Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Gains and Losses

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Gains and Losses

It would probably be ideal if business and life were as simple as producing goods, selling them and recording the profits. But there are often circumstances that disrupt the cycle, and it's part of the accountants job to report these as well. Changes in the business climate, or cost of goods or any number of things can lead to exceptional or extraordinary gains and losses in a business. Some things that can alter the income statement can include downsizing or restructuring the business. This used to be a rare thing in the business environment, but is now fairly commonplace. Usually it's done to offset losses in other areas and to decrease the cost of employees' salaries and benefits. However, there are costs involved with this as well, such as redundancy pay, outplacement services, and retirement costs.

In other circumstances, a business might decide to discontinue certain product lines. The nature of communication has changed so drastically, with email, mobile phones and other forms, that telegrams have been rendered obsolete. When you no longer sell enough of a product at a high enough profit to make the costs of manufacturing it worthwhile, then it's time to change your product mix.

Legal action and other actions can cause extraordinary losses or gains as well. If you win damages in a legal action against others, then you've incurred an extraordinary gain. Likewise if your own legal fees and damages or fines are excessive, then these can significantly impact the Profit & Loss statement.

Occasionally a business will change accounting methods or need to correct any errors that had been made in previous financial reports. Generally, Financial Accounting Standards require that businesses make any one-time losses or gains very visible in their Profit & Loss statement.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at http://www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk/

Payroll in Mansfield

Payroll in Mansfield

Nottingham Accounting Solutions offers Sage Payroll Administration in Sutton in Ashfield.

Our Sage Payroll services save you the time, complication and burden which diverts energy and resources from the core activities of your business.

The task is made more difficult by the complexity of taxation and employment legislation and the accompanying penalties for non-compliance.

Outsourcing your Sage Payroll to Nottingham Accounting Solutions offers a great cost effective solution, simply e-mail, fax or telephone us the details each pay period and leave the rest to us.

Many businesses, of all sizes, outsource their payroll to a dedicated Sage Payroll Bureau.
Consider outsourcing - it can save you time, hassle and money.

For example:

• Free up staff to concentrate on the core aspects of your business.
• Stay up to date with the latest changes to payroll legislation
• Save the expense of having to invest in the hardware, software, staff and training for the payroll system
• Deal with Student Loans, Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity / Paternity Pay, are over retirement age and other complications such as tax credits.
• Even with only a few employees, you will make savings by engaging Nottingham Accounting Solutions to administer your Sage payroll.

Our Sage Payroll Bureau provides:

• Customised Sage payslips
• Administration of PAYE and National Insurance
• Tax credits
• Statutory sick pay
• Statutory maternity pay etc.
• Completion of statutory forms, including year end returns, to issue to your employees and submit to the Inland Revenue
• Summaries and analysis of staff costs
• Administration of incentive schemes, bonuses, and ex-gratia and termination payments

We can also supply Sage Payroll products at competitive prices and we also carry out Sage Payroll Training around the Sutton in Ashfield area on your own systems.

Click here now for an informal, confidential, no obligation chat to see where Nottingham Accounting Solutions can help you save time and money or even better, CALL NOW on 01623 550793 or 07870 359274 or visit our website for more details here Payroll in Mansfield.

Sage Training for Accounts and Bookkeeping in Sutton in Ashfield

Sage Training for Accounts and Bookkeeping in Sutton in Ashfield

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd is based in Sutton in Ashfield can help you

Sage Training

When you have invested in Sage Accounts software, either Sage Line 50 or Sage Instant Accounts, it needs to work for your business. OK, you can go on a Sage Accounts training course which are very expensive, very general and usually miles away from your business. We offer one-to-one Sage Accounts and Bookkeeping Training on your own system for you and your staff in the Sutton in Ashfield area. Our Sage Training is tailored to suit your ability and confidence from a complete Sage beginner to a competent Sage user. We also offer further Sage training and support training as you go through your month end, VAT returns and year end routines at the appropriate times. See our website for more details at Sage Training for Accounts in Mansfield

Sage Accounts Installation, Set up and configuration

Save yourself hours and hours of your precious time – let us install your Sage Accounts and Bookkeeping Software, then set it up and configure it for YOUR business. This alone can save you hours of frustration.

