# Often, boards and management of small businesses and not-for-profit ignore the fiduciary duty of performing monthly bookkeeping for the business. Failure to prioritize this important compliance is as fatal as like walking around with your eyes closed. #A good professional accounting or bookkeeping firm will generate the profit and loss statement every month as well as monthly statement of cash flow after bookkeeping These reports will always assist to unlock the following mysteries in your business on month-to-month basis rather than waiting for 12 calendar months when problems gone wrong and sometimes beyond rescue. Here are 8 mysteries you could unlock:

 # Finding instant and immediate cashflow in your business

 #Uncover hidden revenue using your Income statement

 # How to discover and unleash your business' true financial potential

 #Understanding the KEY numbers in your Income statement

 #Options you have for increasing your gross revenue

 #Create exponential growth for your business which could invariably lead you dominate your market

 #Ways you can lower your cost of goods sold

 #Ways you can lower your overhead costs

# Many times, clients ask us. Can we incorporate our sole proprietor business?. If yes, when should we do the incorporation?. Here are some of several reasons that you might decide to transition your sole proprietorship business to a corporation:

#Growth. …

#Necessity. …

# tax optimization. …

#. Adding a partner. …

# separate business from personal. …

# Taking advantage of loans, incentives, tax credits. …

#Limited liability. …

#Value Creation.

If you are a sole proprietor experiencing one or more of these  in your business. You may consider to incorporate the business.

# Make it Stress free for potential customers and Clients to reach you

It is necessary for business owner to update your business social media pages with hours and contact information if you haven’t already. Add

 call to action button “contact us,” in the Ads Manager so customers can reach out on the spot.

# Make your content informative and easy to browse. Identify what works well naturally with your clients. What do they respond most to? Next, turn those insights into

 creative infomercial to reach a larger audience who have similar interests. Consider creating them as leads, flyers, posters, billboards,

announcements, trailers, and adverts etc. that informs and educate the potential clients about your product and services.

#Simplify the on boarding process to make it a great experience. For instance, make it stress free for clients to browse your products and

services with collections with a catalogue or rate card. Catalogues for businesses that sell products and rate cards for services enable

customers to quickly find items and add them to their cart so they can send order requests.

#The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) implemented #Confirm my Representative, # a two-step verification process for authorizing a representative via Represent a Client. In October 2022, this process will also apply to authorization requests submitted through the Business Consent Service in certified tax software (EFILE). The Business Consent Service is used to request access to business client information only.

 In the new process, after the representative submits an authorization request through certified tax software, the request will go into a 'pending' state. The request will not be activated until the business owner or their delegate logs into My Business Account and clicks on the "confirm pending authorizations" button in the Authorized Representatives section.

What's New? :

Cients will be able to confirm who is able to access their tax information by using the Confirm my Representative service in My Business Account.

Once your client has registered for My Business Account, they will have to enable email notifications to be notified each time a new representative requests access. Once they receive a request, they can confirm or deny access in My Business Account.

Authorization requests submitted through the Business Consent Service in EFILE software will be marked as pending for ten business days. If the owner or their delegate doesn't confirm it within this timeframe, the request will be cancelled, and a new one will need to be submitted.

This process of confirming the authorization of a representative will be a one-time action for most business owners.

This only applies to new authorization requests, including those from a currently authorized representative if they choose to submit a new request.

In some exceptional cases, the CRA may still contact a business owner by telephone to verify a representative's authorization.

Steps for  clients  to take:

#Make sure your clients are aware that they must register for My Business Account and enable email notifications before you submit your  authorization request.

#Business owners who are already registered for My Account do not have to register again for My Business Account. They can sign in to My Business Account using their CRA user ID and password.

#If they don't have a CRA user ID and password, they'll need to create one and for this, they'll need their:

1.Social insurance number

2.Date of birth

3.Current postal or zip code

4.Personal income tax returns from the current and previous year

5.Business number

Once  client has signed up for My Business Account, they will need to add their business number to their account. The business owner will only be allowed to do this if their name and social insurance number matches the information the CRA has on file for the business. If they get an error message at this step, they will need to contact the CRA to update their records.

1. Why should clients choose you over 100,000 other competitors selling the same product or services?

2. If your answers are  - your experience, your personality, care for your clients etc. Your competitors are likely saying the same things.

3. How is your product or services an investment and not a cost?

4. What result do people tangibly get from your product, services or working with you.?

5. Do you have  testimonials where your clients are talking about the tangible results you delivered them ?

If you can answer all these questions with confidence, then you should be at least a 7-figure design business..If you don't have a confident answer to most of these questions, you have a product problem.

