Units of production depreciation is a depreciation method that allows businesses to determine the value of an asset based upon usage. Common in manufacturing, it’s calculated by dividing the equipment’s net cost by its expected lifetime production. Multiplying this rate by the asset’s output for the year gives you the depreciation expense. You cannot use…
Free Invoice Template for Excel, PDF & Word
An invoice is a customer’s bill for a sale after goods or services have been delivered but before payment has been made. Accounting software is the best way to create and send an invoice but typically costs a monthly fee. To help, we have a free, downloadable free invoice template in Excel, PDF, and Word….
What Are the Best Invoice Payment Terms for Your Small Business?
Choosing the wrong invoice terms can disrupt your cash flow and alienate customers. However, for an entrepreneur just starting out, it can be difficult to know what terms to set to get paid faster and establish positive relationships with your customers. Your industry and client history are key components in choosing the right invoice terms….
Understanding Early Payment Discounts on Invoices
An early payment discount (also called a prompt payment or cash discount) is a reduction in an invoice balance when it’s paid before the due date. A common discount is 2/10 – net 30, which means buyers can earn a 2% discount by paying in 10 days. A $500 invoice would be discounted to $490….
Small Business Bookkeeping, Accounting & Tax Guide
Small business bookkeeping consists of recording your business’ daily transactions. This includes sales, expenses, inventory purchases, and liabilities that you incur. If you’re first starting out with small business accounting, you will most likely do the books yourself and hand them over each year to a tax professional who will prepare your tax return. How…
13 Best Free Time Tracking Software Options
Learning how to properly bill time can be a tricky concept to master. In this guide, we uncover the 14 best free time-tracking software options that can ensure accurate billing to your customers, or accurate payment to employees/contractors who have performed the work. These provide a great alternative to manual time sheets and will work…
How to Account for Employee Expenses [+Free Expense Report Templates]
Employee expenses on your books are business expenses an employee pays for with their own personal funds or a corporate card and reimbursed later by the employer. The most common expense reimbursements are for airfare, hotel and meals. A written expense policy and a standardized expense report template will save time and help keep employees…
How to Ask for Payment in an Email: [+3 Professional Email Templates]
When sending a payment reminder to a client, you should include the amount owed, payment due date and the acceptable payment methods like check or credit card. We recommend that you make a payment request within 24 to 48 hours upon completion of the job and, most importantly, maintain a professional yet friendly tone in…
How to Do Petty Cash Accounting & Recording in 4 Steps
A petty cash fund is a small amount of money, usually under $500, used to cover incidentals. Petty cash accounting involves establishing a petty cash policy, setting up a petty cash log, creating journal entries, and reconciling the petty cash account. Accounting can be done manually or made easier with bookkeeping software and employee expense…
How to Write a Collection Letter [+ Free Templates]
Writing a collection letter requires you to follow the right step-by-step process and include the right language to give your customer official notice that a debt is owed and past due. You will typically send a total of four letters before hiring a collection agency or recording a bad debt expense. Collection Letter Templates There…
Accounts Receivable Aging Report: The Ultimate Guide
An accounts receivable (A/R) aging report shows all unpaid customer invoices grouped by the number of days outstanding. If you use online accounting software, you can create this report in a few minutes. Otherwise, you can create it manually in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. To avoid delinquent invoices, review this report monthly, and follow up…
25 Tips to Find the Right Bookkeeper from the Pros
Every business should keep a clean record of all its financial transactions. However, most business owners are either not trained to do their own bookkeeping or they don’t have enough time for the task. According to the experts, hiring a bookkeeper to manage your books is something that would benefit most businesses. Below are 25…