Can You Negotiate Lower Prices From Your Vendors?

Missed opportunities result from complacency. Occasionally questioning the prices you pay for products and services makes sense for businesses of all sizes. The trouble is that small businesses are more likely to lack the skills and experience to do this.

"What you've been paying your vendors does not have to be the final word on what you continue paying. Ultimately, vendors want to stay in business, too, and they're dealing with a tough economy just as you are. Many are often willing to negotiate lower prices rather than lose a regular customer."

- Ian Aronovich, GovernmentAuctions.org

An article by Kevin Brown on Hubspot's blog offers several excellent tips for negotiating better deals with vendors. Here are a few highlights:

• You don't know what you don't know. Do background research.
• Learn what the other person needs most.
• Recognize that for most companies, keeping you as a customer is cheaper than gaining a new customer. This is leverage in your favour.
• Start when there is no deadline to avoid negotiating under one.

Most importantly, recognize the fine line that will keep the negotiations from impacting your long term business relationship.

How long has it been since you reviewed the prices you pay to your key vendors? Perhaps it's time.

Should I Buy or Should I Lease My Next Vehicle?

As a business owner, I have debated this question many times over the years. I have both leased and purchased, and I like to get a new vehicle every 3 or 4 years... whether I really need it or not.

My advice about making this decision is: speak with your accountant.

There are many ways to handle both the usage and the HST (Nova Scotia) you can claim. Factors, such as whether you are a Sole Proprietor or Corporation, will impact this decision.

• Purchased vehicles become assets and part of your net worth.
• Lease payments become expenses which can be written off using the CRA rules.

Lease payments are generally lower than your payments if you buy, which makes them attractive. Buying might have higher payments but you are making payments on an asset that eventually will be paid off, meaning you will be debt free until you require a new vehicle.

Ideally you don't want to take out a loan to pay off a vehicle that is not expected to last at least as long as the term of the loan. Dealerships may offer longer terms for repayment to make you think the cost is reasonable (smaller payments), however after 5-6 years, the warranty is gone and problems start. A vehicle will depreciate if it's an asset, and generally by 30% in the first year.

Leases have mileage limitations so, based on your future use of the vehicle, this must be considered. There are also penalties if you wish to get out of a lease sooner that its term. Sometimes the lease rates are higher than purchase rates.

Here is a calculator from CRA which will help you compare the costs.

Don't Mix Business with Personal

Here are 3 reasons why keeping your personal and business finances separate will also help keep you and your business healthy.

Finding, tracking, posting, filing, and reconciling your bank, credit card, and PayPal accounts - paper and electronic - becomes much more onerous and time consuming. You'll often have to chase down personal statements and dig through old purses for receipts to explain debits and credits. If you wait too long, the disappearing ink will confound your efforts even more. All of these things are guaranteed to make you feel overwhelmed.

Accurate information about your expenses on a regular basis will help you make better business decisions, otherwise you're flying by the seat of your pants. When your business and personal finances are muddled, you won't have a clear picture until tax time. Once a year is not the only time you need to make decisions. Inaccurate information can cause insecurity and indecision, detrimental to small business success.

If you keep your finances separate, you'll also find tax season much less stressful. Since less stress is good for your health, keeping personal and business systems separate also contributes to a healthy lifestyle. The impact of "tax stress" can be more than you might think.

If you are already suffering from these accounting ailments, get in touch. Untangling messes is one of my specialties.

Meals vs. Food as Business Expenses

When you're just getting started in business, you may not know how the CRA feels about meal expenses. Here's an excerpt from the CRA's website under business expenses:

The maximum amount you can claim for food, beverages, and entertainment expenses is 50% of the lesser of the following amounts:

• the amount you incurred for the expenses; or
• an amount that is reasonable in the circumstances.

Of course, you need to capture this non-standard transaction appropriately in your bookkeeping records.

Recently a client asked me, "What about when I'm paying for food to be brought in when I'm putting on a training workshop?" In that case the food becomes part of the total workshop expenses because you are (or should be) recouping the cost as part of the workshop registration fee. In effect, you are reselling the food - much different than noshing steak and beer on the waterfront.

5 Resolutions for Your Bookkeeping New Year

We all make promises to ourselves that in the New Year we will do things better. Here are 5 worthwhile activities that will make your accounting processes easier for yourself and your bookkeeper. These are all quick to implement or easy to stick to.

#1. Log all the important dates in your calendar.
This only takes a few minutes and might include dates for payroll input, Canada Revenue dates for HST filings, corporate income tax filings, and even personal income tax filings. Acting on these dates in a timely manner will keep your bookkeeper happy and ensure your books stay up to date!

#2. Book an appointment to see your accountant.
Do it now and meet soon. This will allow you to review how you did financially in 2016 and if there are any tax breaks you can take advantage of before filing your tax returns.

#3. If you are a person who lives with spreadsheets and tracks your expenses that way, STOP.
Get bookkeeping software to manage your revenue and expenses. Need help figuring out which application would work best for you? Please call me!

#4. Put a simple filing system in place and ditch the shoebox.
Does a box sit in the corner with receipts in it waiting to be sorted? Take just a little time to put an organized system in place - it will reduce your stress!

• In a file box or file drawer, place file folders labelled for each month of the new year. This way, your receipts will be sorted by month at the end of the year.
• If those receipts relate to bank statements or credit card statements, match them up as you go and staple them to the back of the statements. It's a great way to know if you are missing something!

#5. Finally, pay attention to your financial statements. They tell a huge story about how your business is doing. If you need help understanding these reports, give me a ring!