Opening a business will lead to many operations over time as your company grows. After hiring your very first worker you enter the world of human resources which includes vetting, training, paying, employee scheduling and more. Everything employee-related falls under human resources.

Employee Scheduling and An Efficient Operation

Managing employees takes a varied skill set including being a good listener, knowing your teams strengths and weaknesses, and having the ability to motivate. Employee scheduling can be a make it or break it area for your business. You want your team to feel valued even in the scheduling process, leading to an enjoyable work environment for all.

An efficient employee schedule is necessary to operate a successful business. Your employees’ productivity will suffer along with morale when there is not a proper schedule created for them. No matter the size of your business, employee scheduling should be a top priority.

Businesses have to keep up with employee regulations and be up-to-date on all of the federal and state labor laws and tax laws. The Office of the Governor’s website lays out information regarding employees including protections afforded them in the state of Texas.

Whether you choose to hire an experienced manager or choose to outsource with help from Slaton Financial Services, it is good to know basic employee scheduling techniques and strategies.

Proper Management of Employee Attendance

A business cannot have a good flow to operations without a well crafted employee schedule. If employees know their work hours, where they are supposed to be and the work they are assigned to do, it will lead to better productivity and employee satisfaction.

Employee attendance is a common problem within many businesses. Keeping a well-planned schedule allows the management to know exactly when and where an employee will be at any given day and time. This allows management to track issues and handle problems that may arise with tardiness, attendance or personal leave.

Planning for Shift Changes, Balance, and Overtime

If there are conflicts or errors in your employee scheduling, it can lead to a chaotic work environment. Imagine this for a business that is open 24 hours a day or one that has peak hours when the company is overrun with customers. This is why schedules must be well planned and error free. Management must know who their most experienced and efficient employees are when scheduling. It is also important to be transparent with your employees so that no one appears to be receiving preferential treatment regarding shifts.

Assigning new workers or inexperienced people together on a shift can be stressful to both the employees and to your customers. It is important to schedule supervisors, experienced employees and new employees across the shifts in order to make sure your business runs smoothly.

For many companies, overtime is a part of scheduling that has to be dealt with on a regular basis. With an efficient scheduling system, you will be able to assign overtime hours and keep track of it as well. Keeping track of it is key to determining the accuracy of the salary or hourly wage paid to your employees. Slaton Financial has many related services, including payroll processing.

Fair Policy for Employee Schedules

Just as scheduling should be transparent, it should also be fair. All employees should be treated the same regarding time off and leave. The system should be mapped out ahead of time whether it goes on a first come, first serve basis or seniority. When outsourcing scheduling, you can look at reports we provide to help assign time off accordingly.

Employees will be happier overall if their schedules are planned in advance by at least two weeks. This gives them time to plan social events, doctors appointments and other commitments without it conflicting with their work schedule. It is also helpful to post available hours in advance giving employees the opportunity to add hours or change their schedule.

Scheduling has to take into consideration peak times of business, seasonal changes and special events. Knowing this about the city where your business is located will give you the information needed to adapt the schedule according to business demands due to the possibility of more customers.

One big advantage of outsourcing employee scheduling to Slaton is having the confidence we are keeping track of all federal, state and local laws for employee work hours and the time off required between shifts. There are a number of professions that require a particular amount of time off before they can return to duty like nursing, drivers and pharmacists.

Whether employee scheduling is done by a single business owner, a competent manager or outsourced to a service like Slaton Financial, it is critical to building a successful business. Allowing workers to be a part of the process while making it transparent with the same allowances for all will lead to a positive work environment for you and your employees.

Click herehttps://slatonfs.com/services/scheduling to find out how we can serve you in preparing an efficient employee schedule that will keep your business running smoothly.

Take a look at the recommended reading by the Internal Revenue Service in the small business tax guide then opt to read about large business guides. It will become abundantly clear that preparation for taxes is complex no matter the size of your business.

