Business Discussions

I have a very small CPA practice.  I have been approached by a potential client to handle bookkeeping and tax return preparation.  He has been with the same people for many years  (a husband/wife team - husband is an EA and wife is a bookkeeper).    Does anyone have a proforma letter or sample they can share with me to request records and files from a predecessor?  Any help would be appreciated.  For some reason I'm struggling with crafting my request.  Thank you!

Hello, hello! It's great to see you here in the Community. You know it's my favorite day of the week and I hope you're looking forward to a restful weekend as much as I am. I read an article earlier today from uschamber.com that showcased several small business owners. Each business owner reveled their best marketing strategies. Here's what they had to say:Customer relationshipAmong the business owners in the article, one said her best marketing strategy was to maintain a strong relationship with her customers. She was able to do this, under current circumstances at a distance, by sending more personalized, heartfelt emails. She noted that her customers were showing a positive response and continued to their interaction.Social mediaAnother point mentioned in the article was the use of social media. Marketing your business on social media is a great tactic for many reasons.  By using various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, customers can see your work

Hey guys, we are halfway through the week. Almost there! Welcome back to the Discussion Page. Today, I want to address for a few minutes, ways in which business owners can handle stress. As business owners, we may become overwhelmed with constantly working like "Energizer Bunnies." However, it's important to step back, stop and smell the roses or coffee (for you coffee lovers) at times. Here are my top three ways of coping with stress:   Take a breather:Stepping away from the situation or problems for about 10 to 15 minutes can help you relax and distress. Simple things like going for a walk, watching a humorous video, or calling a friend can give you a clearer mind to undertake the task at hand. During these short breaks, you may get inspiration or ideas to analyze the situation another way.   Rank your responsibilities:Some prefer to start each task, but never fully complete all they set out to do by the end of the day. I, personally, am guilty of this, especially when

Mentorship: the guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.Good Friday afternoon, ladies and gents. I'm back to share another great article with you all today. Maybe you've reached the point in your career where you have a good amount of experience and success. With that experience and success, you have a level of knowledge that could be very useful to young entrepreneurs and business owners.Have you ever considered becoming a mentor? This article I read from US Chamber offers some great tips to become a mentor, or maybe a better one:Establish ExpectationsBefore beginning a mentorship, the first step is to explain your area of expertise and how you can best serve your potential candidate. Ask specific questions to evaluate what type of mentor they need; whether it be a coach, educator, or networker. Once these prereqs are determined, it's your turn to outline your expectations. These may include show

Hey, you!.....Yes, you! Want to know how to attract and keep customers? If you continue reading, you can find a few easy ways to do this.   Hopefully, the above statement caught YOUR attention. We should have the same energy when dealing with our customers as well. Good afternoon, and welcome back to the Business Discussion Page. Today, I will be presenting three ways to attract customer's attention.   FreebiesLet be honest, we love to receive free gifts. So, why not reward your customers sometimes with this incentive. When giving something away, we want the customer to be reminded of your business each time they use it. The idea is for customers to view this as a valued item and useful. Even though it may not cost you as much, let it align with your business's image. Here are some examples that could be helpful:   If you have a musical store, offer a free music lesson. If you own a handmade soap business, give free samples of your products. Offer add-on services for fr

My name is Mohammad Aman Ahmadi, I am from Afghanistan, In 2006-2007 I became acquainted with the QuickBooks Software when I was studying accounting in Bakhtar University. Then I have been worked in QuickBooks with several local businesses in as Finance Manager, then in 2011 I established my own accountancy firm and I got my business license which called Fanoos Accounting Services, I started training and consulting in the areas of Accounting, Finance, Taxation and QuickBooks solutions for both individuals and corporate. since that time I have using, teaching, implementing, and selling QuickBooks products such Pro, Premier, Enterprise and Accountant. Since 2017 I have provide QuickBooks Online Solutions for my clients as well. I want share my life experience here, QuickBooks software is not just a complete accounting system, but it is an ocean of knowledge and skills that help businesses succeed and manage their company's finances well. it improved my business, my customers' busine