Sage Accounts software sales

As a Sage Accountants Club member, Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can provide you with the latest Sage products at competitive prices.

So:

•Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can sell you the Sage software, install it, set it up and configure it to your business, training you or your staff to use it on a one – to – one basis and also offer the ongoing support for as long as you need it. Quite a cost effective solution to your needs. We aim to put you on the fast track to getting the most out of your Sage Accounts software but as an alternative, why not outsource your accounting and bookkeeping to Nottingham Accounting Solutions.

Take a look at our Accounts and Bookkeeping Mansfield web page for more details.

We also offer Sage Training for Payroll Mansfield.

So call Colleen on 01623 550793

Sage training for Payroll in Sutton in Ashfield

Sage training for Payroll in Sutton in Ashfield

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd is based in Sutton in Ashfield can help you

Sage Training

When you have invested in Sage Payroll software, either Sage 50 Payroll or Sage Instant Payroll, it needs to work for your business. We offer one-to-one Sage Payroll Training on your own system for you and your staff in the Sutton in Ashfield area. Our Sage Payroll Training is tailored to suit your ability and confidence from a complete Sage beginner to a competent Sage user. We also offer further Sage support training as you go through your month end and year end routines at the appropriate times. For more information see our website at Sage Training for Payroll Mansfield.

Sage Payroll Installation, Set up and configuration

Save yourself hours and hours of your precious time – let us install your Sage Payroll Software, then set it up and configure it for YOUR business. Save hours of frustration.

Sage Payroll software sales

As a Sage Accountants Club member, Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can provide you with the latest Sage Payroll products at competitive prices.

• Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can sell you the Sage Payroll software, install it, set it up and configure it to your business, training you or your staff to use it on a one – to – one basis and also offer the ongoing support for as long as you need it. Quite a cost effective solution to your needs.

We aim to put you on the fast track to getting the most out of your Sage Payroll software but as an alternative, why not outsource your Payroll to the Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd. Payroll Bureau.

Take a look at our Payroll Mansfield web page for more details.

We also offer Sage Training for Accounts in Mansfield
So call Colleen on 01623 550793

Monday, September 27, 2010

Assets and Liabilities

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Assets and Liabilities

Making a profit in a business is derived from several different areas. It can get a little complicated because just as in our personal lives, business is run on credit as well. Many businesses sell their products to their customers on credit. Accountants use an asset account called accounts receivable to record the total amount owed to the business by its customers who haven't paid the balance in full yet. Much of the time, a business hasn't collected its receivables in full by the end of the fiscal year, especially for such credit sales that could be transacted near the end of the accounting period.

The accountant records the sales revenue and the cost of goods sold for these sales in the year in which the sales were made and the products delivered to the customer. This is called accruals based accounting, which records revenue when sales are made and records expenses when they're incurred as well. When sales are made on credit, the accounts debtors asset account is increased. When cash is received from the customer, then the cash account is increased and the debtors account is decreased.

The cost of goods sold is one of the major expenses of businesses that sell goods, products or services. Even a service involves expenses. It means exactly what it says in that it's the cost that a business pays for the products it sells to customers. A business makes its profit by selling its products at prices high enough to cover the cost of producing them, the costs of running the business, the interest on any money they've borrowed and income taxes, with money left over for profit.

When the business acquires products, the cost of them goes into what's called a stock account.

The cost is deducted from the cash account, or added to the creditors account, depending on whether the business has paid with cash or credit.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Making a Profit

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Making a Profit

Accountants are responsible for preparing two primary types of financial statements for a business. The Profit & Loss statement reports the profit (or loss) -making activities of the business and the bottom-line profit or loss for a specified period. The Balance Sheet reports the financial position of the business at a specific point in time, often the last day of the period. A Cash Flow forecast predicts what will /may happen in the future with any impact that may occur due to changing circumstances.