At Slaton, we get to know your business needs so that we can provide long term support for your goals. Our expert team handles both tax preparation and long-range planning. Here are a few reasons to consider allowing us to provide tax services for your Texas business.

Save Time

The average tax filer spends over 13 hours on their tax return. Filing a complex return for a small business will take much more effort and time. Using tax services like ours can save you time when you let us do the heavy lifting for your tax preparation. This allows you to keep spending your hours on what matters to you most – making your business a success.

Let the Pros Do The Work

Businesses aren’t just concerned with federal or state income taxes for the business itself. They also must deal with income tax withholding and reporting, healthcare reporting, and more. Adding to that pile, new tax laws are put into effect each year. It is hard to keep up with the regulations, especially when they keep changing.

At Slaton, we stay up to date on all tax laws and mandates so you don’t have to be an expert. Let our experts work for you. You can trust Slaton with your taxes, payroll, bookkeeping and many other business services.

Save Money

Allowing us to do your tax preparation and filing will not only save you hours of time, but it also will save you real money. Our tax experts know all of the deductions your business qualifies for in addition to what in your business expenses are tax deductible. Using our tax services will not only save you money, it can also balance the cost of paying us as we work to find deductions and credits for your business.

Limit Costly Errors

The most common error on tax returns annually is math miscalculations. Whether big or small, math errors cause a return to be incorrect. This can leave your business on the hook for extra taxes, fees and interest. More serious errors like failing to report income can lead to large fines and possible prosecution.

Plan Ahead

Allow us to help you see the big picture when it comes to your taxes. What you pay this year will affect what you owe in the next year and impact how you plan for your business and expenses. We want your North Texas Business to be successful and that includes tax planning, preparation and filing.

Contact Us

Businesses save money and time when they have the right partner for tax services. At Slaton Financial, we are an ally for your business and your bottom line. Tax compliance and consulting are incorporated into our tax preparation services. We have helped businesses of all sizes. You can trust Slaton Financial Services with your tax needs. Call us for a consultation today!

How To Run A Business: Payroll Edition

It can be exciting to open a small business. It starts with the germ of a great idea which grows into a business plan. If you are considering doing this in our home state of Texas, it is good to know that the Texas economy is the ninth largest in the world. In addition, according to the Texas Department of Economic Development, Texans enjoy one of the lowest tax burdens in the U.S.

Payroll begins with the hiring of your very first employee. It refers to paying your employees which includes keeping financial records for payroll, calculating employee paychecks and yearly records of your employees wages.

Ultimately, payroll is a complicated process and can be your largest expense. You have to keep up with each part of payroll as well as be up to date on all of the federal and state labor laws and tax laws. Whether you choose to hire an experienced payroll manager or choose to outsource your payroll with Slaton Financial Services, it is good to know the basics.

Employee Identification Number

Before you hire any employees, you need to secure an EIN or employment identification number from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The EIN is usually called your Employer Tax ID. You cannot report taxes or other important information to the IRS without the EIN. You can apply online or contact the IRS to obtain the number.

Employee Paperwork

You will want to make sure you have basic contact information on each of your employees including their legal name and social security number. In addition to this each employee must complete a W-4 form, which is the Federal Income Tax Withholding Form. Without this, you will not know the correct income tax to withhold from your employee.

Know Your State Requirements

When you are an employer, you have to become familiar with changing requirements for business like overtime rules, sick pay and other regulations. Texas state requirements may be more lenient than some states, but they are still a legal hurdle you have to jump.

Pay Periods

You have to set up a monthly or bi-monthly pay period for your employees according to your state’s requirements. There are many rules that you need to know. For instance, the IRS requires employers to withhold income tax for the pay period even if the worker doesn’t complete the pay period.

Payroll System

You can manage your payroll in house or you can choose to outsource it. If you choose in-house, you will need to research the many options for a payroll system. Take time to ask other owners the methods they rely on and what tips they would recommend. There is no need to reinvent the wheel for your small business.

