Cost Segregation Study Results In 215000 Tax Deduction - Jan 3, 2011
Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles
Cost Segregation is an IRS-approved application by which commercial property owners can accelerate depreciation and reduce the amount of taxes owed. This savings generates cash flow that business owners may use to reinvest in the business, purchase more property or pay themselves bonuses.
It’s simple, legal and recommended in the August 2004 issue of the Journal of Accountancy for CPAs.
My client owns an office building with a cost of about $1.8 million. After completing a preliminary analysis I recommended engaging a cost segregation firm specifically focused to perform engineering-based cost segregation studies. The study resulted in an increased depreciation expense of $215,000 or an increased after tax cash flow of $75,000 in the first year.
The good news is that you can still complete a cost segregation study in 2011 and claim the benefits in your 2010 tax return!
If you are the owner of commercial properties valued at $300,000 or greater, contact your B2B CFO® partner to determine if a cost segregation study can you increase cash flow.
Strong Management Helps Company Secure 500000 - Dec 7, 2010
Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles
While I continue to hear that banks are not loaning money, I am continuing to help my clients access capital. Today I helped a client increase their line of credit by $500,000. My experience continues to be that companies that have strong management, know and understand their markets and have good operating fundamentals are getting the cash they need to grow their businesses. Included on the strong management team is an experienced Chief Financial Officer to help the company with:
- Banking relationships
- Profit Improvement
- Strategic Planning
- Cash Flow
- Working Capital Improvement
- Gross Profit Optimization
- Expense Reduction
- Timely, Accurate and Meaningful Financial Statements
- Increased Sales
- Exit Planning
If your company does not have an experienced financial professional on the team it is at a strategic disadvantage.
Helping Another Company Grow And Meet Their Goals - Oct 2, 2010
Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Success Stories
Despite media claims to the contrary, there continues to be financing available for small businesses. This week I assisted a client obtain $1.2M of term debt with a 3% interest rate and a 20 year amortization. According to both my client and the banker, this financing would not have been available without the services of an experienced Chief Financial Officer. Through September 30, I have helped raise over $8.5M of debt and equity for my clients.
New Client Closes On 26 Million Bank Funding - Feb 26, 2010
Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Success Stories
This week I helped a new client finalize a loan package of about $2.6 million. In order to secure the best possible combination of term, rates and service I arranged interviews with several banks ranging from small and midsized community banks to several large international banks. I was able to help them secure a line of credit and a term note that will end up saving a significant amount of interest and improve cash flow compared to their existing debt structure.
Many of the bankers we interviewed made it clear that if the company did not have a B2B CFO involved on a regular and ongoing basis, they would not be interested. Not only did my involvement provide credibility about the quality of financial statements, but also added confidence that the company had seasoned financial professional on the management team.
As a B2BCFO, we pride ourselves on helping clients navigate the process of obtaining lines of credit and term loans. We provide the banks and other lending institutions with confidence and we develop business cases to show how our client's cash flow can support lines of credit and term loans.
Cash. We Help You Get It.
Its Time To Abandon The Budget - Nov 30, 2009
Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles
The Need for Driver-Based Continuous Planning
Do you know the effects on your company if sales increase by 10%, 20%, etc.? Do you have the cash to fund the growth? What happens if a new competitor forces you to cut prices or a key supplier pushes through a significant cost increase? Especially with the ongoing economic crises all of us have been challenged to develop planning systems that react more quickly than ever before. Do you have the right tools to respond? This month I will challenge you to consider tossing out the traditional annual budget and instead move to a dynamic driver-based rolling forecast.
Successful companies of all sizes are facing pressures to make planning systems more immediate and responsive. The old way thinking was to sit down with the team in Q4 and come up with next year’s budget. Once finalized it was set in stone and loaded into the accounting system. That works fine if your business model is static and predicable. However, old ways of doing business are continuously
challenged by competitors, customers and the ongoing economic crisis.
The once a year Uber-process that produces a one size fits all scenarios budget is on the way out in favor of new approaches such as driver- based continuous planning, a discipline for developing plans and decision making promoted by such organizations as the Beyond Budgeting Round Table and planning gurus like Rob Kugel at Ventana Research.
Pulling from the literature, the table below presents the differences between budgeting,
the historical discipline, and driver-based continuous planning, another way of thinking promoted
in this article.
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Budgeting VS Rolling Forecast |
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Employee Theft Ron Willingham the founder of Integrity Systems advises “don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions.” So I ask you, are your employees stealing from you? How do you know? It never ceases to astound people that a trusted employee could steal from you. It angers you and makes you sad, but it is happening every day. Large amounts are stolen from businesses and the most vulnerable companies are sustaining the biggest losses.
Are you a victim?
