"We were very young, but we had good advice and good ideas, and lots of enthusiasm."
-Bill Gates
NEW BUSINESS
Starting a new business is exciting, and in that excitement are a lot of decisions to be made. Out of all them all, the financial backbone of your business needs to be seriously taken into consideration. A large part of that are the accounting decisions you will need to make. When starting a new business, you will want to spend some time on the following areas:
1. Are you a sole proprietor or are you in business with someone else? Will you organize as a partnership or as a corporation? Limited liability companies are the newest form of entity – Choosing an organizational type will determine what federal and state income forms to file.
2. The fiscal year of your business . Most businesses use the calendar year, but that may not be the proper choice for your business. For tax purposes, many businesses choose a different beginning and ending date than the January through December calendar year.
3. The accounting method for your business . Are you going to use a cash or accrual method of accounting? The cash method is easier for startup companies, however, if you have inventory – the IRS may force you to use accrual.
4. The method of valuing inventory for your business . Accounting principles allow many methods, like LIFO (last in first out), FIFO (first in first out), and Lower of Cost or Market.
5. Financial records for your business . You have a lot of choices here! Are you going to use paper ledger sheets to record sales and purchases? Are you going to keep track of income and expense using a computer program?
Feeling a little overwhelmed? All of the above can be much easier if you have an accounting professional to guide you. Neimat Kuchman provides you with help in these initial stages of setting up a new business, so that your business starts off right.
Select Business Structure
Feasibility Study
Licensing and Zoning
Register Business and Entity
Tax ID and FEIN
