Asset and liability basics

Posted by Adnin | Assets and Liabilities, Business and Finance | Wednesday 27 January 2010 11:36 am

Knowledge of accounts can make life much easy. If you are to invest in a new business or joining your forefather’s business, planning to take some loan, looking for job in any marketing company, desire to be the manager of a multinational company or have the onus to manage your own assets and liabilities, knowing some basics of accounts becomes mandatory.

Broadly, accounting is bifurcated into two categories-

Cash Bases Accounting

Accrual Accounting

The Cash Based accounting pertains to the management of an individual’s personal monetary transactions. In this case, he keeps a track of the money he withdrew, deposited, gave or received from someone etc. This accounting comes to life when actual cash transactions take place.

The Accrual Accounting requires an accountant who notes the transactions even if no money has been actually exchanged. This method works on the principle of comparing or seeing the ratio of the expenses to expenditure. If the expenditure is more, you need to cut down your luxuries, if not then it’s always good to have some savings for future. This type of accounting tells you the amount that you owed; this might not match with the figure of your bank balance.

In the language of accounting there are several key terms that one needs to be familiar with. Some of the crucial ones are discussed below-

The Assets- the assets are generally those possessions of an individual that have a good market value or are quite valuable. Assets are mainly classified into three types-

Current Asset- the cash is the most basic asset of any individual. The money that is being held in accounts like the checking and savings accounts is also included in the cash. Also inclusive are the marketable securities in the form of bonds, stocks, shares etc. The money lent or payments due from clients, even form a part of it.

Fixed Asset- comprises of all the tangible valuable things like property, machines, equipments, land and the like that are not meant to be sold.

Intangible Asset- incorporates all the untouchable things like copyrights, patents, trademarks etc. that have tremendous monetary significance.

The law of opposites governs the nature; where there are assets, there will be liabilities. These are the debts that you have to pay back to your creditors. This can be done through giving cash or any other asset like jewelry, some other goods etc. Liabilities again are of two kinds-

1. The Current Liabilities- the liabilities that are to be paid back within a certain time limit and most often through your current assets. These include the accounts payable i.e. type of bill that you have to monthly, the Notes Payable-loans taken from banks meant to be repaid within 30 days and the Accrued Expenses- the compulsory expenses like taxes, wages, interests etc. where the bills are not received but the balances of each must be repaid.

2. Long Term Liabilities- those debts that can be repaid at ease for the tenure is more then a month.

The Financial Capital- is the economic capital. It is any liquid medium or merchandise that stands for wealth or other styles or capital. There are four ways to manage and display the financial capital. First, this capital is needed when a contract is made with any sort of capital asset. The financial instruments work in the form of currency in case of sale, purchase or trade of goods i.e. the medium exchanges. Second, it works as a settled medium or mode like gold for the
Standard of Deferred Payment. Third, The Unit of Account has a market value attached to it which in turn varies with the economy of the country. Fourth, The Source of Value is concerned with financial capital that needs to be saved and recovered. It is a collection of things like gold, real estate, collectibles etc.

Petty Cash is an important factor in business. It is the smallest account within a business setting or the cash in bills and coinage required to pay little expenses.

Types of Business- there are several kinds of business one should be aware of like

Sole proprietorship- where a single individual who starts the business owns it too.

Partnerships- the companies or businesses started by two or more persons where they conjointly own it.

Corporations- involve lot many shareholders or investors who are responsible in taking decisions for the company.

Limited Liability Companies- can be said to be sisters of corporations. Here the business members are not under a legal obligation to pay the debts if the business fails.

Payrolls- the term payroll designates the manner in which you will be paying the employees of your company and even yourself. Many multinational companies cater to payroll service provider companies that do the work quite efficiently.

These are some of the broad guidelines that will help you grasp the basics of accounting. It is essential to have some such wisdom for accounts as it is fruitful in all walks of life.

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Financial Asset Management – Making the Most of Money

Posted by Adnin | Business and Finance | Tuesday 26 January 2010 11:35 am

Managing financial assets is something that is popular to many individuals thinking of their future. There are several financial management firms that take the responsibility of managing a person or company’s worth to try and make the most with the money. Financial asset management is a field of work that consists of usually finance majors that are qualified to work with investments. The longer the consultant/broker is with the same client or company the stronger the relationship becomes. There are several companies that work in the field of financial asset management such as Wells Fargo and JP Morgan. In addition, many banks have an area that works with managing financial assets for their customers.

