Do You Have Big Dreams For Your Business?
I knew you were anxious to get the next edition of Bean There, Done That, so I went ahead and sent it to you today.
As your business evolves and grows, things change. You set new and loftier goals for the company, and you sometimes need to refit your equipment or hire more help.
This month, we cover the exciting topic of scheduling a mid-year “check-up” with your Friendly Bean Counter AND your CPA, so everybody can stay up-to-date on your firm’s ever-changing needs.
And we cover it in style! You’ll see.
Once again, thanks for making DK/RK Services your first choice in bookkeeping… and for passing this edition on to your many friends who’ll want to subscribe for a “monthly smile.”
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Wishing You Heaps Of Fun, And A Healthy Serving Of Beans.
A Healthy Serving of Beans
Do You Have Big Dreams For Your Business?
(Or Are You Just Dreamin?’)
Bean There, Done That
Monthly Bookkeeping Wisdom From Your Friendly Bean-Counter
“Before you buy that boat,” I said to Mr. Zack O’Cash, as he shifted anxiously in his seat on the ZOOM screen in front of me, “I think you should check with your CPA. Ask her about the snowmobile, too. And what is this Mobile Caffeine Redistribution System I see here on your list of planned capital expenditures?”
“Some people call it an espresso machine,” Zack said. “But I put it down as an MCRS ‘cause I’m not sure the IRS will allow it as a legitimate business expense.”
I had been counting Zack’s beans since he started his business, way back in 2018. I, too, questioned not only the MCRS, but the boat and snowmobile as well. Because Zack was in the carpet cleaning business.
“You’re in the carpet cleaning business, Zack,” I said. “Why does a carpet cleaner need an espress – uh, sorry. Why does a carpet cleaner need an MCRS, a snowmobile, and a boat?”
He blurted his response. It sounded like an objection. “It’s, eh, marketing! Yeah, that’s it! Marketing!”
“Marketing,” I confirmed. “Okay, your CPA can ‘discuss’ that with you, Zack, but just so I can categorize and record these expenses, can you tell me why your carpet cleaning business needs this equipment? And what it has to do with marketing?”
I work closely with CPAs, including Mr. O’Cash’s, and I’m a bit of stickler about things that CPAs can be a bit of a stickler about. Things like making sure my clients have squeaky-clean, legitimate books and that their beans are counted in the most appropriate way.
“I’m gonna take my best clients deep sea fishing, so I need the boat.”
“Deep sea fishing. In Colorado.”
“Lake Pueblo,” he snorted, as if any idiot should know where you’d take clients deep sea fishing in Colorado. “I’m also gonna arrange some snowmobile outings this winter, kinda like a Christmas present for my clients. One at a time, of course, I can’t afford more than one snowmobile.”
“I see,” I said. And I was seeing what Zack was up to. Quite clearly. “And the, uh, MCRS?”
“Ah, that’s part of my most brilliant marketing campaign,” he said. “I bring that specialized equipment to the job site, see? And after I finish cleaning the rug, and collect the dough, I make my client a little espresso. Right? Nice ‘n’ hot. They spill it on the rug, and BOOM! I get another order. So like I said: Put ‘em all under Marketing!”
The discussion went on for a few more minutes, but the conversation about these capital expenditures for Zack’s business went on for a few weeks before he and his CPA came to an understanding about how much penalty “dough” he’d have to pay to the IRS if he tried to write off these particular expenses.
Zack is not the most brilliant marketer on Earth, despite his claims to the contrary. But he’s brilliant enough to schedule mid-year meetings with his CPA and his Friendly Bean Counter (FBC) (that’s me) to talk about taxes and capital expenditure planning.
My sharp analysis of the calendar on my wall has led me to the conclusion that it’s July, which is about the middle of the year. As with Zack O’Cash, the middle of the year is a great time to schedule mid-year “check-up” meetings with your CPA and FBC. Here’s why:
So reach out and schedule a meeting or two with your CPA and your Friendly Bean Counter! It’s nice to stay in touch anyway, but these mid-year thinking sessions can also be the key to making all your dreams come true. (Depending on the specific dreams.)
