Start Your Year with Good Financial Habits

It’s a new year, which means new opportunities and goals for your business. Just like you may have a renewed focus on health and wellness as part of your new year’s resolutions, this marks a great time to ensure your company is in its best condition, too. As you conquer your new business goals, make it a point to start your year with good financial habits. Here are a few recommendations from your friends at Collins Manufacturing.

Good Financial Habits for Towing Companies

Use a Business Account

If you’re operating a small business, you may be tempted to use your personal bank account to hold the earnings from your business operations. This is one of the most common errors new small business owners make. It is far too easy to mingle personal and business funds without greater separation, plus it can be a disaster if your books are audited.

Talk with your financial institution about opening a bank account to keep all the funds associated with your business. There may be financial institutions in your area, like credit unions and community banks, that specialize in accounts designed for small businesses. Never deposit business checks into your personal account, and keep track of all withdrawals or payments made from the business account.

Learn Accounting Basics

You don’t need to become an accountant–in fact, you shouldn’t try to be your own accountant. However, it’s a good idea to understand some basic accounting rules for small businesses. For example, depending on whether you use the cash or accrual accounting methodology, you could achieve profitability but still have negative cash flow. You should also have an idea about accounting rules for legitimate business expenses. Understanding concepts for amortization will help you determine if buying more fleet vehicles makes sense for your business. Most community colleges offer basic financial management skills courses for small business owners. There may also be resources from a local small business administration chapter or the chamber of commerce.

Keep Accurate Records

Are you keeping your receipts in a shoebox or file folder? It will be nearly impossible to evaluate the financial health of your business if you’re not tracking your records accurately in some type of electronic system. Electronic spreadsheets can be a good start, but it’s far easier to implement a simple accounting software system to track all the transactions impacting your company. Most of these software systems can be connected directly to your bank account, so every transaction is automatically recorded. Another benefit of electronic accounting software is that you may be able to easily scan receipts into the program, so you don’t have to maintain boxes of hardcopy receipts.

Partner with Professionals

You own a business because you have a vision for how you can serve members of your community with a valuable service. Your focus should be on bringing the best services to your customers, purchasing great equipment that makes the job easier for your employees, and ensuring your employees are well-trained to work efficiently and safely. There are other aspects of your business that are critical to your success but are not necessarily areas you need to be an expert in.

Two of those areas are accounting and human resources. A professional bookkeeper or certified public accountant (CPA) is instrumental in ensuring your financial records are accurate, your taxes are prepared correctly, and you’re paying any local taxes or fees specific to your community. A human resource service can provide you with payroll services to ensure your employees are paid correctly and that your hiring and operational processes conform with laws and regulations. If you’re unsure where to start, your local chamber of commerce can likely point you in the right direction to find these support services.

Spend Money Where it Matters

Successful business owners know when to look for the lowest-cost solution versus when to pay more for quality. Develop a decision-making strategy to help you apply an appropriate level of scrutiny depending on characteristics such as price, safety, benefits, durability, or other factors. For example, looking for the lowest-cost provider for office supplies and work shirts may be just fine. However, when it comes to equipment like tow trucks and towing dollies, other aspects such as quality, durability, and safety features are more important.

Collins Manufacturing is your partner for success.

We have a history of working with our customer companies to help them achieve success. While you’re focused on running your business, allow our pros at Collins Manufacturing to introduce you to top-of-the-line towing equipment your employees and customers will love. Our Collins Manufacturing’s Hi-SpeedⓇ Dolly and Carrier Dolly systems are easy, safe to operate, light to transport, and durable to handle the toughest towing jobs. By providing our towing solutions for your employees, you’ll make their lives easier and see their job satisfaction grow.

Collins has been an industry leader in towing equipment for over 45 years. Our Hi-SpeedⓇ Dolly and Carrier Dolly systems provide towing professionals with lightweight solutions durable enough to get even large vehicles out of challenging situations and transport them safely wherever they need to go. Our products are designed with safety first to keep your employees safe while attaching and moving vehicles. Visit our website or give us a call to learn more about our products.