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FINANCE
Business Credit Cards Help Record Company Purchases Accurately
The system used by a small business owner to record credit card purchases is a measure of whether the entrepreneur is efficiently tracking expenditures or living under a pile of unfiled receipts. A credit card dedicated solely to business use is the definitive solution, and a reason why the more efficient tracker is successful.

You can establish a credit card account for your business with accounting software. Charges are recorded like checks drawn on a bank account; each charge entry automatically creates a liability on the company balance sheet for credit card payable. This credit card liability is therefore owed by the business. Note: be sure to categorize personal expenditures on the card as "owner distributions."

You can reduce the incidence of errors by assuring that payment of the credit card bill applies to the liability account. Simply writing a check for an expense category called "credit card payments" is incorrect. The expenses are already recorded when each credit card charge is entered. Enter all credit card charges so the sum appears in the balance sheet liability account for credit card payable. Then apply payments sent to the credit card issuer to that liability account.

If you use a credit card for some business purchases but mainly for personal expenses, don't create a credit card liability account for the business. Instead, have the business reimburse you and record the expense categories being reimbursed as if the company had paid them directly. Then pay the credit card bill with personal funds. And come out from under those piled-up receipts.

 
MANAGING
Communication Styles Can Hamper Business Success
 
While a difference in communication styles can lead to simple misunderstandings, it can also threaten your relationship with customers and ultimately endanger your business success.

Notes Sherrie Bourg Carter in an article for Psychology Today: "...'communication stress' can be one of the biggest sources of stress in relationships. After all, we're all talking the same language, aren't we?" Not necessarily. "Although we're all wired differently, we tend to fall somewhere within the parameters of two communication styles: aesthetic and pragmatic," suggests an article in RISMedia.

Aesthetics generally prefer a sensitive approach to communication. They are often indirect in conversation and value empathy and warmth. They tend to read body language and listen for tone and tenor as well as content. Pragmatics are interested in getting to the point. They value straight talk and a direct communication style right from the get-go. It's the content of the conversation they care about, not the social embellishments.

Mark Murphy, a Forbes contributor, notes: "One of the biggest problems that occurs between bosses and employees is a mismatch in their communication styles. When you speak and the boss doesn't hear you, or vice versa, it can greatly hurt your chances of career success."

Trying to connect with your communications opposite, whether it's an employee, supplier or customer, can make the difference between accord and disagreement. And as Bourg Carter points out, making differences in communication styles work requires "understanding and flexibility." It may not be easy, but it can be a recipe for business success.

 
ENTREPRENEURS
Perseverance Sets Successful Entrepreneurs Apart
Entrepreneurship is not a glamorous career path.

Especially in the early stages, entrepreneurship is largely about having the chutzpah to see it through. As Steve Jobs once said, "I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the nonsuccessful ones is pure perseverance."

Points out Entrepreneur Inc. contributor Steve Tobak: "Having the vision to see what others don't, the passion to motivate yourself and others, the savvy to build and grow a business, and the guts to make good decisions are all part of the mix. But what binds those ingredients together is the tenacity to stick with it, day in, day out, year after year."

Forget all the hype about creative genius. More often than not it's simply willpower, forbearance, and the tenacity to deal with the stress and chaos of entrepreneurship that paves the road to success.

It takes energy, focus, and commitment plus a willingness to fail, pick up the pieces, and carry on. And it's often about being the last person left standing when others have given up.

As you advance toward your goal, try to surround yourself with people who believe in what you are doing and can provide constructive, practical advice. A supportive mentor or involvement in an incubator or accelerator program can help with this. If possible, avoid the naysayers, the doubters, and the cynics.

Try, too, to focus every day on the fundamentals of building your business, and take time to celebrate each step that brings you closer to your end goal. Just getting things done is often a great motivator.

As with life, building a successful business is a marathon, not a sprint. Perseverance does pay off.

 
FINANCE
Determining the Value of Large Expenditures
 
Whether your enterprise will thrive or struggle often hinges on decisions surrounding large expenditures. An owner's purchase of an asset - such as equipment that will be functional for many years - typically entails a substantial sum of money.