"Friday increases happiness all around the world by 11%". Whoever came up with this statistic is a genius because I'm definitely contributing to that. Happy Friday, and welcome back to our Discussion Board. Today, I found a gem by Entrepreneur that I believe can increase your online customer service experience.    Are you familiar with the app called WhatsApp? WhatsApp is a free messaging application that lets you send messages, images, voice notes, and videos to friends and family. Personally, I have been using this app for more than eight years to communicate with my family all over the world and even some customers. A few weeks ago, I mentioned how to use Facebook Messaging features to connect, communicate the latest updates and news, and respond to customers in a timely manner. Now, we will explore four ways to use WhatsApp Business.    Get Professional:With all-new apps, you have to create a profile. Use this to add relevant company details such as yo

Hey there! It's great to have you here in the Community on the Business Discussion board. We always talk about a variety of topics in this space. Today I wanted to mention business writing. Writing for business can take on a variety of forms. This type of writing can range from newsletters and emails to proposals, presentations, training materials, and so much more. Here are a few tips to make sure your business writing is in tip-top shape: 1. Less is More We're all busy. It seems like now more than ever, people rarely have a spare moment to do much of anything. With that being said, most folks are less likely to read an extremely long write-up. Less is more, and being as concise as possible is the best bet.2. Avoid JargonWhen you're writing, write as if you're explaining the topic to your mother, or a friend, someone in no relation to the business. Break down any processes and use simple terms; words that aren't directly related to your line of work. Avoiding jargon makes your

Hi guys, i have a client that pays her personal medical expenses from her business checking account. What is the best way to record medical and dental expenses? Is this owner's draw or?

Hello again, everyone. Thanks for joining us here in the Business Discussion space. Today I'd like to share some key points from an article published by theladders.com about qualities to possess to win at running a business and ultimately life. Here's what they had to say: Never stop practicing what got you where you are Do you remember what your first sale felt like? Or maybe it was the feeling of reaching a big goal you had been working so hard towards. Don't lose that feeling! Strive to repeat the sale or accomplish that goal over and over. "Your first win was your first win for a reason."2. Avoid thinking you've got it all figured outBy now, you probably know I'm a fan of old sayings. Here's one for you, "You learn something new everyday." And that's the truth. As a business owner and just living life in general, you should never be satisfied with the knowledge you currently have. One should continually be moving forward and learning new things every day. Ther

  Hello and happy Friday, Community friends. I enjoy reading up on business articles to gain knowledge and spark my own ideas. I came across an article today published on Inc.com that offered somewhat out-of-the-box ideas to improve margins and stretch your business budget. This particular info is meant to serve as a way to help make the very most of the funds you currently have. Here are the points that were included: Raise Your Prices Now I know this may sound crazy, but according to David Finkel, Author, 'The Freedom Formula: How to Succeed in Business Without Sacrificing Your Family, Health, or Life,' "The truth of the matter is, if you have limited capacity to produce and more demand for your product or service, you need to take that into consideration and adjust accordingly." Finkel has also adopted the notion of the best customers being "those that yield the best margins, pay the fastest with the least hassle, and are most enjoyable to work with." 2. 

Hello, QuickBooks Community! I know this is a super random question, but necessary. When last have you done a SWOT analysis for your business? It is usually recommended to do this at least every six months. Plus, now that the market is opening, it won't hurt to do so. For those who may not know what a SWOT analysis is, it's a strategic technique used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of the business.  This method can be used for project planning, making business decisions, and determining your company's competitive position. Today, we will deal with internal factors such as the Strengths and Weaknesses that you can control and the external factors, Opportunities and Threats that exist outside of the business.   StrengthsThis describes your business's positive attributes that give you that edge or niche from the competitors in the market. Factors contributing to this are the experience gained and mastery of these skills, which leads to the

