Business Discussions

Hello, hello and happy Friday! Did anybody catch my attempt at a movie reference in the title? Anybody? No? Ok... moving on. Earlier this week I read an article presented by Entrepreneur.com covering some great tips on how to reduce business debt. I don't know about you, but these kind of pointers are always welcome. Let's take a look.   Identify ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’ debtFirst things first, begin by evaluating your checkbook with the mindset that not all debt is going to be bad. The article provides a great example of how you can identify good and bad debt: "For example, if a company has a significant amount of liability associated with the ownership of an office space, that could be considered good debt due to the long-term benefit of potential appreciation and taxable offset opportunities. If a large portion of a company’s current debt is associated with revolving credit not backed by collateral (e.g. credit cards), that is likely something to identify."Tack

Learn common accounting terms used in QuickBooks.  You don't need a degree in accounting to keep up with your bookkeeping. However, it's good to know basic terms so you understand what goes on behind the scenes in QuickBooks.    Here are the basic accounting terms you'll see in QuickBooks.    A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z    A   Accrual Method Accounting   The simple definition: An accounting method that reports money from completed as well as pending transactions.   Tip: When you start your business, you should pick one accounting method and stick to it. Changing methods will require help from your accountant.    Textbook definition: With the accrual method, you record and report your income and expenses when they’re billed. You record money when it's billed, whether or not you receive it. This includes accounts pa

  Having the right bank account for your small business can make all the difference when it comes to making money work harder and faster for you.     Join the Ask the Expert live Q&A this Thursday. We’ll share tips on the benefits of integrating banking and accounting.        And if you are looking for more like this, make sure to check out our Ask the Expert playlist on YouTube.  

In our first Community Chatter installment, we shared some of our work from home hacks, and this week we are taking the next step and sharing pictures of our workspaces.    With so much going on, it's more important than ever to have a dedicated space that is relatively free from distractions and lets you focus on being productive.   It's even better if your space is comfortable and out of the way, but as this year has shown time and again, sometimes it's all about being adaptable and using what you have to create what you need.     There is no "one true way" to set up your work from home space, after all, someone who lives in a studio apartment will not have the same issues as a mother of four living in a 3 bedroom house.  And as you'll see below, (and in our Intuit Accountants and TurboTax communities) our workspaces vary as much as we do.      I'll start us off by sharing my kitchen table setup.  "I’ve always been a bit o

Hi all, I have developed a SaaS product SubscriptionFlow an AI-Based subscription management software. I need suggestions for marketing and how I can improve my product critics are also welcomed.

Happy Fri-yay, I mean Friday, everyone! I hope the work week has treated you well. Today I wanted to share an article I came across, published by Forbes.com, that discusses simple philosophies to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Here are a few points that caught my eye... Prep Your MindsetPreparing your mindset encompasses thinking long-term regarding your business. We're offered a reminder that entrepreneurial success doesn't happen overnight and your ways of thinking should reflect that. "Prepare your mindset. Entrepreneurship is a work of heart and not a perfect, straight line to success. It’s supposed to feel crazy at the beginning. You have nothing to lose." When you think about the long-term success of your business, this includes answers to questions like what you want to get out of the entire venture, as well as how much time will you spend working? How much will you be paid? How many employees will you have? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?Be Unapologetically Yo

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to the Talk Your Business page. Today, I wanted to change gears for a sec. For the past few days, this question has been on my mind, "What aspect of your business gets you excited?".   I wanted to bring back that warm-fuzzy feeling of what brings you joy in your industry to create some good vibes for a minute. Therefore, I decided to interview a few entrepreneurs from around the world to get their take. Here's what they had to say:   Kamoyia W., the founder of Maxi's Fashion, explained that she enjoys the fact that she meets new clients daily. She also expresses that she loves to pay attention to her pieces' quality because she wants her customers to have one of the best quality. She did add that making money contributes to her excitement, but most importantly, seeing that satisfaction on her customers' faces. Before ending the interview, she said something that made me smile. She stated, "At the end of the day, it is nice to see

  A) Satisfying or B) Confusing? Pick one & tell us why, we'd love to hear from you!