Ultimately, this says that your you're selling something that people don't really want.

You may have the best marketing and sales department in the world but if your product is weak, It invariably means that your business.

FACE  is an organisation set up by the government of Canada during COVID  that  empowers  Black Canadians entrepreneurs. As a small young startup, It seeks to empower  black entrepreneurs and startups by harnessing technology,  It is changing the way business is done with an eye for opportunity for everyone. 

FACE is  inviting Business owners and entrepreneurs with Start Up ideas on this journey and is sponsoring 100 VIP tickets for the BFUTR Global Tech Summit 2022.The organisation is excited to be sponsoring 100 VIP tickets for the BFUTR Global Tech Summit 2022, an event that will bring together 20,000+ Black professionals from around the world and 100+ speakers. 

The Summit will take place in Toronto and feature 60+ corporate partners.

We believe that this is a moment for the global Black tech community—and we want YOU to be a part of it! Enter today to try and win your VIP BFUTR Summit pass!

https://app.obsidi.com/summit/b9047f9e-bd55-4480-9234-d47d724dd1e8?_gl=1*1469go2*_ga*ODk2ODU3NjM4LjE2NjI2NjMxODk.*_ga_MMQGQKREB7*MTY2MjY2MzE4OS4xLjEuMTY2MjY2MzQ4MC4wLjAuMA..&_ga=

2.142246448.306591561.1662663189896857638.1662663189&_gac=1.222105962.1662663189.Cj0KCQjwpeaYBhDXARIsAEzItbEljwAvXFlzk2UkZ

JdCKCMJLIfUIZjT4sWyrv3BTxy74UIJIdDZNJUaAvueEALw_wcB&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=225570902&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8YH4_Rrv-wNcgNx9G-KMMcFIADEkpSJEfRENpNKX152MQhrZS_NeCEl_baJ_bj0SaIN48eBL2qZGWO_bOqj65bV7-3X88KBN-cJUPYPSU0uhpaF40&utm_content=225570902&utm_source=hs_email

The Canada Revenue Agency has introduced a Multi-factor authentication (MFA) process to enhance the security of its online services and ensure the safety and protection of taxpayer information. When enrolled, the user logging in to CRA login services will receive a one-time passcode by text message or telephone call, which will need to be entered in order to continue the login process. As part of the EFILE community, you will be asked to enroll in MFA before gaining access to online services in the future.

What to expect:

When you log in to our secure services, you will need to complete the MFA enrollment process. This includes providing the CRA with a telephone number where the one-time passcode will be delivered, choosing a method of delivery for the one-time passcode and the language of the message.

Once enrolled, whether you use a CRA user ID/password or a Sign-In Partner, you will be prompted to enter a one-time passcode each time you log in to use any of the following online services:

· Auto-fill my return;

· T2 Auto-fill;

· Express Notice of Assessment;

· My Account for Individuals;

· My Business Account;

· Represent a Client; and

· CRA mobile apps:

o CRA BizApp;

o MyBenefits CRA;

o MyCRA.I'm a paragraph. Click once to begin entering your own content. You can change my font, size, line height, colour and more by highlighting part of me and selecting the options from the toolbar.I'm a paragraph. Click once to begin entering your own content. You can change my font, size, line height, colour and more by highlighting part of me and selecting the options from the toolbar.

If your business is to succeed as a small business owner, the day to day running of the operation must be well planned.Therefore, it becomes imperative to plan the working capital well ahead to meet timely recurrent expenditures such as paying vendors,staff payroll,, loan and interest obligations,and other fixed costs.Here are the 6 things you must know:

# Cash Flow Management- understanding how money comes in and out of the business

# Payment-Understanding who and when to pay

# Planning- Planning your working capital ahead forthnightly, monthly and quartelyso that your business does not become delinquent

# Timing-Good time management

# Financial Statements- Preparing timely financial statements for real time decision making.Going to your bookkeeper /accountant months or years after period end. Is waste of money because using stale Fnancial Statements for decision making is like giving a patient medicine after death

# Know Who you are - "The Boss".Focus on what you are good at ie Being the CEO of your business. because that is where you have comparative advantage lies.

Rent subsidy is a form of government assistance and is taxable, unless you are exempt from income tax such registered charities and not-for profit organisations. Taxable rent subsidy are as follows:

• Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)

• Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP)

• Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP)

CRA expects every tax payer to report the subsidy on their income tax or information return for the tax year /fiscal period in which they are received.