After you have all of your employees’ information, you can begin the process of running payroll. You can enter it into the payroll system you chose or with outsourcing, give the information to Slaton Financial Services.

Payroll Taxes

You will need to be familiar with the IRS Employer’s Tax Guide for your federal tax requirements as well as your state’s guide for their filing requirements. You have to provide reports throughout the year. Paying attention to detail and accuracy is very important when filing your employee tax information. Not only can mistakes cost time, they can also cost money.

Process Payroll

With the basics of payroll understood, you can choose to run payroll manually or outsource it to a payroll service provider. Manual can be a typical choice for small businesses. Be aware that the process can be very time consuming and complicated. Finding this to be true often leads to the realization that manual payroll may not be best for your business.

Outsourcing payroll can be done with us at Slaton Financial. This option will give you more time and money to focus on your business without having to learn what our North Texas area experts are paid to know — all of the changing rules and regulations for Texas payroll and tax preparation. We already have our experienced financial staff along with expensive software at the ready to take care of your payroll needs.

Contact us today and let us discuss payroll options for your business, small or large, as well as other needs you may have that we offer. The goal is to save you time and money, so that you can focus on growing your successful business. We look forward to talking with you!

As your business grows, one of the many things to keep up with is your employees. You must keep proper records, do payroll, schedule employees and more. You have to determine whether to use a time clock and/or automated scheduling. Learning employee scheduling techniques will help you make this task easier.

As a business grows, scheduling becomes more complicated as more people are hired. More employees translates to more schedule changes and time-off requests. With employee scheduling assistance at Slaton, many Dallas area employers have been able to find assistance with dealing with this frustrating issue.

Five Tips For Employee Scheduling

Scheduling is never as easy as it looks to someone who has never done it. Employees will complain about it, but until they are the manager in charge of balancing work schedules, they really have no idea.

Setting up a schedule for your employees can be like putting together a puzzle. You have many factors to consider. In the end, it must all work together to ultimately benefit your business. It helps if you spend some time considering what is needed for your business to work at its optimum level and spend time getting to know your employees and what works best for them as well.

Consider Your Business

When building an employee work schedule, it is important to keep in mind your business needs. This includes your overall budget, what employees are paid, and what times you need staff to be at work, and how many hours they will work. The biggest deciding factor will be what type of business you own. Restaurant shifts, for instance, will differ greatly from shifts at retail shops. Time keeping may be a big factor for ensuring your employee shifts begin and end when you want them to.

Create A System For Communication

Since all of your employees are likely to have computers, phones or tablets, then email or texting should be an effective communication tool. A small business might use sticky notes or a bulletin board in a certain place to communicate with the next shift of workers. Whatever you choose, communication is key to an enjoyable, productive work environment. One helpful source for your business is the Texas Guidebook for Employers which has a section on employee scheduling.

Know Your Staff

Schedules that work well for your company should benefit your employees as well. You can simply plug names into needed shifts, but spending some time getting to know your employees and their preferences will help your business to be successful. When you take into account your staff’s skills and work preferences, you will build a schedule that benefits both your employees and your business.

Assess Your Employees Skill Level

An effective schedule for your company will require more than just knowing what slots need to be filled and when your staff can work. Your schedule should be made with an understanding of your staff’s skills in order to ensure you have the right team working each shift at your business.

This requires that you know what your employees are qualified to do and strive to strike the right balance for each shift. Slaton Financial Services, which handles payroll processing for many Dallas businesses, can help you schedule smarter and stay on budget more easily.

Choose Tools Wisely

There is so much to consider when scheduling your employees, if you want to do it well. Once you get the hang of it, one guarantee is you will have to make changes due to time off, sick days and new hires. A schedule is usually changed on a weekly basis.

At Slaton, we can offer you the top tool for employee scheduling that every Dallas area business needs. There is no need to create your own paper schedule or use a computer spreadsheet. We can provide an employee scheduling program which will benefit both you and your staff.