"...Social media remains one of the fastest-growing and most important channels for small businesses everywhere, offering unmatched reach and potential compared to other marketing channels."     Hello hello and happy Friday! Welcome back to another edition of the Business Discussion board. We all know that social media is hugely popular in today's day and age. We also know that the use of social media can be a very helpful tool for small businesses. With that in mind, today I wanted to share some points I read in an article from squareup.com focusing on how small businesses can use social media to grow. Embrace VideoVideo marketing popularity is growing rapidly. Even with that being said, many businesses struggle with what content to include and how to relay it to their customers. Here are a few suggestions from the article about what to include in your videos: Sort your blog content in order of most traffic and create videos around those topics. Follow peers a

Hi, howdy, hey! It's mid-week and I'm back to share some small business pointers. Have you ever thought that your product or service is so unique or so focused you feel you may have a hard time finding success? Well, today I want to share how your niche business can work for you. Less competitionThere's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. On the other hand, small businesses already have plenty of hurdles to overcome so let's be real. With less competition, there's more potential. With a specific business, you're less likely to run into similar competitive brands. Less clash means you'll be able to optimize sales and build a loyal customer base.Find your focusA niche business offering very specific products or services allows you to find your passion. Making a career out of something you're passionate about means you'll never have to work a day in your life! This point brings to mind a local artist. She makes incredible pottery of all shapes and sizes and sales her pieces

  Everyone has seen a lot of change this year, and one of the most common changes is the way our work life has shifted in response to the global pandemic.   Many companies embraced the work from home model as a way of protecting their workers, and similarly, a lot of small businesses had to shift their models to allow them to continue their businesses in a socially responsible and safe manner.    But whether working from home is new to you or you are a seasoned pro, it can present unique challenges depending on a multitude of factors.      We are sharing our tips for success below, and hope that you will join the conversation and share what works best for you.  We'll collect some of the responses and round them up for you again later in the week.       Ami Defesche, Community Moderator   Living in a studio apartment when we started working from home presented a lot of challenges, but the biggest was not having a def

Good afternoon, Community members! It's Friday once again, and today I'm here to share another business article with you all. Earlier I was reading this article from uschamber.com and thought it was a very beneficial one to share. This post in particular covers identifying and resolving skills gaps within your business.   IdentificationAs the write-up mentions, "No single person possesses all the necessary skills to run a business effectively. Identifying skills gaps, in both yourself and your team, will ensure your company can grow." With that being said, a skill gap is "the difference between the skills required for a position and the skills an employee actually possesses." These differences can be identified by conducting an analysis with your employees. Notice I said with because you will participating as well. Here are the steps to recognize any gaps that need to be filled:   Important skills Communicating the skills that are actually important is

Hello out there! Are there any Quickbooks Online Accountant/ProConnect users in the Central Coast California area near Paso Robles? I am new to the area and would love to talk with you!

Happy Wednesday! Quick question, what is the history of your business? A brand story gives customers insight into what you're about and shows customers why you do this. This is one of the many strategies of drawing customers in. Have you perfected your story? I have taken the time to jot down a few tips to help you when presenting your story to the world. Be Transparent and Engaging There are a few questions you should ask yourself when writing your business story? This should be easy to remember seeing they all start with the letter W. Why- Why are you writing this story, and why do you think it's significant? When- When did this all start? Where- Where is this story taking place? Who- Who has contributed a part in this establishment? What- What are you trying to achieve, and what failures have you experienced thus far? Using this will show a sense of direction and focus, where the audience can see the history unfold before them.   Be Real and TruthfulTry not to oversell your

  Yesterday, QuickBooks Live Bookkeeper and accounting veteran Pam Bingham answered questions live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn. During the livestream, Pam answered your questions about keeping finances in order, maintaining your books with accuracy, and managing time-consuming tasks.   It was awesome! Watch the replay below.    Our recent Twitter poll revealed many of you are interested in learning more about bookkeeping:                 If you missed the livestream, don't worry. Let's keep the conversation going in comments!  What bookkeeping questions do you have? 👇    And if you are looking for more like this, make sure to check out our Ask the Expert playlist on YouTube.  

  You know what rhymes with Fries.....Fri-day. Ok, ok, ok, don't close the tab just yet. I know that was very corny, but Thank God It's Friday (TGIF)! Right? I know its hard for some of you business owners to actually relax for a bit on the weekend; however, I encourage you to sleep for just a few more minutes before starting your day. Now, let's dive into the article. Shall we? I found this article by Business Insider, which explains ways to speed up the onboarding process, also known as training for new hires. Here's what they have to say:   Create a simple training outline The author encourages us to include relevant information that hirees need to know, as it corresponds with their job responsibilities and the work culture. When creating this outline, it would help if your directions were clear and concise. The reason being, I have noticed that, at times, there is no proper structure during the training process. Every trainer comes up with their personal method of t

 “Setting up for Success” is a series of snack-sized summaries based around task-oriented video tutorials. Each set of videos is curated around specific accounting workflows and the fundamental concepts behind them. Each article features three to five comprehensive tutorials and highlight summaries. While we've handpicked these tutorials for first time QuickBooks Online users, this series is an excellent resource for anyone needing a refresher on QuickBooks Online and accounting basics.  We recommend watching all of the videos, as a set and in order, so you can confidently complete the specified accounting tasks in QuickBooks Online. If you do decide to skip ahead to specific sections of the article, set aside time to go back and watch the videos in their entirety so you have a firm grasp of the process end-to-end.  The Basics and Accounting ConceptsThe Fundamentals"The Big Picture"  TransactionsAdding Items (Products and Services,

We are a small condo association with 87 units and do our own property management.  We have a great Excel spreadsheet for Payables, but owner data and Receivables are all done by hand.  We want to install a simple to use database system to keep track of all owner information, including their monthly payments. If you use QB for this purpose, I would love to talk to you. Thank you.

