Promoting a Healthy Work Environment

The United Health Care recently published a document entitled “Encourage a Healthy Work Force” in order to help entrepreneurs reduce stress and encourage a healthier work environment for their employees.  They offer the following five tips in helping professionals relieve stress:

1. Get a good night’s sleep.

You’ll find yourself more frazzled if you’re running on little sleep.  The amount of sleep needed varies by individual.  Some can function well on 5 to 6 hours of sleep while others need 10 to 11.  Get to know what your body needs and then ensure you get a good night’s rest before each work day.

2. Eat a balanced diet.

Food fuels your body and your mind.  If you’re not putting good stuff in the tank you’ll find yourself lacking energy and drive to adequately perform your job.  When you eat foods rich in vitamins and nutrients you will find that you are able get more accomplished in less time.

3. Indulge in exercise.

Not only does exercise increase your energy levels, but it helps your body release stress and ensures a more restful sleep every night.  It also has incredible health benefits and makes you feel better.

4. Don’t procrastinate.

Procrastination causes of a lot of stress.  When you’re able to complete tasks and assignments in a timely manner, you save yourself a lot of grief and anxiety later.

5. Stay organized and prioritize.

Working in a chaotic, unorganized environment will cause stress.  Not only that, but it also forces you to spend more time looking for files or other records than it would take in a clean and organized office.  Purge your office of unnecessary paperwork and create a system for filing away everything else.  This will enable you to better prioritize your work day, filling it with more profitable tasks.

Once you’re able to establish a healthier work environment for yourself, you can take measures to promote a healthier work environment for your staff.  The United Health Care recommends the following.

1. Lead by example. Once you incorporate the above five tips, you are well on your way to setting a good example for your employees.
2. Use assessments. Your employee can better track their own health when they have assessments against which they can measure their progress. BMI, weight, blood chemistry and bloods pressure are all assessments you can use.
3. Provide training and development. When you make health a priority in the workplace your employees generally respond well.  Take the time to provide training and development opportunities for your staff.
4. Foster a healthy work environment. The UHC recommends providing health care, flex time, no-smoking policies, and maternity/paternity leave in efforts to foster a healthier work environment.
5. Create physical activity/community incentives.  Some companies include an onsite gym for their employees.  While that’s probably not realistic for most small businesses, you can promote a health program that rewards participants.  Encourage involvement in community races, group exercise programs, or weight loss groups.

When you ensure a healthier work environment, you will enjoy a healthier staff and, consequently, a more productive team.

A Software Program that Relieves Stress

In addition to the above suggestions, UAC encourages small business owners to use a software program that will enable you to do more work in less time.  Not only will QuickBooks expertise eliminate some of your stress, but it will also help you to work more efficiently and become even more valuable to your clientele.

Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide (PBG) to QuickBooks is a self-paced program that enables you to complete the parts that interest you and skip over the parts that don’t. Even if you have used the program for years, the PBG teaches you shortcuts and methods you may not have known. You will be impressed by the simple flow and completeness of this program.

Take action now to relief some of your tax season stress later.  Order UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks today!

References

United Health Care.  “Encourage a Healthy Work Force.”  Entrepreneur.com   30 September 2008

Securing Referrals (Part One of a Two-Part Series)

Step One: Ensuring Client Satisfaction

Customer service is awareness of needs, problems, fears and aspirations. – AnonymousCustomers are an investment. Maximize your return. – PeopleSoft AdHere is a simple but powerful rule: always give people more than what they expect to get. – Nelson Boswell

It’s difficult to request referrals from clients who are not currently happy with your services. Before you can use this valuable resource to increase your client base you must first ensure current client satisfaction. Only after you do can you begin approaching clients for referrals.

The following seven tips will help you better serve your clients so that they happily refer their family and friends your way:

1. Establish clear expectations.

Many of your clients may not have worked with a tax specialist before and are unsure what to expect. The rest have and may be running on old expectations. It’s important to have a preliminary meeting where you define the relationship and your expectations, taking special note of what your clients expect from you. You may need to negotiate some of these expectations so that both you and your client are satisfied. In establishing clear expectations from the beginning, you will eliminate a lot of unnecessary frustration later.