CONTACT US today so you can put your staff knowledge to use with our program to easily schedule your employees. Knowing you have the best schedule for you and your employees allows you to focus on what is most important – growing your business.

Human Resources is an integral part of any business, large or small. It begins the minute you hire an employee. Just a few of the things that the department is responsible for are new hire onboarding and orientation, work environment, and employee compensation and benefits.

Covid 19 is causing a number of changes in workplaces throughout the Dallas area. It looks like over 85% of businesses are going to continue remote work even after the pandemic wanes. This puts more responsibility on a human resources department to oversee employee involvement and work environment to check employees well-being, ensuring that they remain connected to the company and are productive.

If your company is having HR issues tied to Covid 19 or other reasons, our team of professionals are on call to help. Our materials and on-call HR expert can make sure your employees are supported and that your company remains in compliance with the required human resource standards.

5 Benefits of Outsourcing Human Resources with Slaton

No business can afford not to have a human resources department up and running. Our HR support services are designed to cover many types of businesses with a host of different subjects. Slaton’s Financial Services offers inexpensive human resource support that can help you get the job done without paying a big salary to an HR expert.

1. Reduce business overhead costs.
   Small businesses, especially, can have issues with having the money for a HR department. With our plans, you can rely on us to have the knowledge you need for all of your HR questions. We give you access to materials and resources that will help you properly manage your human resources responsibilities without a big expense.
2. Receive checklists, handbooks and a monthly newsletter.
   We offer a number of checklists, handbook options and a monthly newsletter to fit the needs of your business. Your employee can customize these print items, download and reproduce them, having them ready to distribute for your company.
3. Educate their employees on key issues.
   We have all the materials needed to educate your employees on key HR issues. Our materials include: Clear guidelines for management; Instructive guidelines for employees; Plainly stated rules or regulations for your specific needs; and Updated codes of conduct.
4. Minimize the possibility of HR related issues.
   Our materials help you educate your employees regarding codes of conduct. After personalizing these handouts to your business, you have the resource you need to explain the rules regarding interactions between managers and subordinates as well as between one or more employees. Our service is an inexpensive, but effective shortcut you can use to minimize the possibility of any HR related issues including lawsuits.
5. Access to expert help for your HR goals.
   With our advanced plan, we provide access to a human resources expert from whom you can get recommendations for your business to have effective HR plans in place as well as keeping personnel issues to a minimum. We are experienced with many types of businesses and disputes. Let us help you with the knowledge we have gained with years of HR experience.

With Slaton, Dallas are Human Resources support is Affordable

Simple, straightforward HR support is affordable and scalable with our regular and advanced plans. Call Slaton Financial Services today and let us help you with all of your Human Resource needs so you can focus on growing your successful business.

No matter the size of your business, bookkeeping is a requirement that remains constant and is also what allows you to know the financial health of your company. This is a job that has to be maintained on a regular basis with accuracy and efficiency.

The general ledger for your business is key in knowing the financial health of your company. If your staff isn’t keeping up with general ledger entries, this can affect your business in significant ways. Here at Slaton, we have a team of professionals who are ready to help you with all of your bookkeeping needs.

What is a General Ledger

Think of your general ledger as the foundation for all of your bookkeeping. It is here that you record debits and credits. It is important that these be in balance. If they aren’t balanced, it can impact your business’s financial statements in turn giving you inaccurate financial reports.

The accounts recorded in a general business ledger include:

• Assets
  This account is for items that add value to your business. It can include physical items like vehicles and property as well as non-physical items like copyrights or trademarks.
• Liabilities
  This account is for the debts your company owes. It can include money owed to a vendor, employee or government agency. Additional liabilities would be mortgages and loans.
• Equity
  Equity can be determined by subtracting your total liabilities from your total assets. This is known as your net worth, net assets and owner’s equity.
• Revenue
  This account is for your revenue earned from your business like sales profit. It is recorded as the amount of money your venture receives during a certain time period. Revenue can include monies earned from activities like renting a building the business owns.
• Expenses
  This account is simply all of the costs associated with your business. It typically includes equipment, supplies, tent, utilities and more.

