University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

By Joshua Botello Bookkeepers and accountants are professionals that help your business manage the money in your company and are worth their weight in gold. Accountants charge a hefty fee, while some bookkeepers run a simple business. But when do you need a bookkeeper and when do you need an accountant? In this video, I’ll cover what each professional does and stay till the end to find out which one you might need.   What’s a Bookkeeper or Accountant? So let’s start with what is a bookkeeper and what is an accountant. Let’s do a quick rundown before we get into the differences. Bookkeepers are in charge of recording and keeping financial data. The bookkeepers are responsible for keeping track of daily transactions. They are concerned with the day-to-day operations of the company. Accountants are responsible for the creation of reports. They are in charge of summarizing, evaluating, and interpreting the work of the bookkeeper. Accountants deal with financial issues such as cash flow...

  Financial projection are the most intimidating part of starting a business. So much so, that many people want to know how much it's going to take to start up. Many people just skip this step until they actually need it. In this webinar, you will learn: Determine the feasibility of your business idea Calculate the break-even sales volume Prepare financial projections often needed for an SBA loan Download the Google sheet and follow along  here.   You can view only. [ File > Download > Make a Copy ] so that you can create your own spreadsheet for you to keep and update. Start Up Financial projection can be use this to answer a lot of common startup questions like… Will my business idea work? Is my business feasible? How much should I pay myself? How much do I need to sell to be profitable? How much do I need to start the business? Common Start Up Expenses Existing Businesses You can also use this with clients seeking a loan because even if you’ve been in busine...

by Joshua Botello An income statement is the first financial statement that most business owners become accustomed to because it’s the easiest to interpret. Yet many of our clients just starting out are unsure how any of this financial stuff works. In this video, I’ll break down what an income statement is, its major components, and some useful formulas to better understand your business profitability. What is an Income Statement An income statement is a financial statement that shows how profitable a business is at a certain point in time. The income statement is also known as the profit and loss or P&L to show if they are making money by the job, month, or year. The major components of the Income statement include sources of income, expenses, and a net income or net profit to show how profitable the business is. The income statement is helpful because it itemizes expenses incurred by operations. All of these costs have a definitive number and business owners can pinpoint where t...

by Joshua Botello Introduction Many of our small business clients who are looking to get into business, lack the fundamentals in accounting to know how to judge the health of their business. In this first episode of a new series, I will show you the basics of accounting including financial sheets and how to use them. In this video, we are covering our first financial statement, the Balance Sheet. I’ll show what a balance sheet is, the components, and stay to the end on how you can use it for your business.  What is a Balance Sheet  So let's get right to it. What is a balance sheet? A balance sheet is a financial statement that is a snapshot of your business's health. The balance sheet shows your business’s net worth and it is broken down into 3 sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity. These 3 sections will always be in balance when looking at this document. This formula is often associated with the balance sheet: Assets - Liabilities = Equity  Typically, you will see ba...