2. Be respectful.

Regardless of your clients’ behavior, you must treat everyone with respect. Be courteous, thoughtful, and listen with intent. This applies to your face-to-face, email and phone correspondence.

3. Respond promptly and maintain contact.

Establish a policy on returning emails and phone calls. We suggest you respond within 24 hours; this shows clients that you are attentive and considerate of their needs. Also, when working on their accounts you should provide clients with periodic reports; otherwise they may assume that you’re not working at all.

4. Quickly resolve complaints.

Anytime your clients have concerns or complaints, you must respond quickly. The longer you wait to resolve a problem, the longer your client has to stew over it. On the other hand, the more quickly you resolve the client’s concern, the more satisfied your client is with your service.

5. Request feedback.

The best way to learn what your clients think of your services is to ask them. Consider giving all your clients a survey on which they can provide you with priceless feedback. Take this feedback into consideration as you modify your services and client relationships.

6. Save them money.

Consider recent ads where people are complaining of catastrophic situations to which another responds, “I have good news. I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance.” Nothing wins client loyalty like having a financial provider save them money. As you serve clients, consider this a priority; when you share your cost-saving tactics with clients, you will find them very appreciative of the effort.

7. Offer complementary services.

Clients appreciate convenience. Anything you can do to streamline their financial services is valued. Consider their needs and add complementary services that would make your business more convenient and, in turn, more appealing.

Only after you ensure customer satisfaction can you request referrals from your clients. Once you take the necessary action to meet your clients’ needs, you can approach them for referrals, at which point they are more likely to provide them.

Consider Adding QuickBooks Services to Your Menu

Intuit has cornered the market on accounting software with QuickBooks. More than 80% of small businesses use it to manage their accounting. Unfortunately for many small business owners, they are unaware how to optimize this software so they can retrieve the information they need to better run their businesses. Fortunately for you, this mean there are a number of small business owners in need of QuickBooks setup, help and consultation services.

Not only would adding QuickBooks services to your menu increase your bottom line, but it will also enable you to better work with clients to get the information you need to best prepare their taxes. As you demonstrate how to properly setup and use QuickBooks to manage their accounting, you can ensure you will receive the information you need in the format you need it in.

The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks will enable you to master this valuable software program and earn professional certification as a QuickBooks Specialist. You can better serve your current clients and attract new clients in need of QuickBooks expertise. For a minimal investment, you can enjoy large returns. Increase your customer service efforts today by enrolling in the PBG Program!

What Will You Be Doing in 2009?

Now Is the Time to Decide

When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.-John M. RichardsonMay the dreams of your past be the reality of your future.-AnonymousFor tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.-African Proverb

There are four more months left in 2008; how will you use them?

Your aspirations will continue to reside in your future unless you do something about them, today! You can take action to start your own bookkeeping service by enrolling in the Professional Bookkeeper Program. You could be finished in less than 60 days and earn certification that will show prospective clients that you have the expertise necessary to handle all their accounting needs.

One Simple Course

This course is designed to make you a Profit Expert. What’s a Profit Expert? A financial professional who does more than balance books, but also informs clients how to increase their business’s profitability. They are proactive accountants who help their clients make informed business decisions aimed at improving a company’s fiscal health.

In addition to becoming a Profit Expert, the Professional Bookkeeper Program will teach you all you need to know to start and manage a business’s books. Specifically you will learn how to perform small-business accounting tasks. This is remarkable because most accounting programs prepare their graduates to perform corporate accounting; however, more than 80% of accounting opportunities are not with large corporations but small businesses.

There are more than enough local businesses with which to build your client base. They could use someone specialized in those skills that satisfy their unique needs.

In addition to the reasons noted above, there are many more that detail why a bookkeeping service makes so much sense. Here’s a list of some of those reasons:

• Every business is required by law to keep books
• You can earn a good living (the average client will bring in about $300 per month)
• It’s an inexpensive business to start (you probably have most of what is required right now)
• No expensive equipment is required
• You can make money doing what you enjoy
• You can work anytime, any place
• Rented office space is not required
• Inventory is not required

A bookkeeping service is one of the easiest to begin. And to wrap up your training, we will also teach you how to market your new and unique skills. You’ll not only know how to start and manage a company’s books from scratch but also how to acquire those qualified clients that will appreciate your service offerings.

