Accounting at its core is based on historical data. Transaction entry for most small businesses is at most caught up through the prior week, but it is never forward-looking. It is vital to review the trends shown by your historical data and review key metrics that pertain to your industry. See this article for our Top 5 KPIs for the interior design industry.
Last updated on July 2, 2024: We've refreshed this article to reflect recent developments and trends, keeping you well-informed.
Managing bookkeeping effectively is crucial for the success of any business, including interior design firms. As the saying goes, "Keep It Simple, Stupid" (K.I.S.S.), simplicity is key to avoiding unnecessary complexity that can hinder growth.
There's an illusion out there that you can simply look at your bank balance and judge how healthy your business is. While that may be somewhat true for select businesses, it is certainly not true for interior designers. One of the most common questions we receive is how much cash on hand is really mine and how much is client funds?
Accounting for interior designers can be complex — but it doesn’t have to be. Learn more about streamlining procurement, developing a budgeting process, and the difference between cash and accrual accounting.
What is the maximum amount of revenue you can generate based on your current processes and systems? This answer to the “Maximum Capacity” question should serve as a target for you before making any changes within your business. It also serves as a gauge of when to ramp up staffing and beef up your internal systems and processes.
In today’s post, we’re going to review the concept of a “burden rate” and why it is important. This term may have differing names by industry or have varying calculation methods, but the underlying reason for doing it is the same: you must know the cost it takes you to produce revenue. Let’s look at an example to illustrate this point.
The wagon wheel concept is a visual representation of how multiple accounting applications come together to form a unified, customized system. It involves decentralizing the modules of a typical accounting system to gain automation and efficiency from the technology advances. When we talk about the wagon wheel, the primary accounting software sits in the middle of the diagram. Around the spokes of the wheel are all the singular modules that solve a specific problem. The goal with this concept is to leverage the strength of each application to create the best possible accounting system.
Like time tracking, payroll processing is often a tedious and disliked process. It’s an important part of any business though and there are ways to reduce the administrative hours involved in payroll, all while providing a better experience for your employees. A beneficial strategy of bookkeeping automation is to decentralize the entry of data to your employees. Payroll is no different. Many payroll softwares offer the ability for employees to fill out W4s, personal bank account info, state filings, I9s, and upload documents securely from their own user account. The entered data can be reviewed for accuracy by HR and your accounting department before you start paying your employees. Many payroll systems offer self-service options to employees so they can retrieve pay stubs, change bank info, change withholdings, request time off and download year-end tax statements like a W-2. Training employees to be self-sufficient will help save you a lot of administrative time. With better onboarding processes and employee self-service options, you will ensure a more seamless payroll system that better serves you and your employees all at the same time.
Bookkeeping automation facilitates a structure in which financial management, controls, and oversight are centralized, but the data entry is decentralized. In our wagon wheel example, the applications on the edge of the wagon wheel serve as entry points for your data. Users are granted access to each application based on their needs in that function and they submit data (i.e. expense reports, purchase orders, or timesheets) which then funnel to approval checkpoints and into accounting software (such as Xero or QuickBooks Online).
By pushing data entry down to the person who initiated the accounting transaction, you accomplish a few important things.
Most businesses rely on credit cards to make daily purchases in their company. From inventory to supplies, materials and advertising, almost every purchase makes it on the company credit card. It’s a convenience most people rely on, but it has its challenges as an organization grows. It can be tedious to keep up with all the transactions, but this is vital for the owner to have accurate and up-to-date financial reports.
The other challenge is oversight with the team. There are four areas that should be considered for your credit card policy.