. For now, it is important to know that if you have a merchant account, you should not have a payment processor and vice versa. It's up to you to decide which one you want to use. A payment service provider combines everything you need to create websites and apps that accept payments and send them worldwide. Whether you have an online store, subscription business, software platform or marketplace, you can integrate it to process payments for your business. You can also use it to send invoices, issue virtual and physical cards, get financing, managed business expenses and more. A payment processor facilitates communication between the bank that issued a customer's debit or credit card and the vendor's bank stripe verifies and authorizes customer payments and enables the secure and efficient transfer of customer funds to the seller's account. One of the most well-known payment service providers is stripe. Let me talk a little more about it to understand the benefits of this technology for your business. To use Stripe services, you need to set up an account for your business. The stripe software will be connected to the shopping page of your store platform. The sign-up process itself is more than simple. Once your account is validated and approved, you can start receiving customer payments. The stripe payment process is easy to understand and navigate. We can break it down into a few simple main steps. Each time a customer purchases an item or service and proceeds to checkout, they enter their financial information on the purchase page. The information is then sent from the website through the stripe software to make the information secure, stripe encrypts it. The payment is routed through a card network to your customers issuing bank. The issuing bank approves the requested transaction. Your customer receives a notification that the transaction has been approved. The information is sent to the banks to exchange the funds and you receive your money. All of the above steps are completed in a matter of seconds. You should have the money and your Stripe account within a day or two. After that, you can transfer money from Stripe to your account at any time. Because Stripe provides reliable security to buyers and sellers and makes IT services available worldwide. Freelancers and small business owners from all over the world have already integrated stripe into their businesses and are enjoying their efficient and growing online business. If anyone tells you that a merchant account and Stripe are the same thing, please disagree with them. Stripe is a third-party payment processor. This means that as a stripe user, you do not have your own merchant account. Instead, your merchant account and the merchant accounts of all other Stripe users are combined into one big merchant account. It combines all merchant accounts as sub users under its parent merchant account and assumes full financial risk for each transaction under its account. If you are wondering which option is better for your business, it depends on many factors. However, in most cases, I recommend using a payment service provider because it's a quick way to accept online payments without having to set up a merchant account. I would say that a payment service provider is the modern air to a merchant account that meets the needs of any business. 7. Choose the Right Accounting System for Your Business: In this video, I want to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of accounting and show you how to choose one over the other for your e-commerce business. In this video, I'll try to help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of both types of accounting. But it's up to you to figure out which accounting system is really right for your business depending on your company's needs, your financial situation, your type of business. If you are just starting out or have a small to medium-sized business, you'll have to decide for yourself which accounting method is best for you. Here, you can use either cash accounting or accrual accounting. There is no wrong choice depending on the size of your business and whether it is a private or publicly traded company, generally accepted accounting principles may require that your company used the accrual system. If this is required by law, you cannot elect. You must use the accrual system of accounting. In cash accounting, you make a record each time money enters your bank account or leaves it as an expense. With accrual accounting, you must record each sale or purchase as soon as it occurs, regardless of when the money enters or leaves your bank account. From these brief explanations, you can easily see the main advantages and disadvantages of both types of accounting. Cash accounting is cost-effective and easy for business owners to learn, implement, and maintain. You do not need any special skills or knowledge to perform cash accounting. Another advantage of cash-based accounting is that you can easily see your current cash inflows and outflows. Cash-based accounting offers potential tax benefits. When you file your business tax return at the end of the year, you will not have to pay income tax on payments you have not yet received. The biggest disadvantage of cash-based accounting is that it gives your business and unrealistic picture of your revenues and expenses. It does not show your company's liabilities. As a result, you may think you have more money to spend then you actually do. It also does not show payments expected from your customers, which can cause you to overlook unpaid customer debts. Income expense accounting is appropriate for your e-commerce business. If you are a small e-commerce seller with low inventory, taking in less than $100,000 per year. If you own a print on-demand business and Amazon FBA business or a drop shipping business, cash accounting might be a good option for you. However, if you regularly earn six figures, consider getting your accountant to use the accrual method of accounting so you can gather better financial data for your long-term plans. The accrual method requires that all income and expenses be recorded as they occur, not when the money is actually received or spent. Accrual accounting is more transparent than cash accounting. It shows not only the actual cash receipts and disbursements, but also the money the entrepreneur expects to receive. Consequently, accrual accounting