We at B&J Bookkeeping are experts in small business bookkeeping. Every year a report entitled “The State of Small Business” comes out with some interesting facts, finds, stats, etc. We’ll save you the trouble of reading it all for yourself by sharing these 6 key small business bookkeeping takeaways that range from the semi-obvious to the must read.
1. More Government?
In a survey of 1,100 small businesses across the nation, questions included how much government should be involved in their business. An amazing 50% answered that government doesn’t do enough. 22% of small businesses said government does enough. 13% said they didn’t want the government involved. We wonder if these small business owners were given the option of the government doing less, repealing more regulations, etc.
2. Optimistic on the Books
When asked if they expected their small business to change in the coming year, 69% expected growth. Some other key growth figures include:
- 50% of small businesses were hiring new employees.
- 46% of small businesses saw an increase in profit.
- 39% of small businesses saw a rise in growing revenue
- 34% of small businesses saw an increase in cash flow.
3. Number of Employees Matters
These key small business bookkeeping takeaways also varied by size of the business. Some interesting figures include:
- 50% of small businesses with 5-10 employees increased their profits.
- 49% of small businesses with 11-50 employees were hiring.
- 54% of small businesses with 51-100 employees saw an increase in employee healthcare.
- Small businesses with 101-499 employees had the lowest increase in cashflow at 27%.
4. Better Confidence
While 29% of small business had no change in their confidence in the economy versus 12 months ago, other numbers are interesting. 20% and 14% answered that they are significantly or slightly more confident in the economy, respectively. 19% and 9% thought the economy was slightly or significantly worse, respectively. Small businesses with more employees were most optimistic about the economy.
5. New and Amazing Strategies
In the technological age, strategies are constantly changing for small businesses. The leading strategy to increase revenue growth among all was improving existing customer experiences for retention purposes. The next leading strategies in order were launching new products / services, new customer acquisition, expansion into new markets, hiring, opening new stores, and others.
6. Small Business Bookkeeping Management
We found some surprising stats when it came to managing inventory and assets. 43% of small businesses said they do not track their inventory. More shockingly still, 55% of small businesses do not track their assets, even through a manual process. This is shocking to us as bookkeepers. It is fairly likely they are losing a high percentage in revenue from a number of problems bookkeeping would solve such as late fees, uncollected assets, employee theft, etc. While 32% did use a program like Excel, we know from experience that this isn’t enough for most small businesses.
To read the study for yourself, click here.
Houston Small Business Bookkeeping
If your small business is in need of bookkeeping and is located in Houston, feel free to contact us for to learn more on how we can help.