Giron Consulting

05/10/2025

AI can be helpful with mundane tasks, but as this article reminds us, critical thinking is still our most important tool. Despite the name, AI is not "intelligence". It doesn’t have judgment or experience. It often makes things up or gets facts wrong. That’s why it’s so important not to rely on AI alone for important metrics. We need to use our own expertise, ask questions, and be sure the answers make sense for a particular business.
AI is a tool, but it’s no replacement for human insight.

Overreliance on technologies such as AI may cause problems, but CPAs can take steps to keep their thinking caps on.

12/29/2024

If your business was using the Bench accounting platform, the sudden shutdown is a good time to reconsider your accounting strategy. Automation is a useful tool, but it has no accountability. Your financial data needs a dedicated professional who values your business as much as you do. Bench's failure shows what can go wrong when a VC firm tries to turn premium services into a commodity.

If you were using Bench, don't panic, but have a plan. Before Bench goes completely offline, download the following reports ASAP:

• Monthly Balance Sheets
• Monthly Profit & Loss Statements
• Monthly Trial Balances
• Yearly General Ledger Details
• Current Accounts Receivable (Open Invoices)
• Current Accounts Payable (Unpaid Bills)
• 1099 Report for 2024
• Lists of your customers, vendors, products & services

Don't let this setback derail your business. Turn this crisis into an opportunity to strengthen your financial foundation, and make sure you always own your data.

If you need help migrating to QuickBooks, leave a comment, DM us, or reach out through the ProAdvisor directory

07/21/2023

Are you starting your own business?

Set a strong foundation for success by properly tracking your income and expenses, and keeping them separate from your personal finances.

Here’s why it’s important to separate your business finances from your personal finances:

1️⃣ By keeping your business finances separate, you'll have a clear understanding of your company’s finances.

2️⃣ Separating business and personal finances helps you stay organized when tax season rolls around. With clean and accurate records, you can easily identify deductible expenses and avoid any mix-ups that may lead to unnecessary audits or penalties.

3️⃣ Keeping your business and personal finances separate demonstrates professionalism to your clients and suppliers. It shows that you take your business seriously and are committed to its success.

To help you get started on the right foot, here are a few tips:

✅ Open separate business bank and credit card accounts, and use them exclusively for business.
✅ Use user-friendly bookkeeping software to keep track of your income and expenses. It will simplify the process and provide you with accurate financial reports. (Reach out to us if you want a discount on QuickBooks)
✅ Reconcile your accounts regularly to make sure you've tracked everything, and can find any discrepancies or potential errors.

Tracking your business income and expenses Is not just good practice; it’s essential for building a successful business. Start tracking today and set your business up for success from day one!

If you have any questions about bookkeeping or need assistance, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help you thrive!

08/02/2022

I cringed each time they mentioned recording sales with a journal entry. We can teach you how to properly record sales.

https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/tax-and-accounting/e-commerce-headaches-accounting-firms/?

The boom of e-commerce has certainly benefitted retailers and restaurants, but it may be giving their tax & accounting teams some major headaches.

07/06/2021

If you use Amazon for business purchases, you really should register for an Amazon Business account. In addition to business pricing and quantity discounts, an Amazon Business account has features that save time and improve financial reporting.

Business accounts provide line item purchase details, so everything can be properly classified. Amazon Business accounts can now be connected to QuickBooks Online to pull those line item receipts directly into QB, which saves time and improves accuracy.

Amazon Business accounts also have a P.O. field on every order. This is great if your company uses purchase orders, but it's also very useful if you don't. We've taught our clients to make use of the PO field in ways that help properly track their expenses. Our clients use it to designate projects, properties, programs, departments, locations, cost centers, customers, etc.

This unconventional use of the PO field in Amazon was a natural progression for our clients, as we've always taught them to use the fields in QB to capture the information that was most relevant for their business.

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06/17/2021

Choose the right SBA loan for your business:

Certain SBA loans are being subsidized—as long as they are approved before the end of September. Get the full guide to SBA loans here.

02/24/2021

The Biden administration has announced some big changes to the PPP loan that will help Schedule C filers qualify (gig workers, 1099 workers, Sole-Proprietors, DBAs, etc).

The biggest change is #2 in the linked article. This is HUGE for schedule C filers, especially those who did not qualify previously because they had little or no income after deductible expenses. The change will allow those filers to use Gross Income, rather than Net Income as the basis for PPP calculation of loan amounts.

All lenders have also been instructed to spend the next 2 weeks processing only loans from the smallest businesses (20 employees or less), and put the larger businesses at the back of the line. The PPP program ends on March 31, or when all allocated funds are expended.

Among other adjustments, the President's plan will make it easier for sole proprietors to access Paycheck Protection Program loans.

03/16/2019

If you've suddenly found extra money in your bank account, don't spend it!

Duplicate Refunds What happened? An error in an electronic payment system caused 66,780 state individual income tax refunds issued on Tuesday, March 12 to be issued a second time on Wednesday, March 13. The affected refunds were issued electronically through the ACH Clearinghouse and most taxpayers....

08/11/2017

A good explanation of things to consider to get the best rates on processing fees. One thing the article fails to take into account is refunds. If your business processes a lot of credit card refunds, PayPal and Square will generally work in your favor, as they refund fees. Most traditional processors, including Intuit, do not.

Accepting payments using a cell phone or tablet device has never been easier. Here are four of the most popular payment processing options.

04/08/2017

A great, comprehensive guide to optimizing your website and email marketing

From SEO to Adwords and Content Marketing to Email Best Practices, learn over 300 tactics and techniques for aquiring more users today!