In less than four months you could be ready to start your own accounting practice. Why not celebrate the New Year early by enrolling in a program that will change the course of your future, today?

Our New Years Gift to You

When you enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program, we will give you a special gift enabling you to start a more profitable practice: QuickBooks Made Profitable.

Here’s how it works. Nearly 80% of small businesses use Intuit’s Quickbooks software. While other programs may be useful, Quickbooks has definitely captured the small business market. Learning Quickbooks will not only help you keep more efficient records, but it enables you to teach your clients how to use the software so that you can get the information you need, making your job much easier. Add to that the ability to represent yourself as a QuickBooks expert and you’ll be able to attract larger numbers of potential clients. This program will teach you how to leverage your time while saving clients money in taxes and helping them increase their profits. What client wouldn’t be interested in that? We’ll teach you how to use this valuable software package to generate even more clients!

What an offer! After ordering and completing these two programs you will be ready to start the New Year off right.

Don’t delay your dreams any longer. 2009 will be another banner year for the small business. Take advantage of it today! Enroll now!

Are You Ready For The Tax Season

Get Your Checklist Taken Care Of: Training and QuickBooks Pro

This week its coming down to crunch time. There is only two more months until the Tax Season ’07 officially kicks off. Are you ready? I’m sure all of us have one or two things they still need to do, but for us who are wondering do we have the training that will allow us to get through the season with flying colors.. it’s getting down to the wire.

For what you may ask? The Universal Professional Tax Preparer’s Program is the most comprehensive tax preparation program available on the market. In the program, as you may know, you will be able to get the rundown on the standard deductions and exemptions as well as the complicated employee business expense and miscellaneous itemized deductions among many, many other skills taught. And the time is quickly passing to get the program and to master all the material before the season starts!

It is estimated that if you only spend one hour a day on the course materials, (which is a comfortable pace for most) that you will be done with the course and ready for the certification process in 60 days. If you carry that out, it takes you into the last week of December. Don’t procrastinate getting enrolled into the program. You will be able to have the confidence and the know-how to properly give the best Tax Prep Service to those that come to you and those you are doing business with. Give yourself that added edge in your tax preparation career!

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What else will give you that edge for the ‘ Tax Season? Have you dreamed of having your own accounting clerk who manages your accounts payable and receivable? A personal tax practice requires you to manage lots of fiscal information, and that probably requires more of your time than you might like to spend, especially when that time could go towards more billable hours. Most business owners’ dream system would include the ability to do the following:

• Track clients and vendors so that you can easily find their information from one location

• Quickly create invoices so that you can receive payment sooner.

• Write checks with one click.

• Remind you when bills are due.

• Process easy-to-read financial reports.

• Manage accounts payable and receivable.

Thankfully there is a system that can do all those things for you, making the business end of your tax practice more manageable and less time-consuming. QuickBooks Pro is that system, servicing more than 80% of small businesses like you. And as a tax preparer you know how valuable it is to use the same system many of your clients are using.

Get the Information You Need from Your ClientsAs a tax preparer you know how valuable it is to get the information you need from your clients, and in the right format. In fact, the biggest complaint many tax preparers, accountants and bookkeepers have is that the information they receive from their clients is difficult to sort out and sometimes unusable. This is true whether the client is doing the books by hand or through QuickBooks. Potentially, many of them are already using QuickBooks, so you can simply teach them how to use it so that you can get the information you need, making your job much easier.

Make Extra MoneyOnce you master Quickbooks, you can offer help services to other Quickbooks users, and that’s not just limited to your current client base; you can attract new clients by offering Quickbooks set-up and consultation services for $65-$95 per hour. You’ll find companies who want to do their accounting tasks themselves, but need help in configuring Quickbooks to meet their needs. And once you’ve helped a company set up its initial QuickBooks system, who do you think they’ll turn to for help? You, of course! After all, you’ll have the training and expertise they’ll need whenever they run into a problem. Because even if businesses are doing the books themselves, they will need help in certain areas or have problems that only you can solve. Taxes and depreciation come to mind immediately, along with installation support, accruals, job costing, estate planning, and a myriad of additional services that only you can offer. And once your Quickbooks clients recognize the value and competence of your expertise, they’ll come to you for their tax needs.

