Continued from previous page

     Don't forget about your vendor and client agings. The totals on A/P and A/R agings should match the same balances on your Balance Sheet. If not, someone has made a bad entry in either the checkbook or in client payments (use the G/L Auditor to audit the numbers). Skipping this step can mean hours of extra work in the long run. "We hadn't been balancing our agings to our Balance Sheet for almost two years," says Peggy Johnson, president of AdFarm. Once they realized how necessary this step was, they went back through the process for each month. "It was a huge undertaking," she says. "Now we do it every month."

Put your computer to work

For those JEs that you need to make each month (e.g., prepaids, amortization, depreciation, etc.), set up the entries as recurring G/L entries. You'll save time, since Clients & Profits will automatically add them for you each month. Recurring entries show up on proof lists and post to the period for which they are scheduled. You should see these entries in the totals on the Balance Sheet.

Rather than manually reconciling your bank account, let Clients & Profits do the work (you'll find the bank reconciliation in checkbook's check tools.) Just choose the bank account to reconcile then enter the statement ending balance. Clients & Profits lists the account's outstanding items that need to be cleared. Just click the check box to clear amounts, then save -- it's that easy!

Keep the cash coming

Cash flow is crucial to running a successful agencies. Keep cash coming in by invoicing often and following up on collections. There's several invoicing options to easily bill before a job starts, part way through, or when the work is completed -- whichever way (or combination of ways) works best to keep cash flowing in.

Also, make a routine of reviewing your client aging weekly to be sure someone is keeping up with collections. "I work on collections daily," says Caitilin Ashley, owner of Ashley & Associates. "I make calls right from the Client Aging report," she says, making short work of the task, since client contact information and receivables print right on the report. (Here's a good tip: Give your collections effort some weight by including payment terms and late fees in your client contracts.)

Cover your bases

Print hard copies of the Detailed G/L report and other financial statements each month, then organize them in binders. If you're ever audited by the IRS, you'll need those hard copies. If you ever have a computer disaster, you've always got those hard copies.

Safeguard your data by making a daily back up of the database. A good backup plan includes at least one week's worth of back ups (two are better), with an extra copy stored out of the office. "Our off-site service picks up our daily backup, which includes our C&P database and everything on our network," says Beth Flinn, senior accountant for The Townsend Agency. "With as much work as we do in a day -- let alone a week -- we are serious about backing up." Also, make sure that back ups are restored periodically so you know that they can be opened and accessed. Be sure that more than one person knows how to make and restore back ups, too.

"Before using Clients & Profits, we knew we were missing crucial financial information," Caitilin says. "C&P has had our whole effort from day one -- and it shows in the vital feedback we get from it. I really don't want to remember what it was like before we started using C&P." Following these best accounting procedures will help you do things better, faster, and more profitably. And who doesn't want that?

Mindy Williams is a senior member of the Clients & Profits Helpdesk. She teaches the new-user training classes and edits the quarterly newsletters.