Boston Dollars & Sense

Attention All QuickBooks Users: No Need to Leave QB Just Because You Have Inventory to Manage: Announcing Fishbowl Inventory 2010 w/ New Manufacturing Option

I love learning new things everyday.  Just yesterday I was introduced to Fishbowl Inventory of Orem, Utah.  If someone asked me a few weeks ago what Fishbowl was, I would have been dumbfounded.  Yet Fishbowl has been around developing and perfecting its product for many years.

So many of our clients are under the misconception that once their company has begun to mature, it has outgrown QuickBooks.  Not so.  With many innovative add-on products and software now available in the market, QuickBooks is here to stay more than ever.

What I learned is that Fishbowl is the #1 requested add-on for QuickBooks (5 consecutive years) and that it's the #1 selling inventory and manufacturing solution for QuickBooks.

What does Fishbowl do that QuickBooks cannot?

• part tracking (serial numbers, lot numbers, expiration dates, revision numbers)
• drop shipping
• bar coding (part labeling and wireless bar coding)
• LIFO and FIFO accounting methods
• kitting

What does Fishbowl do better than QuickBooks?

• multi- versus single-location inventory tracking
• BOMs, work orders, sub-assemblies versus simple assembly
• units of measure
• more variable pricing and discounting
• order picking (advanced warehouse picking capabilities)

How do you learn more about Fishbowl and how it might be a good fit for your company?

• contact Fishbowl directly and speak to Amber Bauerle, Inventory Software Specialist (call 1.800.744.7085 ext. 4135 and give her the special code of GBBFS)
• work with a Fishbowl VAR (value-added reseller) such as my firm (call 1.617.371.2971)

Fishbowl is releasing its Inventory 2010 with a New Manufacturing Option at the end of this month and is offering a deep discount (15% discount) if it is purchased before the October 29 release date.  Fishbowl (non-manufacturing) can be purchased with a 10% discount if ordered before the end of October.

Please call us today at 617.371.2971 to learn more about Fishbowl and how it can help you manage your inventory.

 

Twitter Comes Alive at #140tc in LA 7:30EST

Everyday it seems people ask me to relate my experiences on Twitter.  The usual chatter I hear is that it's useless because no one really cares to know the ins and outs of some stranger's Starbucks experience, etc.  Even the new Verizon Wireless commercial makes fun of the dad who tweets that he's now sitting on his porch, much to his teen-aged son's chagrin.  OK.  I get it.  Who cares about this kind of stuff.

What I've come to learn in my short time of using Twitter is that for those who can understand how to unleash its power are those who benefit the most.  Take me, for example.  I've procured new clients as a result of Twitter.  And not only one. The power of the internet, let alone Twitter, is indeed remarkable.

But Twitter is difficult to know how to use.  More than one person has told me they're kind of afraid to use it because they don't want to make any mistakes.  

So...here comes oneforty inc.  Laura Fitton, oneforty's founder and CEO describes oneforty as "a marketplace for the Twitter community to discover and share tools and services that make Twitter valuable."   

And just an hour ago EST, oneforty inc. launched into (closed) beta.   Right now the oneforty twitter conference  with speakers @TonyRobbins, @Dr.Drew, @GavinNewsom and @TonyHawk continues on.

So...if you've heard about oneforty and are curious to get going with it, you now can by going to the www.oneforty.com site and typing in FFTrial as the code to get in.

Go on.  Give it a try.  It's fun and packed with applications that make Twitter more fun and easier to use. 

Debt Snowballs: Not Limited to Wintertime

I know this sounds like a funny post coming from a financial consultant.  But trust me, the snowball analogy I'm about to make really does relate to finance.

I had to take my dog Haley to the veterinarian's office yesterday (we've gone a lot lately because she injured her head and developed a subsequent infection.)  While we were waiting to see our vet, a woman was paying at the counter for her new puppy's visit.  I think all the standard expenses were being explained to her (initial well visit exam, first inoculations, heartworm test, de-worming, etc.) as she whipped out her credit card to pay for the visit.  In just a short moment, the receptionist handed the card back to her patron, explaining that the card was declined.  The woman then pulled out another credit card from her wallet to see if that one would go through.  It did, and she and her adorable puppy went on their way.