Everyone knows profit is a good thing. It's what our economy is founded on. It doesn't sound like such a big deal. Make more money than you spend to sell or manufacture products. But of course nothing's ever really simple, is it?

You read a P & L report from the top line to the bottom line. Every step of the income statement reports the deduction of an expense. The income statement also reports changes in assets and liabilities as well, so that if there's a revenue increase, it's either because there's been an increase in assets or a decrease in a company's liabilities. If there's been an increase in the expense line, it's because there's been either a decrease in assets or an increase in liabilities.

Net worth is also referred to as owners' equity in the business. They're not exactly interchangeable. Net worth expresses the total of assets less the liabilities. Owners' equity refers to who owns the assets after the liabilities are satisfied.

These shifts in assets and liabilities are important to owners and executives of a business because it's their responsibility to manage and control such changes. Making a profit in a business involves several variable, not just increasing the amount of cash that flows through a company, but management of other assets as well.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Personal Accounting

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Personal Accounting

If you have a bank account, of course you balance it periodically to account for any differences between what's in your statement and what you wrote down for cheques and deposits. Many people do it once a month when their statement is mailed to them, but with the advent of online banking, you can do it daily if you're the sort whose banking tends to get away from them.

You balance your cheque book to note any charges in your bank account that you haven't recorded in your cheque book. Some of these can include ATM fees, overdraft fees, special transaction fees or low balance fees, if you're required to keep a minimum balance in your account. You also balance your cheque book to record any credits that you haven't noted previously. They might include automatic deposits, or refunds or other electronic deposits. Your cbank account might be an interest-bearing account and you want to record any interest that it's earned.

You also need to discover if you've made any errors in your record keeping or if the bank has made any errors.

Another form of accounting that we all dread is the filing of annual income tax returns. Many people use an accountant to do their returns; others do it themselves. Most forms include the following items:

Income - any money you've earned from working or owning assets, unless there are specific exemptions from income tax.

Personal allowances - this is a certain amount of income that is excused from tax.

Other allowances - some personal or business expenses can be deducted from your income to reduce the taxable amount of income.

Taxable income - This is the balance of income that's subject to taxes after personal allowance and deductions are factored in.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bookkeeping Basics

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Bookkeeping Basics

Most people probably think of bookkeeping and accounting as the same thing, but bookkeeping is really one function of accounting, while accounting encompasses many functions involved in managing the financial affairs of a business. Accountants prepare reports based, in part, on the work of bookkeepers.

Bookkeepers perform all manner of record-keeping tasks. Some of them include the following:

-They prepare what are referred to as source documents for all the operations of a business - the buying, selling, transferring, paying and collecting. The documents include papers such as purchase orders, invoices, credit card slips, time cards, time sheets and expense reports. Bookkeepers also determine and enter in the source documents what are called the financial effects of the transactions and other business events. Those include paying the employees, making sales, borrowing money or buying products or raw materials for production.

-Bookkeepers also make entries of the financial effects into journals and accounts. These are two different things. A journal is the record of transactions in chronological order. An accounts is a separate record, or page for each asset and each liability. One transaction can affect several accounts.

-Bookkeepers prepare reports at the end of specific period of time, such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually. To do this, all the accounts need to be up to date. Stock or Inventory records must be updated and the reports checked and double-checked to ensure that they're as error-free as possible.

-The bookkeepers also compile complete listings of all accounts. This is called the trial balance. While a small business may have a hundred or so accounts, very large businesses can have more than 10,000 accounts.

-The final step is for the bookkeeper to close the books, which means bringing all the bookkeeping for a fiscal year to a close and summarized.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Profit and Loss

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Profit and Loss

It might seem like a no-brainer to define just exactly what profit and loss are. But of course these have definitions like everything else. Profit can be called different things, for a start. It's sometimes called net income or net earnings. Businesses that sell products and services generate profit from the sales of those products or services and from controlling the attendant costs of running the business. Profit can also be referred to as Return on Investment, or ROI. While some definitions limit ROI to profit on investments in such securities as stocks or bonds, many companies use this term to refer to short-term and long-term business results. Profit is also sometimes called taxable income.

