As a small business owner, having knowledge of crucial numbers is the most important tool you can equip yourself with to survive today’s competitive marketplace. If you’re not a numbers person, Accounting for the Numberphobic is to the rescue! Why do so many business owners dread looking at the numbers? Financial statements, ledgers, profit and loss reports--many avoid these and treat them like junk mail and phone solicitors. Nevertheless, it’s true--you’re not a numbers person. How can you learn to make sense out of all this Greek? This easy-to-follow guide demystifies your company's financial dashboard: the Net Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, and Balance Sheet. The book explains in plain English how each measurement reflects the overall health of your business--and impacts your decisions. In Accounting for the Numberphobic, you will discover: How your Net Income Statement is the key to growing your profits; How to identify the break-even point that means your business is self-sustaining; Real-world advice on measuring and increasing cash flow; What the Balance Sheet reveals about your company's worth; And much more! Don’t leave your company’s finances entirely in the hands of a third-party accounting service or an employee who is only loyal to the highest paycheck. Knowing the numbers yourself isn’t just about seeing how your company is doing, it’s about knowing where it is going--and guiding it toward the highest profits possible.

Everyone interested in building a stronger business needs to understand and use the information captured in financial statements. In Managing by the Numbers, business education and accounting experts Chuck Kremer and Ron Rizzuto team up with open-book management authority John Case to demystify the numbers. They present a practical, common-sense approach to reading financial statements and to managing the three bottom lines of business financial performance: net profit, operating cash flow, and return on assets. The book features numerous exercises and examples (with associated templates available on the Web), a powerful new management tool known as “The Financial Scoreboard,” and an extensive glossary. Managing by the Numbers is an essential resource for entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, and anyone eager to improve their mastery of the financial side of running a business.

Many small business owners don’t understand the importance of maintaining a healthy cash flow. More than anything else, cash flow determines the success or failure of a small business. Small Business Cash Flow covers all the basics of cash flow, from selecting a great accountant, to keeping money flowing in and out of the business, to budgeting and record-keeping.

"One is tempted to say 'the only book you'll need on starting a business.' Brilliant! Genius! Choose your superlative-it'll fit."-Tom Peters People starting out in business tend to seek step-by-step formulas or rules, but in reality there are no magic bullets. Rather, says veteran company-builder Norm Brodsky, there's a mentality that helps street- smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise. Brodsky shares his hard-earned wisdom every month in Inc. magazine, in the hugely popular "Street Smarts" column he cowrites with Bo Burlingham. Now they've adapted their best advice into a comprehensive guide for anyone running a small business.

A clear, easy-to-understand explanation of key financial accounting basics. The world of accounting can be intimidating. Whether you're a manager, business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or taking a college course in accounting, you'll find yourself need to know the basics...but baffled by complicated accounting books. What if learning accounting could be as simple and fun as running a child's lemonade stand? It can. The Accounting Game presents financial information in a format so simple and so unlike a common accounting textbook, you may forget you're learning skills that will help you get ahead! Using the world of a child's lemonade stand to teach the basics of managing your finances, this book makes a dry subject fun and understandable. As you run your stand, you'll begin to understand and apply financial terms and concepts like assets, liabilities, earnings, inventory and notes payable, plus: Interactive format gives you hands-on experience Color-coded charts and worksheets help you remember key terms Step-by-step process takes you from novice to expert with ease Fun story format speeds retention of essential concepts Designed to apply what you learn to the real world The revolutionary approach of The Accounting Game takes the difficult subjects of accounting and business finance and makes them something you can easily learn, understand, remember and use! Praise for The Accounting Game: "The game approach makes the subject matter most understandable. I highly recommend it to anyone frightened by either numbers or accountants." —John Hernandis, Director of Corporate Communications, American Greetings "Fantastic Learning Tool...Don't let this book title fool you. It is not an oversimplification of accounting and financial principles. It is, however, a serious and very effective examination of a very small but progressively complex business. There are not many books available on the market that make a complex and dry subject understandable and even fun. This book successfully does just that." —Amazon Reviewer

This book provides an essential overview of the established principles and practices of the accounting profession. The accounting profession is among the oldest of the world's occupations. Modern versions of accounting practices that represent global standards date back to medieval Europe and even earlier. The current age of rapid technological innovation and the seemingly endless news stories of financial scandals have brought the field of professional accounting to the forefront of the American conversation. Also, far from limiting opportunities in the field of professional accounting, technological advances and developments in global business and finance have made professional careers in accounting more relevant, more exciting, and more in-demand than ever. Accounting for Beginners is written for the small business owner, the aspiring accountant professional, and the busy professional looking for a quick and handy reference of the major conventions that govern this exciting field. When you read Accounting for Beginners you will learn about accounting fundamentals, including: Definitions of accounting and how accounting differs from bookkeeping, Financial statements, The balance sheet, The income statement, The cash flow statement, Double-entry accounting, including debits, credits, and how to record transactions in journals and ledgers, Cash accounting vs. accrual accounting. Accounting for Beginners also covers some of the more technical aspects of accounting, such as: Depreciation of fixed assets. Amortization of intangible assets. Budgeting for operational activities and capital expenditures, Recording costs for inventory and Cost of Goods Sold. Next, Accounting for Beginners discusses many of the important professional practice conventions and regulatory foundations that professional CPAs must understand before earning a license, including: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Background information about regulatory agencies such as the SEC, the AICPA, the FASB, and the GASB, Differences between U.S. accounting standards and international standards. Finally, Accounting for Beginners discusses some of the more pressing concerns that face many of today's most successful accounting professionals, such as: Important principles and conventions of professional accounting firms. Fraud and ethics. Current fields actively seeking qualified accountants. Whether you are currently considering a major course of study, pondering a career change, or actively engaged as a mid-career professional, Accounting for Beginners will give you a thorough and comprehensive review of established practices, a detailed guide to many of the most fundamental account recording techniques, and an experienced critique of the most pressing concerns and challenges facing contemporary CPAs.

For decades, makers, doers, and dreamers have turned to Inc. for help in getting their businesses off the ground. The insanely successful entrepreneurs behind organizations like Skullcandy, Spanx, Elon Musk, and Airbnb learned lessons at every stage, experienced unexpected setbacks, and in the end triumphed wildly. All along, Inc. was there capturing it all so that others could experience even greater successes than these titans of business.Start a Successful Business gathers these important lessons into a single path-charting guide. From brainstorming to crowdfunding to building partnerships, the book walks new and aspiring founders through seven crucial stages, including:• Establishing a brilliant business idea• Selecting the best structure and strategy for your startup• Getting the word out and building clientele• Preparing to go global• And more!Learn how Elon Musk stays wildly productive. Discover how Sarah Blakely got the inspiration for Spanx. Read the stories of how a hashtag accelerated Airbnb’s success and how Warby Parker shook up the eyewear industry with its innovative, socially conscious business model. With the war stories and keen advice from a fleet of trusted experts, Start a Successful Business provides the all-encompassing guide for anyone wishing to not only get their business off the ground, but to become the next wildly successful entrepreneur everyone is reading about.