I got to wondering if this woman could afford a new puppy at all.  Anyone who owns a pet knows how costly it can be.  Then my mind strayed further, wondering how well this woman was in touch with her expenses and guessed, maybe incorrectly, that she was a typical American consumer with too much credit card debt.  Sad to think that she may be unable to pay it all off.

OK.  Here comes the analogy.  We remember when we were little kids building a snowball, right?  We start off with a little snow to form a small ball, add more snow, and add even more snow by rolling the ball into fresh snow until we have a great big snowball.

This same process can be used to pay off credit card debt.  Here's how it goes:  on a piece of paper (or Excel) we list the name of the creditor, the total debt owed, the minimum monthly payment, and the interest rate.  We sort the list from smallest to largest amount owed.  We now have a schedule of minimum payments. 

We pay the smallest debt off first.  Once that debt is gone, we apply that debt's monthly amount to the next smallest debt's monthly amount to pay that one off.  To make the snowball even bigger, we throw in any extra, unforeseen money (we finance geeks call this a windfall) into the process to hasten the payoff.  We keep going until all of the credit card debt is paid off. 

It can be so overwhelming to be buried in debt.  if you find yourself in this place, instead of worrying, start dreaming about snowballs!  It's systematic and it works.  And it's actually kind of fun to track its progress.

Budget Season Is Upon Us

Budget season is upon us whether we work in/own a company or are an individual.  Over the course of my career, I've had my fair share of budgets to work up.  And one thing I've learned along the way is the sooner you get your budget in place for the upcoming year and beyond the better you're off. 

I'm not here to tout all the benefits of Quicken/QuickBooks just because I'm a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, as an objective point of view is what I strive for.  So...I decided to do a little research and stumbled upon this great budgeting tool at mint.com.  Just as I was getting really familiar with it, yesterday's news that Intuit (makers of Quicken and QuickBooks) is acquring Mint really made me laugh.  Funny how things work out.  Now with Microsoft's Money and Mint out of the picture, Quicken is more than garnering a major share of the personal budgeting market.

There are those of us who don't want to pay anything to better understand our finances, and to those individuals I point you in the direction of the many Excel spreadsheets available through a Google search.  A simple pad and pencil will go a long way as well in the beginning phases of the budgeting process.  First and foremost, however, you must have an understanding of how much you're spending and what you're spending your money on.  Once you know this, you can develop a plan.  What a budget is is a plan---your plan.

You may not be interested in all the bells and whistles that Quicken or QuickBooks offers, but I did come across one feature missing in Mint that I don't think I could live without.  It was difficult to manipulate its category structure for expenses, and those that I inadvertently subcategorized into incorrect categories could not be changed later.  This feature alone persuaded me that Quicken may be monopolizing the market for good reason.

Having said that though, an excellent feature of  Mint vs. Quicken Online (both are free to use by the way) is its ability to split transactions into two or more expense categories.  Both offer free SMS and email alerts for budget overspending and bank account balances but Quicken Online has not figured out how to allow the splitting of multiple expense categories, which obviously skews the numbers.  (The desktop versions of Quicken all have the split transaction feature enabled.)

Whatever way you decide to head in doesn't matter.  It's the process itself that is critical to get started.  If we don't know how much we're spending in certain categories, we cannot make informed choices/changes going ahead.  Without a budget, we cannot plan for our future.

Where Can All the Former MS Money Users Go Now That Microsoft Discontinued the Product?

June 30, 2009 ---- this date means different things to different people. It marks the end of the second quarter for those of you business owners with 12-31-09 fiscal year-ends. It's also when Firefox released its newest 3.5 version.

It is also the date that Microsoft announced its discontinuation of Microsoft Money, which brings me to the subject of this blog. Where can all those Microsoft Money customers go with their years of Money data?

Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks and Quicken, would like you to know that there has been no better time to switch to its software. Quicken (great product for individual finances) can currently transfer up to 10,000 transactions from Microsoft Money and is developing an easy way for Money users to transfer more of their data into Quicken desktop products. (While Quicken online version is a nifty tool, it does have its limitations; one being the inability to 'split' transactions into multiple expense categories.)

We've all seen and heard the Intuit marketing commercials for its well-known QuickBooks and Quicken products. Many people eagerly order online or stop by their nearest Staples store to pick up the latest copy of the software. We install the software and then expect to instantly know how to use it. It's just not that easy. It's installed, and then we sit there---stupefied.