  Happy happy Friday! It's me, stopping by again to share a helpful article I came across. Many businesses have seen an increase of online sales recently. So in relation to that, I thought I'd relay these hacks to help you grow e-commerce sales. Here's what business.com had to say: Spread brand awareness with a giveaway It might be a little difficult for consumers to make a purchase from your business if they don't know it exists. One thing we can all agree on is that free stuff is pretty cool. A great way to spread the word about your brand is to offer a giveaway. This type of giveaway is done by choosing one of your products, a bundle, or a gift card, and then have those who'd like to participate enter the giveaway by sharing your post on social media and tagging their friends. As more people get involved, you'll start to see more engagement, traffic, subscribers, and sales. You can increase this type of engagement even more by creating rules that allow for multiple

Welcome back to the Community! One day closer to the weekend and I'm thrilled already. How about you? Anyhow, the word "Support", has been on my mind to speak about for the discussion page. Especially seeing that we are all sort of small business owners here, forming connections can be advantageous. But before I get into details, feel free to drop the name of your business, what your company does, and where you are located below. I'm going to give you my top three ideas for how we can help each other's businesses grow.   Collaborations:This can be an excellent means by which both companies can get exposure and attract new consumers. For example, let's say your customer wants a particular item or is looking for a recommendation. It could be as easy as saying, "Hey, I know this great company we have been working with, and they have exactly want you are looking for, and here is their information." You want to be honest and actually use their services at one point because yo

Hello, friends. It's our favorite time of the week again! Before you start winding down for the weekend, and find yourself reading through the Business Discussion board here in the Community, I wanted to share an article I found earlier. The article was published by uschamber.com  and talked about how you as a business owner can develop a career plan for your employees. Here are some key points that were mentioned:Identify employees that are readyEmployees that are ready to begin their career development plans are ideally the ones with highest performance. They have excelled at their current position and are ready to move forward to the next stage.Plans for the futureWe all know that communication is key, especially in the workplace. One thing to talk about with your employees is their plans for the future. This communication can be very informal and wouldn't take long at all. Let each employee know you're interested in cultivating development plans and then follow up with th

Good afternoon, everyone. I hope this week has treated you well this far. We're halfway to Friday! Today, I wanted to chat with you all about investing. Specifically, how to do so wisely; with a plan and a purpose, to make the most of your hard earned money. Here are a few tips that I thought were worth sharing:Start EarlyOne of the most important pieces of information I've found when it comes to investing is to begin as soon as you start to earn. You know the saying, "The early bird gets the worm."? Well the same goes for investing. The earlier you get started, the more time your money has to grow.AutomationMany banks, investing companies, retirement agencies, and other financial institutions offer technology that will allow you to set up automatic money transfers to different accounts. With apps available right at your fingertips, this is an easy and helpful way to manage your money. With the automatic money movement you won't have to worry about forgetting to transfer funds, since i

Do you work with Forex? Or maybe someone tryed?

Happy Friday, my Community comrades. Thank you for joining me here on the Business Discussion page. Today, I came across an article that I believe can help the development of your business. Entrepreneur recently shared how businesses can save and make money during this time. And don't we just love saving money, well I know I do! Here's what they had to say: Generate cash as quickly as possible.The writer shared that business owners need to think outside of the box when securing the bag. He recommends using your experiences and competencies to find ways to generate income. It doesn't have to be related to your business aura, yet feasible. An example mentioned was an art supplies store, instead of closing their doors, they created a DIY art supply kit and increased their revenue from that. Build a financial reserve.Mr. Kohler advised that if you have resources that are no longer needed, to sell it and add it to your capital. Likewise, if you are receiving loans, whether it be t

Negotiation: discussion aimed at reaching an agreement.I'll begin with a personal story of mine. My husband likes to think of himself as a master negotiator. I remember when we went to purchase our current family vehicle. We had just recently found out that I was pregnant with our first baby and needed a vehicle with more space. I was sick to my stomach the whole time and didn't say much, but my husband was on a mission. We were at the dealership no less than 6 hours. There was a number we needed to agree on but were having trouble seeing eye-to-eye with the car dealer. It was becoming apparent that a deal wouldn't be met, so we got up to leave. As my husband and I were about to cross the threshold, the Sales Manager says, "It's just one less cheeseburger a week." At this point I had had about enough, so in return I not so quietly said the most I had all day, which was, "We have to buy diapers!!" Needless to say, we drove home in our new car. Looking back, the Sales Manager's comment,

