3 Important Financial Reports Every Business Owner Should Know

Many business owners see their success as the direct result of a strong work ethic and good marketing plan, but we know the real secret: it’s all in the accounting! Good accounting sustains a business, and provides data that will help the owner make the smartest decisions about where to go next.

There are many different reports that tell a business owner what the “financial” health of their company is, but the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flow provide key data to drive decision making at any stage of business. Startups need to make sure their business has a good foundation. Businesses in their second or third year need to evaluate how they’re doing and what needs to be changed. By understanding the following three reports, businesses will better unlock their true potential.

1. Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet is a snapshot of the financial position of your company at a certain point in time. This includes assets (what your business owns), liabilities (what your business owes), and owner’s equity (the owner’s stake in the business). Included in this report is your cash balance and liabilities.

On a balance sheet, it’s important to understand the order in which the assets and liabilities appear, and whether they are considered “current” or “long-term”. Here is a quick break down to help you read and understand your balance sheet:

Assets

Assets often appear in the order of liquidity, or how quickly those items would be converted into cash in the normal business operation, which is the reason why cash is usually the first item on the balance sheet.

• Cash, accounts receivable, inventory etc. are considered current assets because they can most often be converted to cash within a year.

• Buildings and equipment are considered long-term assets since they normally would not be converted into cash within a year.

Liabilities

Liabilities are also appear based on liquidity, but for money going out, with accounts payable, taxes payable, payroll payable etc. appearing first. These are all current liabilities.

• If you have liabilities that cannot be paid within a year, they are considered long-term, i.e. debts with terms over a year.

TIP: If you captured all of your accounting information correctly, both sides of the balance sheet equation should be equal.

2. Income Statement

An income statement shows the revenue, expenses, and the profit/loss of your company for a specific period of time (month, quarter, annual). Profit/loss is important because it gives you an idea how profitable the company is overall. Items in the income statement fall into two categories: revenue, the income earned for services performed or goods sold that period of term, and expenses, the costs incurred during that same period. Subtracting expenses from revenue will provide your profit/loss or net income/net loss.

TIP: Make sure to also factor in overhead costs such repairs, utilities, insurance and legal fees into your operating expenses to ensure your net profit is accurate.

3. Statement of Cash Flow

The statement of cash flow shows the movement of cash in and cash out for the time period. It is one of the most important reports for small businesses and startups because it allows you to see how readily a company can meet its debt and interest payments.

The statement of cash flow usually gets broken down into three categories: operating cash flow, investing cash flow, and financing cash flow:

• Operating cash flow shows the money coming from normal business activities.

• Investing cash flow shows money from investing activities such as equipment purchases.

• Financing cash flow is money related to debts, contribution or distribution from owners.

TIP: To calculate your ending cash balance, take the beginning cash balance, add cash inflows and then subtract cash outflows.The final result shows the net change in cash for the period.

Financial reports tell the past, present and future of your business. The past is the decisions  you made in the beginning and how they affected your financial gain or loss. The present is a snapshot of what decisions you are making right now. The future is what you decide to do with the information these reports have given you. How you use this information will be the defining factor of your business’s growth or its demise. You can also use this information to benchmark your financial data with other companies in the same industry to see where you stack up.

Client Spotlight: SweatFixx

Sweat Fixx is a boutique fitness studio specializing in low impact, high-intensity full body Row and Sculpting workouts. Owner and ex-college basketball player Elise Caira was inspired to launch SweatFixx to help others discover challenging, fun and effective workouts that won’t put unnecessary stress on client’s joints. After two reconstructive knee surgeries, Elise learned firsthand just how many workouts and group fitness classes put a ridiculous amount of stress on the joints. Combining her skills as a personal trainer, yogi, group fitness instructor, and social media consultant she launched her first SweatFixx studio in January 2017 in Wakefield.

