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Rodman & Rodman, P.C. Shares Cash Flow Tips for Small Business

Statistics show that in a good economy, approximately one third of all small businesses do not survive their first year of business. Approximately two-thirds do not survive year three. The primary reason a business fails is poor financial management, which in many cases is preventable.

So how can a small business survive in a bad economy? Larry Rice, CPA, Director of Strategic Consulting of Rodman & Rodman, P.C., Certified Public Accountants and business strategists catering to small and medium sized companies throughout New England, outlines critical cash flow tips for small business owners to help them weather a bad economy and beyond.

Create a cash flow projection or plan. Every small business should measure projected cash flow one year forward. That projection should be updated on a quarterly basis. A good cash flow projection starts with a good sales projection. Use historical data and be sure to consider any changes in your environment such as competition, economic change, etc. Once you have that sales projection, then it is a matter of translating those sales into the time frames that you get paid for those sales. When you place the payment for those expenses along side the receipt of revenues, you’ve created a cash flow projection.

Plan appropriately for capital expenditures. Due to an aversion of debt, many business owners pay cash for significant corporate assets. This can lead to a cash flow disaster. A good rule of thumb is that all long term assets should be financed over the expected life of those assets. If you are going to buy a machine that will last 10 years, you should seek to finance it over those 10 years. The idea is to match the outflows (the payment for the assets) to the time you expect to generate inflows (sales) from the use of that asset.

Better your credit management. Eager to make any sales, some owners do not have strong credit policies. The worst of all cash flow problems is to expend all the resources to make a product or provide a service, and then not get paid for it. Small business can not be too eager to have just any customers; they need to have the right customers. Go after the customers you want, not the customers who will waste your energy as you chase them to get paid.

Manage suppliers. Small business often pays its bills at designated times, which often are too early. Sometimes this is for convenience but can be dangerous to cash flow. Bills should be
paid timely to maintain good customer relations, but as close to the due date as possible. Seek opportunities for taking the better discounts for prompt payment from suppliers.

Manage inventory. Sometimes owners do not want to rid themselves of stale inventory at a discount, hoping that some customer will appear to pay full price. Sometimes the best course is to get rid of the inventory and use the cash for other more practical purposes.

Maintain a good relationship with a bank/lending officer. Not all credit decisions are objective. By maintaining positive communications, sometimes credit which might not be available can be secured when you maintain an open dialogue

According to Rice, “The most important financial statement is not the Balance Sheet or Profit and Loss; it is the Cash Flow Statement. Only the cash flow statement tells you how much cash your business is generating from operations. A very profitable company can still fail if the cash flow isn’t there to sustain that profit. Bottom line: more businesses fail because of poor cash flow than poor profit. Good cash flow planning is the key to small business success in any economy.”

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With a focus on strategic planning, Rodman & Rodman goes beyond traditional accounting services and takes a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.

From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com or contact Jen Reading at (617) 965-5959.

Larry Rice CPA, Rodman & Rodman

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Rodman & Rodman CPAs Launch New Website

Rodman & Rodman P.C., with offices in Braintree and Newton, has recently launched their new website – www.Rodmancpa.com.

Rodman & Rodman’s sleek new website, which was built in WordPress, is intuitive and very user friendly. Website visitors can quickly learn all about the company, their services and their team. Rodman & Rodman’s website is packed with resources which include an online tax guide and document retention guide. White papers and QuickBooks guides are available on the site as well. A frequently updated blog provides the latest news and tips on taxes, legislation, 401K and more. A Calendar of Events page enables visitors to easily view upcoming seminars and other events and RSVP online through the automated system.

“Our new website has all the bells and whistles needed to provide the most up-to-the-minute information and resources to site visitors. It streamlines the response process by enabling visitors to RSVP to one of our many complimentary seminars online. Or, visitors can take advantage of our comprehensive tax, Quickbooks and strategic business information online. Our new site was built to be extremely user-friendly, but in addition to that, SEO and lead generation were key elements we wanted to focus on.

We’re very pleased with the results,” noted Larry Rice, CPA and Director at Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Fresh Tilled Soil (freshtilledsoil.com) a Boston web design and development firm specializing in UI web design & WordPress CMS site design and development, was the website architect.

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With offices in Newton and Braintree, Rodman & Rodman focuses on strategic planning – going beyond traditional accounting services and taking a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.

Rodman & Rodman P.C has been listed in the Top 50 Firms by the Boston Business Journal. From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton and 25 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com or contact (617) 965-5959.

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Rodman & Rodman CPAs Provide Insight on Recent HIRE Act

Rodman & Rodman, P.C., a firm of CPAs and Business Strategists based in Newton and Braintree, provides insight on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, that carries hiring incentives and stimulus measures.

Last month, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2847, otherwise known as the HIRE Act.

