View in: Desktop
Copyright @2024 TigerDroppings.com. All rights reserved.
- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Posted by
Message
In Memoriam: Poodlebrain
Posted by RedStickBR on 5/25/19 at 11:34 am82
Looks like my wife and I are taking the plunge and buying a small business. It’s times like these where, in addition to hired professional advice, asking Poodlebrain a question or two would have gone a long way.
For those in Poodlebrain’s profession, a question: we are hiring professional tax counsel to set us up and get our books going, but are interested in knowing as much about bookkeeping as possible and intending to in-source it eventually if not immediately.
What do we need to be thinking about in terms of QuickBooks vs Other Options?
What are some good resources for us to begin to learn about [whichever answer the previous question produces]?
What are some best practices for keeping the books in a way that would help down the road if we ever decide to sell the business?
I’m a finance professional by trade, and very much into analytics, predictive capabilities, budget forecasting, etc. The more technology, the better.
TIA
For those in Poodlebrain’s profession, a question: we are hiring professional tax counsel to set us up and get our books going, but are interested in knowing as much about bookkeeping as possible and intending to in-source it eventually if not immediately.
What do we need to be thinking about in terms of QuickBooks vs Other Options?
What are some good resources for us to begin to learn about [whichever answer the previous question produces]?
What are some best practices for keeping the books in a way that would help down the road if we ever decide to sell the business?
I’m a finance professional by trade, and very much into analytics, predictive capabilities, budget forecasting, etc. The more technology, the better.
TIA
This post was edited on 5/25 at 11:36 am
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by lynxcat on 5/25/19 at 12:30 pm to RedStickBR
Good luck!
Nice callout for Poodle. He was in a league of his own. It was equivalent to have a Tax Partner on speed dial.
Nice callout for Poodle. He was in a league of his own. It was equivalent to have a Tax Partner on speed dial.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/25/19 at 1:41 pm to lynxcat
Thanks! Couldn’t agree more. Poodle knew his stuff and was unbelievably generous in sharing his knowledge, freely and completely, with this board. Not sure who the resident tax expert is nowadays, but they have big shoes to fill!
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by southernelite on 5/25/19 at 2:31 pm to RedStickBR
Depends on the age, type, and size of the business, but it’s pretty hard to beat the ease of use provided by QBO.
Best practices to bookkeeping are being as detailed and uniform as possible. Also minimize use of manual journals/adjusting journals.
I’ve seen some businesses use memos like “to record activity” and it’s like, well, no shite right? But what activity?
If it’s a bigger more established business that you think will outgrow QB quickly or already has, I know Intacct is very popular. We almost made that conversion but ultimately did not. I’m currently spearheading our conversion to a different system right now, I’d be happy to answer any specific questions you may have.
Best practices to bookkeeping are being as detailed and uniform as possible. Also minimize use of manual journals/adjusting journals.
I’ve seen some businesses use memos like “to record activity” and it’s like, well, no shite right? But what activity?
If it’s a bigger more established business that you think will outgrow QB quickly or already has, I know Intacct is very popular. We almost made that conversion but ultimately did not. I’m currently spearheading our conversion to a different system right now, I’d be happy to answer any specific questions you may have.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by Spitting Venom on 5/25/19 at 3:02 pm to RedStickBR
What kind of business are you buying?
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/25/19 at 11:48 pm to southernelite
Thanks for the info. It’s an established business of decent size with a dozen or so employees. I’m still early in the education process, but it feels like QB would be the best option so far.
I’ll definitely have questions as we begin to really self-educate and test drive some of this software. Thanks for being willing to help.
I’ll definitely have questions as we begin to really self-educate and test drive some of this software. Thanks for being willing to help.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by Pussykat on 5/26/19 at 2:23 am to RedStickBR
Used Quickbooks for years, it’s task oriented. Best way to learn it is use it daily using basic features, pay bills, write checks, invoice customers, receive payments, reconcile bank accounts and payroll. If your QBs company is set up well you should have no problem, you may consider a professional to set it up for you. Good luck.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by LSUFanHouston on 5/26/19 at 7:41 am to RedStickBR
What software is the business currently using?
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by southernelite on 5/26/19 at 8:02 am to RedStickBR
Best of luck with the new business. Assuming it was previously closely held, you’ll have some pains during the transition, but it’s very exciting.
