Guardian Solutions CPA

10/30/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿'𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀?

If your business uses cash-basis accounting, paying expenses before December 31 could allow you to deduct them on this year's tax return instead of next year's, lowering your taxable income for the current year.

But 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

For example, a one-year business insurance policy or annual software subscription may qualify under the IRS's 12-𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦, even if the coverage or service doesn't start until next year.

With that in mind, now is a good time to review your recurring business expenses and see which ones renew in the next few months.

You can do this by checking their renewal dates, what period each payment covers, or how much cash you'd have left if you paid early.

And comment 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗦 if you need guidance for your specific situation before year-end.

10/29/2026

What's scarier than Halloween? Finding out your business has been paying for subscriptions nobody uses…

Before October ends, pull up your last three months of bank statements and look for recurring charges. Check which services you're actually using and cancel the ones you no longer need to eliminate those extra charges!

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵?

10/28/2026

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲?

Whether you record an expense when you pay the bill or when the work is completed depends on whether your business uses cash-basis or accrual accounting. And that timing can change how your financial reports look.

With 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, you record income when money comes in and expenses when money goes out.

With 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, you record expenses when they're incurred, even if you pay the bill at a different time.

For example, if you pay a contractor in advance for work they'll complete next year, that payment may appear differently in your books depending on which method you use.

When those costs are being recorded matters. Otherwise, you might have trouble figuring out why one month looks more expensive than another.

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴?

10/27/2026

The founder of Ring still puts his personal email address on every product box so he can get real intel from customer emails that land in his inbox.

Talk about a customer care strategy!

https://www.inc.com/rachel-suleymanov/ring-founder-sold-company-1-billion-dollars-puts-email-on-every-box/91422792

10/26/2026

𝗜𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲?

Your business may be relying too heavily on one customer if they account for 𝟭𝟱% 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟬% or more of your total revenue.

Think about what happens if that customer suddenly stops paying or cancels their contract.

You still have employees to pay and regular operating expenses to cover. But now a significant portion of the money you're counting on isn't coming in.

That's why your cash reserve should reflect how dependent you are on your largest customers. If one customer accounts for a substantial share of your revenue, consider building a reserve closer to 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙨 rather than three.

And your bookkeeping reports should give you a clear picture of that dependency. Run a sales-by-customer report for the last 12 months, then divide your largest customer's revenue by your total revenue to see what percentage they represent.

You can also review their outstanding invoices to see how much of your expected cash is tied to that one customer.

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳?

10/25/2026

Types of Prepaid Expenses to Optimize Your Greater Richmond Business's Cash Flow Before Dec 31

Cut your 2026 business taxes before Dec 31. Claim the prepaid expense deduction for tax savings on software, rent, and insurance.

10/23/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸?

It's probably on this list of spending decisions that haunt Americans long after Halloween.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/studies/2026-financial-regrets-study

10/22/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀?

Your business can have strong sales and still struggle to cover its bills if you're spending money long before you actually collect payments from your customers.

Let's say you pay your suppliers for materials 60 days before you finish a job and receive payment.

During those 60 days, your money is tied up. But payroll, rent, and other expenses still have to be paid.

That's where your cash conversion cycle comes in because it measures how long it takes your business to turn money spent on inventory or supplies back into cash.

To figure it out, we look at:
1. How long inventory sits before it's sold
2. How long customers take to pay
3. How long you take to pay your suppliers

The longer that gap, the more working capital your business needs to keep operating.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵?

10/21/2026

Business is NOT for the faint of heart!

10/21/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀?

To see whether your business has enough readily available funds to meet its short-term obligations, check your Quick Ratio. It's a measure of how well your liquid assets can cover what you owe.

𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩:

Take your cash plus accounts receivable (money customers owe you), then divide that total by your current liabilities.

You want that ratio to be at least 1.0.

That means you have at least $1 in these liquid assets for every $1 in short-term liabilities.

And unlike the Current Ratio, the Quick Ratio leaves inventory out of the calculation (because inventory still needs to be sold before it turns into cash).

Not sure what your Quick Ratio is? Comment 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢 below, and we can walk through which numbers to pull from your balance sheet.