Amortization is similar to depreciation but focuses on the costs of intangible assets. It allows businesses to account for the cost of intangible assets over time. Intangible assets are non-physical assets that are expected to provide value to a business for more than a year. The most common way to amortize is to divide the cost of an intangible asset over the number of years you expect it to provide value to your business.
Accrual accounting records a monetary transaction when the good or service is delivered—so when you send an invoice or receive a bill. Cash accounting records monetary transactions when the money actually moves—so when bills or invoices are paid. Cash accounting can be preferable for tax purposes since you’re only taxed on the money you’ve actually received. Accrual accounting can make your revenue look more steady since it doesn’t represent time lag in payments.
What is Depreciation of Fixed Assets—and Why Should You Do It? Here’s my simple guide to depreciation. Large purchases that are an investment in the future of your business can wreak havoc on your stress levels as an entrepreneur. They…
The IRS telephone number is 1-800-829-1040, and they are available from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday. The best time to call is early in the morning. Once you’ve set your language, do NOT choose Option 1 (regarding refund info). Choose option 2 for Personal Income Tax instead. Next, press 1 for form, tax history, or payment. Next, press 3 for all other questions. Next, press 2 for all other questions. When the system asks you to enter your SSN or EIN to access your account information, do NOT enter anything. Finally, press 2 for personal or individual tax questions. The system should then transfer you to an agent.
You’re a creative CEO, so that means you’ve got to understand a few things about your business finances to keep your creative ship sailing into the sunset and not falling off the side of a mountain. I know it feels…
Dividend payments do not count as an expense! In order to account for dividend payments, you must use a Statement of Retained Earnings. The statement of retained earnings is a bridge between the income statement and the balance sheet, subtracting your dividend payments from the net income in order to calculate the retained earnings.
Cost of goods sold is the direct costs associated with producing and delivering a good or service. Only expenses that you have to make every time you produce a new product (like raw materials) count as cost of goods sold. Any expenses that would remain the same regardless of how many products you produce (like software purchases) go in business expenses. Because of this, cost of goods sold typically applies to product businesses more than service businesses.
Nothing strikes fear in the heart of small business owners more than looking at your income for the quarter or year and realizing that it’s lower than you projected—or worse, lower than the quarter or year before. You probably immediately…
In an ideal world, you’d have clients begging to pay you as much as you want, and all the business stuff would just fall into place. But as small business owners we know that’s unrealistic, there’s only one way to…
The Balance Sheet Intel That Every Small Business Owner Needs to Stay Financially Healthy Unlike an income statement, which looks at your businesses’ movement of money over a period of time, a balance sheet is a snapshot of your financial…
