Proact CFO

05/14/2025

Are you improving systems every day?

11/05/2024

Hey there, business owners! Stressed about bookkeeping and payroll?

Worry less, thrive more! It's time to take bookkeeping off your list so you can focus on growing your business!

09/17/2024

Do problems direct you to a better team, a better solution, or a better organization? Edison has been said to have found 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb, although it is closer to 2,500 attempts... each one re-directing a step more toward success. Take your next "step" today!

09/12/2024

To rent or not to rent, that is the question! I know, a little corny, but don't put too much pressure on yourself to buy something early. Anything you use for a down payment takes away from operating funds. Would you rather have $50,000 in operating funds or would you rather put $50,000 down on an office, and have no operating funds? Give me the buffer!

What if someone will owner-finance an office for sale? It's worth considering if you can manage the payments. Pay yourself rent. Don't buy something just to use it for free. You shouldn't start a business that can't pay rent to you or any other landlord.

Last, consider whether you can operate without an office. Can you meet clients at their offices or at restaurants or coffee shops? Offices do require overhead -- insurance, utilities, cleaning, and repairs. Can you rent a shared office near you for the day if you need it? Consider how much a client would appreciate you dropping off lunch for his/her team versus you having an office space.

09/06/2024

You can pay someone as a 1099 subcontractor, but is it always the best option? Federal and state laws prevail, but the general idea is you pay someone as a 1099 contractor when you don't control their schedule, they have their own tools, and they invoice for their work. Think construction subcontractors, attorneys, managed IT, and even accountants.

Anything outside of this is likely an employee. Don't get tempted to pay someone as a contractor who is truly an employee. If you ever go through a labor audit, you will understand the pain. Yes, it is work to set up payroll but it's an investment in preparing to scale.

08/30/2024

From George Janko's interview with Brandon Lake last week... care about helping the person and then we don't have to worry about the product.

Have a good weekend!

08/26/2024

Just pay cash! That's a joke. If someone gives you that advice... run!

This is a good thing. You are scaling or preparing to scale! When you hire your first employee, things do get a bit complicated. You could make a spreadsheet or use a paycheck calculator to get net pay and taxes. The problem is someone will still have to file employement tax returns. You will have a quarterly Federal return at minimum and likely one to two state payroll tax returns.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don't worry, but you do need to budget for payroll software or an accounting service to run payroll. Employees now prefer direct deposit, which comes with using software. Most apps will cost around $50-$60 monthly to run payroll for one person. Don't try to save on this. Budget for it. There are hefty penalties for not properly filing employment tax returns.

Better yet, make the important step to pay for a professional accounting service! Have a question? Feel free to ask here.

08/19/2024

There are times I want to pull my hair out with QuickBooks Online. But, it is a formidable tool for most small businesses. Since it is the gold standard for small business accounting software, it has a lot of integrations that make life easier.

What QuickBooks Online (QBO) has that works, works well. It is very scalable now. We've seen small and medium to large organizations operate efficiently inside QBO. We have personally paid 300 employees in a single company through QBO payroll. That's impressive.

Should you consider an alternative? There are some notable competitors coming into the accounting software scene and also some industry-specific accounting software options. Stay away from anything requiring a long commitment. You need a reasonable amount of time to trial any software.

08/05/2024

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 series: What role do you hire or outsource first as you grow your organization?

The E-Myth series would suggest the administrative role as the first role to hire for or outsource. We would add three possibilities -- admin, bookkeeping, and marketing. These might be adjusted based on needs of your industry. We would agree with admin as the first hire or outsource, if the admin work you are currently doing on your own detracts from you closing sales and performing the work. It makes no sense for you to do work that you could pay $20/hour for, if you can bill $50/hour for your time.

Bookkeeping is right behind admin for the same reason. You can outsource bookkeeping for a small cost compared to hiring for that role, and it is a crucial function needed to scale.

Last, marketing may make sense initially if you need marketing spend to get a customer to come to your door or website.

07/27/2023

We highly recommend the E-myth method for business and non-profit growth. Michael Ge**er wrote the original version 43 years ago, but the advice is timeless. 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲! One of the keys to that is documenting your processes. Mike Bandar of Waybook summarizes the E-myth book well here. We personally use Waybook to document our SOPs.

https://www.waybook.com/blog/implementing-the-emyth-methodology-systematizing-your-business-for-success

In today's fiercely competitive business landscape, entrepreneurs face numerous challenges when it comes to managing and scaling their enterprises. According to a study by Small Business Trends, approximately 20% of small businesses fail within their first year, and only about 30% survive beyond the...

07/03/2023

Your business or non-profit name choice is one of the most important decisions you will make, and you do it before you launch! We'll help you with some ideas to select a clear name with less worry.

https://proactcfo.com/blog/finding-a-name-for-my-organization