Small Business Services

PART-TIME CFO SERVICES Growing businesses often reach a point where they need professional financial advice, but can't afford a full-time CFO or controller. If you're fortunate enough to be in this position then we have the perfect solution for you. Our Part-Time CFO service gives you a professional financial manager who works with you to help guide your business to success. The cost of hiring a full-time CFO can range from $60,000 to over $100,000 per year plus bonuses and benefits. Our Part-Time CFO services provides you with experienced support at a small fraction of that cost. Here's what you get with our Part-Time CFO services... More time to focus on new services, new customers and other core business issues. Better understanding of the financial side of your business. So you have less surprises and more control over the money. Improved decision-making capabilities from clearly seeing the hard and true numbers of your business. A readily available sounding board to help you with those tough business decisions and help you clarify your business plans. The comfort from knowing that a professional is overseeing, protecting and constantly improving the financial side of your business. A professional who establishes strong financial controls in your business to reduce employee theft and increase profits. Training and managing your accounting staff. Improved quality and timeliness of financial information. Budget preparation and monitoring. Profitability analysis by service or product line. Tax saving strategies. Trend analysis. Assistance in defining long-range plans and the quantification of goals. Cash management. Liaison with bankers, attorneys, vendors, insurance agents, etc. Assistance in obtaining financing from banks, including assistance with negotiations. Review/negotiation of insurance policies. Development of company accounting procedure manuals. Analysis of equipment purchases, expansions, etc. Mergers and acquisitions assistance Custom designed collection policies and procedures

CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT

A wise business owner once said, "Happiness is a positive cash flow." As a business owner, I'm sure you agree. Everything is better when your cash-in exceeds your cash-out. A cash crisis can be emotionally devastating and it can even kill your business. If you've ever had to beg, borrow and steal to cover tomorrows payroll you know what I mean. Our cash management service allows you to... know when, where, and how your cash needs will occur. know what the best sources are for meeting your additional cash needs. be prepared to meet these needs when they occur, by keeping good relationships with bankers and other creditors. The starting point for avoiding a cash crisis is allowing us to develop a cash flow projection for you. We can help you develop both short-term (weekly, monthly) cash flow projections to help you manage daily cash, and long-term (annual, 3-5 year) cash flow projections to help you develop the necessary capital strategy to meet your business needs. We also prepare historical cash flow statements to help you gain an understanding about where all the money went. Creating an accurate cash flow projection is just one of the many cash management services we provide. You also get... Help obtaining an appropriate line of credit Cash collection acceleration techniques Proven effective collection policies Proven effective payment policies Help obtaining the maximum rate of return on your idle

STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING

A Strategic Business Plan is much more than a tool to obtain financing. If you still have all your plans and ideas locked up inside your head, preparing a strategic plan can help you clarify your company's direction. It can ensure that your key leaders are all on the same page, and keeps both management and staff focused on the tasks at hand. A Strategic Plan is often needed when... Starting a new venture, product or service Expanding a current organization, product or service Buying a new business, product or service Turning around a declining business The Strategic Plan provides a blueprint, describing your company, its products, the competitive environment, management team, financial health, and business risks. The plan allows you to... Identify and describe the target customer profile, features, advantages and benefits of your new venture, product or service. Justify that your plans are credible by fully researching the need being filled with your new venture. Develop marketing plans including full descriptions of targeted promotional campaigns with implementation timelines. You also get to examine market conditions, the nature of your customers, as well as your competitors, sales potential, and projected results of your promotional campaigns. Develop staffing plans including identifying the key players, skills, attitudes and expertise needed to build the venture. Develop management plans including full descriptions of management systems and timelines for implementation. Develop financial plans including projected startup costs, operating costs, revenue, profits, and break-even analysis for the first 3 to 5 years. Projected financial plans allow you to effectively predict upcoming problems, or prevent them. In other words, the perspective gained through your Strategic Business Plan can make a significant contribution to your company's success, and help you get the funding you require. In fact, most lending institutions and private investors will not even talk to you without a solid financial plan. Identify building and equipment needs including vendors and cost estimates. Formulate company milestones including timelines for upcoming products and services in development. Remember: Failing to plan is planning to fail.Let us help you develop a powerful Strategic Business Plan that drives your business to the level of success you deserve.   SUCCESSION PLANNING If you own a family business, retirement isn't simply a matter of deciding not to go into the office anymore. You've got some critical questions to answer like... "What happens to the business when you're no longer running it?" and "Will you have enough money to retire?" The family dynamic complicates the whole transition because of the relationships and emotions involved. Most people are not comfortable discussing topics such as aging, death, and financial affairs. Comfortable or not, succession planning should be a priority for any family business considering that more than seven out of ten family-owned businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to second generation, typically falling prey either to estate taxes or family discord - or both. Developing and implementing a well-designed succession plan is essential to the survival of a family business from one generation to the next. We help you with these key issues - Keeping it in the family. Are you going to pass the business on to your family or sell it to a third party? We help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options. Who's going to run the business when you're gone? Management and ownership are not one and the same. You may decide to transfer management of your business to just one of your children but transfer equal shares of business ownership to all your children, whether they're actively involved in the business or not. Minimizing the tax bite. The tax burden when transitioning a family business can be significant. The challenge is that a family business is not generally a liquid asset, but taxes are typically due when ownership is transferred. Making it fair. Transferring family ownership often adds a tremendous amount of stress to individual family members. We talk with each of the family members to ensure that they feel they a getting an equitable and fair share of the pie. What we do for you... Once we understand how you feel about the key issues above, we begin constructing your succession plan focusing on these 5 issues... Business Valuation Business Restructuring Tax Consequences Retirement Projections Tax Projections PAYROLL TAX PROBLEMS The IRS views failing to pay payroll taxes as the cardinal sin of tax delinquency because a large portion of the payroll taxes are your employees' withholdings. Not paying your company's payroll taxes is tantamount to stealing your employees' money in the eyes of the IRS. As a result, penalties for failing to pay your payroll taxes and filing your payroll tax returns on time are much more severe than other types of penalties. They can drastically multiply the amount you owe in a very short time. If you are behind on paying payroll taxes for your company, WATCH OUT!!! The IRS is extremely aggressive pursuing collection of this type of tax. They would rather seize your business assets, close you down, sell your assets at auction, and put you out of business than allow you to continue amassing additional payroll tax liabilities. If you are behind on your payroll taxes, DO NOT meet with the IRS on your own. How you answer their initial questions can determine whether you stay in business or not. It is critical you hire a professional representative who knows how the IRS operates.