Ahlstrom Advantage

My 30+ years’ experience has helped people to organize their finances. Specializing in small business bookkeeping services & daily money management services to individuals, elderly & busy professionals I have found some business owners or the divorced or widowed feeling overwhelmed trying to understand finances or gain control over their personal accounting. The Women’s Financial Advantage forum allows them to learn about budgeting, debt, retirement & day-to-day money management.

In today’s competitive environment, information is power!

You’ll uncover a goldmine of profit-building information as you determine your financial standing, and when used properly, this information can help you better plan for the success of your business.

Call today for a free consultation. There is absolutely no obligation of any kind.

It will be well worth your time!

Do you have a customized accounting or bookkeeping system? Take This Quiz:

Can you answer these 10 questions about your business?

1. Were my total sales up or down last month? And where they designated by category?
2. What was my total gross profit last month? And was it designated by sales category?
3. What is my gross profit per item?
4. What were my expenses by category last month?
5. Who owes me money and how much?
6. Who’s behind in paying me and by how much?
7. How much inventory do I have: in total and by item?
8. To whom do I owe money and how much?
9. What was my profit last month?
10. How much do I OWN, and how much do I OWE?

Were my total sales up or down last month? And were they designated by sales category?
You need to know: If your sales are up, you’ll need extra cash to buy replacement inventory. If your sales are down, you’ll want to pull back on inventory purchases. Sales increases in a category can mean a new growth opportunity. Sales decreases need to be investigated to determine the reason for the loss.

Back to questions

What was my total gross profit last month? And was it designated by sales category?
You need to know: Gross profit shows the profit remaining from sales after subtracting the cost of the products or services you sold. Changes in gross profit show whether or not your pricing strategies are working. Cutting prices to increase sales can hurt you if it reduces your gross profit.

Back to questions

What is my gross profit per item?
You need to know: Pricing should be based on profit goals rather than simple conjecture. By raising the prices on some items and selling others near or below cost, you can change your inventory mix and increase gross profits. An increase of just 1% may add thousands of dollars to net profits. You can give sales incentives that will cause employees to sell the most profitable items instead of the easiest ones.

Back to questions

What were my expenses by category last month?
You need to know: Are payroll costs too high? What about other costs, such as insurance and utilities? In order to cut back on expenses, you must first know which costs are excessive. Also, recording your expenses each month ensures that you get the maximum tax deductions.

Back to questions

Who owes me money and how much?
You need to know: You can’t expect to get paid in full unless you tell customers exactly what they owe. An itemized, neatly printed, and up-to-date monthly statement tells customers that you expect to be paid on time and according to your payment terms.

Back to questions

Who’s behind in paying me and by how much?
You need to know: Customers who fall behind need to be contacted immediately and continuously so that it doesn’t become a habit. Also, before you approve a new order from a customer, you’ll want to know if that customer paid you on time for the last order.

Back to questions

How much inventory do I have: in total and by item?
You need to know: If you’re running low on an item, you can reorder in advance and never run out. Plus, you can avoid rush delivery charges. If you have too much of one item, or too much inventory in general, you can cut back on your inventory investment. Also, you can compare a physical count to the books and identify a shortage problem before it threatens to put you out of business.

Back to questions

To whom do I owe money and how much?
You need to know: Many vendors offer discounts for paying bills in less than 30 days, which can add up to big savings on an annual basis. Paying your bills on time will increase your chances of qualifying for business credit. Plus, you can plan for your cash requirements and reduce the need to borrow from a bank or your own funds.

Back to questions

What was my profit last month?
You need to know: A monthly profit figure gives you the financial bottom line, and lets you know where you’ve been and where you’re going. Plus, you can save thousands of dollars, on year-end tax return fees, and plan for taxes in advance.

Back to questions

How much do I OWN, and how much do I OWE?
You need to know: Keeping track of your current assets and liabilities allows you to plan for your cash needs, and helps you stay in compliance with loan agreements. Plus, you’ll be ready to respond to questions on demand from suppliers or potential customers.

Back to questions

Which of the following best describes Your Accounting System?