We operate 2 businesses that we are looking to consolidate into one main business.  Each business has their own EIN but again would like to consolidate to simplify things. Essentially we would like to have MAIN business with EIN # and then set up the secondary (similiar business but seasonal) as MAIN business with DBA.  I would like to have 2 seperate bank accounts to track income and expenses.  Is there any reason why we couldnt do this for tax purposes?  I currently have 2 company accounts set up in QB but I do not really use one of them.  Now that we are getting busier I would need to maintain both accts.  Some of our customers use both services so I feel like it would make things easier to have my current customer and vendor list combined for both companies.

  Hello, Quickbooks Community! How are you guys hanging in there? While talking with a good friend earlier today, we were discussing how can we manage our time better. This conversation planted the seed for the Business Discussion post  about Time Management. We both shared some ways how to develop this, and here are the top three.   Make a To-Do Lists.First, at times procrastination can get the best of us. To try to combat that, make a to-do list before starting your work. In fact, I would go a step further to assign a time frame of when you would like to complete these tasks. Also, prioritize your responsibilities by order of importance; that way, you will be able to meet your deadlines.   Stay away from distraction.Second, some may say to switch off your phone, turn off the tv, or set your devices on do not disturb, but let's be frank. We are not robots. However, what we can do is try to minimize the amount of time we spend on these things. When creating your sc

Welcome back to the Business Discussion! Today I have found an interesting article that I would like to share from Stuff. Usually, while researching on Google, I tend to go with the first or second results that appear. Rarely, I would look through the rest of the links to try to find information. Wouldn't you like to see your business appear in the top three results?      Corey Hinde from Good Oil Marketing expressed that by using Google My Business App, you can become apart of the Google 3 Pack. This simply means being in the top three when users search for a specific business or activity. Here's what he had to say:   Check whether you have a Google Business Listing.This can be done by researching your business name into Google. If you don't have a business listing, one can be created by using this link to start the process. During this time, Google will send you a postcard. This is important because this allows you to have a business profile across

Hello, everyone. I hope you're enjoying your Wednesday. I wanted to stop by today and discuss a topic that I think would be useful as we begin to see businesses slowly opening back up, but still have some restrictions in place. As you may have noticed in the title, that topic is video marketing. What exactly is video marketing? This strategy is referred to as "the act of creating videos to market a specific business and its products/services."   Video marketing is very flexible and can be used across a wide variety of platforms. Some of these platforms include YouTube, social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Snapchat, and your customer's email. Covering all of these platforms with your video(s) is a sure way to reach the maximum amount of potential customers.In addition to the large array of areas to share your video, the content can be just as expansive. A few examples of what to include are: Demonstrative videos A demo video takes your viewers through a d

These days, small businesses are confronted with making vital decisions about survival amid cash flow & accounting changes, loan applications, and other new challenges. Keeping track of your money has never been more complicated. Managing income, expenses, & financing have been extra confusing these past two months.It's no surprise many small businesses are in need of bookkeeping help more than ever.   This Thursday May 7 at 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern, CPA & Business Advisor Hector Garcia will take your questions & share some tips on how you can manage your business and accounting operations. Comment below and let us know your questions for Hector.        And if you are looking for more like this, make sure to check out our Ask the Expert playlist on YouTube.  

Hello, everyone and welcome back to our Business Discussions. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at the advantages of using Instagram and its features to promote and communicate with your audience. Today, we will dive into how to use Facebook to connect with your customers.  USChamber mentioned some ways, and I would like to share some points with you.   Use your community for the public good.Yes, we are all going through difficult times, yet others are experiencing it a little harder. But how does this relate to your Facebook page, you may ask? You can use your page as a source for others to connect with your local foundations and so forth. UsChamber discussed that this can be done by sharing information on businesses that are still open and offers food delivery. Also, by creating an organization that arranged canned goods or cleaning supplies to be delivered to people in need. In addition, encourage others to give back as you do the same with your charity or create