Hayes CPA PLLC

07/17/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝘁?

Giving a customer great service won't make up for a messy or late invoice. If the invoice is unclear or fails to show up on time, a client is more likely to treat it as a low priority.

A few simple changes you can make with your billing habits to ensure professionalism and clarity are...
1. Itemize your services to eliminate back-and-forth emails by showing clients exactly what they are paying for.
2. Send an invoice the moment you finish a job.
3. Put clear due dates on every document to remove confusion up front and set an immediate expectation for payment.

Which invoicing habit have you seen cause trouble in a business:
𝘝𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴?

07/16/2026

Your business profitability and how much you're getting paid from it are going to be a big factor in whether or not you can do #2 & #3: https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/6-things-to-do-if-youre-nearing-retirement

07/15/2026

Do you typically send invoices as soon as a project wraps up, or do you prefer to manage them in a single batch at the end of the month?

There are valid operational reasons for both strategies, but they can create very different cash flow cycles. We would love to hear which method you’ve found more effective for your business.

07/14/2026

How Do I Maximize My Wilmington Small Business Tax Write-Offs in 2026?

Maximize your small business equipment tax write-offs in 2026 by using Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation to lock in savings before year-end.

07/14/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗸𝗶𝗱?

Wouldn't we all love to receive a guaranteed $200 check just for walking around the block every morning, or patch up a sudden cash flow crunch by handing someone a tiny deed to our Baltic Avenue? Turns out the actual rules of that game don't translate very well to running a business.

Sustainable growth takes a lot more strategy than just rolling the dice. Financial control is about building clean bookkeeping systems, tracking your actual margins, and managing your cash flow with real data.

If you are ready to stop guessing and want a clear, data-driven strategy to manage your business cash flow, reach out to us today. Let’s get your systems dialed in.

07/13/2026

"𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘄?"

It usually means your clients are taking longer to pay you than you are taking to pay your own bills. Your books show a profit based on sales, but steady cash flow is what actually keeps your doors open.

To fix this gap, look at how your cash is moving right now:
• If your Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) drifts from 30 days to 45 or 60 days, your cash is trapped in receivables. Use July to transition those slow-paying accounts to upfront retainers.
• If customers take 60 days to pay you, but you pay vendors in 15 days, you are financing your supply chain out of your own pocket. Safely stretch those vendor payments closer to 30 or 45 days.

Reviewing these timelines midyear lets you rebalance your cash flow before seasonal slowdowns hit.

07/10/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁?

One possible reason is that your fixed overhead costs are growing faster than your sales, often due to hidden software bloat and subscription creep.

To check this, evaluate your operating profit margin (Operating Income / Revenue x 100). A healthy benchmark for a service or professional small business hovers between 15% and 30%.

If your midyear review puts you below that, your fixed administrative expenses are outgrowing your sales. Six months into the year is the perfect time to audit your credit card statements and cancel the recurring tools or services your team stopped using back in February.

Haven't performed a Midyear Review for your business yet? Let's talk.

07/09/2026

If an unexpected $5,000 landed in your bank account tomorrow, where would that money go?
𝗮. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁: Knocking out a nagging credit card bill or back taxes.
𝗯. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Putting it back into your business tools, tech, or growth.
𝗰. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘁: Stashing it away so you can finally breathe easier.
𝗱. 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: Funding that personal project or trip you’ve been putting off.

07/09/2026

How to Check Your Wilmington Small Business Profitability Midyear

Boost small business profitability with a midyear financial check. Learn the key metrics to track and how to prevent year-end tax surprises.

07/08/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

Start by reconciling your books and generating your year-to-date financial statements. Here are the first two steps you should take this summer:
1. Clean and reconcile your bookkeeping through June. Make sure every transaction is properly categorized, and your bank accounts, credit cards, and loan statements are all reconciled.
2. Pull your two foundational financial statements for the first six months of the year: your Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement and your Balance Sheet.

These reports can show you whether your profit is keeping up with your revenue and where expenses may be squeezing your margins.