Learn QuickBooks Now!Universal Accounting Center (UAC) has a training program that will teach you QuickBooks quickly, and painlessly. UAC’s Guide to Quickbooks Pro is a self-paced program that enables you to complete the parts that interest you and skip over the parts that don’t. Even if you have used the program for years, the program teaches you shortcuts and methods you may not have known. You will be impressed by the simple flow and completeness of this program. So why wait? In just a number of hours you could be ready to better manage your own finances, and add new services to your own practice, increasing your bottom line.

Imagine what you would pay for that accounts payable and receivable clerk we talked about earlier. Let’s say that clerk charged $25 an hour and you used her services 10 hours a month. That would cost you $250 dollars a month. Not bad, you think, especially if you can make that amount in less than 3 hours time preparing taxes. But in one year, that would cost you $3000. The retail cost of UAC training coupled with the QuickBooks Pro software is $485, but for a limited time you can get that for just $385; less than what you would pay that clerk in two month’s time. And if you already have the software, or are just interested in a trail version, it’ll just cost you $285. And in addition to having a system that can help you better manage your own business, you’ll also have the training to offer Quickbooks help services to current and potential clients. This could be just one way to expand your practice beyond tax season. Don’t wait; order today!

Universal Accounting Center

If It’s Accounting, It’s Universal:

Get to Know More About the Company That Will Change Your Career!

Universal Accounting is a company that is making a difference in the lives of their students! For those who are pursuing or looking into the possibilities of pursuing a career path into the Accounting, Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation services, you need to get to know more about what all Universal offers in their comprehensive training programs.

If you prefer onsite classroom study or looking for the benefits received on independent study, we have developed the programs that you will be able to get the one-on-one experience in your own home. The skills we have used over the course of the last 28 years, with the trial and error, the fine-tuning of accounting methods and strategies, and what we and thousands more have experienced running their own practices – we have provided to you the advantage to stay on top of your profession. Our coursework is designed to be exactly what you will be doing when you are servicing the biggest customer base available, the small business owner.

If you are looking for the knowledge, the skills, and the know-how to start or build your accounting or tax practice, or just looking to gain the essential skills to further your career in your place of business, Universal’s Programs are what you are going to need.

Click here to take the Video Tour of Universal and all that we offer to you, the accounting and tax professional to be the best in your field and to have the success in business and in your professional life that you are seeking.Our exclusive short term courses do just that!

Imagine staying on top of the latest in the industry and having access to the experts who can assist you through training? Imagine what you are learning can be applied the very next day at work? Imagine being able to keep the materials, and the reading for continued referencing as you take that path in Accounting, Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation? You don’t have to imagine too hard, because that is one of the many things you receive when you enroll in these specialized programs! Click here to get to know Universal Accounting.

Are You Ready For The Next Step?Be in business for yourself, but not by yourself getting paid what you’re worth! Are you tired of thinking, “Why not me?” You have gotten this far in your search to do what you want to in your chosen career, take the next step. The time is now to be able to get the training and the change you desire in your professional life. Click here to find out if Professional Tax Preparation Certification is a fit for you.

Be the Profit Expert Professional for Small Business! Don’t hesitate another day in getting the Accounting and Marketing Training that makes the difference. Click here to get more information on what you need to know about becoming the Profit Center Expert for small business accounting and tax!

Coaching Yourself through Startup (Part Two of a Two-Part Series)

7 Tips that to Help You Meet the Challenge of Starting Your Own Accounting and Tax Practice

Often what will successfully see you through startup is not a small business loan but a little self-coaching. Many small business owners spend more time worrying about their efforts than they do running their businesses. When you’re able to focus on what’s important, you’re better equipped to survive the highs and lows of launching your practice. Last week we discussed the first three of 7 tips designed to help you meet the challenge of starting your own accounting and tax practice:

1. Self Assess
2. Self Affirm
3. Question Yourself

This week we’ll discuss the final four tips:

4. Grow Your Passion

Most people start their own practices because they’re passionate about what they do: accounting and tax preparation. If you’re passionate about your trade it’s important that you hone your expertise to become the premier financial provider in your area. This may require you to invest in additional training, earn professional certification, or build your professional network. Whatever it is, it should ignite that passion and feed your desire to better serve your clientele.