Rodman & Rodman outline what the act means to employers who hire qualified unemployed workers:

Under the HIRE Act, employers are exempt from paying the employer share of Social Security employment taxes on wages paid in 2010 to newly hired, qualified unemployed workers. The payroll tax relief applies only for wages paid with respect to employment beginning March 19th and before 2011. There are stipulations though. It applies to workers who: (1) begin employment with the employer after February 3, 2010 and before January 1, 2011; (2) were previously unemployed and; (3) do not replace other employees of the employer.

Employers will receive an up-to-$1,000 tax credit for retaining qualified unemployed workers. The workers must be employed by the employer for a period of not less than 52 consecutive weeks, and their wages for such employment during the last 26 weeks of the period must equal at least 80% of the wages for the first 26 weeks of the period.

For tax years beginning in 2010, the Act boosts to $250,000 the maximum amount that can be expensed under Code Sec. 179, and boosts to $800,000 the beginning of the investment based phaseout amount.

The Act allows issuers of certain tax credit bonds to elect to receive a direct payment instead of a tax credit to the bondholder.

The Act enacts a comprehensive set of measures to reduce offshore noncompliance.

HIRE Act also delays the application of worldwide allocation of interest for an additional three years.

Large corporations should be aware that the HIRE Act tinkers with their estimated tax payments in future tax years.

Rodman & Rodman advises employers to check with their accountant(s) to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the provisions of the new law. To speak with a CPA at Rodman & Rodman,

contact 617-965-5959.

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With a focus on strategic planning, Rodman & Rodman goes beyond traditional accounting services and takes a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.

From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton and 25 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com or contact (617) 965-5959.

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Rodman & Rodman CPA Offers Tips for Small Businesses on How to Avoid the Mistakes of “Big Business”

Can a smaller business make the mistakes that behemoths Chrysler and GM did? According to Larry Rice, CPA who is Director of Strategic Consulting at Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants and Business Strategists, small businesses can certainly make those mistakes, just on a smaller scale.

According to Rice, “Many of the problems that plague huge multinational corporations are often the same problems entrepreneurial-type businesses face. We can see on a national basis what happens when businesses take their eye off the ball. Small businesses cannot afford to make these mistakes…there’s no government bail-out for small business.”

Rice offers small businesses owners tips on how to grow and flourish as the market recovers:

Always be aware of your competitors and their plans. Many of the problems that Chrysler and GM face today could have been avoided with an aggressive plan to address their Japanese competitors 30+ years ago. By not addressing costs, quality and management/labor relations aggressively, they left the door open for foreign competition to get a foothold that should have been much more difficult to obtain. Small business owners MUST periodically (at least annually) sit down and do a competitive analysis of your industry. Look at your competitors’ advantages and determine whether you need to do something now to address it. If you have lost business to your competition, find out exactly the reason they left. Do NOT assume you know why, ask them directly if possible. If you hear a trend of reasons, you better take action quickly.

Project your cash flow. What’s the difference between GM and Chrysler and Ford (who did not have government intervention)? Ford better understood the predicament it was in from a cash flow perspective more than two years ago. At that time, Ford mortgaged everything for cash in what it saw then as a fight for long-term survival. Nothing is certain moving forward, but Ford has thus far weathered the storm, while making small market share gains and important investments in new vehicles and technology which will keep the business moving forward. As a small business owner, it’s important to project cash flow forward, at least six months, and update your cash flow projection monthly, so that you will have an early warning system in place to help you take steps to avoid the catastrophe of running out of money.

Your team is not your enemy. Animus between management and labor has only recently been turned around in the automobile industry so that everyone has begun working together towrard common goals. They still have a long way to go, which only proves that implementing a management-by-fear-and-intimidation ideology (or for that matter letting your employees run the place) will get you nowhere. Often, it is your non-skilled employees who will come up with the best ideas on how to improve business processes. Treat them poorly and you’ll get nothing beyond the bare minimum of effort. Small business owners take heed and include your team in strategy sessions and obtain feedback from them constantly.

Perception is reality. It’s imperative for small business owners to understand customer perception because that is the reality of your relationship with them. If it is good, you can ask for referrals and ask them to buy more and so on. If it is poor, you must begin to repair that perception with some excellent reality. But, first, feedback must be solicited from them. This can be done via personal conversations, surveys (preferably anonymous to get the greatest amount of truth), customer advisory boards, any number of methods. Americans perceive things about American maker vehicles which are no longer true in many cases. Certain American cars have equal and in some cases better quality construction than their foreign competitors. As you can see, it has been very difficult for American makers to get that message across. Small business owners need to communicate positively, proactively and frequently with customers. This enables you to shape their perceptions and avoid being a business victim.

Rice is a CPA and business development guru who works with a wide range of small to mid-sized businesses at Rodman & Rodman. Rice’s expertise lies in profit improvement strategies, performance measurement, information system analysis and improvement as well as strategic visioning and planning. He is dedicated to helping businesses achieve their short and long term goals. He has been featured on Bloomberg Radio, CN8-TV and other media outlets.

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With a focus on strategic planning, Rodman & Rodman goes beyond traditional accounting services and takes a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.