What is a Secondary General Ledger?

A secondary general ledger is an additional ledger for the purpose of tracking alternative accounts. It can use a different accounting method from the primary general ledger. This is done to allow the classification of items to meet different reporting requirements, usually for state or federal agencies that have conflicting reporting rules. It will still have the revenue, expenses, liabilities, equity and assets, but the way that the computer categories each entry may be slightly different.

If that sounds daunting, this is a great reason to outsource your bookkeeping with Slaton Financial. We are trained and ready with the latest software needed to keep track of your general ledger and secondary ledger in a very efficient manner saving you and your business time and money.

How does your General Ledger affect Reporting?

Your general ledger for your business is the key facet in knowing the financial health of your company. Your general ledger must be in balance with all entries properly done. Many businesses choose to use a financial service business to make sure everything is accounted for and balanced.

Here are five main ways your balanced primary general ledger leads to correct reporting:

• It creates an overall picture of the financial health of your business.
  The general ledger shows every single transaction the business undertakes.
• It is the foundation for maintaining accuracy of all other financial accounts.
  The general ledger is where you get the data for your trading account, profit and loss statement.
• It helps to manage company spending, putting you in a better financial position.
  The general ledger is a way to have accurate reporting on income and expenses. It allows you to trace what you are spending money on and make adjustments.
• It helps to discourage and discover fraud.
  When you can easily trace your transactions, highlighting possible fraud and odd transactions are made easier. The best systems have all kinds of checks and balances to spot unusual activity which can prevent losses before they occur.
• It makes your tax time reporting much easier.
  The general ledger should make tax calculations easier and more accurate.

Call Slaton Financial Today

At Slaton Financial Services, we have an expert staff that can handle your bookkeeping needs including your ledgers and all of your reporting as well. We stay up to date with changes in state and federal tax guidelines that are important to your company.

Call Slaton Financial Services today and let us take on the responsibility of your bookkeeping so you and your staff can focus all of your energy on moving your business onward to great success.

One of the most important tasks in a business is making sure your bookkeeping is up to date and handled efficiently. One of the basics of bookkeeping is knowing how you will record accounts receivable vs. payables. Without this, you cannot stay in control of your finances knowing how much money you have made in the past or make any plans for the business’s future.

What are Accounts Receivable?

Account receivables (A/R), sometimes known as the customer’s ledger, keeps track of which customers owe your business and how much they owe for the good or services your company provided. The A/R ledger summarizes the current and outstanding accounts receivable for your company.

The details of the customer’s balance is not recorded in your general ledger. Instead, the A/R ledger accounts for each credit purchase including a date, description of the purchase and the amount owed. This ledger is also used to track payments then made on the accounts by customers. Accounts receivable is recorded on your balance sheet as a current asset, knowing the account balance is due in a year or less.

It is important to know all of your options regarding accounts receivable. This customer’s ledger can seem like a very simple concept, but there are many opportunities to bring more cash flow into your company by properly overseeing the AR account. This is a great example of how we at Slaton can help you assess ways to make sure your AR is up to date and bringing in monies that you need to run your business.

What are Accounts Payable?

When your company buys from a supplier on credit, the ledger used to record the transaction is known as the Accounts payable (A/P). These entries are recorded on your balance sheet under current liabilities with the knowledge that your company owes the debt.

Part of what an accounts payable department is responsible for is making payments for the incoming bills and invoices. Depending on the size of your business, accounts payable can be its own department responsible for vendor payments, business travel expenses, internal payments and much more. In a smaller business, accounts receivable and payable are typically combined.

An important aspect of accounts payable is working to reduce costs by paying attention to details and making an effort to save your business money. This can be done through making payments during a discount period or through solid relationships built with your company’s vendors.

Slaton cares about our Texas Neighbors and their Bookkeeping!

