I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with small business entrepreneurs for nearly ten years now. Our goal at Ceterus has always focused on providing small business entrepreneurs peace of mind. Peace of mind that their financial statements are being done accurately and on-time, sales tax was filed, and all other compliance requirements are handled appropriately. We’re a small business, too, so we understand the importance of speed and accuracy in getting the job of bookkeeping done and using the results to manage and grow our business.
In early 2020 we were faced with significant challenges due to COVID-19. Like all scrappy entrepreneurs we quickly pivoted. We sought to bring even more value to our customers and the small business community. We were facing the same issues as our customers and decided we could best help our customers by sharing our knowledge and experiences. We began pushing out content on issues related to Covid and business stress, assistance options, and accounting-related information at a pace we had never done before. Things were changing on a daily basis and our customers needed help. We needed to help them navigate these incredibly challenging times. Our team rose to the occasion, and we are proud of the work we did with small businesses across this country.
We have taken a breath and are ready to get back to sharing our small business experiences with a special emphasis on bookkeeping and accounting. Over the coming weeks we will be reaching out to you to discuss how critical bookkeeping is to your business. Having your books handled by a professional that deeply understands your business, what keeps you up at night, and how you can improve your business has immense value. With each communication, we intend to show how the dollars you spend every month on bookkeeping are an investment that has value greater than simply making your tax accountant happy at year-end.
In this blog we will talk about cash, specifically why tracking the flow of cash from the time of sale to the deposit that eventually hits the bank should be a top priority for any business.
Business owners may not understand bookkeeping or accounting, but they certainly understand that sales equals cash in the bank. There are generally two ways that customers pay for goods and services – either cash or credit card. At Ceterus we are experts in accounting for both types of transactions. Let us explore how these work and why professionally bookkeeping services can be extremely valuable to a business owner as it relates to cash.
Credit card sales are handled by a merchant processor. Business owners typically have to wait several days to see the cash post to their operating bank account when a credit card is used. The good news is the risk of not receiving the cash related to credit card sales is very low. Merchant processing systems are technologically advanced and provide granular level detail for each transaction that flows through their systems. Accounting for these transactions is also fairly simple.
Cash sales are handled at a register. It is very likely that many employees come in contact with cash sales throughout the month. It is a fact that every business owner has a different process in place related to depositing the cash received from these sales.
The image below describes how Ceterus handles accounting for sales transactions.
As I mentioned above, the risk of missing out on cash related to credit card transactions is very low as they are handled by third parties. I cannot say the same about cash transactions. Over the years, Ceterus has identified theft for our customers on far too many occasions.
We can identify unusual looking activity because we track cash and credit card sales separately. There is no way to hide the theft. With minimal effort we can compare cash sales with cash deposits and report unusual activity to our customers in close to real time. This level of service has saved our customers a great deal of cash. Cash that can be used to continue to build a strong profitable business.
Ultimately without professional bookkeeping and a trusted partner on your side you could be exposing yourself to theft. Take a couple minutes and check us out. We will provide the peace of mind you are looking for.