“Working with Tristan enabled me the ability to spend time on other areas of the business instead of having to worry about tracking the financials and staying up with tax requirements.” - Elise Caira, Founder & Owner, SweatFixx

Elise initially hired Tristan CPA for tax services, but once the business started taking off she knew she would need more help. By the time she opened the second studio in Arlington in September 2017 she had gone from 6 contract employees to 1 employee and 15 contractors. Having experienced Tristan’s services for taxes, she trusted he would continue to provide highly skilled work for SweatFixx accounting and payroll. Elise says: “Working with Tristan enabled me the ability to spend time on other areas of the business instead of having to worry about tracking the financials and staying up with tax requirements.”

In just 18 months, SweatFixx has become a brand that people recognize in the area, something that Elise is proud to say that she has accomplished without any investors or other partners. By outsourcing her accounting and payroll early on she was able to grow and scale the business quickly! Asked if she has advice for other entrepreneurs, Elise says: “It’s so much easier to start and stay organized from the very beginning. Keeping good records and having someone help you keep your financials in order from the start will save you so much time in the long run!

Learn more: SweatFixx

Chart of Accounts 101: Build a Better Foundation for Small Business Bookkeeping

A Chart of Accounts (CoA) is a list of the accounts used by a company or organization to define each class of items for which money or the equivalent is spent or received. A CoA is used to organize all transactions and to segregate expenditures, revenue, assets and liabilities so the company can have a clear understanding of the financial health of the entity. A well designed CoA can boost a company’s ability to compare, understand, and focus on key areas of the business.

Too often we see small business owners make the mistake of creating a new account for every item they enter. This practice results in unnecessary gaps (for example, account that are used for one month and then continue to appear as 0.00 in subsequent months), and makes it much more difficult to get the key information needed to achieve business goals.

For example, imagine a company created an expense account for a loan payment when this type of payment actually belongs under a liability account. It would be a costly mistake to be recording the payment as an expense to the company rather than a reduction to the debt owned.

Whether we are performing a Quickbooks review or setting up our accounting services for a client, the CoA is one of the first items we tackle so we can be sure that our clients have a strong and organized digital “filing” system that can serve as the bedrock of their financial fitness. Here, we provide tips to create a strong CoA and a basic template that can help get you up and running!

What types of accounts are in a typical Chart of Accounts?

A CoA typically has the following types of accounts:

Assets
Liabilities
Owner’s Equity
Revenues/Income
Cost of goods sold/Cost of services
Operating Expenses
Other Income/Expenses

Should I name or number my accounts?
Both. Most companies use a systematic numerical system to assign a number to each account within the chart of accounts. These are often called account number or general ledger (GL) codes.

A typical numerical system to assign account numbers to these type of accounts would be:

• Assets: 1000 to 1999

• Liabilities: 2000 to 2999

• Owner’s Equity: 3000 to 3999

• Revenue: 4000 to 4999

• Cost of Goods: 5000 to 5999

TIP: When you add accounts, remember to distribute the revised list to any employees that use this list for recording transactions into the bookkeeping system. Employees not directly involved in bookkeeping will need a copy of the Chart of Accounts if they code invoices or other transactions and need to indicate to which account those transactions should be recorded.

Are general ledger (GL) codes the only ones I need?
Typically, most GL accounts will have a parent account (or group account) as well as sub-accounts where all the balance of the sub-accounts are added to the parent accounts.

For example, a parent account would be named “Cash and Cash Equivalent” with the following as sub-accounts: main checking, saving bank account, payroll bank account, etc. In this design, the total balance of the sub-accounts will always be grouped together to show the total of all bank accounts or the total cash that the company has at any point in time.

TIP: If you’re setting up your Chart of Accounts manually, be sure to leave some room between accounts to add new accounts. For example, number your Cash in Checking account 1000 and your Accounts Receivable account 1100. That leaves you plenty of room to add other accounts to track cash.

What does a Chart of Accounts look like? Download the excel spreadsheet below and use it as a template for your own Chart of Accounts:

FREE Download: Chart of Accounts Template

TIP: Small businesses don't all have the same chart of accounts. The accounts you include in the chart of accounts depends on the type of business. For example, if you have a service business, you won't have an inventory account. If you have a business that sells products, you will need an inventory account.

Need assistance? Contact us today and we can help you review or set up a Chart of Accounts!

 

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