Luckily, we live in the 21st century, where all you have to do is get online to find a slew of financial resources that will guide you. As a small business owner, however, you don’t have time to sift through the Google results, so I did it for you. Here are ten that will be especially helpful in your first year, as you learn the basics and lay your groundwork.
Access Financing Tool
If you’re still looking for funding, use this tool from Business USA. After answering a few short questions, including what kind of financial help you need and what kind of business you’re starting or running, you’re presented with a variety of government loans and grants you can apply for.
Introduction to Financing
This 30-minute course is provided by the U.S. Small Business Association and is free to anyone who’s interested in taking it. During the course, you’ll learn the basics of accounting, including what money flows are, how to keep an accurate ledger, and much more. If you’re totally new to accounting, don’t miss this.
Tax and Expense Organizers
The easiest way to start learning what you do and don’t need to track is to get pre-made financial organizers created by financial professionals. The experts at Curtin CPA have created a variety of templates for you to print, including expense worksheets, expense organizers, tax-exempt organization forms and more. Find what you need, print, and start learning.
Savings Plans for Small Businesses
This is another 30-minute course from the U.S. SBA, and is also free. During the course of this training, you’ll get an overview of savings plans and strategies, including long-term savings plans, tax breaks, retirement planning and more. This is another informative course that’s a no-brainer for any new small business owner.
IRS Virtual Workshop
This “virtual workshop” is all about small business taxes. Within the workshop you’ll find nine different lessons, starting with “what you need to know about federal taxes” and ending with “hiring people who live in the U.S. but aren’t U.S. citizens.” This resource comes straight from the source, making it one of the most valuable financial resources on this list.
Myth Busters—Minimum Wage Edition
This video put together by the National Federation of Independent Business, breaks down details surrounding minimum wage. As they say in the description: “Misinformation swarms around minimum wage. See what common notions are actually works of fiction.”
SME Toolkit Financial Forms
This is a long list of forms you’ll want to bookmark for later. Here you’ll find everything from cash flow analysis worksheets to employee timesheets and budget planners. All are free and downloadable.
How to Prepare a Balance Sheet
This resource provides you with the initial equations you need to create an accurate balance sheet in addition to details for determining what your assets and liabilities are. You’ll also find formatting suggestions for the final spreadsheet that you create.
Small Business Calculators
Head over to Sure Payroll’s financial resources section and you’ll find a variety of calculators that you can use to determine payroll costs. Choose from a number of specific calculators, including those for payroll deductions, payroll taxes, marginal tax rate and earned income credit.
Top Tax Deductions
Don’t miss an opportunity to deduct come tax time. This list of potential deduction opportunities, put together by Forbes, is a great place to start when determining how you can save when tax season comes around.
