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The Launch Blog: Expert Advice from the CorpNet Team
Simple Business Tips That Can Lead to Startup Success
When your business is still in infancy, it is difficult to make major moves that can take your company to the next level. After all, big moves often require resources that you just do not have at the moment. However, this does not mean you can just stand pat and do nothing to improve your business. Sometimes, little things can have the biggest impact. In fact, here are 5 simple business tips that can lead to more success for your startup. 1. Turn to the Cloud for Technology One of the fastest ways to [...]
Guide to Setting Up a Remote Office
Picture this: you’ve started your own business, and it’s going well. You’re gaining more clients and customers and it’s looking like you might be ready to hire an employee. But…you’ve been working out of your cramped home office and have no place for another desk. You need that employee faster than you’d be able to find and set up a new office space. The solution? A remote employee. Workplace technologies are rapidly eliminating the barriers geography typically presents, making it easier than ever to have a cohesive office without actually sharing a physical space. [...]
The CPA’s Guide to Using Accounting Automation
What does accounting automation mean to your accounting business? From one perspective, you might mourn the loss of business related to simple accounting that your clients can now handle on their own thanks to automation. No longer are most business clients in need of basic services such as data entry, basic bookkeeping or preparing simple tax returns. Here are just a few of the lower value accounting services that accounting automation now enables clients to handle on their own: Maintaining a database of customers and vendors Tracking customers’ accounts Maintaining a database of items [...]
Pre-Employment Screening Helps You Get to Know Your Candidate
An application is the first step to getting to know a candidate. The next step is when you are able to have an in-person interview with the candidate and see what they’re like in person. Interviews are usually an opportunity to get a deeper look at the candidate, analyze their mannerisms, learn about their personality and ask them questions that weren’t on the application. While you may feel that you know a candidate after an interview, do you really? Or do you just know what they told you? While your default reaction may be [...]
Accounting Service Pricing: Change Your Philosophy to Increase Your Profits
Most small business owners don’t charge enough for their services. Because the competition is so fierce, they typically undervalue what they offer out of fear that if they charge too much, they won’t attract enough clients or the right kinds of clients. But the truth is, the more you strengthen your relationship with your accounting clients and demonstrate your value, the more you can charge for your accounting services. If your competitors are charging more than you, don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll attract more clients by charging less money. More often, charging [...]
6 Tips to Improve Employee Appreciation Programs
The secret to creating a work environment employee’s want to work is to recognize their hard work in creative ways that will be appreciated. Employee appreciation programs need to be researched before implementation, and the conversation starts with employees. It is one of the best ways to retain top talent in a workforce of professionals that often feel disengaged at work. Start a Conversation The best source of information to enhance the employee experience starts with, employees. It can be achieved with one of the following strategies: A survey with open-ended questions Townhall meeting: [...]
Can Accountants and CPAs Help Clients File an LLC?
This weekend there was a question posted on Facebook asking this very question. Can accounting professionals, like CPAs or staff accountants, help their clients file LLC formation documents? Is this considered "practicing law" or is it part of a firm's standard accounting services? Here is the Original Question Here is an answer from a group member: This woman hits the answer spot-on. Since this is such a great question, I believe it deserves exposure outside of Facebook so I wanted to cover it on our blog as well. Here was my answer inside of [...]
Accounting SEO: Local Search Optimization You Need to Know
Just like traditional businesses, accountants and CPAs have many options available for promoting and growing their service revenue. One of the most vital options is search engine optimization or SEO for short. I might be just a little bit biased since I've been working with SEO for fifteen years. But I am with good reason. I have experienced the benefits of SEO first hand and I know SEO can be a game-changer for an accounting practice or single accountant office. An accounting SEO strategy is similar to that of regular SEO, although there is [...]
March Madness: Small Business and How to Prepare for Victory
There are many reasons the NCAA March Madness tournament is heavily featured in the news and on television screens across the country. It’s exciting to watch and follow the 68 college basketball teams battle and try to eliminate their competition over the three weeks of the tournament. Even fair-weather college sports fans get into the matchups (your employees probably have a bracket pool going). I know in my house, the games are on constantly. Probably the most exciting part of the matchups is seeing how the lesser-known schools do against the big guys that [...]
Best Marketing Strategies for Small Business
Whether your business is just starting out, or whether you’re a seasoned veteran, marketing is a must to keep your company thriving. Marketing is crucial in good economic times and bad. And fortunately, the best marketing strategy for small businesses doesn’t have to put you in the red. Now more than ever, energy, enthusiasm, and creativity are the most important factors in whether your marketing works. Here’s a rundown of the best marketing strategies you can try for your business. Marketing Must-Do’s When you’re starting a business, you’ve got to let the whole world [...]
The Bookkeeper’s Guide to Outsourcing
How many of your bookkeeping clients are business owners outsourcing their accounting tasks to you? If you’re lucky, probably quite a few, since small and large businesses alike have plenty of complicated financial needs. Smart business owners know that outsourcing tasks not in their wheelhouse are a great way to free up valuable time that can be better used to grow their businesses. Just as with your clients, wearing all the hats in your bookkeeping business is not the best use of your skills. When does hiring expert help make more sense for your [...]
Symptoms and Remedies for 13 Common Entrepreneurial Pitfalls
It seems that everyone on Instagram is an Entrepreneur or CEO. What used to be a high risk and scary choice, has now been glamorized into fast money, luxurious lifestyles, and ready-set-go businesses. A picture is worth a thousand words, but the stories behind the glossy pictures are anything but fancy. I know the true stories of self-doubt, self-sabotage, and business burnout. Over the years I've seen the same 13 challenges and entrepreneurial pitfalls in myself, my clients, and other entrepreneurs: Not Having a Clear Focus/Mission Trying to Be All Things to All People Lack [...]
Top Five Low Cost Franchises to Consider in 2018
Many people who desire the financial security and independence of owning their own business assume franchises are simply too expensive to consider. While it’s true many name brand franchises like Dunkin Donuts and Subway carry price tags that can climb into the millions, there are a growing number of franchises for entrepreneurs interested in a low-cost opportunity. For the risk-averse and those with less money to invest or who wish to avoid going through the gauntlet of finding bank financing, the advantages of a low-cost franchise are quite appealing. While the investment is smaller, [...]
Seven Tips for Optimizing LinkedIn for Accountants
With more than 546 million users, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. The social network has established a solid niche for itself by focusing on workforce needs such as finding new business, searching for jobs and building professional relationships. Plus, if you know the secrets to using it successfully, LinkedIn could be a major revenue generator for your accounting business. Here are seven tips for getting started with optimizing LinkedIn for accountants, CPAs, and bookkeepers. Optimizing LinkedIn for Accountants 1. Make the Most of Your Profile Before you start, it’s important to know [...]
How Will 2018 Tax Reform Affect Your Small Business?
It seems like you just got your business taxes handled for 2017, and now you have to start worrying about 2018 taxes. That’s because the tax reforms signed into law last December under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will most definitely affect your business taxes—and possibly your company’s legal structure as well. Sole proprietorships are the most common form of business organization in the United States because they are easy to form and offer the owner complete control of the business. Profits are passed through to the owner, and business income and expenses [...]