5. Place Yourself in Positive, Rewarding Environments

Have you ever noticed how being with positive, upbeat people leaves you feeling positive and upbeat? On the down side, placing yourself in negative and draining environments will leave you feeling negative and drained. As you build your startup it’s important to place yourself in the most affirming environments possible, enabling you to approach your practice with joy and enthusiasm.

6. Reduce Energy Drains

Related to number five is this tip: reduce energy drains. The truth is starting your own practice is a big enough drain on its own. If you find there are too many demands on your energy, watch for those which are unnecessary or unnecessarily taxing. Do you have a client that’s more trouble than they’re worth? A colleague whose competitive and flashy nature distracts you? Or perhaps a vendor that’s nagging you for too much attention? Once you pinpoint those energy drains it’s time to plug them up! Eliminate the source and you’ll find it’s not long before you’re feeling empowered and rejuvenated.

7. Build a Solid Support Network

It helps to start your journey by building a support network filled with like-minded professionals. Included in your support network should be seasoned accountants and tax preparers, veteran small business owners, and other professionals who could coach and advise you on your journey to startup success.

Partner with UAC to Launch a Successful Accounting and Tax PracticeThe Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program, a self-paced training course in small business accounting, is the perfect way to build your confidence and provide you with informed self-coaching techniques designed to help you succeed as a contract accountant or bookkeeper. Your time is valuable, and you don’t have an unlimited amount of time in which to see your business succeed. That is why this course is self-paced, enabling you to complete it on your own time and in as little as 60 hours, if you so choose. Not to mention, this course comes complete with proven marketing strategies that will enable you to attract the clients that will sustain your practice and make you the premier accountant and tax preparer in the area.QuickBooks Made Profitable Will Make Your Business Even More ProfitableIf you order the Professional Bookkeeper Program now, we’ll throw in another valuable program: QuickBooks Made Profitable. Most financial professionals know that QuickBooks is the most popular accounting software used by small business owners. You can use your QuickBooks skills to attract even more clients. Want to know how? When you order the PB Program, you’ll get QuickBooks Made Profitable for free! With these two programs you’ll learn how to not only enhance your service offerings, but market them effectively to the right individuals! You’ve waited for the perfect opportunity. Here it is.

Click here.

Our Free Newsletters

Serving You with Our Free Newsletters

We enjoy sending you information that we hope improves your work as a tax preparer. Our three newsletters, AB Tips, Tax Tips, and Career Tips, are intended to help professionals like you advance in whatever their current position in the financial field. The AB Tips Newsletter is designed to share accounting and bookkeeping tips with subscribers. Intended for individuals with their own accounting practice or for those who would like to start their own practice, we specifically include tips on how to market your services, how to streamline tasks, how to organize your office space, etc. Our Tax Tips Newsletter is for tax preparers or those interested in tax preparation. We provide tax news, information on starting your own business, tips on building your clientele, etc. And finally, we have our Career Tips newsletter, for those who work or would like to work in the accounting field. In this newsletter we include information on getting the right job, advancing in your field, moving into management positions, etc.As we learn more about your needs, we alter our approach in order to better serve you. We’re adding a few things to the newsletter that we hope you enjoy. Here’s a breakdown of what’s included and how we hope it helps you.

Two articles

Since we began running our free ezines over two years ago, we have included two articles every issue that offer accounting and tax information, tips on running and marketing a small business, career guidelines and promotional pieces. The newsletters provide us with the opportunity to share our products and services with those we believe they best serve. Universal’s programs are top of the line and life-changing; we promote them because we know they help people like you achieve career goals and realize your business dreams.We also use the newsletter as an opportunity to expose you to our many free resources, including personalized information from our President and CEO, Allen Bostrom in Allen’s Blog, UAC’s accounting and tax forums, the newsletters, and the Universal video tour.Recently we’ve responded to requests for purely informational pieces as well. Last summer we asked newsletter subscribers to tell us what you wanted to read about. For the past six months we’ve tried to include articles on all suggested topics. Each newsletter contains one, if not two, informational pieces. We continue to welcome your feedback as we write articles intended to help you improve your financial services. Please visit our forums for a chance to give us feedback on past articles and suggestions for future articles.