The rent subsidy is generally considered to have been received on the last day of the claim period it relates to.

For example, if you applied for and received a rent subsidy for claim period 23 (November 21 to December 18, 2021), we would consider you to have received the amount on December 18, 2021, even if you applied for period 23 in 2022 or received your subsidy amount for period 23 in 2022

Some Canada Revenue Agency systems will be undergoing annual maintenance. As a result, the following service interruptions will occur during the time frames noted below.

These services will be temporarily unavailable from 11:00 p.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022, until 6:00 a.m. on Monday, January 10, 2022 (Eastern Time).

· EFILE online service "Transmission History"

· Auto-fill my return and Express NOA services

· Transmission web service for authorizing or cancelling a representative

The following services will be temporarily unavailable from 11:00 p.m. on Friday, January 7, 2022, until 8:30 a.m. on Monday, January 10, 2022 (Eastern Time).

· EFILE

· ReFILE

Note: There will be no interruption of service to the following EFILE online services:

· Register for EFILE

· Yearly renewal

· Account maintenance

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is introducing a new, two-step verification process to make authorizing a representative using Represent a Client more efficient and secure. The new process makes it easier for clients to confirm who has access to their personal and tax information, helping them play an active role in protecting their information. Whether your client is an individual or a business, they can now verify who has access to their personal and tax information by signing in to My Account or My Business Account, without waiting for a confirmation call from the CRA.

The new process applies to all new authorization requests submitted through Represent a Client, including when you have a new client or when you are requesting a higher level of access to an existing client's information. If you already have a client's authorization and do not need to change your level of access, you will not be affected.

How it works:

1. The first step is making sure your client has My Account or My Business Account. If they haven't used the CRA's digital services before, they will need to register for an account. We have created two step-by-step videos that walk through the process of registering. We encourage you to share these videos with your client.

· How to Register for My Account

· How to Register for My Business Account

2. Once registered, we recommend your client enables email notifications to make sure they are notified when they receive a new authorization request. Find out more about how to enable email notifications for individuals or businesses.

3. Sign in to Represent a Client and open a new authorization request. You will need to submit a certification page signed by your client using our "Submit Documents" service in order to complete the request. 

#Cash Flow

Most start ups and small businesses do not pay attention to their cash flow because they do not have an accounting department to prepare the statement of Cash flow showing how cash flows in and out of the business. The consequence is that sooner than later, they become cash strapped and may not be able to meet the working capital needs. Long term issue of cash mismanagement will lead to inability to meet obligations to both vendors and employees and invariably to insolvency. Getting your accountant/bookkeeper to prepare statement of cash flow at least on quarterly basis guarantees that your cash flow in flow and out flow is properly monitored.

#Budgeting

Budget is the backbone of a business. It trims, waste and check overspending. Operating a business without a budget is like giving a shopaholic a blank cheque or credit card for shopping. Every business should have a capital and operating budget. Like an employee on salary. The operating budget of a company equals to its salary. It should be used prudently and judiciously to run the business of the company in order to achieve growth.

#Loan Interest and Other Charges.

Lack of attention to loan and interest charges is a risky way to run business. A lot of businesses take off by being highly leveraged. There is nothing wrong with this, but it must be prudently targeted to investment with reasonable ROI – Return on investment. So that the principal would be repaid quickly. Loan interest and other monthly charges may prove to be too much drain on a small business and may eventually ruin the business if it is not properly managed. One of the steps to salvage this type of situation is to go for debt consolidation and restructuring with the most lenient lender if the business has taken loan from a lot of lenders

#Investing in Big Purchases Early 

Investing in big purchases early in business may not be  ideal for every business. It is a red flag for a company to be heavily indebted before it has chance to make a good impact and reputation in the industry. This will affect its debt equity ratio for future borrowing and my invariably hamper it's chances to grow by leverage when it has gathered enough industry experience to venture into big deals. For guidance, debt equity ratio varies from industry to industry. The consensus is to keep it at a max of 2.0 level. However, some industries that uses heavy duty assets like the mining and exploration industries have higher debt ratio that may be greater than 2. To know how to guard your debt-to-equity ratio, your accountant will help you to keep track of it.

#Be Prepared for Recession

Not Preparing for a Period of Scarcity in your business is like not preparing for rainy season or for rain when your roof is damaged. Start with small achievable goals one step at a time. For example , having a business reserve of at least 6 months worth of business expenses in cash or near cash for the rainy days is reasonable. 