provides business owners with a much clearer picture of the financial health of the business at any given time. Since the accrual accounting method presents future cash inflows and outflows. It allows for more accurate strategic planning. Accrual accounting allows you, as an entrepreneur, to predict higher and lower cash flows. This allows for more accurate cashflow forecasting and strategic planning, which helps your business position itself to maximize opportunities and avoid financial crises. Accrual accounting is more complex and complicated than cash accounting. At least that's what most people think. It involves. Rules that must be followed and processes that must be done consistently and accurately. It requires more time and resources and involves tracking not only cash flow, but also receivables and payables. In most cases, you will need to hire an accountant to assist you with this type of accounting. To understand the main difference between cash accounting and accrual accounting, I will give you some examples. If you bill $18,000 in January but did not receive the money in January. The cash method does not report that amount on the January revenue report. On the other hand, if you invoice $18,000 in January, the accrual method will show that you earned the money in January, even though you will not receive the amount until February, your books would show more money for January then you have which could affect how you pay bills or worse salaries. If you receive a 1000-dollar electric bill in January, but have not yet made a payment. The cash method will not show that amount on the January expense report. On the other hand, if you receive a 7,000 dollar electric bill in January, the accrual method shows that you spent all the money in January, even if you make a payment in February, your books would show less money for January than you have. When you compare the advantages and disadvantages of cash accounting to accrual accounting, it depends on the nature of your business, its size, its resources, and its goals. If you own a very small, service oriented business, cash accounting is probably right for you. If you run a medium-sized retail business with expansion intentions and inventory to track, you should probably use accrual accounting. 8. Steps on How to Select Accounting Software: One of your highest priorities as a small business owner is to keep a close eye on the amounts you take in and spend. That's why it's important to have the right accounting software. You need a program that can help you with your day-to-day accounting tasks, such as recording payments, tracking expenses, invoicing customers, and reconciling bank transactions. Your accounting software should also help you manage your businesses finances by allowing you to create reports that analyze your business's performance from various points of view. Choosing the best accounting software for your business is definitely overwhelming. Each program has a different feature set and most offer multiple pricing plans that vary in terms of feature set and number of users. In this video, I want to give you some important advice to keep in mind when choosing accounting software for your business. Advice. Number one is to be clear about the financial needs of your business. Make a list of all the tasks you need accounting software for and keep them in mind when making your purchase decision. It doesn't make sense to invest in a state of the art program that can do countless amazing things that your business will never need. E.g. if you've a print on-demand business, it doesn't make sense to buy accounting software that offers inventory tracking. Advice. Number two is to pay attention to the security and protection of your sensitive financial data. Go with bookkeeping software that offers features like backup and recovery. This way you can be sure that your financial data won't be lost. Some bookkeeping software offers passcode locks that prevent unauthorized people from accessing your important business data. Since it's a web or phone app, it needs to pay attention to security and protect your sensitive data. My number three advice is to choose bookkeeping software that integrates easily with all the other platforms and software programs you use in your business. Even the best and cheapest bookkeeping software won't do your bookkeeping tasks well if it cannot integrate with your existing sales platform and shipping system, if you use an inventory platform and payroll system that are separate from your accounting software, consider integrating between them. If you choose accounting software that works with your existing solutions, you won't have compatibility issues that could lead to time-consuming errors. So my advice is to choose bookkeeping software that offers easy integration with all the other platforms and software solutions you use in your business. Advice number four, by bookkeeping software that offers multiuser access. This way you can invite other users into the system and control what data they see and what tasks they access. This feature would be very useful if you want to share data with your business partner and your accountant. If you have employees, you can allow them to use the system only for time tracking and invoicing customers. Tip number five, work with cloud-based bookkeeping software with mobile access. This easy access helps you run your business remotely, whether you're at home or on vacation. All you need is internet and your password. On the other hand, a mobile app helps you monitor important information and complete important tasks on the go, which is especially helpful for teams working remotely. Choosing the right bookkeeping software for your business is a crucial point when it comes to business success. Therefore, take enough time to research and talk to your accountant to make the right decision. 9. Conclusion: Thanks for watching. I hope you will follow my recommendations and take the four-step process in building your accounting system. Of course, you can do the four steps in different order. The main thing is that you do all four steps in whatever order. I hope that you and your business will benefit from the tips I have given in this course. So do not hesitate and make sure that your accounting system works effectively. By the way, if you find this course useful and valuable, a positive review will help you a lot.