Business Consulting Options
The most effective (and realistic) use of business planning options is likely to be a combination of several approaches undertaken with a coordinated effort. As noted below, complicated problems will usually require complex solutions. This will often translate to a series of business management and planning maneuvers that can take a number of months or even several years to complete. Business owners will be wise to avoid any working capital consulting expert portraying the problem-solving process as easy or quick.
For a company that is not experiencing one or more substantial problems, the need for new business planning options is rarely a high priority. However even for the most healthy business, contingency plans are advisable. A valuable illustration of the value of contingency planning for business financing is seen in recent examples of banks suddenly eliminating commercial mortgage loans programs with little or no advance notice. Unfortunately changes can continue to occur with little warning due to the level of chaos that currently prevails throughout commercial banking.
For most complex problems, there are rarely simple solutions. The current difficulties for small business owners are a growing challenge. For most businesses, similar circumstances have not been seen during the past several decades. Without at least some outside help, even a highly experienced business owner is likely to be missing enough direct experience to make it through the maze of current problems and changes.
The disturbing number of changes which have occurred throughout the business world recently support the growing need for business management and consulting options. To adequately address many of the complicated changes impacting business financing options, most business owners will not have enough technical skills or information. For even the most skilled borrower, when they discover that many banks have imposed significant fee increases for their commercial finance services, finding effective alternatives (that are also less costly) for business funding services will probably prove to be difficult. Because they are different as well as new approaches to replace traditional bank financing, viable business finance alternatives can seem confusing.
Because of cost issues, many small businesses will often not consider small business finance consulting even when serious problems are acknowledged. Costs cannot be ignored for this or any other corporate service. This is particularly true in the current economic environment because very few businesses have substantial discretionary funds to cover new business expenses. It will nevertheless be necessary sometimes for a business to spend money like this in order to either reduce costs or increase sales.
Searching for additional management options has probably already begun by prudent small business owners seeking help to lessen the impact of the severe financial conditions seen recently. The most effective alternatives are likely to include business planning and small business finance consulting. Various strategies for cost control will also be helpful for most small businesses trying to cope with reduced sales volume.
Keep Accounting Nightmares Out of Your Life
In our recent post, we talked about all of the things lawyers have to do to keep their accounts squeaky clean: >
Deposit (most) retainers into a trust account.
Bill their clients, then apply all or some of the retainer funds against the bill.
Mark the invoice as paid, then transfer the applicable money from trust account to operating account.
Update the retainer balance accordingly.
In real life, here is what that looks like:
To see how closely related law firm billing and trust accounting are; take a look at this simple example:
1. On January 1, you opened a new case with an initial retainer of $5,000. You deposited the $5,000 in your attorney trust account. Your trust books need to reflect a retainer balance of $5,000.
2. In January, you record $2,700 in time and expenses. You charge it to the matter.
3. On January 31, your books need to reflect the following: $2,700 for the unbilled balance, and $5,000 for the retainer balance.
4. On February 1, you generate an invoice. This converts unbilled time and expenses to billed. Your books now need to reflect $0 for the unbilled balance, moving the $2,700 into the unpaid balance column. The retainer balance is still $5,000.
5. The same day, you pay the invoice from the client’s retainer balance. Your books now need to reflect the unbilled balance as $0, the unpaid balance as $0, and retainer balance as $2,300. You can make a deposit of $2,300 from your trust account to your operating account.
Skip one of these steps, and you are stuck playing detective.
Say you apply a retainer in trust to a specific invoice, but forget to write the check in your trust bookkeeping system. You’ll have an invoice marked paid, but no funds drawn. You might not even notice your own mistake. Imagine the headache involved in tracing this mistake.
Now multiply that scenario by a few occurrences. For each mistake? At best, you’ve got an administrative nightmare on your hands. At worst, you’re under billing-or in inadvertent violation of an ethical regulation.
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