There are several types of funds that the financial asset managers work with. Depending on their customer’s needs they put money into more high risk funds or they stick to lower risk funds. The level of the risk they are assuming can of course be incorrect but the risk levels are based on such items as size of the company and have in the past been fairly correct. Financial asset management is used in a large way for retirement purposes. Due to this fact, the consultant with the management firm will consider the number of years until expected retirement and the age of the person to help find their place in the market. If the person is in their 20’s the consultant will most likely want to put their funds into a higher risk fund. This way even if the account decreases in money it has many years to recover itself and possibly make a great deal for the person.

Some funds are more secure and serve their purpose in the financial world. Say a person wants to put their child’s college savings into an account but it’s only a year before they leave for school. The consultant at the firm will most likely put these funds in a more stable fund so the money isn’t loss, yet with hopes the money will produce more earnings than it would if it were sitting in a bank savings account. Financial asset management has always been popular due to the idea of being able to make more money with your money. Habitually banks are known for low to mediocre returns on money. Most people want the highest return possible when it comes to their retirement.

Financial asset management is a field in the business world that assists the public to make valuable decisions about their money and future. When working with an asset management company and reviewing their portfolio of various funds to select, you will be able to see the yearly returns on each fund. Financial asset managers are required to report true earnings to clients and potential clients. There are several regulations protecting the public but it’s best if you trust your consultant/broker and have a good relationship with them. The better they are able to understand the client the better choices and advice they may be able to give the client.

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Small personal loans: Fast cash for short term needs

Posted by Adnin | Business and Finance, Loans | Sunday 24 January 2010 11:34 am

Small personal loans are the ideal to fix the temporary needs of the family or personal. There are plenty of loan companies in the market who offer best mortgage for instant financial solutions.

To get the mortgage fast, online is the best way. An online application has to fill up in order to get the instant cash. This online application is easy to fill and can be completed in just couple of hours. After approval of the application, one can get the cash within 24 hours. This service is more secure and safe for the applicant. To get the fast cash, applicant has to do one thing that is he/she has to provide some basic details such as name, age, gender, contact number, address proof, account number, etc. These basic details are required for the verification purpose. One can get the easy mortgage after fulfilling the eligibility criteria:

• Applicant must attain the age of 18 years or above;
• Applicant must be a citizen of UK;
• Applicant must have a valid bank account in UK bank;
• Applicant is doing a regular job with a sound source of income.

One can avail the sum from small personal loans ranges up to £20 and £5,000. This amount is ideal and enough for the small term needs of the individual. The amount will directly transfer into the borrower’s account after the approval. These mortgages are unsecured in nature so lenders will approve the mortgage without any security. That is why these finances are risk free for the borrowers. The rate of interest here is a bit high because of the absence of the security.

Those who are bad credit holders can also apply for these mortgages. There are many bad credit records like CCJs, IVA, arrears, defaults, bankruptcy, late payments, missed payments, etc. Borrower can use the amount anywhere according to the needs and requirements like debt consolidation, examination fees, wedding, traveling, school fess and college fees, credit card dues, car repairing, home renovation, grocery bills, etc. Borrower can repay the amount borrowed from small personal loans within 14 to 30 days.

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Best Way to End Your Business Plan

Posted by Adnin | Business and Finance | Wednesday 20 January 2010 11:40 am

The business plan’s conclusion should sum up the opportunity the business represents with language targeted at the specific audience the plan is intended for (for example, investors or lenders). Without going into the detail allowed in the executive summary (a conclusion should be just a paragraph or two), the conclusion can offer a more personal appeal for consideration and funding. However, the conclusion should not depart significantly from the rational and professional tone of the plan. For example, it is never appropriate to write sentences along the lines of “I beg of you to invest in this company”, “It would mean so much to me and my family”, and “You’d be stupid to not to jump at this opportunity.”

Future Vision

The conclusion is also where it can be appropriate to return to your greater vision for what the company can become and speak about future possibilities beyond the five years detailed in the plan. This can include an idea of what the company can become in ten or fifteen years. It is recommended to focus on the company’s potential impact for customers and the marketplace rather than its long-term financial impact, as it is increasingly difficult to put numbers to where the company will be so far ahead in the future. For example, you might say that “the business will introduce a new level of quality in liquor stores and become a regionally-known brand over the next fifteen years”.

Appendices

The conclusion is not actually the final section of your business plan. Supporting documents should appear in appendices after the conclusion. These appendices should include detailed pro forma financial statements, and may also include resumes of managers, partnership, supplier, and customer agreements, evidence of intellectual property, records of business licenses and permits, detailed results of surveys, focus groups, or competitive research, and letters of support.

Eric Powers is associated with Growthink, a business plan consulting firm. Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for more than 2,000 clients. Call 800-506-5728 today for a free consultation with a Growthink business plan writer.

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