Press Releases and New Products

We want you to be in the know about everything Universal, so we include all press releases, enrollment offers, and information about new products in our newsletters. From our new interactive testing center to our customized Professional Bookkeeper Program for Canadian residents, we want you to be the first to know what’s happening at Universal Accounting Center.

Quotable Quote

Everyone could use a little inspiration now and then, so we like to include a quotable quote in each issue of our newsletters. Funny quotes, somber quotes, quotes that make you want to get up and accomplish something, we try to include a variety that inspire and uplift.

“The Bottom Line”

And last but certainly not least is an upcoming addition to our newsletters: a video clip we call “The Bottom Line.” In the serious world of financial statements, taxes, and projected profits, the bottom line is that we like what we do and can enjoy a good laugh about our profession. The humorous clip is intended to help lighten your load and improve your day. We hope you look forward to this new feature and share it frequently with coworkers, family, and friends.We want our newsletter to help you move forward in your goals as a financial professional. So stay tuned as we continue to improve our newsletters so that they can better serve your needs. We appreciate your support.

QuickBooks: Are You Leaving Money On The Table

We are often asked how a business owner can minimize costs, and time while maximizing the potential profits from an account. This, quite frankly, should be the object for any “for-profit” business anywhere, but for each of us in the Accounting and Bookkeeping business, this can take on a special significance because literally our time equals money in our pockets. And if we can spend less time doing the same services while still maintaining the quaility of the services, we need to look for such tools to add to our business.

When you go into a meeting with a client or a prospective client your object should always be: How may I turn the most profit for my company with this account? Keep in mind that you always want to strive to provide to those you do business with a value-added service that makes you invaluable to them, and as you keep their books you’ll become an invaluable ally in their achieving their business profitability goals.

While providing this essential service, however, you need to keep asking yourself, “Is there more I can do with this client?” and, “Am I leaving money on the table that could easily be captured?” In every working relationship, there is an area of profitability where on one end gives you the work, but doesn’t make you the profit, and on the other side where it makes you the profit and has little or no benefit to your client. We’ve all experienced those “work-no-profit” accounts and projects in our professional careers. Although it is fun to take on one or two of those, it’s even more fun to have the profitable ones to keep your business viable and growing on those accounts and projects that make you money.

This line of profitability questioning leads to similar types of question of how well you are doing in what you are doing. As a business owner, you have to always be measuring how well you are doing in business. Questions like, ” How well am I accomplishing my goals? How can I be doing better? How can I bring in more income with less effort?” In a nutshell, is there a better way for me to accomplish what my business is doing in more efficient, time-saving, cost-cutting methods to realize bigger profit margins? There most certainly is.

Times-Savings = Cost-Savings = Higher Profits

Universal’s program for QuickBooks Training, The Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks, is what you need to work in less time and get more done. As a Professional Tax Preparer, QuickBooks is the perfect vehicle to get done what you need to, to track each of your accounts in a quick and efficient way. Universal’s QuickBooks Training is for you! By becoming a QuickBooks Specialist, mastering the software with our training behind you, maximizing your profits can become a reality. Its streamlined workflow helps you get what you need accomplished done more quickly and its easy-to-use desktop features will put what you need at your fingertips. Add in the hands-on practice our QuickBooks Training gives you and you are cutting hours off the time it would take you previously.

Coming Full Circle

There certainly is a way you can realize the money that is on the table in your profits. By working more efficiently and effectively is the way you can accomplish that! Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks is designed to do just that. We teach you how to streamline your processes so that you can do the work more effiicently, more accurately, and more effectively than before.