Knowing how to manage business cash flow in times of scarcity is very essential and a must have skill for every business owner who wants to achieve growth in his business . In this blog , we have included  8 Tips for Managing Business Cash Flow in Times of Scarcity. Please click below to download PowerPoint presentation on the topic.

The Minister for finance has announced  Government's  intention to give additional support to hard-hit businesses  and organisations experiencing a drop in their revenue.This new  legislation, will help businesses to go through the second wave of covid-19 and the winter costs so that they will continue to serve their communities and be positioned for a strong recovery .

• The new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, which would provide simple and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June

2021 for qualifying organizations affected by COVID-19. The rent subsidy would be provided directly to tenants, while also providing

support to property owners. The new rent subsidy would support businesses, charities, and non-profits that have suffered a revenue

drop, by subsidizing a percentage of their expenses, on a sliding scale, up to a maximum of 65 per cent of eligible expenses until December 19, 2020. Organizations would be able to make claims retroactively for the period that began September 27 and ends

October 24, 2020.

•  A top-up Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy of 25 per cent for organizations temporarily shut down by a mandatory public health

order issued by a qualifying public health authority, in addition to the 65 per cent subsidy. This follows a commitment in the Speech

from the Throne to provide direct financial support to businesses temporarily shut down as a result of a local public health decision.

• The extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy until June2021, which would continue to protect jobs by helping businesses

keep employees on the payroll and encouraging employers to rehire their workers. The subsidy would remain at the current

subsidy rate of up to a maximum of 65 per cent of eligible wages until December 19, 2020. This measure is part of the

government’s commitment to create over 1 million jobs and restore employment to the level it was before the pandemic.

•  An expanded Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA),which would enable businesses, and not-for-profits eligible for

CEBA loans—and that continue to be seriously impacted by the pandemic, to access another tranche of interest free loan up to $20,000 in addition to the original $40,000. half of this additional financing would be forgivable if repaid by December 31,2022

• In Addition, the application for CEBA is being extended to December 31,2020 .

Source- CRA Website.

As part of an educational campaign by the Processing Review Program, educational letters have been sent to some taxpayers who may have claimed certain tax credits or deductions on their income tax return. The letters are intended to educate the taxpayers on how to:

• claim an amount for a specific credit or deduction

• support their claim, if their return is selected for review in the future

• ask for an adjustment to their return, if they want to change their claim

A reply is not required to the letters. If the taxpayers want to change their returns or have questions, the letters include related information and a toll-free number.

The Government of Canada has announced a one-time payment of $600 to help persons living with disabilities, in recognition of some of the extraordinary expenses they have encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who are determined to be eligible for the disability tax credit (DTC) or certain other disability-related benefit programs, may be entitled to receive the payment.

Canadians living with disabilities who are eligible for the DTC but who have not yet applied, will have until September 25, 2020 to do so. For more information on how to apply for the DTC, please visit: http://www.canada.ca/disability-tax-credit.

Recipients of the payment are encouraged to make sure their address and banking information is up to date in order to receive prompt payment. For callers who need help with changing their address, updating direct deposit, accessing My Account, or questions related to the DTC or their application, they can call CRA's Individual Enquiries Line at 1-800-959-8281 (English) and 1-800-959-7383 (French) between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (local time) Monday to Friday.

If you want to know more about the One-time payment support for Canadians living with disabilities, please visit:

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/covid19-emergency-benefits/one-time-payment-persons-disabilities.html

We are  responding  to the outbreak of COVID-19, and our thoughts are with the people affected and the medical professionals working around the clock to keep us well. At At Beacon Accounting Services, we are doing  our best by ensuring the safety of our employees, striving to protect the health and well-being of the communities in which we operate, and providing Bookkeeping and Accounting, tips and resources to help our clients run their businesses successfully.

Here are 7  things we are doing to make sure our clients and staff are safe:

1. Our Office Is cleaned by electrostatic disinfectant
2. We wear mask in the office,
3. We wear sanitize gloves before we touch clients documents
4. We keep our hands sanitized
5. We maintain social distance
6. We meet mostly by zoom
7. We work remotely

10 Tips for Managing Business Cash Flow

Tip #1. Control credit

It is all about getting paid as soon as possible. It is important to put some procedures in place such as:

 Setting clear credit limits and payment terms for your customers

 sending out invoices promptly,

 firmly chasing all debts when due.

 Constantly monitoring customer payments

 stop offering credit to bad payers.