Considering the potential losses Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles
Excel shortcut and function keys The following lists contain CTRL combination shortcut keys, function keys, and some other common shortcut keys, along with descriptions of their functionality I have found and cataloged. I hope you find them useful. CTRL combination shortcut keys Key Description CTRL+SHIFT+( Unhides any hidden rows within the selection. CTRL+SHIFT+) Unhides any hidden columns within the selection. CTRL+SHIFT+& Applies the outline border to the selected cells. CTRL+SHIFT_ Removes the outline border from the selected cells. CTRL+SHIFT+~ Applies the General number format. Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles You may have heard the expressions “make hay while the sun shines” or “strike while the iron is hot.” These old proverbs are particularly relevant to current tax laws. More and more often, Congress is enacting tax breaks on a temporary basis—creating “limited time only” offers. Some of these temporary breaks may eventually be extended by Congress, but others may not be. So, where practical, you may want to take advantage of the breaks while they are available. To help get you started, here are a few breaks that are currently set to expire in 2009. · 1. Income. Up to $2,400 of unemployment compensation benefits are excluded from gross income by the recipient. However, the exclusion is not available for benefits received in tax years beginning after 2009. · 2. Personal deductions. Clients can claim a deduction (whether they itemize or claim the standard deduction) for sales or excises taxes paid on the purchase of a new vehicle. The deduction (phased out at higher income levels) does not apply to purchases after December 31, 2009 · 3. Personal deductions. Clients who claim the standard deduction can take an additional deduction for state and local property taxes, up to a maximum of $500 ($1,000 for joint return filers). The deduction is not available for tax years beginning after 2009. · 4. Personal deductions. A client can elect to take an itemized deduction for state and local general sales taxes instead of an itemized deduction for state and local income taxes, but the election is available only for tax years beginning before Jan. 1, 2010. · 5. Personal deductions. A client may claim an above-the-line deduction for “qualified tuition and related expenses” paid for the enrollment or attendance o....
Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Success Stories This week I was able to help one of my clients, a professional services company, obtain a line of credit and a term loan to recapitalize their balance sheet. Before I was hired, my client was having a difficult time managing and financing their growth. For each of the past three years, the company had doubled sales. As the company grew it was experiencing symptoms of infrastructure outgrowth. As predicted by our publication, The Danger Zone, Lost in Growth Transition, the company was rapidly moving towards the stage of the business cycle where cash needs of the company exceed available cash: The Danger Zone. Working with the business owner, we developed a number of tools and processes to rebuild the company’s infrastructure in order to manage growth, profitability and cash flow. Among the infrastructure tools we implemented was a 12 month rolling forecast. This forecast helped the business owner model the business over the next year to determine the effect on the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow of the various strategic business decisions we were contemplating. Not only did this rolling forecast give us a clear financial roadmap for where the company was going, but it also provided us the visibility to understand the company's cash needs. Once we completed the infrastructure improvements, including our 12 month rolling forecast, we met with the bank to review our financing needs. We reviewed our business plan with the bank and discussed in detail the improvements made. Using our 12 month rolling forecast as the basis for our financial presentation to the bank, we were able to clearly demonstrate how and why the company's performance would increase, its financing needs and cash flow. Based on our comprehensive business plan, we were able to 1) secure an adequate line of credit to fund the company's short-term operating needs, 2) secure a term debt to recapitalize the balance sheet and improve liquidity and 3) consolidate our banking with one bank. As a B2BCFO, we pride ourselves on helping clients navigate the process of building profitable companies with solid infrastructure. We provide banks and other lending institutions with confidence and we develop business cases to show how our client’s cash flow can support lines of credit and term loans. Cash. We Help You Get It. Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Testimonials I have been working with Scott for several months and he has made a tremendous difference for my company. With his help and leadership we have created a comprehensive rolling 12 month forecast so that we can have a clear roadmap for operations, performance and cash flow. He has also developed a dashboard that helps me monitor and take action on all of the key performance indicators for my company. I would highly recommend Scott if you need a CFO to help your company grow, increase profits and increase cash flow. Jeff Stephens www.creative-brand.com Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Testimonials Scott started helping us about 4 months ago and has provided us with invaluable insight into our business. Scott is not only very experienced and knowledgeable, but he is unselfishly interested in helping me build my business. He is very responsive and provides the both the strategic experience and pragmatic approach that fits our need and our budget. I am thankful to have Scott's expertise available to help guide VisionSite to even greater success. Mark Hutchinson, CEO Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Testimonials Scott's business and financial experience were invaluable to Tut Systems. As CFO, Scott hit the ground running and accomplished many successful goals in a very short period of time. Working as a key member of the leadership team he was able to develop a strategic business plan and drive the tactical implementation of that plan. He was adept at developing a comprehensive restructuring initiative that substantially reduced our operating costs. Scott has extensive relationships and experience working with the banking community. He was successful in navigating the lines of credit that provided the cash flow necessary to successfully run the business. Scott also has extensive experience in evaluating and implementing complex M&A initiatives. He was able to successfully complete the acquisition and integration of a company by Tut Systems and he was an integral part of merger of Tut Systems into Motorola. Scott is a team player and a team builder. I highly recommend Scott to any business owner that needs an experienced CFO that can make an immediate difference for the business. Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles Is Your Check Engine Light on? When we drive we take it for granted that our car dashboard is set up to tell us most of the important things we need to know to have a safe trip and arrive at our planned destination. When you look down at your car's dashboard, you can quickly determine how the vehicle is functioning and receive alerts when something's not working properly. You would likely be able to get to work or to the mall if your dashboard wasn't working, but imagine how much more difficult and uncomfortable it would be. When I was in college I had a truck with a broken speedometer. Since I didn't know exactly how fast I was really going, I managed to rack up a couple of speeding tickets and I also got honked at more than once for going too slowly! I think we all agree that driving with a useful dashboard just makes sense. If it makes so much sense to drive with a dashboard, then wouldn't it also make sense to help drive your business with a "financial dashboard" that gives you concise and timely information about your business? Don't get me wrong, a financial dashboard does not replace a good set of financial statements and other detailed reports. However, a properly designed financial dashboard will summarize this data into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Dashboards are essentially snapshots comprised of charts and tables of your company's KPIs such as sales reports (daily, monthly, year-to-date), cash on hand, operating cash flow, profitability, profit margin, back orders, inventory levels, days sales outstanding, etc. Often times when I look at a company's financial reports, what I find is that income statements run on for two or three pages listing nearly every account in the general ledger. Balance sheets and cash flow statements are also generally not well designed. As a result, business owners are frustrated that they get too much data and not enough information. Think about the KPIs that are vital for your business. Next, have your staff develop a financial dashboard that includes all of these KPIs so that you can quickly see how your business is performing and where you need to focus your attention to help grow your company and improve profitability. If you think your company would benefit from a financial dashboard, please contact your local B2B CFO®. As experts in the field, your CFO consultant can help you structure a dashboard that will meet your needs. Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Testimonials Scott Spangenberg is one of the finest CFO's I have worked with in my career. Prior to becoming CEO of CPDI, I served in the capacity of president at Kentrox Industries, Restor Communications, and Wilcom Products, all leading telecom equipment and services providers. Fortunately, I have had the good fortune to have worked with a number of highly competent CFOs and Scott would be at the top of that group. He provided us with a unique leadership perspective that was instrumental to helping us develop and implement our strategic and financial plans. Among his many accomplishments, Scott implemented a comprehensive pricing model to achieve targeted gross margins, improved our financial reporting system and helped secure additional capital to run the business. Dan Kinney, former CEO, CPDI Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles In last month's newsletter I spoke about the need to develop and maintain a good cash forecasting system. Once developed, your cash forecast can help you determine the amount and timing of additional funds you will need to grow your business. This month I discuss ways to help you work with your banker to successfully fund your company. Please send your email request to me for this excellant article of keeping your banker on your team during these uncertain economic markets. Scott Spangenberg, MBA Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/ Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles Given the uncertain economy and increasingly difficult business environment in the US and particularly in Oregon, I have devoted this month's edition to the importance of preparing and updatiing cash flow projections. Please email a request to me for this timely and informative newsletter about the need to timely and accurate cash forecasts. Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/ Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles Perhaps you read in last week's Oregonian about the bookkeeper that embezzled about $100,000. This is the most recent in a string of thefts by accountants and bookkeepers that the Oregonian has reported over the past months. This theft resulted in her employer, a Hillsboro charter school, losing about half of its teachers because it cannot now pay them. In our book, The Danger Zone, we devote an entire chapter to help business owners understand how employee theft can occur and ways to help prevent it. Here is a quick tip on summer vacations and how they work to identify potential problems and improve your organization. Please send me an email request for a complete copy of this very interesting and informative artcile about an idea for preventing employee fraud. Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/ Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles Working Capital Problems? Here Are 8 Signs That You Need To Watch Does your business have working capital problems? Let's take a look at what working capital involves. Basically working capital falls into four main areas. These are .... Please send me an email for a complete copy of this interesting and informative article about working capital management. Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/ Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles Business owners run their business to make money, right? Then why do so many owners make unprofitable decisions? Please send me an email to request a complete copy of this very interesting and informative article. Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/ Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles A dynamic new service has grown over the past few years that allows companies to hire seasoned executives on a part-time basis instead of hiring a full-time employee. Companies can "rent" a seasoned CFO for a reasonable hourly rate as an alternative to hiring a full-time employee that would require an annual salary of $100,000 to $200,000, not including taxes and benefits. These professionals typically serve companies with sales up to $75 million. Please send me an emaill and I will send you a complete copy of my March 2008 eNewsletter! Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/ Posted by: Scott J. Spangenberg in Articles IT'S TRUE THAT MOST GOOD COMPANIES GO BROKE WHEN THEY ARE GROWING! How can good companies run out of cash when their sales are increasing? Please email your request to me for my February 2008 eNewsletter and I will send you a copy. Partner B2B CFO® 503.860.1340 My Email: http://www.b2bcfo.com/dniven@b2bcfo.com My Blog: www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts/
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