Many of our clients retell the same story. They're a business owner or individual who wants to get a better handle on their finances. Their business or personal financial house is in disarray and they're tired of not knowing where their dollars are spent and how to plan for the future. But...they lead extremely hectic lives...and often don't have the time or inclination to get their finances in order. QuickBooks or Quicken is advertised as being easy to use, but, for those without an accounting background, that statement may be farther from the truth than they'd like to admit.

Business owners and individuals ---- you're not alone. Many of our clients seek assistance from us to initially just install the software and set up their books. For many clients, this is all they need and we set them on their way. Others, however, realize the complexity of the situation and ask us to handle the day-to-day bookkeeping function of making proper distributions to the appropriate general ledger accounts (QuickBooks --- business-based) or expense accounts (Quicken --- individual-based.)

Whatever your needs may be, we can help. We've helped many companies and individuals grasp a better understanding of their financial situation.

New MA Sales Tax Effective Date Delayed Until August 1, 2009

When we last posted about the Massachusetts sales tax being raised from 5% to 6.25% back in May, the sales tax rate increase was to take effect on July 1, 2009.  However, threatening to veto the 25% increase unless state lawmakers passed a new bill to toughen state ethics standards, Governor Deval Patrick waited until the 11th hour to make his final decision.  Given this delay, there wasn't ample time for companies to implement the necessary rate changes into their accounting software and websites' shopping cart pages to make that date feasible.  Therefore, the effective date was delayed to August 1, 2009.

To see how the sales tax rate increase could impact you, please read our May 27 blog post.

In the meantime, remember that the sales tax is still 5% and that this might be an opportune time to get out shopping.

Plan For the Massachusetts Sales Tax Rate Increase

Well they did it.  The Massachusetts’ sales tax increase from 5% to 6.25% was approved by the Senate on May 19, 2009. This 25% increase will become effective July 1, 2009.  The sales tax will not apply to groceries, prescription drugs or to clothing items valued under $175.  The senate also approved the removal of the sales tax exemption on alcohol and is also allowing cities and towns to impose a 2% local tax on meals and lodging. 

So what does this increase in the sales tax mean for you as a consumer or a business owner?  What does it mean to you during this recession?  The economy is already tight and the tax increase will certainly increase the price of goods for consumers.  This comes at a time when consumers are already dramatically cutting back on purchases both discretionary and non-discretionary, facing job losses, heavy debt, pay cuts and increasing their savings rates. 

Last spring, we saw how price sensitive consumers were when gas prices were $1.50 more per gallon.  As a result, consumers dramatically cut back on driving, dumped their SUVs and cut back on general spending.  Depending on your income level, the sales tax increase will have a significant impact on your household budget.  What item in your budget will this increase impact?  Hopefully, it’s not your savings rate.  Have you deferred the purchase of any big-ticket items?  Maybe you should buy them now rather than later.

Or for business owners, like many, have you been holding off on capital expenditures until the economy picks up?  That $800 laptop you’ve been thinking about will increase from $840 to $850 at 6.25%.  If you have to buy several for your employees, that will begin to add up.  That new $32,000 company truck goes from $33,600 to $34,000 with the tax hike.   And if your business is located near sales tax-free New Hampshire or it sees a lot of competition from the internet, you’re even more sensitive to the increase.

If you’re in the hospitality industry, your city might choose to impose a local tax on meals and lodging.  Will a 2% local option tax put you at a disadvantage to a competitor in a town that chooses not to impose such a tax?  If you own a hotel, will this impact the number of visitors to the state? To your city? 

Some personal tips to consider during these times:

• Update your household budget.  What item will be impacted?
• Factor into your household budget the increase in eating at a restaurant in a town that chooses to increase the meals and lodging tax.
• Will there be a sales tax holiday this year?  If so, take advantage of it for your big ticket items.

If you own a business, you may want to consider the following points:

• Don’t forget to update the sales tax rate in your accounting software on the July 1, 2009 effective date.
• If you sell alcohol, you’ll need to start collecting, reporting and paying sales tax on that item.
• Weigh the option of absorbing the price increase in order to provide a competitive advantage over your competitors.

