Burlington, VT Accounting Firm | Small Business Accounting Page

We will help you with your accounting needs at a level that suits you. Keeping your accounting records up to date can be a distraction from your real mission - running your business! Yet, the information from your accounting system will be one of the sources of informtion that will help you make good business decisions. So, keeping the books is one of those necessary distractions.

Want to do the bookkeeping yourself? We can help you get set up and give you the training you need to do it.

Or, perhaps you want a bookkeeper? We can help you find an independent contractor who can work with you based on the amount of time you need and the level of difficulty. If you want to hire a bookkeeper to be part of your employee team, we can help you with the search.

Alternatively, we have an on-staff accountant who provides bookkeeping to our clients. This option has the advantage of our oversight of the services provided. Besides the normal ongoing data entry, our bookkeeping service can provide the following services for you:

Reconcile your bank account
Generate an income statement
Generate a balance sheet
Clean up your general ledger
Provide unlimited consultations

Our goal is to work with you to help you have a solution that is the best for you. Whatever solution you choose for your record keeping, we are always available to provide answers to your questions.

Bank Reconciliation

Reconciling your business checking account each month is the only way to ensure that all your cash transactions are properly recorded. This often dreaded task really is necessary. It will allow you to...

Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized transactions.
Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensure transactions are posted correctly by your bank.
Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company.
Know how your business is doing? You can't really know unless all accounts are reconciled and properly accounted for on your financial statement.
Manage your cash more effectively to save you money and make money for you.

Income Statement

An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, basically adds an itemized list of all your revenues and subtracts an itemized list of all your expenses to come up with a profit or loss for the period.

An income statement is one of the reports that you need to...

Track revenues and expenses and determine the operating performance of your business.

Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget.

Identify specific items that are causing unexpected expenditures.

Track dramatic increases in product returns or cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales.

Determine your income tax liability.

Have the information to make the best business decisions possible.

Balance Sheet

A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time.

A balance sheet helps you...

Quickly get a handle on the financial strength and capabilities of your business.
Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables such as whether you need to accelerate collection of receivables or delay the payment of bills.

Determine if your business is in a position to expand.
Determine if your business can easily handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses.
Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves.

Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements in providing financial reporting to potential lenders such as banks, investors, and vendors who are considering how much credit to grant you. Balance sheets are the second report needed to help you with those difficult business decisions.

Maintaining a Clean General Ledger

The general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central storage place for every transaction. Your general ledger is the source of every financial report generated by your accounting. It's unreasonable to think there will never be any errors in the accounting process. So it is important that the general ledger be reveiwed regularly to clean up those inevitable mistakes.

We can help you learn techniques to review of your general ledger system, looking for discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then, we can help you the discrepancies so your books are always accurate and kept in tip top shape.

Alternatively, we are available to review your general ledger periodically and make any necessary corrections. If we are providing bookkeeping services, this is part of our service. If you have your own bookkeeper, we are happy to work with them in the review process.

Remember, we want to help you find a solution of your record keeping needs that is best for you and your business.

Consultations

We are always available to spend time with you so you fully understand how to interpret and utilize your financial information. We are also available to answer your questions as they occur. If your question takes us a couple of minutes on the phone or by email, we generally do not bill for those instances. However, if your question requires research or analysis, it becomes a billable event.