At Slaton Financial Services, we have an expert staff that can handle your bookkeeping needs including accounts receivables and accounts payables. As a Texas company, we also are aware of any changes in state and federal tax guidelines that are important to your business.

It is an added bonus serving you and your business’s bookkeeping needs knowing that we are helping one of our very own in the north Texas community to succeed! Call Slaton Financial Services today and let us take on the responsibility of your bookkeeping so you can focus on doing what you care most about – growing your small business or venture.

No matter what business you choose to be in, one factor will remain the same: the payroll process. This begins when you hire your first employee. You must pay them based on the hours they worked according to their pay rate for each pay period. In addition you need to know what to withhold for state and federal taxes, insurance and unemployment.

Whether your Dallas area business is small, mid-sized or a corporation, you will have to attend to the payroll process. This is where Slaton Financial Services can save you time and money along with giving you peace of mind. We can ensure accuracy and oversight of every paycheck with North Texas payroll processing services provided by our certified payroll experts.

How Does Outsourcing Payroll Save Time?

Whether you have a few paid workers or several hundred employees, payroll demands take a lot of time and attention to detail. Someone must put in major amounts of data, double checking for mistakes, for pay period after pay period. The work must include being up to date on all federal and state payroll regulations.

If you look at bookkeeping certification courses, you’ll see that they require years of work in payroll processing before being eligible to apply for certification. Most managers and owners don’t have time for this training. There’s a lot to learn, like keeping track of benefit deductions, garnishments, new hires and terminations, time off as well as state and federal regulation changes.

Outsourcing the payroll process in Dallas TX immediately frees up time for the business owner and staff. It also leaves the work to the professionals whose job it is to keep track of all of the current state and federal regulations.

Can Outsourcing Your Company Payroll Save Money

The costs of processing payroll can be hefty especially for a small-to-medium-sized business in Dallas TX. Your employees can spend many work hours on calculating payroll, training and support, keeping up with changing in tax laws, preparing and remitting payroll taxes and returns, w-2’s, new hire reporting and much more.

When you figure out how many work hours your staff are giving to payroll activities, it is easy to see that outsourcing can be the way to go. If you, as a North Texas business owner, are trying to do it all yourself, the cost to your business is even bigger!

Outsourcing payroll means you don’t have to pay employees for all of the work not dedicated to growing your business. You also don’t have to be concerned about your payroll department being out or taking a leave of absence. Outsourcing payroll saves your business money.

How Can You Secure Your Payroll Process

Unfortunately the payroll process poses potential risks for any company. There is the risk of employees tampering with company files. There is the concern of how safe or secure your payroll data is on the company’s server. Also, how well is the North Texas business payroll supervised to make sure there are no unethical activities?

Outsourcing the payroll process can give you security and peace of mind. Slaton has technologies that can highlight varied types of issues including payroll fraud. Our payroll solutions provide a confidential place for your complete payroll data including effective backup and multiple servers. You will be able to rest knowing the payroll process and your data is completely secure. We can even help you with payroll and timekeeping.

Outsourcing Payroll provides your own Team of Experts

Do you have time to research and study the ever changing regulations, government forms and withholding rates? There are many sources to go to like the Texas Workforce Commision, but how do you decide what source to trust and how to keep up with all the state and federal regulations?

By outsourcing payroll, you can take advantage of a team of experts whose job it is to keep up with all of the regulations as well as handle multiple areas of payroll and human resources. Despite many challenges, your payroll must be accurate. Let us keep up with all of the North Texas payroll processing variables.

An Expert Payroll Process Avoids IRS Penalties and Errors

Penalties for errors with payroll tax filings can be expensive. According to the Internal Revenue Services, 40 percent of small businesses pay penalties averaging around $900 per year for incorrect or late filings and payments. These errors can lead to audits and further penalties, nothing any business wants to have to handle.

Professional payroll providers must stay on top of the rules, regulations and requirements of the IRS. They are much less likely to make costly errors than an in house payroll staff. By outsourcing payroll, you have a team of experts dedicated to keeping your payroll accounts accurate and error free.

