We all see information on the Internet about marketing your products, which is a key element of success for your business. But there are other elements which are quite necessary for your success as well. Today I’d like to address one of those that every new home business faces, and that is how you plan to manage and account for money in your business.
Every successful business is going to have to handle and manage money. If you don’t, you are not going to be successful for long. I use the term “money” because we’re not specifically talking about receivables, payables, revenue and expenses; just money. I’d like you to consider three aspects of managing your money: collecting and distributing money, providing for securing money, and providing for tracking and reporting of your money. Money is a very complicated topic; after all the professions of Accounting and Finance exist to help businesses manage money and resources. So doesn’t it make sense that in your home business you give the element of money some well-deserved planning and attention?
As a home business owner and Online Marketer, what provisions have you made for collecting and distributing money? Certainly for very large transactions you can arrange for electronic transfer of funds. But for most transactions people are going to want a simple and convenient way to pay you. Probably the simplest method is to take Pay Pal. Pay Pal handles all the details. All you have to do is set up an account. You can take checks, but that might prove too slow. Besides, people generally prefer to use credit cards. An advantage of taking credit cards is that this should instantly add credibility to your home-based business. But in order to accept credit cards, you must first apply for a Merchant Account. There are a number of companies offering Merchant Accounts, possibly even your bank, but these accounts are not automatically approved, so you will have to apply for one and possibly demonstrate good credit.
Also you will need some sort of accounting system for tracking, distributing, and monitoring money. My accountant recommended QuickBooksPRO. But there are other systems like Microsoft Office Accounting Express. Also there is Quicken. Microsoft Money is being taken off the market, so that won’t be an option for you anymore. The point is, you need a way to track your monetary transactions and to report and monitor for solid business reasons and for tax purposes. My best advice is to meet with a CPA and discuss the best course of action.
Finally your CPA will undoubtedly recommend that you set up a separate business account at your bank so you do not mix your personal and business transactions and funds. This can be done at any bank, so I recommend you find one that is close and offers good account terms. Go in and meet the business account manager. Make sure he or she knows what kind of business you are in and what you hope to do with it. A banker can be a good friend to a Home-Business Owner.
We’ve only scratched the surface of the important elements of business that you need to be planning and managing. Marketing is still very important, 80 percent of what you must do every day. But these other elements of business like money management must also have your attention if you are going to be a success.
