Get to Know your General Ledger

Familiarizing yourself with your company’s general ledger is particularly important in managing your cash flow during these precarious financial times.

According to Gene Marks, CPA and president and CEO of the Marks Group, “Everyone knows that successful managers are driven by data and that the devil’s always in the details.” That’s why he suggests printing and reviewing your company’s general ledger on a monthly basis.

The general ledger provides a record of every financial transaction. It holds all of the account information needed to prepare your company’s financial statements. Transaction data is segregated by type into accounts for assets, liabilities, owners’ equity, revenues, and expenses.

Some of the benefits of reviewing the general ledge include:

  • Better management of expenses. You will know exactly how much you are paying your vendors and what you are paying them for.
  • Ability to catch and correct errors. Reviewing payments made and expenses incurred may
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Does it Make Sense to Pay Vendors Early?

According to Gene Marks, CPA and president and CEO of the Marks Group, it does make sense to pay your vendors early. Your vendors are critical partners, and if you treat them this way you will see the payoff in the long run.

One advantage of early payment is discounts many vendors offer for early payment. If you don’t see an early payment discount option on an invoice, don’t hesitate to ask your vendor what they can do for you.

Paying vendors early also helps solidify relationships. You will be someone your vendors want to continue to work with. They will be willing to take your calls, and are more likely to do favors should need something like last minute inventory fast.

Marks also suggests paying vendors twice a month – say on the 10th and the 25th. He says this allows you to avoid seepage of money from an uncontrolled … Read More

Beware – Unemployment Benefits are Taxable

With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, many workers are applying for jobless benefits for the first time. One survey indicated many recipients are unaware that unemployment benefits are subject to federal income taxes as well as state income taxes in most states. There is also concern that individuals do not know that tax withholding is not automatic.

Unemployment recipients in Minnesota can request withholding when they sign up for the benefit. To start or change tax withholding, individuals can log on to their personal account at www.uimn.org or phone 651-296-3644 in the Twin Cities or 1-877-898-9090 in greater Minnesota. Federal income tax is withheld at a rate of 10 percent.

In Massachusetts, recipients have the option of requesting that federal and/or state income taxes be withheld from weekly benefit payments when they sign up. Federal income taxes are withheld at a rate of 10%, and state income taxes are withheld … Read More