Author Archives: Kelly Dugan

Maintain Checks and Balances Using Control Procedures

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Maintaining Checks and BalancesYou can have the best accounting system in the world but it won’t mean a darn thing if the data you input is bad. I can’t say it enough, “garbage in, garbage out.” It is the responsibility of accounting department personnel to make sure that transactions are valid and supported by audit trails. There is nothing worse than presenting financial statements that have errors in them to your management team and board of directors.

Continue reading “Maintain Checks and Balances Using Control Procedures” »

From Spiral Notebooks to QuickBooks: The Accounting Software Guide for Growing SMBs

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In a galaxy far-far away (the late 1970s to be exact), there were only a few choices of accounting programs available to small and midsized business (SMB) owners. Besides the shoebox, there was always the reliable One-Write System. Of course, with One-Write you needed several different systems (cash disbursements, cash receipts, payroll disbursements, etc.) where you totaled and transferred everything to the reliable 3-column notebook that acted as your general ledger. If you did your math correctly, you would then be able to produce an income statement and a balance sheet…of course, that’s AFTER you made sure your subsidiary ledgers tied out. Continue reading “From Spiral Notebooks to QuickBooks: The Accounting Software Guide for Growing SMBs” »

Accounting Tips: Choosing a Payroll Service

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This year, my blog will focus on the questions I get asked about the most. Questions like: What type of accounting software do you use or have used? What type of payroll service? Why? Where can I get information about new regulations? The list goes on and on. Well, I am here to answer these questions as they relate to small business. First up is my answer to the question: How do you choose a payroll service for your company?

One of the biggest expenses for a company is money spent on wages and salaries. It makes sense then to make sure you have a payroll service to track these costs properly – and to make sure you are compliant with various governmental agencies during the process.  Continue reading “Accounting Tips: Choosing a Payroll Service” »

Scaling for Growth: Reflections from Axcient Accounting

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It’s been one heck of a year for us here in the accounting department at Axcient! I thought I would share with you the tasks we’ve accomplished in the past 12 months and give you a heads up as to what’s on the horizon for 2012. First, a little bit of a recap…

In December of 2010, we began loading historical details into our new accounting system. We wanted the ability to run year-over-year comparison reports and the only way to do it right was to load the month-end balances for each balance sheet and P&L account. Not too bad…except we track costs by individual departments, which means you have to load each of those departments with month-ending numbers. And… we loaded all of those details for two full years (2009 and 2010). Did I mention that we did all of this while we continued to handle the regular day-to-day transactions? And, did I also mention that all of this work was done by a staff of three? Continue reading “Scaling for Growth: Reflections from Axcient Accounting” »

Baseball and Backups

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Baseballs are like Clients DataThere is no other sport that I identify with or love as much as I do baseball.  I not only grew up playing the game, I went on to marry a baseball player and then proceeded to give birth to one.

And, like true baseball fans everywhere, I’ve been going through withdrawals ever since the World Series concluded last month.  Spring training seems like a long way off right now.  So, what’s a girl to do while waiting for the Cactus League to start? Simple…you incorporate baseball into your life in any manner possible while waiting for the opening pitch. Continue reading “Baseball and Backups” »

Unexpectedly Inspired by a Post-It (in Memory of Steve Jobs)

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Inspirational Words for and by Steve JobsLast Friday evening, I happened upon a large crowd outside the Apple Store in downtown Palo Alto. Although I’m not an Apple user, I knew that there was a new product release and I just assumed that was the reason for people gathering outside of the store. I’ve heard about those types of crowds before, where fans stand in line for 24 hours to get the latest Apple product.

As I inched my way through the crowd, I was surprised to see that they were not waiting to get in, rather, they were there reading the hundreds of notes people had posted on the front window in honor and memory of Steve Jobs. I don’t think I have ever seen that many Post-it notes in my life, but there they were. Many expressed thanks to him for being a such and amazing visionary, others voiced what a terrific boss he had been, and still more paid tribute to the legacy he leaves behind. Continue reading “Unexpectedly Inspired by a Post-It (in Memory of Steve Jobs)” »

You Don’t Know It All…

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…So, Keep Learning and Make Connections that Count!

I don’t know about you, but for me, taking time out of the day to attend a seminar is difficult. Attending conferences? Forget it – who has the time? The reality is, you have to make the time because seminars and conferences can be an important tool in continuing your education and maintaining expertise in your field.

You know how it is. We all get so caught up in our day-to-day duties and responsibilities that it’s easy to say we don’t have time for this sort of thing. I’m guilty of doing of that myself. But, let me share with you a few examples of what happens when the stars align and these seminars and conferences pay off. Continue reading “You Don’t Know It All…” »

It’s Now Easy Being Green

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SaaS Based Systems Make It Easy to Be GreenAs many of our partners know, we went live with our new SaaS (Software as a Service) based accounting system on January 1st of this year. It’s been very liberating doing away with old paper files and folders, and not having to worry about a vendor invoice or supporting documents being filed in the wrong vendor folder. “Scan, attach, and shred” is the new motto now.

With the SaaS based system, I no longer have to concern myself with making sure I am using the latest version of software or whether the maintenance agreement has expired or not. And, perhaps best of all – I no longer have to use a VPN to access our accounting system (thank goodness)! Continue reading “It’s Now Easy Being Green” »

CA Employee Tax Burden Lifted

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I thought I would pass on some very good news to the California SMB market that impacts both employees and employers.

This week Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 36, excluding the value of dependent health coverage from gross income for state tax purposes. The change lifts the tax burden from employees and the administrative load for employers. Continue reading “CA Employee Tax Burden Lifted” »

Bean Counters Count Too!

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Bean Counters Count TooWhat department interfaces regularly with partners, end users, vendors, employees, and shareholders? Surprise…it’s your accounting department.

Building partner and customer relationships doesn’t stop with your sales, marketing, and customer service staff. It extends to all of your employees across all departments. Have you thought about how to leverage the whole company to build your business? Continue reading “Bean Counters Count Too!” »