San Diego Accounting

San Diego Accounting involves monthly reconciliations, financial analysis and financial reporting. Monthly reconciliations allow the process of financial reporting and financial analysis to occur. Monthly reconciliations are a double checking of a company’s books to make sure they are in order.  From the statements given by the bank, credit card, or various financial institutions, an accountant can begin the process of “finishing the month”.

The process of finishing the month can take longer if you are on an accrual basis, because it depends on when the invoice to you is dated.  The invoices can lag in the mail getting to you. From “finishing the month”, reports can be run, then analyzed.

Reading the reports and digging into deeper detail to come to an analysis is essential to making educated business decisions. Discrepancies stand out, but they only make an accountant ask more questions and need more detail to analyze why there was a discrepancy.

A discrepancy can be as simple as the purchase of one expensive item, to as detailed as discovering a problem before it occurs. Monthly meetings with an accountant to read and discuss these reports is where you get to ask questions and get answers.

These answers are the information needed to make those educated decisions. From further reporting, tracking of these decisions effect can be possible. For example, making the decision to switch shipping companies because of a minuscule savings, referred to by accountants as insignificant, can in the long run save companies thousands of dollars over time.

Running these reports and comparing them annually makes these miniscule savings seem more noticeable or even turning them into large savings as time passes.

Reconciliations

Reconciling monthly allows finding and resolving any inconsistency timely.  San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting realizes monthly reconciliations are key to understanding your financials. Monthly reconciliations allow the process of financial reporting and financial analysis to occur.

San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting will do your San Diego reconciliations.

Monthly Reconciliations are “an accounting process that uses two sets of records to ensure figures are accurate and in agreement. Reconciliation is the key process used to determine whether the money leaving an account matches the amount spent, ensuring the two values are balanced at the end of the recording period.” according to Investopedia.
Translated, this double checking of your bank statements and credit card statements is for accuracy, needing to match your statements to QuickBooks on a regular basis, monthly is the most realistic.
A good bookkeeper should have entered the transactions into QuickBooks, making the reconciliations easy.

Any missing or incorrect entries can be changed or entered, creating an accurate set of books matching the statements at the time of reconciliation.

At this time any payroll journal entries should be made.

Any payroll taxes incurred should be paid.

Closing the month processes should be completed, and usually include more than just a month end reconciliation.

During a reconciliation, paying attention to the details makes analyzing smoother. One thing noticed in reconciliations tends to be the insurance policies. A company needs several different types of insurance policies.  Many insurances will send invoices or proof of payment with very little detail. Many companies have multiple insurance policies with the same broker.

A “schedule of insurances” will assist in the proper bookkeeping of them, an on time payment schedule for them, and a fixed cost list more accurate.

Knowing a company’s history also assists in the analytical process.

Insurance policies can become more expensive over time, which should stand out in the analyzing of discrepancies when they do.

Monthly reconciliations are a great time to notice insurance policies have been renewed, and a call to the broker if any necessary changes need to be dealt with should occur to assure proper insurance.

A year for a company can produce great changes in your insurance needs.
San Diego reconciliations goes the extra mile to make sure these details are precise.

Small business wasn’t built from packages; your insurance should be customized to fit your needs.

San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting goes the extra mile to protect your company’s assets.

Financial Reporting

Timely and accurate financial reports can assist you in managing your business by making more informed decisions.

Customizing reports, or running the pertinent reports to your industry and business give further insight.

San Diego financial reporting sent out by San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting, builds a professionalism to whom you are sending them to, typically banks, CPA’s or the IRS.

Accounting firms sending your financial reports are more credible than an inside accountant, or yourself.

San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting is a credible firm skilled in sending your financial reports.

According to Google, financial reporting is “the process of producing statements that disclose an organization’s financial status to management, investors and the government.”

Financial reporting is the final product of doing the monthly accounting and monthly reconciliations.

From the financial reports, analysis occurs.

Scrutinizing would be an accurate description of an accountant looking for discrepancies, and their explanations.

Financial reports, especially the balance sheet, have been referred to as a snapshot of the company.

Financial reports are a specific time frame, or moment in time.
A balance sheet is always as of a specific date (from the beginning of the company).

A balance sheet will have things like Equity, which is directly correlated to you getting a bank loan and your company’s worth.

Equity cannot be negative

Equity is where the personal spending of company money is taken from.
Depending on the type of business, depends on the legalities and accounting entry for using company cash for personal use. A common question for an accountant at the end of the year by an S Corp is, “where is that profit now?” Many S Corp owners use the company money for personal use either accidentally using the wrong credit card, or intentionally.

Profits at the end of the year go into retained earnings, which is recorded as an equity on the balance sheet.

Equity is reduced when company money is used for personal things.
Since retained earnings had previously been taxed, this leaves a different taxation for this money.

Typically, this money is taxed at a distributions tax rate, which exclude FICA and self-employment tax.

Other financial reports tend to have a start and end date.

A P&L (profit and loss statement) tend to be for specific months or years.
Financial report depicts valuable information. Knowing how to read a financial report and use the information to better make business decisions is financial analysis.

San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting scrutinizes your financial reports for accurate financial analysis. Informed decisions come from accurate information, make an informed decision.

Reports are tools to help you make informed decisions.
Financial analysis comes after creating the financial reporting.
San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting does financial reporting and financial analysis.

Financial Analysis

Financial Analysis is a key to understanding your business.
Analyzing the various financial reports allows companies to manage their businesses more effectively.
Assistance in understanding these reports is a critical part of San Diego financial analysis.
Smart business owners read their financial statements with their accountant on a monthly basis because it is a powerful tool.
San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting offers monthly financial meetings to help you use these greatly helpful instruments.

Monthly financial analysis meetings include key staff members for all or a portion of the meeting.  Your company’s team members understanding of those portions of the financial statements that pertain to their areas of responsibility helps everyone achieve their goals.

Building a team effort to work toward a shared and clearly understood goal: this idea is essential and can be communicated accurately in a brief amount of time if prepared prior to a meeting.
Meetings with visuals give employees something to concentrate on, and can be helpful in getting the information across.
Financial reports turned into colorful graphs and charts are a tool to be easily understood and quicker to comprehend.
A color coded pie chart for the top 10 customers, vendors, best sellers, worst sellers or whatever your company’s needs, brings a more immediate understanding and more pleasant visual, therefore, making the entire experience more pleasant.
Financial meetings where no one understands and no one cares are counterproductive.

Financial analysis strives to be a fountain of useful information to help make informed decisions.

Financial Analysis is the presentation of investigating financial reports, typically, the income statement (Profit and Loss), balance sheet and statement cash flows.
Financial analysis catered to your business needs, because there are a host of reports to choose from to be used as powerful instruments.

San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting firmly believes in communicating the readings of the financial statements.
An owner cannot make an informed decision without information.
Much of this information is on the financial reporting.

San Diego Bookkeeping and Accounting prepares monthly reconciliations to prepare financial reports to be scrutinized for financial analysis and financial meetings.