Here’s a brief rundown of what you get with each session:

Sessions 1-3

The fundamentals of daily bookkeeping tasks, and gaining a better understanding of the tasks that a bookkeeper performs. You will learn the key indicators of a company’s financial health, how to calculate them, and what they mean to your company. You will learn to interpret financial data to turn it into actionable business wisdom.

Session 4-6

You will learn the must-know principples of marking down assets and how to depreciate them for the largest tax advantage in as little time as the law allows. You will learn methods of depreciating fixed assets and how to calculate allowance for bad debts. You’ll learn the benefits of each business structure and which form will legalyy allow you to pay the least taxes possible.

Session 7

Master the technique that will enable you to navigate the debit/credit maze and learn to use the accountant’s troubleshooting tool. You’ll be introduced to preparing financial statements and how to interpret them into practical steps to take to increase your profitability.

Session 8

You’ll be introduces to gross profit, what it is, and what it means to the financial condition of your company. You will learn how the income accounts connect into the balance sheet.

There’s no better time than now to get started on the QuickBooks Training that will be the difference in your profit margins in your work. Part-time, to full-time or even as a hobby you will be able to turn out more quickly the cost-savings you need, with less time dedicated to doing it. At the same time, widening those sweet profit margins that make you and those you provide for happy.

Click Here Today and get Universal’s QuickBooks Training with a FREE 30-day Trial QuickBooks Software package, normally priced at $485 for only $285! The Free Trial software and 8 Interactive CD-ROMS that contain 22 units for your learning and practice for only $285. Get the training that will make the difference in your business.

Looking to be running right out of the gate? We also have a full-version of the software available! Normally priced $585, you can purchase a full-version of QuickBooks Pro 2006 (academic version – full-version just sold to students) and 8 Interactive CD-ROMS that contain 22 units for your learning and practice for the low price of $385. Get Yours Today!

Increase Productivity in Your Home Office

We’ve all heard the adage: don’t work hard, work smart. And while you will have to work to see your business succeed, there are ways you can streamline the work you do so that it’s more efficient. And heaven’s knows the closer tax season gets the more efficient you want to be. So here are a few simple things you can do to work smart.

Have a schedule: 1. stick to it, and 2. see that everyone else does.

It’s important that you keep hours just like any other business. And because you work for yourself, you get to pick your hours: from 9 to 5, 6 to 9, 10 to 2, whatever you choose you need to honor that schedule. Obviously there will be times when even you have to work overtime, but be sure clients, family, and friends know when you’re open for business and when you’re not; ask them to honor this schedule. This means that you don’t become a slave to your business even when you get calls after or before business hours. This also means that you can’t cave every time your best buddy comes over to watch a game that’s smack dab in the middle of your work schedule.It can be a little too easy to overstep your own boundaries in a home-work environment because you never truly leave your work in the office when that office is in the spare room of your home. But do the best you can to put it away, letting your answering machine or voicemail do the job it was designed to do. Otherwise you send clients a mixed message.

Develop a routine.

You’ll be more efficient if you develop a routine that you follow every time you sit down to your desk. There’s something about a routine that the brain appreciates; it’s better able to kick different functions into gear when it anticipates that need. Be sure to stagger your routine, sandwiching a mindless task in between two cerebral tasks. This can help you stay focused and motivated, avoiding burnout for a longer period of time.

Practice time management techniques.

Good time management and increased productivity go hand in hand. If you can do more with less time, you immediately increase your efficiency and productivity. And there are many things you can do to better manage your time, such as planning daily, prioritizing tasks, avoiding distraction, and eliminating procrastination. For more information, read our article on good time management techniques.

Choose health.

It’s difficult to be productive when you’re dead tired or lack energy. Ensuring that you’re eating healthy meals and getting a full-night’s sleep is vital in working quickly and efficiently. If you have a physically problem that’s interfering with work and you just can’t pinpoint a cause, visit your doctor and see how you might resolve that problem. You may be surprised at how much time you waste when both your body and mind are sluggish.

Put technology to work for you.