It's the job of the accounting and finance professionals to assess the profits and losses of a company. They have to know what created both and what the results of both sides of the business equation are. They determine what the net worth of a company is. Net worth is the resulting value amounting from deducting a company's liabilities from its assets. In a privately held company, this is also called owner's equity, since anything that's left over after all the bills are paid, to put it simply, belongs to the owners. In a publicly held company, this profit is returned to the shareholders in the form of dividends. In other words, all liabilities have the first claim on any money the company makes. Anything that's left over is profit. It's not derived from one element or another. Net worth is determined after all the liabilities are deducted from all the assets, including cash and property.

Showing a profit, or a positive figure on the balance sheet, is of course the aim of every business. It's what our economy and society are built on. It doesn't always work out that way. Economic trends and consumer behaviors change and it's not always possible to predict these and what income they'll have on a company's performance.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Sage training for payroll in Mansfield

Sage training for payroll in Mansfield

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can help you

• Sage Training

When you have invested in Sage Payroll software, either Sage 50 Payroll or Sage Instant Payroll, it needs to work for your business. We offer one-to-one Sage Payroll Training on your own system for you and your staff. Our Sage Payroll Training is tailored to suit your ability and confidence from a complete Sage beginner to a competent Sage user. We also offer further Sage support training as you go through your month end and year end routines at the appropriate times. For more information see our website at Sage Training for Payroll in Mansfield.

• Sage Payroll Installation, Set up and configuration

Save yourself hours and hours of your precious time – let us install your Sage Payroll Software, then set it up and configure it for YOUR business. Save hours of frustration.

• Sage Payroll software sales

As a Sage Accountants Club member, Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can provide you with the latest Sage Payroll products at competitive prices.

• Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can sell you the Sage Payroll software, install it, set it up and configure it to your business, training you or your staff to use it on a one – to – one basis and also offer the ongoing support for as long as you need it. Quite a cost effective solution to your needs.

We aim to put you on the fast track to getting the most out of your Sage Payroll software but as an alternative, why not outsource your Payroll to the Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd. Payroll Bureau.

Take a look at our Payroll Nottingham Mansfield web page for more details.

We also offer Sage Training for Accounts in Mansfield.

So call Colleen on 01623 550793

Friday, September 17, 2010

Bookkeeping

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Bookkeeping

So what goes on in the accounting and bookkeeping departments? What do these people do on a daily basis?

Well, one thing they do that's terribly important to everyone working there is Payroll. All the salaries and taxes earned and paid by every employee every pay period have to be recorded. The payroll department has to ensure that the appropriate government and local taxes are being deducted. The pay slip attached to your pay cheque records these taxes. They usually include income tax and National Insurance contributions that need to be paid to the government. Other deductions include personal ones, such as for retirement pensions, holiday pay, sick pay or medical benefits. It's a critical function. Some companies have their own payroll departments; others outsource it to specialists.

The accounting department receives and records any payments or cash received from customers or clients of the business or service. The accounting department has to make sure that the money is sourced accurately and deposited in the appropriate accounts. They also manage where the money goes; how much of it is kept on-hand for areas such as payroll, or how much of it goes out to pay what the company owes its banks, suppliers and other obligations. Some should also be invested.

The other side of the receivables business is the payables area, or cash disbursements. A company writes a lot of cheques during the course of year to pay for purchases, supplies, salaries, taxes, loans and services. The accounts department prepares all these cheques and records to whom they were disbursed, how much and for what. Accounting departments also keep track of purchase orders placed for stock or inventory, such as products that will be sold to customers or clients. They also keep track of assets such as a business's property and equipment. This can include the office building, furniture, computers, even the smallest items such as pencils and pens.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Sage training for payroll in Nottingham

Sage training for payroll in Nottingham

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can help you

• Sage Training

When you have invested in Sage Payroll software, either Sage 50 Payroll or Sage Instant Payroll, it needs to work for your business. We offer one-to-one Sage Payroll Training on your own system for you and your staff. Our Sage Payroll Training is tailored to suit your ability and confidence from a complete Sage beginner to a competent Sage user. We also offer further Sage support training as you go through your month end and year end routines at the appropriate times. For more information see our website at Sage Training for Payroll Nottingham.