I do it myself
Your time is so much more valuable than that! You are the World’s #1 expert in running your business. While you are busy managing the books, your competitors are designing new products and services, preparing new advertising, collecting past-due accounts, and shopping for less expensive suppliers. These are essential to the growth of your business. Are you sure that your accounting system conforms to proper rules and procedures? Even more importantly, do you get all of the valuable information described here from your system?

I have an accountant
Does your accountant or bookkeeper provide you with all of the information described here? Does your accountant take the time to explain what the numbers mean, and how you can use them to manage your business more profitably? Do you feel you are getting the best possible value for the fees you are paying?

I don’t have a system
There isn’t a better time than right now to get started! Studies have shown that small businesses often fail because they don’t have a good accounting system in place. We will work with you to develop a system for your specific business that is so easy to use that you’ll be amazed. If you can drop a piece of paper into a file folder, you already have the necessary skills to use it! You can obtain all of the valuable information described here. Plus, you will understand what the numbers mean, and how you can use them to manage your business more profitably, and better control your future.

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Accounting is a core business function. Without accounting, a business is sure to fail. With accounting, a business might survive.  With accounting managed by a Profit Center Expert, a business is certain to succeed.

You’re probably already familiar with the bleak forecast for new small businesses. While failure rates have decreased considerably in the last few years, recent studies from the Small Business Administration (SBA) indicate that one third of new employer establishments fail within the first two years, and 56% fail within four years.

Poor financial management is often cited as the reason for most small business failures. Often the business owner or a member of the business team manages this crucial function because they want to maintain complete control of their business, they’re afraid that outsourcing the accounting would be too expensive, or a combination of the two. What they don’t realize is that outsourcing is a useful management tool that can save a business both time and money while preventing potential failure. And when you outsource to the right accountant, it can be the difference between base survival and profitable success.

The Benefits

There are countless benefits you enjoy when outsourcing your accounting. Here are just a few:

Save Yourself Time. You’re in business because you’re good at what you do. Your expertise involves the product and/or service you offer. And we’re guessing your expertise is not accounting. So if you, or anyone on your team, spend time managing your business’s finances, that’s time that could be better spent building your business.

In order to be competitive you must constantly be looking for ways to improve and expand your products and/or services, better market your business, and stay ahead of your competition. When you and your team focus time and attention on the accounting, that’s time not spent on these crucial tasks. When you outsource the accounting to a trusted professional, you can use that time to make your business the best it can be.

Save Yourself Money. We all know time is money. The average small business owner spends over 10 hours personally, each month, accounting for the business. If your average billing rate is $50 per hour, you may be spending more than five hundred dollars’ worth of your time! Chances are you can pay for a good accountant and then some with all that money.

Gain Access to Valuable Accounting Expertise, Equipment, and Technology. Reputable accountants have the expertise to not only save you money, but to make your business more profitable. In addition to that, they have access to equipment and technology that most small businesses can’t afford. They will use their resources to your advantage, and save you the time and headache of doing it yourself.

Gain Access to Profit-Building Information. A truly valuable accountant is also a Profit Center Expert. They analyze financial data in order to assist you in making profitable decisions for your business. A Profit Center Expert can inform you which products and/or services to expand, which to eliminate, whether your marketing attempts are successful, where you’re loosing money, and where to cut back in order to save and redirect funds in order to become more profitabl Academic program focusing on environmental studies. We offer the following services:

Accounts Payable

• Input vendor invoices to payable system
• Classify invoices to the proper G/L account
• Request and maintain vendor W-9 information
• Maintain vendor master files
• Respond to vendor inquiries about payment status
• Retrieve copies of payments as necessary
• Prepare and file required 1099 forms
• Process requests for stop payments when necessary
• Cut checks to vendors based on due dates or client instruction
• Reconcile vendor statements to accounts payable ledger
• Reporting to organization on detailed aged payables and cash requirements
• Year end 1099 forms

Accounts Receivable

• Billings prepared as needed by TAD and mailed out (all billings provided to Client for approval prior to mailing)
• Record and account for revenue
• Input receivable transactions into the accounting system
• Prepare and deliver periodic statements
• Issue client-approved credit memos and refund checks
• Maintain subsidiary receivables ledger
• Process client-approved adjustments
• Apply cash received to customer accounts and resolve “short pays”
• Light phone collections as needed by client
• Client to photocopy checks and provide to TAD
• Client to prepare deposit slips (provide to TAD) and make bank deposits