Hopefully you’re not like Zack. Deep sea fishing in Colorado? He’s dreamin!’
Discussion Questions
- 1When’s the last time you took your FBC deep sea fishing?
- 2We prefer Hawaii over Pueblo.
- 3When can we get together and do a mid-year check-up on your business’s bookkeeping and accounting needs?
Don’t forget: at DK/RK Services, you’re always “more than a number.” We WANT to take care of your bookkeeping, professionally and personably, so you can focus on running and growing a great business enterprise! Please check out our many enthusiastic FIVE STAR online reviews (Yelp, Google, Facebook, you name it). We look forward to earning our next great review from YOU.
You know someone who could use valuable bookkeeping insights… or, at least, a smile.
You know you do.
Forward Bean There, Done That to them… if they subscribe, you both win a prize!*
(* Prize is FREE editions of Bean There, Done That)
(Offer expires at lunchtime, but that’s ages from now. See details on warning label on back of MCRS. Do not bring beverages onto the living room rug. Offer void where prohibited, such as in Hot Coffee, Mississippi. Yes, these are real towns you read about down here in the disclaimer. You can look ‘em up.)
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Howl-dy! I’m Sadie.
Dottie’s My Person.
Sadie’s Paw Prints
Tryin’ To Tell You Somethin’
You two-leggers have a lot to learn when it comes to communicating with more evolved species, such as us dogs.
Sadie here, Dottie’s faithful canine companion… and this month, I want to share with you one of the big secrets even most dog lovers don’t know.
Your dog can talk.
But see, we don’t talk the way you do, with verbal language and diction and nouns and verbs and all that stuff. So cumbersome and time-consuming. (Maybe one day your species will evolve beyond spoken language. Just look at the way texting has exploded.)
No, your dog is trying to tell you something, and she’s doing it with body language.
YOU yell at your dog, thinking you’re performing something called “discipline,” and on behalf of dogs everywhere, I have to say we’re usually being wrongly accused. You didn’t see us do it. Somebody else might’ve left that on the rug.
But YOUR DOG hangs her head, and maybe slinks away, and you misinterpret that as “guilt.” In fact, your dog is just like the rest of us… she doesn’t like to be yelled at!
I don’t mean to be harsh, but you’re probably misinterpreting a lot of what your dog’s body language is telling you.
Smart two-leggers have actually researched canine body language, and written up some pointers in your human written language (again, so unevolved). You can read about it here:
http://www.tailsfromthelab.com/2012/08/29/learning-to-speak-dog-part-4-reading-a-dogs-body/
Read my fur: Your dog is communicating with you. Learn how to “speak dog,” and you and your fur baby will enjoy each other all the more.
Woof!
Non-Profit Spotlight
Can Charge To The Rescue
I know of a veterinarian who has his office in RiNo (the “River North” area of Denver). And that’s cool. But how much cooler would it be to have a veterinary hospital for actual rhinos?
In truth, I’m not sure how many rhinos they have in Nepal, but they do have wildlife there, that’s for sure. And this month’s Non-Profit Spotlight shines on an effort to make sure whatever wildlife they do have can get quality veterinary care.
It’s part of an initiative by our friends at the Katie Adamson Conservation Fund, one of our favorite non-profit groups and one we love working with.
The KACF has been working since 2014 on building a brand-spankin’-new (and much needed) veterinary hospital in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, on the grounds of the “National Trust for Nature Conservation” in that part of the world.
Five years after starting the initiative, the Fund was able to raise more than fifty thousand dollars for the project, and the entire two-story structure was completed.
But they’re not ready for sick and injured wildlife to go charging in there like sick and injured rhinos! Not just yet.
First, the KACF needs to outfit the new hospital with exam equipment, and they need to send some expert vets over to Nepal to bring the local vets up to speed on the latest wildlife veterinary practices.
Even if you are not an expert veterinarian, in RiNo or elsewhere… even if you’re not a sick and injured rhino… you can help!
Go here:
https://www.katieadamsonconservationfund.org/project-initiatives
… And make a generous donation. We greatly appreciate your support! And the sick and injured wildlife in Nepal would certainly thank you, too, if they spoke English.