• Sage Payroll Installation, Set up and configuration

Save yourself hours and hours of your precious time – let us install your Sage Payroll Software, then set it up and configure it for YOUR business. Save hours of frustration.

• Sage Payroll software sales

As a Sage Accountants Club member, Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can provide you with the latest Sage Payroll products at competitive prices.

• Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can sell you the Sage Payroll software, install it, set it up and configure it to your business, training you or your staff to use it on a one – to – one basis and also offer the ongoing support for as long as you need it. Quite a cost effective solution to your needs.

We aim to put you on the fast track to getting the most out of your Sage Payroll software but as an alternative, why not outsource your Payroll to the Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd. Payroll Bureau.

Take a look at our Payroll Nottingham web page for more details.

We also offer Sage Training for Accounts in Nottingham

So call Colleen on 01623 550793

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sage Training for accounts in Nottingham

Sage Training for accounts in Nottingham

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can help you

•Sage Training

When you have invested in Sage Accounts software, either Sage Line 50 or Sage Instant Accounts, it needs to work for your business. OK you can go on a Sage Accounts training course which are very expensive, very general and usually miles away from your business. We offer one-to-one Sage Training on your own system for you and your staff. Our Sage Training is tailored to suit your ability and confidence from a complete Sage beginner to a competent Sage user. We also offer further Sage training and support training as you go through your month end, VAT returns and year end routines at the appropriate times. See our website for more details at Sage Training for Accounts in Nottingham

•Sage Accounts Installation, Set up and configuration

Save yourself hours and hours of your precious time – let us install your Sage Accounts Software, then set it up and configure it for YOUR business. This alone can save you hours of frustration.

•Sage Accounts software sales

As a Sage Accountants Club member, Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can provide you with the latest Sage products at competitive prices.

So:

•Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd can sell you the Sage software, install it, set it up and configure it to your business, training you or your staff to use it on a one – to – one basis and also offer the ongoing support for as long as you need it. Quite a cost effective solution to your needs. We aim to put you on the fast track to getting the most out of your Sage Accounts software but as an alternative, why not outsource your accounting and bookkeeping to Nottingham Accounting Solutions.

Take a look at our Accounts and Bookkeeping Nottingham Mansfield web page for more details.

We also offer Sage Training for Payroll Nottingham Mansfield.

So call Colleen on 01623 550793

Accounting Principles

Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll can be a burden to small business. This new series of blogs from Nottingham Accounting Solutions aims at making Accounts, Bookkeeping and Payroll a little clearer.

Accounting Principles

If everyone involved in the process of accounting followed their own system, or no system at all, there would be no way to truly tell whether a company was profitable or not. Most companies follow what are called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, and there are huge tomes in libraries and bookstores devoted to just this one topic. Unless a company states otherwise, anyone reading a financial statement can make the assumption that company has used GAAP.

These GAAP principles are not cut and dried, however. They're guidelines and as such are often open to interpretation. Estimates have to be made at times, and they require good faith efforts towards accuracy. You've surely heard the phrase "creative accounting" and this is when a company pushes the envelope a little (or a lot) to make their business look more profitable than it might actually be. This is also called massaging the numbers. This can get out of control and quickly turn into accounting fraud, which is also called cooking the books. The results of these practices can be devastating and ruin hundreds and thousands of lives, as in the cases of Enron, Rite Aid and others.

Nottingham Accounting Solutions Ltd offer accounts, bookkeeping and payroll services in the Nottingham and Mansfield area as well as Sage sales, set-up and 1 - to - 1 training on Sage accounts and Sage payroll. So why not take a look at www.nottingham-accounting-solutions.co.uk