Money

Budgeting and Accounting Control

From Rosemary Peavler, former About.com Guide

Budgeting and financial control are the backbone of small business financing. In order for any business to operate, the owner has to establish business budgets and business budget worksheets. Budgets include cash budgets, marketing budgets, financial budgets, operating budgets, and more. Income taxes have to be prepared. Basic financial management functions such as inventory management and cost volume profit analysis have to be performed.

Business Income Tax Information and Help
Business Tax Tables
Business Income Tax Deductions
What is a Business Budget?

Types of Business Budgets
Managing Your Cash
Managing Inventory
Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis

Business Income Tax Information and Help

Here is resource information for doing your income taxes. Even if you have an accountant or another financial professional do your taxes, you have to produce the information that allows the financial professional to put it all together.

Business Tax Tables

Tax tables and information for different forms of business organizations

Business Income Tax Deductions

Small businesses can substantially offset their income if they know the deductions they can take. So many expenses that businesses make during the tax year are deductible, but you have to know what they are, have documentation, and know where and how to deduct them. Here is a guide to Business Income Tax Deductions from A to Z!

What is a Business Budget?

Business budgets allow you to control the financial flows, or cash flows, in your business instead of allowing your business to control you. If you are going to make a profit, you have to design a system to allow that to happen. That system must operate within a system of financial controls so that your goals are reached. You set up performance standards in order to communicate to yourself and employees what is expected in order to meet your profit goals. The performance standards are the building blocks of your business budget. The budget is a detailed statement of financial results expected for a future time period.

Types of Business Budgets

The overall business budget is, of course, the financial budget. But, there are several parts to the financial budget. There is the capital budget which deals with the large expenditures a business makes, such as purchases of buildings or land. There is the operating budget which deals with profit plans for the budget period. There is the cash budget which is a forecast of expected cash inflows and outflows on a month by month basis for the small business. All of these budgets include short-term versions and long-term versions.

Managing Your Cash

After you get your business off the ground and develop your budget, nothing is more important than managing your cash. If you don't have liquid assets, or cash, at the end of every month, you won't operate the next month. You may need cash to pay suppliers or any other number of reasons. The best way to keep track of your cash is regular preparation of a cash budget. When you prepare your financial statements, you also have to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows. Both give you invaluable information.

Managing Inventory

Inventory is one of the most important and one of the most problematic assets for a small business owner to manage. There are issues of how much to invest in inventory, how to account for it, how to track it, how to price it, and more.

Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis

Cost-Volume-Profit analysis is a type of cost accounting that is important for small business owners. It allows the small business owner to determine how changes in volume and costs affect the company's operating income and net income. It is a powerful tool for good financial management.

Business Finance