Contact Slaton Financial Services for Payroll Processing

Due to the numerous benefits, many businesses outsource their payroll processing. At Slaton, our team handles payroll processing in addition to tax services, human resources, and scheduling help for businesses in Dallas, TX.

Our company has been in business almost 40 years, and our expert staff has over 100 years of combined experience in accounting and bookkeeping. Our efforts will ensure each employee’s paycheck is done correctly every time.

If you need a payroll company that you can trust, please contact us. Our affordable financial services will save you time and money while giving you peace of mind to focus on other important aspects of your business. Call Slaton Financial at 214-343-0642 or contact us online for more information.

Single Vs. Double Entry Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is a requirement for all businesses, whether your company is a new venture or well established with many employees. Even though the idea of getting your bookkeeping up and running can be overwhelming, it remains key to a successful business. One important question to answer is whether you want to set up single entry bookkeeping or double entry bookkeeping.

Ultimately the answer will be determined by your company’s bookkeeping needs. Whichever you choose, you want to make sure to keep your bookkeeping transparent and balanced.

What is Single Entry Bookkeeping?

With single entry bookkeeping, you make one entry per transaction similar to what is done in a personal checkbook. This is done with a two-column ledger, one column for income and the other for expenses. It is a single entry due to one line being used for each transaction.

Single entry bookkeeping is a record of basic things to keep track of for your business like cash, tax-deductible expenses, and taxable income. However, single entry cannot be used to develop a balance sheet or to track the asset and liability accounts.

What Account Types are used in Single Entry Bookkeeping? 

• Income accounts represent all money received like interest income and revenue.
• Expense accounts show money that the company spends, including purchased goods for sale, payroll costs, rent, or advertising.

What is Double Entry Bookkeeping? 

Double entry bookkeeping has two columns for each account and each transaction is located in two accounts. Two entries are made for each transaction placing a debit in one account and a credit in the second account.

All money must be accounted for so the total amount of the entries for each account must balance. Usually debits are noted on the left of the ledger with credits on the right when using double entry bookkeeping.

While keeping the books balanced, double entry bookkeeping shows a true financial picture of the company’s finances. That’s because this method relies on the use of the accounting equation Assets = Liabilities + Equity.

Companies must follow the accounting rules and regulations by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These principles apply to public companies as well as to private companies, non-profits, and state and local governments.

What Account Types are used in Double Entry Bookkeeping? 

• Asset accounts show money associated with what a business owns, such as the dollars in its checking account or the price paid for properties.
• Liability accounts are exactly as it sounds. These accounts show what the firm owes like credit cards, rent and other expenses.
• Income accounts represent all money received like interest income and revenue.
• Expense accounts show money that the company spends, including purchased goods for sale, payroll costs, rent, or advertising.

Which Bookkeeping Type will Work best for Your Company? 

Overall, single entry bookkeeping works for a small business with limited transactions.

You can use single-entry bookkeeping to calculate net income, but it cannot be used to develop a balance sheet or track your asset and liability accounts. As stated, it is much like keeping a checkbook register for a personal account.

Most businesses end up using double entry bookkeeping for their accounts mainly because it affords you the flexibility to have an overall, big picture view of your business accounts. Double entry can track liabilities and assets, as well as allow you to keep watch on profits and losses.  This enables you to produce accurate financial statements, which can be prepared directly from your bookkeeping.

Even though double entry bookkeeping doesn’t stop mistakes from happening, it does produce a system that flags errors and makes it much easier to trace before they can wreak havoc on your overall bookkeeping system.

Making the Best Choice for your Company

When you contact us at Slaton Financial Services regarding your business bookkeeping, we can help you make the best choice!  We have an expert staff that can provide all of the answers to your questions and take on the work of your bookkeeping needs.  When outsourcing bookkeeping, keeping it local is easy with Slaton.

We also are aware of any changes in state and federal tax guidelines that are important to your business. It is an added bonus serving you and your business’s bookkeeping needs knowing that we are helping one of our very own in the north Texas community to succeed!

