Accounting

As a small business owner, you have more important things to do than keep books.

Let Keith Atwater CPA take care of your books for you--so you can get back to the job of running your business!

Monthly or quarterly, we can accurately and appropriately...

• Reconcile your bank account
• Generate an income statement 
• Generate a balance sheet
• Clean up your general ledger

These tasks form the solid foundation of a small business accounting system. You can customize the package of services you receive by adding payroll, tax planning, tax preparation or any of our other services.

Bank Reconciliation

Reconciling your business checking account each month allows us to keep your bank account, accounting, and taxes up-to-date.

Having us reconcile your account each month allows you to...

Manage cash more effectively

Sleep better knowing that your bank accounts are reconciled and balanced, and that all escrow funds, accounts, checks and disbursed funds are properly accounted for.

• Identify lost checks, lost deposits and unauthorized wire transactions
• Detect and prevent excess/unjustified bank charges and ensure that transactions are posted correctly by your bank
• Detect and prevent embezzlement of funds from within your company
• Reconcile accounts and show them properly on your financial statements so that you really know how your business is doing
• Protect your business by promptly objecting to your bank about any unauthorized, fraudulent or forged checks.

Income Statements

Income statements, also known as a profit-and loss-statement, are itemized lists of all your revenues minus an itemized list of expenses.

An income statement allows you to...

• Track revenues and expenses so that you can determine the operating performance of your business.
• Determine what areas of your business are over-budget or under-budget
• Identify specific items (such as phone, fax, mail or supplies) that are causing unexpected expenditures
• Track noteworthy increases in product returns or cost of goodssold as a percentage of sales
• Determine your income tax liability

Balance Sheets

A balance sheet gives you a snapshot of your business' financial condition at a specific moment in time. Use balance sheets to get a handle on the current financial strength and capabilities of your business, and to:

• Identify and analyze trends, particularly in the area of receivables and payables. For example, if your receivables cycle is lengthening, maybe you can collect your receivables more aggressively.
• Determine if your business is in a position to expand
• Determine if your business can handle the normal financial ebbs and flows of revenues and expenses 
• Determine if you need to take immediate steps to bolster cash reserves
• Determine if your business has been slowing down payables to forestall an inevitable cash shortage

Balance sheets, along with income statements, are the most basic elements of financial reports required by banks, investors, vendors and other creditors.

Maintaining a Clean General Ledger

Your general ledger is the core of your company's financial records. These records constitute the central "books" of your system. Since every transaction flows through the general ledger, a problem with your general ledger throws off all your books.

Having Keith Atwater CPA review your general ledger monthly allows us to identify discrepancies such as double billings or any unrecorded payments. Then we'll fix the discrepancies so your books are always accurate and in excellent shape.

For a free consultation on your small business accounting, please feel free to call.