Getting in the Spirit for Strategic Planning

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If you’re at all familiar with our approach to accounting for business success and personal wellbeing, it won’t come as a surprise that we’re not really the types to set New Year’s resolutions just for the sake of tradition. Because financial and sales goals usually revolve around the tax year, it’s convenient for many business owners to review those things in December. But for us, there’s also a natural lull in activity in the last few weeks of the calendar year that makes it a great time to make adjustments to our strategic plan that affect daily processes and workflows. Learn more about some of the strategies we use in our latest blog post.

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Top 3 Financial Literacy Action Items for Business Owners

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Do you know where all of the money in your business bank account came from and where it’s going? How much income you’re missing from unpaid invoices? How much money you have set aside for quarterly taxes? What you can afford to invest in now and what you need to save for? When your financials are up to date, you can find the answers to these questions anytime. In this article, we’ll take a look at the nuts and bolts of some critical bookkeeping and accounting practices I recommend to most business owners.

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Trust Your Gut to Start Building Financial Literacy

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It may seem like tax season is a long way off, but when you think about what’s coming in the next few months—the Q4 rush to use up yearly budgets, the busy-ness of holiday season and then you’ll want to hit the ground running in the new year—there won’t be much time to sort through a backlog of accounting! Waiting until January will put you months behind, getting a clear picture of your business finances now will not only help you make better decisions for the rest of the year, it will also give you the time and the data you need to plan your tax strategy with confidence.

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Get Rich Quick: The Cautionary Tale of LuLaRoe

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I’d like to veer a bit outside our usual discussions about practical finance tips and strategies to talk about a very disturbing phenomenon that has been brought to light in the “LuLaRich” documentary series. Like me, you probably had a friend or two on Facebook who dominated your feed for a while with invites to her LuLaRoe group and notifications about flash sales. If you’ve been invited to join a multi-level marketing company, be aware of these tactics before committing your time and money.

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What does Financial Health (Really) Look Like for a Business? 

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One client came in feeling disappointed because she wasn’t making what she expected in sales this year. When Katie asked about her original intentions for the year, she said what she really wanted was to push herself to grow as a business owner and a person—which she definitely did! Once that shame was out of the way, we were able to have a great conversation about where to go from here. This perfectly illustrates why we prefer to talk about “intentions” rather than goals. There’s no need to put any more pressure on ourselves!

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A Guide to Mindful Holiday Saving

A Guide to Mindful Holiday Saving

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The holiday season puts about a quarter of American families into debt each year, and while I always say your debt does not define you, the more you can plan ahead, the easier it will be to meet your financial goals and feel less stressed about money. So now is the time to get in the spirit of saving.

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Why Personal Finance Comes First at Monarch CPA

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From the beginning, Monarch has been primarily an accounting and tax firm. So it’s understandable when our new clients shy away from talking about personal finance. We hear it all the time: I’m just here for business. Let’s not worry about my personal stuff.

But as a small business, we have our own very personal reasons for talking about personal finance. It’s a part of our DNA: the values that inform each of our processes and decisions. We believe in taking care of you first because your financial literacy and wellness create the basis for your business to thrive.

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Top FIVE Lies You Might Be Telling Yourself About Money

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Many of us formulate beliefs about money before we even got our first “big kid” job and they stem from several different places, such as our family’s socioeconomic status, financial literacy and spending habits. It’s up to us to find our own truth with our money and values. Have any of these five lies been holding you back?

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business woman facing an emergency

Expect the Unexpected: Protect Your Business with an Emergency Plan

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As a young and vivacious business owner, a personal emergency that might take you out of your role for four weeks to six months or more is probably the last thing on your mind. But as a fellow business owner, CPA and financial coach, I’m here to remind you that the unexpected does happen. And yes, it could happen to you! Think about the impact it would have on your business if you went MIA for just a week with limited access to email, without warning. What would happen? How long would it take to dig yourself out? Stay ahead of an emergency or extended leave by having game plan. Learn more in this latest article!

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mature woman talking with financial coach on laptop

Financial Coach vs Financial Advisor… Which One Do I Need?

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There are various reasons why it would make sense to work with a financial coach or financial advisor at different points in your life. Ideally, you would find those professionals at the right time, and the work you do with each of them would complement the other. But often, that’s not what happens. Read on to find out which might be the best fit for where you are at in your life right now.

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