Call Slaton Financial Services today and let us take on the responsibility of your bookkeeping so you can focus on doing what you care most about – growing your business.

Many residential neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, and surrounding areas have homeowner’s associations (HOA). A large portion of overseeing these organizations consists of skillful, hands-on HOA management. Slaton Financial offers home owner association services by well-trained staff members to keep your HOA finances running smoothly and free of costly errors.

Be Mindful of Your HOA Management Obligations

In order to keep a well-run HOA, managers must be up to speed on required financial obligations. This includes preparing and balancing budgets, bookkeeping, dues collection, and keeping accurate records.

We can assist you with all HOA financial requirements. We will make sure your documents like the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement, general ledger, accounts payable report – just to name a few you will need – are in proper working order.

Adhere to HOA laws and statutes

Managing HOA’s is a significant job for anyone to tackle especially in Texas where HOA requirements often change. Many bills were passed in 2019 that could end up having a major effect on the laws governing Texas HOA’s. At least eight have already been enacted.

It is Slaton’s business to stay aware of Texas HOA rules that you must adhere to in order to avoid costly errors or issues. Our goal is to help you meet the rules and regulations in Texas through precise record keeping therefore avoiding any missteps.

Streamline Collection of HOA Fees

Collecting HOA fees is a very time consuming task. Allowing for online payment provides benefits to the HOA manager and the homeowners. Slaton Financial Services provides a private portal for client access to documents and an easy way to pay dues. With these streamlined services, residents can be confident that the financial duties of the HOA are not only being handled accurately but quickly as well.

Create a Budget Each Year

One of the most important jobs in HOA financial management is producing and maintaining an HOA budget. This may seem like a monotonous task because the finances may not change much from year to year. However, creating a budget at the start of each fiscal year will reflect any changes needed. This is also important for managing your HOA accounts accurately.

Budgeting carefully, taking regular and unexpected expenses into consideration while assessing the HOA income, is important for avoiding problems and safeguarding financial health for your organization.

Track HOA Financials and Operating Costs

HOA income and expenditures must be monitored on a consistent basis.  Tracking financials and costs on a monthly and yearly timetable is key. This can certainly be an overwhelming task.

Some HOA’s turn to software systems, which can be used to customize data tracking to fit your association’s needs but this can be a costly solution. Why invest in expensive, complicated software that is difficult to use? There is no need! We already have the software and know just how to make it work for you and your HOA. Let us keep track of all your HOA’s financial and operating costs.

Monitor your Vendor lists and Contracts

Maintaining good relationships with vendors is important for HOA’s. You want to have a list of trusted vendors for all of your HOA needs, and you want them to trust you. This will include staff, gardeners, contractors, plumbers, electricians and more.

Part of managing an HOA is keeping those lists updated and accurate and keeping those vendors paid on time. You may be curious as to how this applies to your financial goals. Long-lasting relationships with trusted vendors will save you money, as you are able to negotiate better deals and discounts on services.

Avoid HOA Financial Irregularities

Unfortunately it can be fairly common for HOA’s to face issues ranging from costly errors to legal jeopardy. Most HOAs require an annual audit and this can be a daunting task if you are not up-to-date on all of your documents.

Slaton Financial Services will make sure you have everything you need for required reports. Your HOA’s long-term financial health is important to us.

File Tax Returns Annually

You will need to file your HOA local and federal tax returns annually and on time. This is another part of HOA Financial Management that can seem like a lot of work – and it is!

Keeping abreast of all of your financial documents and duties will make this task easier each year especially with us on your side. We will keep you on target so that each year you are ready for this annual requirement.

Let Us Take the Burden

HOA financial management requires efficient organization of many time-consuming tasks. With an ally like Slaton Financial Services, you can be sure to keep it all running smoothly helping to create a trusted environment for your homeowners and their families.

Contact us today and let us help you reach your goals for quality HOA management.