Business Planning and Finance

For all businesses, it is important to plan for your future.  This section deals with planning for various aspects of your business, including legal structure, accounting, forecasting, finance, and more.

Financial Statements

Financial statements have been developed over the centuries to answer different questions about an organization’s past, current and future performance. These business templates show the three main financial statements you will need to plan, finance, and operate your business. These are the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement, and Cash Flow Statement.

Determining the Legal Structure for Your Business

You need to choose to be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC), or a corporation. There’s no right or wrong choice that fits everyone. Your job is to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each business legal structure and pick the one that best meets your needs. The best choice is not always obvious.

The Business Plan Disconnect

Start-up entrepreneurs can get guidance on how to write a business plan from numerous sources. Most of the sources are quite useful. The real question is why, despite all the useful information available, most start-up business plans are off the mark. Where do aspiring start-up executives go wrong?

Financing Your Business

Many clients start the entrepreneurial process asking the age-old question, “How do I raise money?” Unfortunately, beginning a business is a process that involves fulfilling a number of requirements before one can even think about raising money.  The requirements for financing a business may seem obvious, but they are critical to actually raising money.

Taxes for Small Business

There is a major contradiction on taxes. Paying you business tax is good; it means you are earning money. However, you also want to pay as little business tax as possible. You also need to make it as easy as possible in terms of time, effort and worry.  This article details some of the requirements and issues to help you meet those requirements with as much ease as possible.

Business Insurance 

Business insurance is a vital necessity for all businesses to protect the assets of the company against loss from liability judgments and loss to physical property caused by weather related, accident or criminal activity.  Business insurance can be highly complex and this information is intended only as an overview to allow the reader to achieve a very basic knowledge of insurance components.

Accounting for Startup Businesses

Accounting is a critical component of any business. Small business accounting has special importance in a startup. Do not let small business accounting issues disrupt your business. Make sure you have proper recordkeeping and recording to help you manage the business and meet any outside requirements.