Organize your finances one bite at a time

Here’s a cash flow tip on organizing small business finances from Jackie David, an accountant and principal of Your Back Office, located in La Canada, California.

Jackie works with web designers, advertising agencies and a variety of clients. She tells them to treat their finances like being on a diet.

“If you need to lose weight, you’re not going to do it all at one time. You’re going to take little steps each day and it’s the same with organizing finances.

She writes about taking the small steps on her blog, Technocountant Perspective.

One key tip. Jackie says if you’re behind on entering income and expenses, then start with the current date. Jackie works with a variety of companies earning $ 3,000,000 a year or less around La Canada, Glendale, and Pasadena.

Online shopping affecting cash flow of major brands

Online shopping is definitely affecting the impulse buys of shoppers who physically visit major brand retailers--and it's affecting the cash flow of companies like Best Buy.

According to Bloomberg, online shoppers are savvy and use the web as a research tool: Impulse purchases require people to browse the aisles, however, and that’s happening less and less these days because Web-savvy consumers often already know what they plan to buy and simply pick it up and leave, said Bill Martin, the chief executive officer of ShopperTrak.

And now, online comparison shopping is made easier with the site Shop.com where comparing prices and brands only takes seconds. Click here to see my online Shop.com franchise and it costs nothing to become a preferred customer. 


Online shopping won't eliminate the brick-and-mortar operations. But it could definitely cut down on the "extras" that are now easily purchased online. Items for small business owners and their families can be purchased online and then picked up in some of the major retail operations like Home Depot or Payless Shoes.

Shop.com also has mobile apps available, making it possible to easily shop with a Smart phone.

There are definitely deals that are easy to find, making holiday shopping more convenient -- especially for businesses that may want to purchase gifts for customers.

Click here to see the original shopping cash flow story from Bloomberg. 

Using the Xero accounting system for small businesses

Consider using the Xero accounting system if you're a small business owner looking to improve tracking your finances and cash flow. Xero is a cloud computing/cloud accounting system out of New Zealand.

Accountant Jackie David, owner of Your Back Office in La Canada, California, says she switched to Xero even though she had been a Certified Quickbooks Advisor for seven years. She described some of the benefits on her blog, Your Back Office: Technoccountant's Perspective.

"I can access my information from my iPhone, (they have a nice app). Plays well with others, I use WorkflowMax and the inegration between the two is nice and simple.   And it plays well with Freshbooks and the list gets longer."

Jackie advises using Xero also for its functionality in importing bank transactions.

Click on this link to read Jackie's accounting blog and learn more about using the Xero accouting system.

Jackie David provides transaction-based accounting for small businesses around Glendale, California and Pasadena, California.

Cash flow and customer relations

Customers generate cash flow for companies of all sizes and all industries. Do you have a plan in place to stay in touch with present and past customers? Remember, too, that good customer service is good for business and makes a person feel important.

Customer Relations Example

Customer relations to generate cash flow isn't only the domain of salespeople. Every one in a company can take part. An example came from my local radiator and air conditioning company where I’ve taken our van and SUV several times. 

The last time was about a year ago when I took my 1996 SUV and needed to have the radiator system replaced but decided against it. The contact there, Dale, called just to check in and see how the vehicle was operating. I told him it was fine and I had decided not to bring it in at this point. Instead, I was going to see how much life was left in it and if something major needed a repair then I was going to move on to another vehicle. We chatted a few minutes and then I told him I was doing business networking for small companies needing websites.

He told me he would keep me in mind. I’ll send him a card as well showing him all that I have to offer.

Simply calling up a past customer to say hello is an important part of customer relations and a simple way of taking steps to keep generating cash flow.