Photo By: www.loumora.com

Nothing but net might be good for Kobe and the Lakers, but having 30 or 60 day net terms on all your accounts payable isn’t necessarily good for your business.

Vendors often offer terms other than paying in full (“net”) in 30 or 60 days. It wouldn’t hurt to investigate possible options with your business partners to see what else is available.

Cash might be tight, so the thought of paying sooner rather than later might sound crazy right now. But if your vendors are willing to adjust their terms, pay them within the discounted period and see what kind of savings you can add up.

Because seriously, who doesn’t like free money?

I hate techology print by Exploding Dog

Of course you have IT, but what are you doing to protect your Information Technology? There are fundamental rules you should follow to mitigate IT security risks. Here are just a few to show you what I mean:

• Control physical access by creating “strong” passwords. If you use your kid’s or pet’s names, stop. If you use one password for everything, don’t. It can be very easy for a hacker to get your Facebook or email password and then try it on your more sensitive logins. (And no birthday’s as PINs on debit/credit cards!)

• Install appropriate firewalls, antivirus and anti-spyware software on computers and networks to protect from viruses and other malicious code. If you or your employees are using home computers for work, be sure the same security is in place there too. Automatic updates and installs provided by antivirus software can be set up to run at night or when there isn’t any activity.

• Be sure you have a backup and disaster recovery plan in place. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when you will need to use it. The fastest way to lose the trust of your business partners is losing their data. Back-up to either an external hard drive or an online service. The more copies you have in different locations the better off you are. But it’s important to keep a weekly or monthly back-up of your data in a separate location.

Basic, yes. A must, absolutely. But remember this only scratches the surface of what you should be doing to protect your business, for more information go to www.nist.gov/index.html.

Photo By: www.mattrainwaters.com

Make sure you and your employees are taking the time to shred documents with sensitive information on it. This might sound basic enough, but being a diligent shredder can greatly reduce your company’s legal liability.

It’s always a good time to review policies with your employees, so take a few minutes to evaluate your shredding procedures and determine whether or not you are complying with federal and state laws. Depending on the size of your company, you may want to consider hiring an outside shredding service to take on the task. Document destruction can come with several service options; on-site, off-site, drop off and as-needed.

(Side note: if your business handles medical or financial information be sure the service company you choose is HIPPA, GLB and FACTA compliant, because non-compliance with these rules can result in fines.)

Whether the sensitive information is the companys’, an employees’, or a clients’, you don’t want to risk having it fall into the wrong hands. The results could be costly and embarrassing to your business.

Theft can happen in any department, but the accounting department is usually the ones who can do the most damage. Bookkeepers that have access to cash, checks, deposits and record keeping are the most dangerous. They are able to cover their tracks without anyone noticing. It is important for companies to have checks and balances, or as they call them in the accounting world, “internal controls”. Segregation of duties can eliminate some of these risks…for example, if your bookkeeper is cutting the checks, you may want to review the invoices being paid, sign the checks and then mail them yourself.

Have I lost you?

If yes, here is an example of a bookkeeper given too much control:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/butler-18207-felony-laurent.html

Accounting might not be sexy, but it doesn’t have to be a snooze-fest either. We hope to empower you with knowledge that will make a positive impact on your bottom line. (Or at the very least, if we bore you, then please check out the cool non-accounting stuff before you go.)