This week, the Government of Alberta announced that Alberta is moving into Stage 2 of the relaunch strategy sooner than expected, due to low numbers of COVID-19 cases. Starting today, June 12, more businesses, sport, and recreation services can open and some larger gatherings will be permitted. ⁣

The Government of Canada has announced an expansion to the eligibility criteria for the CEBA to allow more Canadian small businesses to benefit from the interest-free loans.

 This expansion will make the CEBA available to more businesses that are sole proprietors receiving income directly from their businesses, businesses that rely on contractors and family-owned corporations that pay employees through dividends instead of payroll.

To qualify for the CEBA, applicants with payroll lower than $20,000 would need the following:

• A business operating account at a participating financial institution

• A Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number and to have filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return

• Eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million. Eligible non-deferrable expenses could include costs such as rent, property taxes and insurance.

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance.html

To support small businesses and not-for-profits affected by Covid-19

This Program is meant to help businesses to pay non-deferral operating expenses and quickly return to providing services to your community and create employment

Up to $10,000 loan forgiveness

By repaying 75% of your loan on or before December 31, 2022, you can keep the remaining 25% (up to $10,000)!

Flexible terms

If the loan cannot be repaid by December 31, 2022, it can be converted into a 3-year term loan with an interest rate of 5%.

Repay at your pace

Principal payments can be made at your pace, without fees or penalties, by December 31, 2022.

Fast and easy

Applying is fast and easy. Contact your primary financial institution today.

For more details on the Canada Emergency Business Account,visit the Government of Canada’s website

Is my business eligible?

Below are some of the eligibility criteria

Is my business eligible?

Your business is Canadian-based and in operation as of March 1, 2020

The business’s 2019 payroll was between $20,000 and $1.5 million

The loan is used to continue or resume operations

You have not previously used the program and will not apply for it at a different financial institution

The business has a federal tax registration

Visit the Government of Canada’s website for the complete information.

Dear Customer,

With the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we are working remotely to ensure the health and safety of the public and our team members in accordance with social distancing safety guidelines. We are closely monitoring the situation and adjusting our business practices rapidly as required.

At Beacon, the health and safety of our team members are our priority. As such, we have implemented a contingency plan allowing our employees to work remotely. You are also welcomed to drop your boxes of documents at our office as well. We are taking every step to ensure that all customer service continue to be available to you.

Along with the usual means of contacting us, we invite you to:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beaconaccountingservices

Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/Beacon_accountg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beaconbookkeepingservices/

In this unique time, our team remains committed to assisting you virtually, and providing the same services and support you expect from us.

We thank you again for your loyalty and continued trust.

Management

If you started and haven't completed your tax return, it's never too late. In fact, the filing due date is June 15, 2020 for self-employed individuals and their spouses.

Any balance owing has been extended to September 1st, 2020.

If you've already filed and have yet to receive your refund, be sure to visit this page from the CRA or from Revenu Québec for refund status information.

Canada's Covid-19 Economic Response Plan

Support for businesses

To avoid layoffs, rehiring employees and creating new jobs,the government of Canada has put in place the following financial supports to help business:

1.Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

The government is covering 75% of an employee's wages – up to $847 per week - for eligible employers. The CEWS will allow you to re-hire your employees and avoid layoffs during the crisis.The program will be in place until August 29.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy.html

2.Temporary 10% Wage Subsidy

The Temporary 10% Wage Subsidy is a three-month measure that allows eligible employers to reduce the amount of payroll deductions required to be remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update/frequently-asked-questions-wage-subsidy-small-businesses.html

3.Extending the Work-Sharing program

We have extended the maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program from 38 weeks to 76 weeks for employers affected by COVID-19. This measure will provide income support to employees eligible for Employment Insurance who agree to reduce their normal working hours because of developments beyond the control of their employers.

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/work-sharing/notice-covid-19.html#_Employers

4.Creating new jobs and opportunities for youth

We are creating up to 116,000 jobs, placements, and other training opportunities to help students find employment and develop valuable skills this summer and over the coming months.

We also made temporary changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program to allow employers to:

receive an increased wage subsidy, so that private and public sector employers can also receive up to 100 % of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage for each employee;

extend the end date for employment to February 28, 2021;

adapt their projects and job activities;

hire staff on a part-time basis.

Learn more about the various programs:

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy.html

Canada Summer Jobs program (Calls for applications closed)

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/canada-summer-jobs.html

Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (Calls for applications closed)

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/youth-employment-strategy.html

Student Work Placement Program

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/work-integrated-learning.html

Mitacs

https://www.mitacs.ca/en

Business + High Education Roundtable

http://bher.ca/