The right technology can help you be more productive. For example, if you’re still using a dial-up connection, the time has come for you to get cable or broadband. The time you waste waiting for pages to load will be eliminated and you can use that time to accomplish something else. Also consider other ways you might use technology to your advantage. If you can refer current and potential clients to a website with a thorough set of FAQ’s, you might eliminate time you’d spend answering additional questions.There’s also lots of accounting and tax software available that could help you save time and be more productive. For example, over 80% of small businesses use QuickBooks to manage their finances, so chances are many of your current clients have much of the information you need in their QuickBooks files. The good news is that once you master this software yourself, you can make extra money offering QuickBooks set-up and help sessions. You’ll also be able to train your own clients to get you the information you need in the format you need it in.

Universal Accounting Can Help You Learn QuickBooks Pro

UAC’s Guide to Quickbooks Pro is a self-paced program that enables you to complete the parts that interest you and skip over the parts that don’t. Even if you have used the program for years, this course teaches you shortcuts and methods you may not have known. You will be impressed by the simple flow and completeness of this program. And in addition to having a system that can help you better manage your own business, you’ll also have the training to offer Quickbooks help services to current and potential clients. This could be just one way to better manage client information, enabling you to save time and be more productive. Don’t wait; order today!It doesn’t take much to become more productive. Pick one or two of the things described here and implement them today! You may be surprised at what little it takes to move your business to the next level.

Getting an Edge Over Your Competition

Don’t Hand the Advantage over to Your Competition

Get That Edge Today!

Those who thrive in an aggressive financial market do all they can to acquire an advantage over their competition. It’s important that you always look for ways to get that edge, giving current and potential clients good reason to come to you for all their tax needs. So what can you do?

Offer More Services

Most people would be leery if you offered tax services in conjunction with notary services, party-planning services, and a nice selection of novelty items, all from the same shop. What they are looking for, however, is finding a financial professional who can do more for them than just file their taxes every year, especially if you’re targeting the small business market. So when we say offer more, we mean offer more complementary financial services.

Find Your Inner Accountant

As a tax preparer, we already know that numbers come naturally to you. Now all you need to do is find your inner accountant. If your client roster currently contains small business owners, becoming an accountant would prove more lucrative than you can imagine. These individuals need help analyzing their financial data so they can make more profitable decisions and achieve true success. They’ve already trusted you with their financial information so it wouldn’t take much to convince them that you could also work as their accountant.So you can get more business in offering additional services to current clients. You can also get more business in attracting potential clients with your new offering of accounting services. And chances are, once they come to you for that they’ll also ask you to manage their taxes. In adding this complementary service you secure a definite advantage over your competition.

UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program

Small business accounting is a valuable niche market. In fact, over 90% of accounting opportunities can be found in the small business arena. Universal Accounting Center (UAC) has been training professionals like you in small business accounting for over 27 years because they recognize what many do not; most universities and trade programs are teaching students corporate accounting which isn’t preparing them for the typical, real-world accounting experiences they will encounter.And becoming a small business accountant doesn’t require years of your valuable time. UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper (PB) Program is not only reputable, but it’s self-paced, enabling a busy professional like yourself to take your time or to complete the program quickly and in possibly less than 60 hours.This program contains four modules that will help you achieve that edge. They include:

• Accounting Made Easy
• Practical Small Business Applications
• Advancing Your “Account-Ability”
• Building a Successful Accounting Service

Our Free Gift to You

Currently Universal is running an amazing offer. Because today, when you purchase the Professional Bookkeeper Program you’ll get one of our new programs, QuickBooks Made Profitable, for FREE!

QuickBooks Made Profitable

If you aren’t currently aware, over 80% of small businesses use Intuit’s accounting software program called QuickBooks. While that may seem trivial information it constitutes a great opportunity to increase your income by adding QuickBooks services to your menu. This program will provide you with training on how you can use QuickBooks to attract larger numbers of potential clients as a QuickBooks expert. Learn how to leverage your time, meet potential clients and offer them services that will help them reduce taxes, increase profits and put money in the bank in such a way that there would be no reason for them to look elsewhere for their financial service needs.Consider this: by taking advantage of this special offer, you could multiply your earning potential and attract countless new clients while providing additional services to current clients. You’ll become a one-stop financial shop, offering valuable services that will blow your competition out of the water. Take advantage of this special offer quickly, before we run out of our current inventory. We expect this package to go quickly, so order now!