Elements of an Effective Business Planning and Budgeting Process

In my last posting I discussed the importance of having a Planning and Budgeting Process for your business.   Every business has this process some more formalized than others.  The following is a list of the universally accepted elements to an effective business planning and budgeting process.

Key Benefits of the Business Planning and Budgeting Process

This is the time of year that business owners need to continue to focus on the current year but also start thinking about next year. When we think about the future of your business the Planning and Budgeting Process comes to mind.  Every business has this process, some more formalized than others.   The benefits of planning and budgeting usually will outweigh the effort.  It's like anything else the more you put into it the more one can potentially get out of it.  The following discussion outlines the potential benefits of planning and budgeting.  (Pretty much a list of the typical roles and responsibilities of management.)

Open Database Connectivity (OBDC) in Excel

     As promised the following is the information on Open Database Connectivity (OBDC) function in Excel.  As you recall from my last blog we covered how Excel can connect to external data to create reports that can be refreshed or updated with current information.  ODBC complaint databases can be connected to Excel using the Data Connection Wizard or Microsoft Query.
     Microsoft Access can be used to extract data stored in external databases and then the data is transferred to Excel to create reports.  But if your accounting software supports ODBC, then Excel can access your historical data in your general ledger directly without re-keying any data or going

Built-In Office Data Connections (ODC) files in Microsoft Excel 2007

     One of the many Data Tools in Microsoft Excel is the Office Data Connection (ODC) designed to facilitate the re-use of external data connections.   Using this tool one can easily create financial reports that can be updated/refreshed with the click of a few buttons.  Excel has three built-in ODC files.  All three are web queries: 1) MSN Currency Rates, 2) MSN Major Indices, and 3) MSN Stock quotes.   To set-up these built-in ODC files in Excel 2007 open a blank workbook and simply click Data, Get External Data,

Tax Breaks for People with Disabilities Are Often Overlooked

Greetings.  As you know most accountants are very busy this time of year.  I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like, but I ran across the following tax information that I wanted to share.  The authors at http://www.allsup.com/ did a good job of summarizing tax breaks for disabled individuals so there's no point in me rewriting their article.   I have no affiliation with Allsup but I do like their article reprinted below.

4 Self-Employment Tax Savings Ideas for Small Business

There have been a lot of temporary and proposed tax changes targeted toward small business.  Of all these changes and proposals the Self Employment (SE) tax changes are some of the more helpful.  Here's some background and ideas to help you reduce your SE tax.

2 Popular Tax Breaks to pay for College and other Education Planning Ideas

The cost of college can be challenging for most parents and young adults getting ready to start.  Even if one plans ahead chances are you will not save enough to cover all of the expense.  One can not discount the value of a college education.  A recent article in Time magazine estimated that nearly 40 % of the

Federal Student Aid Planning, FAFSA application

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application needs to be submitted shortly after January 1 for students starting or returning to college in the fall.  As with most government programs funds are finite so it's best to apply early before the money runs out.  See http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/  if you are interested in additional information on Federal Student Aid.  The website has a forecasting tool that is useful to determine how much financial aid one will qualify for if you'd like to get an early estimate for planning purposes.


 
Andrew Jordan, CPA
ajordancpa@comcast.net