Hayes CPA PLLC

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?

10/28/2026

Types of Prepaid Expenses to Optimize Your Wilmington 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.

10/27/2026

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?

10/23/2026

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

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.

10/21/2026

Hayes CPA PLLC's Take: How Much Cash Should A Business Have On Hand?

How much cash should a business have on hand? Learn how to calculate 3 to 6 months of fixed overhead while keeping your tax reserves separate.

10/20/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀?

To calculate your emergency cash reserve, start with the bare-minimum cash out the door if sales stopped tomorrow.

Pull your Profit and Loss statement alongside your balance sheet, and tally your monthly baseline obligations:
• Payroll for essential staff (including employer taxes and benefits)
• Owner draws (if you pay yourself via distributions rather than W-2)
• Rent, software, and equipment leases
• Total debt service (both loan principal and interest)
• Insurance premiums and essential utilities

Leave out variable costs like raw materials and sales commissions that drop off when sales stop.

Once you've calculated your monthly fixed expenses, 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦.

That's a starting target for your emergency cash reserve. If your business has less predictable revenue or greater operating risks, consider building up to six months instead.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵?

10/19/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁?

Mistakes happen, whether a return was prepared by tax software or another preparer. We can take a second look, identify errors or missed opportunities, and amend the return when a correction is needed.

Comment 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 so we can set up a time to talk.