Happy Friday and cheers to the weekend! Quick question before you sign off from work, what are your thoughts about business automation? With recent development in technology, particularly in automation, businesses have started to adopt this concept. A brief explanation of automation is the use of computer-controlled devices or software to fulfill a task. An example of this could be the self check out in a supermarket. Nonetheless, Forbes has listed the Do's and Dont's of Business Automation. A few points stood out, and I believe this information can be promising to your business.    Let's start with the Dont's.   High costsDepending on the type of automation, it may be very pricey to implement. If you're about to invest in one, ensure that you have done your research or have asked other businesses (that have use or currently use these services) their opinion. Adding automation in your business should be profitable and efficient. If it doesn't, this can affect your busine

Happy Wednesday, everyone! It's great to have you here in the Community. We all know there's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. Today I wanted to share a few ways to keep up with what your competitors are doing: Social MediaThis might be an obvious one, but a person or company's social media platforms will tell you a lot about that. Check out your competitors social media pages to see what they're sharing, how many followers they have, and what kind of posts are the most popular. WebsiteSimilar to social media, a company's website is the next best way to find out more about them. Does the competition's website stack up; meaning is it up to date, can you contact the company through the site, can you order items/services online, or do they even have a website? ReviewsA simple Google search of the business you're competing with can produce customer reviews. Taking a closer look at the other company's reviews will tell you what they're excelling at, as well as

It's Friday again, folks! Thanks for joining me here in the Community. I read an article earlier from uschamber.com that outlined different family owned business structures. This topic was interesting as there are so many family owned businesses, around 50% of American companies alone. While this large percentage of businesses are owned and operator by families, I've never read, seen, or even really heard of the different types of structures these businesses can take on. Here's a little about what I learned... Ownership Options Owner/Operator: Ownership and control of the company is limited to one person or just a couple of people. The article compares this example to the British monarchy, where the crown is passed down to the firstborn. "There needs to be a clear succession plan in place for maintaining this ownership model." Partnership: With a partnership model, only leaders within the company can be owners and benefit financially. "This prevents family members

Good morning, Community. It's time to talk business again! Today, I thought I'd share a breakdown of a few different types of business meetings and what they consist of. Here we go...   To begin, "A business meeting is a gathering of two or more people for the purpose of making decisions or discussing company objectives and operations. Business meetings are generally conducted in person in an office, however with the rise of video conferencing technologies, participants can join a business meeting from anywhere."   Now that we have that established, here are a few different types of meetings and what kind of events to expect with each:   Status UpdateStatus update meetings are conducted to do just that. Your team may be working on a big project that's taking several months to complete. Status updates are important to let the team know where they're at on the time line, what needs to be worked on next, and encourage the progress made so far.   Decision MakingIf your

What merchandise can I use for loyalty program?

Welcome back, folks!  We have finally made it through another month, and we all deserve a round of applause. It's August Eve, guys!  Thank you for joining us here on the Discussion Page. Today, I have a relatively fun and engaging article from Business.com that will boost team-building activities. According to the writer, virtual team-building activities are "exercises focusing on employees' feelings, interests, and communication, which helps build enthusiasm and camaraderie among remote workers." This can be an invigorating practice to implement where employees can "let their hair down." Here are a few favorites they mentioned:   Virtual Coffee BreakAlthough I'm not a coffee lover (please don't judge me), this can be an ice breaker. It is a chance for employees to take a breather and interact with one another outside of the office setting. You can use this time to form a more meaningful connection with your staff and ask questions about their well-being and so

Welcome back my friends. I have selected a somewhat sensitive topic to discuss today, but I think you will find it necessary for your business. My professor once told our class, when customers are happy, they will tell one or two persons, but if a customer is dissatisfied, they will tell three times the amount. No one can convince me that this statement isn't 100% accurate because I have done it and seen others do it.  So, today we will be discussing how to respond to negative feedback. Although there a lot of ways to do this, here are my thoughts:   Don't Avoid Negative Feedback; Embrace it!Even though it can be a hard pill to swallow when a customer leaves a distasteful comment, your response shouldn't be aggressive. You do not want your company to be seen in that negative light. The internet is forever and opened to everyone. Although you can delete your feedback, it may remain in circulation due to screenshots made before the post was deleted.   Remember the three