The company I work for recently bought a small start-up, so we’ve been going through some of the things you’ll face. We are currently amidst a rebrand and repositioning of the company. Dealing with the transition, instituting more rigorous internal control, and getting talent buy-in (among other things) has been quite the challenging endeavor, but very rewarding as well.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/26/19 at 8:56 am to LSUFanHouston
Sticky notes.
TD SponsorTD Fan
USA
Member since 2001
USA
Member since 2001
Thank you for supporting our sponsors Posted by Site Sponsor to Everyone
Advertisement
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/26/19 at 9:07 am to southernelite
Thanks. The talent buy-in is going to be a big one. It’s abolutely top of mind for us.
By the way, not sure why anyone would downvote what you wrote. I appreciate the feedback.
By the way, not sure why anyone would downvote what you wrote. I appreciate the feedback.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by OleWarSkuleAlum on 5/26/19 at 11:13 am to LSUFanHouston
quote:
What software is the business currently using?
This is the most crucial question
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/26/19 at 11:19 am to OleWarSkuleAlum
The answer is “none.” The current owner has been keeping the books the same way for the past few decades, and that’s with pen and paper.
ETA: This is actually one thing that is very exciting to me: to modernize the business from a technological standpoint, build the books digitally from the ground up, and look for ways to drive improvement. In a variety of different business and finance roles, I’ve analyzed business and financial performance my entire career. I cannot wait to apply the same scrutiny to my own.
ETA: This is actually one thing that is very exciting to me: to modernize the business from a technological standpoint, build the books digitally from the ground up, and look for ways to drive improvement. In a variety of different business and finance roles, I’ve analyzed business and financial performance my entire career. I cannot wait to apply the same scrutiny to my own.
This post was edited on 5/26 at 11:22 am
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/26/19 at 11:29 am to Pussykat
Thanks, Pussykat. Great feedback. The business is somewhat transactional on the Inventory and COGS side and not very transactional at all on the revenue side (think sticky, recurring monthly payments). Also, as mentioned, there are a dozen or so employees on the payroll.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by southernelite on 5/26/19 at 1:41 pm to RedStickBR
Don’t get me wrong, I do my fair share of shite-posting on TD and some on the Money Board, but the quality of this board has diminished lately.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by lynxcat on 5/26/19 at 3:42 pm to southernelite
Crypto and LSUS threads changed the makeup of the MTB. For better or worse, those were step changes.
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/26/19 at 3:48 pm to lynxcat
THF, with his uncanny sarcasm and quick wit, used to do a great job of policing this board as well.
May he also R.I.P.
May he also R.I.P.
This post was edited on 5/26 at 3:49 pm
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by 756 on 5/27/19 at 4:21 pm to RedStickBR
I suggest you give these folks a call SCORE
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by RedStickBR on 5/27/19 at 10:03 pm to 756
Thanks for that recommendation
re: In Memoriam: PoodlebrainPosted by LSUFanHouston on 5/28/19 at 11:50 am to RedStickBR
quote:
The answer is “none.” The current owner has been keeping the books the same way for the past few decades, and that’s with pen and paper.
ETA: This is actually one thing that is very exciting to me: to modernize the business from a technological standpoint, build the books digitally from the ground up, and look for ways to drive improvement. In a variety of different business and finance roles, I’ve analyzed business and financial performance my entire career. I cannot wait to apply the same scrutiny to my own.
I've been going through this with a client for about 6 months or so now. Company was owned by two guys but one was the "admin" guy and one was the "shop" guy. Shop guy buys out admin guy, and then names his son, who is also a shop guy, to run the admin day to day.
We were engaged to help with the buyout valuations, which turned into being engaged to help with the transition, which turned into us being engaged to "modernize" their accounting system, which was, for decades, pen and paper, typed (yes, with a typewriter) invoices, handwritten and hand-calculated paychecks, etc.
We first told them they were to never write another paycheck again and sent them to a local payroll company. The employees immediately cheered because not only was payroll actually correct every time, they also got direct deposit.
We then set them up on Quickbooks Premier. It was a challenge, both to set up and to get them to understand how to use it, but they are absolutely rolling with it now. Now they do all their invoices in QB, e-mail copies to their customers, who love that they get them via e-mail, are professional looking, and are correct.
Next, we got them a new credit card processor and cut their rates in half.
Now, we are working with them on parts inventory tracking and controls - 95% of what they do is custom-made but only takes a few min to a few hours to assemble.
The owner and manager can now pull up a number of reports showing cash on hand, operating income, A/R aging, etc. I can remote in and see the information as well and discuss with them at any time.
It's cost a lot of money to set up but it's so much better than what they had.
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News