http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/ Smart accounting for growing companies en-us 2006-01-28T17:54:10-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000120.php In today’s free market world, more and more companies are hiring people as independent contractors rather than as employees. The big reasons? To save payroll taxes and benefit costs, which together can add an extra 20% to the cost of... Tax willkeller 2006-01-28T17:54:10-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000119.php How would it feel if you could turn on your computer every morning and immediately have a complete, real-time picture of your company’s financial performance? Not only that, but what if the information was presented in an easy-to-understand, visual manner... Management Accounting willkeller 2006-01-16T14:50:12-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000117.php Thinking of selling your business? One of the first things you should know is that the process is far from a precise science. For example, business valuations can vary greatly depending upon the type of business, the valuation method used... For Owners willkeller 2005-12-29T12:44:15-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000116.php One of the biggest challenges that successful entrepreneurs face is: how to find money so that you can keep growing. For example, if you are a growing retailer you may need additional capital to open new stores or bring on... For Owners willkeller 2005-12-13T07:08:14-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000115.php Ram Charan is a well-known business advisor to CEOs and business executives in companies ranging from start-ups to the Fortune 500. He has a rare gift for translating complex ideas into simple terms that everybody can understand. Here is an... For Owners willkeller 2005-11-26T14:18:33-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000102.php Ernst & Young is featuring a new slogan in their advertising: "Quality In Everything We Do." Hmmm, that sounds eerily reminescent of a tagline that a major U.S. automaker used back in the 1990's. Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't... Misc. willkeller 2005-11-19T04:06:16-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000112.php In a recent program, PBS' Frontline examined the inner workings of WalMart. One of the most interesting revelations had to do with the company's pricing strategy, which was pioneered by legendary founder Sam Walton. The strategy is known as "opening... Misc. willkeller 2005-11-14T05:03:15-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000098.php In his new book, Blink- The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell encourages readers to use less information when making decisions. The trick, he says, is to filter out the irrelevant and focus on the meaningful. What on earth... Misc. willkeller 2005-11-10T04:58:49-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000052.php Here is an amazingly simple idea that can help business owners figure out what it will take to help their company reach the next level of growth. It's called the Business Life Cycle. The concept is relatively straightforward: there are... Greatest Hits willkeller 2005-11-04T22:45:32-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000056.php One of the keys to effective financial management is to regularly monitor the "critical factors" that determine the success of your business. Financial statements aren't great for this purpose because they can be complicated and time-consuming to prepare. Instead, what... For Owners willkeller 2005-11-02T23:02:36-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000109.php Updated October, 2005. Originally published February, 2005. Online accounting has evolved a great deal in the past couple of years. According to a recent review, online systems now match or surpass desktop systems in many ways. If you're considering the... Online Accounting willkeller 2005-10-24T03:54:44-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000118.php One of the things that distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from the rest of the world is their ability to think “outside of the box.” If you haven’t stumbled across an episode of Road Trip Nation yet, I encourage you to visit... Misc. willkeller 2005-10-21T22:02:47-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000077.php In case you haven't heard, the software giant is currently in the midst of launching Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting. This is Microsoft's effort to re-enter the low-cost accounting market. The primary distribution medium will be the OEM channel, which... Misc. willkeller 2005-10-08T03:03:08-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000100.php Most companies have a tough time figuring out the right type of business entity for their business. Partnership? Corporation? LLC? Following is a brief overview of the different entity types along with some basic advice. (For those who like to... For Start-Ups willkeller 2005-10-03T04:07:03-08:00 http://www.vanilla-accounting.com/blog/archives/000099.php If you have a start-up company, one of the major issues that you face from day one is this: how much do you want to grow? According to entrepreneur Joel Spolsky, there are two basic models and you absolutely must... For Start-Ups willkeller 2005-09-28T03:29:35-08:00