Accounting Blog

Before you make business decisions or claims about profitability, you should have hard data to back it up. Small business financial ratios quantify your accounting data so you can improve operations, give lenders or investors insight into your business’s profitability, and measure growth. One popular metric businesses put stock into is the LTV:CAC ratio.

Your LTV:CAC ratio gives you insight into your marketing expenditure. To make wise financial decisions, you need to know whether your spending pays off or not.

Most businesses must pay taxes to the IRS. And, companies report information about their income, tax deductions, and tax payments on small business tax returns, which vary based on business structure.

When nonprofit organizations apply for and gain tax-exempt status, they do not have to pay federal income taxes. So, do nonprofits file tax returns?  

Do you find yourself purchasing or asking an employee to buy something for your business from time-to-time? If so, you may benefit from using a petty cash fund. Learn more about what is petty cash, the purpose of petty cash, and petty cash uses for your small business.

According to one report, 65% of business comes from existing customers. But, do you know how much value each customer adds to your small business over the course of your relationship? To estimate the total that customers will spend at your company, calculate customer lifetime value.

As a small business owner, one of the first decisions you make is deciding between the different types of business structures. But, choosing between business structures can be intimidating and confusing.

Before you decide what business structure type to use for your small business, understand your options.

Does your business provide petty cash to employees? Petty cash funds are small amounts of cash that businesses use to pay for low-cost expenses, like postage stamps or donuts for a meeting. But if you’re going to establish a petty cash fund at your small business, be prepared to create a petty cash accounting system.

You must record petty cash transactions, even if you think they’re too low to matter. Without a petty cash system, using small cash amounts periodically can add up to a major discrepancy in your books. And when you maintain records of all your business’s expenses, you can claim tax deductions.

Read on to learn about establishing a petty cash fund, handling petty cash accounting, reconciling your petty cash account, and claiming a tax deduction.

If you run a nonprofit organization, you work hard to give back to others. The government offers the opportunity for organizations like yours to gain tax exemption. However, applying for tax-exempt status can be a long and complicated process.

Before starting the tax-exempt status application, find out what tax exemption means for your organization, determine your business’s tax exemption eligibility, and learn which tax exempt form you must file.

As a small business owner, keeping track of inventory is an essential part of running your business. Perpetual inventory is one solution for inventory accounting. Read on to learn more about what is perpetual inventory, how perpetual inventory systems work, and the pros and cons of perpetual inventory.

There are different types of assets your business may have. You have probably heard of fixed and current assets. But, do you know the difference between fixed assets vs. current assets?

When you make a sale on store credit, there is never a guarantee that the customer will pay you on time. In fact, one in three Americans is late paying their debts. Instead of banking on timely customer payments, plan for the worst. And, consider charging tardy customers a late payment fee to reclaim your losses.

If customer payments are late, you might not have enough money to pay yourself. According to one survey, 79% of small business owners cut their pay when customers don’t pay.

Sometimes when a customer won’t pay, you don’t have enough money to cover your debts, which could result in late payment charges for your business. Implementing a late payment policy can help you crawl out of the cycle by discouraging late payments and giving you an additional cash flow cushion.