These types of long-term assets are referred to as "capital expenditures." They are not recorded as expenses on the income statement. Rather, they appear as assets on the balance sheet. Determining whether the cost for a capital expenditure is worthwhile necessitates a capital budgeting analysis to assure efficient allocation of resources.

Does it make sense

Your capital budgeting process begins with a ranking of large purchases in order of priority. This is how you decide when projects will be undertaken and how much capital is needed to accomplish them. Although some capital expenditures are urgently required to maintain operations, discretionary purchases are generally ranked based on their profitability.

Several methods are available for evaluating profitability of capitalized purchases. The most common ones - those followed by sophisticated business managers - are "net present value" and "internal rate of return." Both processes consider cash flow over the entire length of a project and discount future cash flow to reflect the time value of money.

These methodologies contrast with the simplified payback model, which measures the amount of time required for recouping an investment. This non-discounted approach unrealistically regards future dollars as having the same value as current dollars.

Failure to consider profitability over the long term is another drawback to the payback model. A fast payback ultimately might not generate much profit, while a slow payback could disguise a vastly profitable undertaking over the life of the investment.

Quantifying the benefit

Discounted cash flow models are frequently used to identify the current value of a major purchase. The net present value method estimates all the future cash inflows and outflows. For example, cash inflow is the revenue expected from investing in a new piece of equipment, and cash outflow is the cost to purchase, maintain, and operate the equipment for generating that revenue.

The net cash flow over future periods is then discounted to a present value. Financial calculators and printed present value tables show the amount of value today that's equivalent to future incoming cash. This is accomplished by assuming a discount rate reflecting the greater quantity of money we would accept in future to bring us the same happiness as would a lower sum today.

A positive net present value indicates the equipment will earn more than the discount rate. But even if the figure is negative, the equipment may still provide profitability (although likely not as much as avoiding the purchase and holding onto the money for the future). You can identify the rate of return for an investment by finding a discount rate that arrives at a net present value equal to zero. This internal rate of return determination is helpful for ranking expenditures in order of importance.

Confusing? Contact your accountant to help you understand how to value your capital expenditures.
 
 
 
 
 
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Worth Reading
Your Brain Can Only Take so Much Focus
By Srini Pillay
 
Hbr.org
 
We often hear about the importance of focusing. From being able to stay on task to enhancing your leadership effectiveness, the ability to focus has long been promoted as the key to success. But did you know that too much focus can be a bad thing? Recent research has found that for optimal performance we need to focus and unfocus. Pillay also notes it's now okay to daydream!

Let Go of the Learning Baggage
By Shane Parrish


Farnam Street Blog

It's no surprise that learning and retaining new information, as well as processing and using that information, are all pivotal to producing better work. But we may not have realized that the way we learned in school influences our learning styles as employees. What do we need to change in order to learn better at work? (Hint: it involves more time for play and way less guilt.)

The Psychological Importance of Wasting Time
By Olivia Goldhill


Quartz

Seems the adage "work expands to fill the time ..." is true: we live in a culture that values relentless productivity. Wrongly, it seems. As Goldhill points out, the endless grind actually has negative impacts on our productivity. Our work will actually benefit from our walking around the block. She even gives us the thumbs up for binge-watching our favorite TV shows.

LINKS YOU CAN USE
Today's Work Styles
Today's workday looked very different from 10 years ago. New workers and new technologies are changing the work landscape. Here's how:

Software and smart applications are major influencers of current work trends. Discover how these affect your workforce:
3 Technology Trends Driving Modern Workstyles

Want to encourage productive work styles? Companies are finding that goal-sharing platforms can help:
5 Ways to Smarten Your Employees' Work Styles

Telecommuters make up a large share of today's workforce. Here, 40-plus companies explain how they've made these arrangements work:
40+ Companies Share Their Secrets to Remote Work Success

The look of the workplace has changed. Find out how to design your space for millennial employees:
What's Inside A Workplace Designed For Millennial Employees?

Today, it's important for leaders to nurture many different work styles. Here's how:
Pioneers, Drivers, Integrators, and Guardians
This newsletter and any information contained herein are intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or medical advice. The publisher takes great efforts to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this newsletter. However, we will not be responsible at any time for any errors or omissions or any damages, howsoever caused, that result from its use. Seek competent professional advice and/or legal counsel with respect to any matter discussed or published in this newsletter.
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