Cash management

• Process daily sales and deposit reports
• Verify daily deposits and report variances
• Reconcile and verify credit card deposits
• Reconcile monthly bank statements

Journal entry and general ledger

Account reconciliations

Payroll

• Time cards, after approval, will be scanned and uploaded to TAD prior to payday
• TAD completes payroll and client prints, signs and distributes paychecks
• Prepare employee earnings statements complete with current pay period and year-to-date wages, taxes, and adjustments
• Prepare department summaries of month-to-date payroll data in addition to customized reports specific to Client
• Prepares timely and accurate notifications of tax liabilities and deposits
• Completes Year end W-2 forms
• Respond to requests for employee verifications
• Process and submit garnishment payments
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries
• Prepare and file new hire reporting to state
• Prepare, file, and pay all Federal, State, and local payroll taxes
• Reconcile health insurance payments and make payroll deductions when required
• Prepare necessary HR reports such as turnover
• Allocate payroll expenses for multi-store employees
• Prepare and process payroll accruals when necessary

Monthly Closing

Fixed assets accounting & depreciation

Monthly financial analysis and reports

Yearly Business Assessments

Don’t wait another day to partner with a Profit Center Expert (PCE) and make your business more successful. Do what you love to do more; let your PCE take care of the rest. Call now for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Life events can overwhelm you. Don't let that happen. Make the right choices.
http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/nkahlstrom

November 1st- the end of the year is drawing to a close. With today's economy still on the down slide what do we do? Shortsales and foreclosures are the theme of each day. Overcoming debt and deciding on bankruptcy to fix our financial situation are the nightmares of our sleep. I don't know about you but my mind is on worry overload!
I see so many of my friends and business acquaintances struggling as they try to work through their financial troubles – unemployment, housing, medical etc. My experience in accounting and bookkeeping allows me the ability to work with them, the widowed and divorced who are not sure how to proceed in their financial life. I'm here to help.

Now I can send posts to my blog via text messages on my mobile phone!! Yeah!!

Well here it is, already the first of April, 2009. Our economy is still going downhill, but we need to just hold on until it gets better. I know it will, it’s just going to take some time. Listening to Suze Orman this morning sure got me to think more about my own financial struggles. She said it will probably not be until 2015 before we see definite signs of relief and start to feel comfortable again.
I used to think it was just me and my household that were in dire straights, but as I continue to hear from friends and business associates, we are all being bombarded with the same issues.
Unemployment is the highest that it’s been in 25 years. Foreclosures and short sales are continuing at an unprecidented rate. Major companies that we thought could never go down are filing for bankruptcy protection. It’s getting ridiculous!
But there are avenues we can take to start to work it out; budgets, simplifying, cutting back on unneccesary frills. We know the drill, we just have to start taking one step forward to try to make it happen.
For those of you who are single, divorced, widowed you may have not had the previous “pleasure” of handling all the ins and outs of your personal finances. If you are one of “these” people there is help. Many websites exist to help us learn more.
http://www.wife.org/
http://www.wiserwomen.org/
http://www.aarp.org/

Take a look at these sites and they will help you get started.
Natalie

How many times have you read that it’s crazy to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Maybe it’s time to really start to think “outside the box.” As I sit here typing, I can’t help but to believe that if we “don’t sweat the small stuff,” we can create a new and better world for ourselves. We can make a difference in our lives. We can do what we love and the money will follow.

Don’t ask me why or how, but I continue to have this feeling that it really can be a better 2009. Our economy and our financial structure will get better. I have two kids, 23 year old twins, a boy and a girl. I have always hoped that I had taught them how to handle their money properly. And the funny thing is (and maybe this is just the twin thing or being boy/girl), they both react differently to how they take care of their financial situations. My daughter, after her teen-age rebellion (lol) took after me and has really tried to stay focused on her money. She budgets to the penny! And then my son goes through life “having fun.” Thank goodness he survived a tour to Iraq in the Marines, on a tank! But now that he’s home he’s continuing to learn by living. If he spends his money, he spends his money. I wonder why they are so different. Is it because one’s a girl and one’s a boy? Or is it because our society has instilled in them a different type of philosophy about how they deal with things, money included? I’m not sure, but I’m enjoying the journey to try and figure it out.