If you’re looking for the nitty-gritty on what the sales tax increase might mean for the Massachusetts economy, the Retailers Association of Massachusetts hired the Beacon Hill Institute to prepare a study called The Economic Consequences of Increasing the Sales Tax in Massachusetts to 6%  (April 2009).  The study concludes that a 20% increase to a 6% sales tax rate in Massachusetts will destroy 10,000 jobs and $41 million in investment. The rate that was approved is higher at 6.25%.

Optimizing Cost, Profit and Value: Lessons from the Last 12 Months, a synopsis

Last week’s webinar hosted by CFO.com and sponsored by SAS, entitled “Optimizing Cost, Profit and Value:  Lessons from the Last 12 Months” provided me with the following insight I felt was worth reiterating in this synopsis.

Your Customers

I gained a different perspective on how to value customers, especially during the current economic conditions.  There is a balancing act that exists between reaching current cash-flow benchmarks and future company goals.  Lean to measure the lifetime value of your customer.  While it may satisfy your current pressures, it is not advisable to nickel and dime your customer today if instead they can become your customer for life.

Next, determine profitability of each customer.  Know that each customer doesn’t have to be profitable.  This one caught my attention because it is a counterintuitive proposition.  In order to optimize cost, profit and value, a company can afford to lose some money sometimes on some customers.  All customers make up your market share, and your market share needs to continue growing in order to attract new customers.

Also, resist the temptation of tying employee incentive compensation plans to revenue.  Instead look to tie it to profitability.  Otherwise, sales people may throw in extras at the time of the sale just to make the sale.  These add-on items can wind up costing the company profitability dollars.

The Economy

The economy will eventually improve.  Cutting costs too much now may prevent you from handling ramped-up demand once the economy rebounds. 

• Don’t simply cut costs 20% across the board because you’re nervous in this climate.  Later you may be sorry you did.  Best to ask yourself ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’  In other words, set long-term goals and project out six months, one year, five years and ten years.  Then revisit your costs and realign them with your overall strategy.

• Layoffs and divestitures are knee-jerk reactions.  Labor is an expensive resource.  When demand increases again, you will only have to hire new people to replace those you laid off.  A divested plant or subsidiary might raise needed capital now but won’t be in place as part of your infrastructure when the economy recovers.  It’s better to review carefully and behave cautiously during this recession.

Your Company’s Strategy

It’s imperative to study historical results, evaluate them and formulate a game plan.  Part of the game plan is projecting out not only your revenues but costs as well.  Pro forma projections are a necessity.

• Must understand how costs flow throughout your company.   Don’t forget how important cost analysis is to your bottom line.  QuickBooks offers specialty software to achieve this very goal.  In the construction industry, for example, implementing job costing is essential to knowing how profitable your customers/jobs really are. 

I end with an epiphany:

• Marketing dollars spent during a recession have the highest impact and ROI because there’s less competition in your marketplace.  Now may be an opportune time to increase your marketing efforts because you may have your customer’s undivided attention. 

I hope I have provided some food for thought in this blog post.  Have I struck a chord with any of you?  Are you successfully optimizing your company’s costs, profits and value during this recession?

Massachusetts' Privacy and Data Protection Law

The April issue of the Greater Boston Bookkeeping newsletter discusses the Massachusetts privacy and data protection law (formally called 201 CMR 17.00: STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OF RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH (part of M.G.L. c.93H).

If you are an individual or business and you have information that combines a Massachusetts citizen's name along with his/her credit card number, social security number, financial account number or state issued identification number -- then you or your company must take certain steps to be compliant by January 1, 2010.

See the complete article: Massachusetts' New Privacy and Data Protection Law to see how Greater Boston Bookkeeping is already complying with this law.

Landmine ahead. Is Joe The Plumber an Independent Contractor or Employee?

January. It's the time of the year for resolutions, of new hope, of organization and also ---- for income tax preparation. Companies are busy producing required documents for their employees and subcontractors before the month-end deadline.

The January issue of our newsletter is focused on "Joe The Plumber," not only one who recently found himself in the midst of a presidential campaign but who is also smack dab in the middle of a critical company decision: Should Joe The Plumber be classified as an independent contractor or employee?

This article will tell you why all of this matters so much, what happens if a company misclassifies, how to make the determination (the IRS doesn't make it easy!), and what you should do after determining if Joe is an employee or an independent contractor.

Continue to the complete article: Landmine ahead. Is Joe The Plumber an Independent Contractor or Employee?