Being a business owner requires you to wear many hats; you are busy meeting with potential and current clients, you are busy planning and executing your marketing and social media campaigns, trying to stay on top of fast evolving technology and dealing with employees. One area of importance that is often overlooked by small business owners is their business finances. Here are several financial tips that can help you:

– Borrowing money. When you are looking at the correct way to structure or re-structure your company, think about your future plans: are you looking to get a personal loan or a mortgage in the next few years? You should know that banks will not only look at your business income for the last 2-3 years but your personal income as well. The healthier those numbers look, the better the chance of obtaining business financing that could fuel future growth or enable you to acquire real estate.

– Protecting your personal assets. The simplest way to protect your personal assets is to create a separate legal entity and to use different bank accounts and bookkeeping.

– Credit Cards. Do not mix personal and business credit cards. This may sound simplistic but do not charge more than you are able to pay in a month. Not all credit cards are created equal, so when you look to get your business credit card, weigh the benefits of each of them. Will travel be required in your business? If so, you might want to have a card that gives you benefits such as frequent flier miles.

– Budget. Many small business owners invest most or all of their savings in their business. The business affectively becomes their retirement plan. This would mean you are keeping all your eggs in one basket for your retirement. Diversify your investments to minimize the risk. When creating your budget, plan your expenses carefully and see how much each one will affect the volume of your business.

– Risk Management. Life insurance is used to protect the business against the risk of premature death of key people. Universal life insurance allows you to save money on a tax-deferred basis as well. These policies are flexible, allowing you to stop and start your payments after you’ve accumulated a sum of money in your insurance. It can be an appropriate vehicle for businesses that have an ebb and flow kind of income.

– Health insurance. Business owners can insure themselves in addition to their employees in a group insurance. The contributions to that plan are tax deductible to the business, and nontaxable to the employees. If you have an individual health insurance for yourself, weigh it against a group insurance for your business.

To create and sustain a successful business, you will need to not only spend your time servicing existing customers and bringing new ones on board, running the day to day operations of your business and dealing with employees but keeping your eyes on your business finances as well. It is an area that is often overlooked by many and keeping tab of it can pay huge dividends.

Author Bio: Roy Fisher, CPA specializes in providing accounting and tax services to small business owners and professional practices in Houston, TX. For more information, go here: http://www.ledger-solutions.com

Category: Business Management
Keywords: CPA advice, business advice, CPA services, accounting and tax help