From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton and 25 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com

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Rodman & Rodman CPA to Hold “Social Networking and Your Business” Seminar on February 18th

Rodman & Rodman, P.C., Certified Public Accountants and Business Strategists with offices in Braintree and Newton, will offer a complimentary “Social Networking and Your Business” seminar on Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 7:30 a.m. To 9:30 a.m. At 50 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree.

 

This seminar is geared toward business owners and others who are looking for an inexpensive way to reach existing and potential customers on a worldwide basis. Todd Norwood, Vice President of Technology at The Norwood Group will lead the discussion. Norwood will speak about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and how to explore the business potential of each and utilize them to gain better business leverage.


There is no cost to attend and light refreshments will be served.

Space is limited. Registration is required. To register, contact Ann Reading at 617-965-5959 or email at ann@rodmancpa.com.

 

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With a focus on strategic planning, Rodman & Rodman goes beyond traditional accounting services and takes a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.


From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton and 25 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com or contact (617) 965-5959.


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Rodman & Rodman CPA to Hold QuickBooks Seminars for Business Owners

Rodman & Rodman, P.C., Certified Public Accountants and Business Strategists will offer complimentary QuickBooks seminars for business owners at two locations in January.

On Tuesday, January 5, 2010, from 7:30 a.m.- 9:30 a.m., a QuickBooks seminar will be held at Rodman & Rodman’s Newton office located at 3 Newton Executive Park.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m., a QuickBooks seminar will be held at the company’s Braintree office located at 50 Braintree Hill Office Park in the second floor Conference Room.

QuickBooks has emerged as the dominant small business accounting software. QuickBooks software enables business owners to get the “bookkeeping” of their business done, but also gives business owners the features, tools and reporting that helps them to run their business more efficiently and profitably.

Kathy Parker, CPA, a Partner at Rodman & Rodman, P.C. has been a Certified QuickBooks Advanced Pro Advisor for more than a decade and will lead the seminar and advise business owners on how to get the most out of QuickBooks.  A questions and answer session will follow the presentation.

These seminars are free and light refreshments will be served.

To register, contact Jen Minor at 617-965-5959 or email at jen@rodmancpa.com.

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With a focus on strategic planning, Rodman & Rodman goes beyond traditional accounting services and takes a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.

From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton and 25 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com or contact (617) 965-5959.

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Rodman & Rodman CPA to Hold “Selling Your Business – A Legal Perspective” Seminars

BOSTON, BRAINTREE AND NEWTON, MASS… Rodman & Rodman, P.C., Certified Public Accountants and Business Strategists will offer a “Selling Your Business – A Legal Perspective” seminar on Tuesday, October 27th from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at their Newton office and on Tuesday, November 10th from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at their Braintree office. These seminars are FREE, but registration is required.

Jeffrey P. Hart, Founding Member of the Boston law firm Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers will lead the seminar. Hart will be discussing the legal processes of selling a business, covering all of the major steps with insight and advice.

Topics which will be discussed include:

· Use of Outside Consultants

· Valuation

· Nondisclosure Agreement

· Structure

· Letter of Intent

· Due Diligence

· Asset Purchase Agreement

Hart concentrates his practice in the areas of taxation, business law and estate planning. Earlier in his career, Jeff practiced as a Certified Public Accountant in the tax division of an international accounting firm where he gained expertise addressing the business and tax issues facing closely held businesses and high net worth individuals.

Light refreshments will be served.

To register, contact Jen or Ann at (617) 965-5959 or by email at jen@rodmancpa.com

Rodman & Rodman, P.C.

Founded in 1961, Rodman & Rodman, P.C. provides accounting, tax and business services to small and medium-sized companies throughout New England. With a focus on strategic planning, Rodman & Rodman goes beyond traditional accounting services and takes a proactive approach when serving clients to increase, preserve and sustain clients’ financial net worth.

From business valuations, taxation, audits, fraud detection and prevention services and succession planning to a variety of accounting IT services including software selection, implementation and training, the team at Rodman & Rodman serves as comprehensive advisors to clients. For individual clients, the company offers personal advisory services such as planning for real estate transactions, obtaining financing, estate planning and retirement planning as well as planning for college education. Rodman & Rodman Certified Public Accountants are located at 3 Newton Executive Park in Newton and 25 Braintree Hill Office Park in Braintree, Mass. For more information, visit their website at www.rodmancpa.com or contact (617) 965-5959.

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“8 Great Ways to Improve Business Value” Seminar on October 20th

On Tuesday, October 20, 2009 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., a “8 Great Ways to Improve Business Value” seminar will be held at Rodman & Rodman’s Braintree office at 25 Braintree Hill Office Park. The seminar is geared towards entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses and small ownership groups. Larry Rice, CPA, Director of Strategic Consulting at Rodman & Rodman will lead the seminar and focus on the steps that business owners can take to increase their business’ value to maximize the return on sale of one of their largest personal assets – their business. Light refreshments will be served. There is no cost to attend.

To register for the seminar, contact Jen Minor at Rodman & Rodman at (617) 965-5959 or email jen@rodmancpa.com.  This seminar is co-sponsored by PR Works.

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