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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Most people think budgeting is about money. It's not, really. Budgeting is actually about life goals. Money is simply the tool a budget uses to achieve those goals. Before you create a budget, ask yourself: "What am I budgeting for?" A common answer is that you are budgeting so that you can save money for something in the future, like a car, a house, or retirement. This is the first mistake most people make. Rather than budgeting just for your future, you should also be budgeting for your present. You should be budgeting to make sure that the life you are living now is fulfilling and that you are flourishing as a human being. Planning only for retirement is like giving up on this life and waiting for the next one to come as soon as possible. Here are four additional budgeting mistakes you may be making: Related: 7 Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Need to Avoid 1. Making your budgeting g...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. As business owners, many of us like to create a clear boundary between our personal and professional affairs. And with good reason! It's not healthy to intertwine the two in a lot of ways. However, it's also unhealthy to consider them to be oil and water. Whether you like it or not, your business is an extension of you. Your personal beliefs about money could hold your business back without you even knowing it. "Waste not, want not" "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves" We're drip-fed these lines over our formative years, usually with good intent. It's hard to see at the moment how these words of 'wisdom' could do any harm…but their cumulative effect can have a tremendous stunting effect on your growth as an entrepreneur. Remember that these beliefs take root in your subconscious long before you set foot on the professional stag...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. None of us is immune to what's currently happening in the economy, forcing many business owners and executives to consider ways to cut costs. I recently asked my leadership team to take a good, hard look at their expenses to determine what can and should be cut and gauge the effects those specific savings would have on the business. Finding ways to save money in your business is not always as obvious as you think and can come from a few places that are not typically looked at. Here I outline ten money-saving ideas all business owners should consider. Related: 7 Outdated Habits That Will Paralyze Your Business 1. Root out process inefficiencies Take a look at how technology can play a role in improving efficiencies. How can you utilize technology to minimize time, effort and money spent where it doesn't need to be? Whether it's analytical data that helps you be quicker to market or process...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When you're establishing your startup, it can be a challenge to choose the right bank and the right business checking account, particularly if you have limited business experience. You need a bank account that not only meets your current needs but will grow as your requirements evolve with your expanding business. You might be wondering if you need a business checking account. While a personal checking account will perhaps meet your needs for your basic day-to-day business activities, you need to consider whether you need a business loan in the future or want to hold profits in a savings account. Your new checking account can be the start of your banking relationship, so you can start to establish goodwill and trust. However, while the bank is important, the characteristics of the checking account are also vital. So, here we'll explore how to choose a business checking account for your start...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. I was making $10,000 to 20,000 per month at thirteen years of age. Quite the achievement for someone so young. Yet despite this, I made one of the worst decisions of my life that had a huge impact for years after: I decided to do my own bookkeeping and accounts. Terrible idea. Not because I was a teenager but because I had no experience or expertise. Even if I did, it would still have been an enormous risk because I was too close to everything. I didn't have the ability to zoom out and make rational decisions. This isn't a mistake only I have made, though, and it isn't one reserved for young entrepreneurs. I see business owners of all ages and types make it. It's understandable because the costs associated with hiring a bookkeeper or accountant are roughly the same whether you make $5,000 per month or $50,000. Once you reach a certain level, it makes sense to hire someone. It's a...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. One discussion I have immediately with my new small business clients is that of how they plan to send, receive, save and protect their funds to make sure that all of their financial needs and goals will be met without delay or disruption to their daily operations. When broken down, this all falls into four categories: money in, money out, money held and money protected. Let's break down these four categories and discuss how small business owners should interact with their funds for maximum efficiency. Money in This is asking the question: How do you, the business owner, plan on collecting funds from your customers when the payment is due? Will you send an invoice via snail mail or email? Wait for a check in the mail? Take cash? Will you take credit cards, debit cards, ACH, wires, Zelle or Cash App/Venmo? How much will all of those various methods of collecting funds cost? How long does it take? W...

When you can't send a check but don't want to rely on something as insecure as cash, a money order could be just the ticket. It's essential to know how to send and fill out a money order step-by-step in case you ever need to pay a bill, send money to a relative or transfer money discreetly from one place to another. What is a money order? A money order is very similar to a check. It allows you to send or receive payments securely, unlike cash. However, money orders are prepaid. Instead of money leaving your account when someone catches a check, money leaves your account the minute you fill out a money order and deposit it at an appropriate institution. When should you use a money order? It can be wise to use a money order whenever you need to pay someone securely but can't use a smartphone app like MoneyGram, online platform, check or cash (or you don't want to use any of those methods). Related: This is How We Can Transfer Money Online Without Hassle...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Imagine this. John Carter begins his job as the country club's new finance and administration director by reconciling its payroll journal entries with employee payroll logbooks provided by its payroll processor. It takes him weeks and distracts him from other important issues. Eventually, Carter deduces that the club's HR director is misappropriating thousands of dollars in overpayments to herself and other employees. Without reconciliation, Carter might not have been able to discover the fraud. He might have caught it sooner — maybe even prevented it — if the club had a monthly or biweekly reconciliation policy that provided tight oversight of its bookkeeping. Reconciliation reliably helps monitor cash by cross-validating accounting data with an independent financial record like a bank statement to reduce errors, duplicated entries and inaccurate information. Does your accounting data show m...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When looking ahead to a new year – and more pressingly, a new quarter – for your small business, you can feel overwhelmed. You know you want to cut costs, save money, and make a profit, but are there any easy ways you can do that -- without laying people off, either? Eva-Katalin | Getty Images Sure there are. Here are seven ways European businesses can cut costs without trimming headcount. 1. Outline job duties. At the outset of the year, work with human resources to outline the exact job duties for each employee. This helps them each keep track of what they are expected to do, helps you monitor to make sure everything is being done correctly and on time, and also enables you to avoid overstaffing because each duty will be formally and clearly assigned to a staffer. Overstaffing will cost you quite a bit of ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. One discussion I have immediately with my new small business clients is that of how they plan to send, receive, save and protect their funds to make sure that all of their financial needs and goals will be met without delay or disruption to their daily operations. When broken down, this all falls into four categories: money in, money out, money held and money protected. Let's break down these four categories and discuss how small business owners should interact with their funds for maximum efficiency. Money in This is asking the question: How do you, the business owner, plan on collecting funds from your customers when the payment is due? Will you send an invoice via snail mail or email? Wait for a check in the mail? Take cash? Will you take credit cards, debit cards, ACH, wires, Zelle or Cash App/Venmo? How much will all of those various methods of collecting funds cost? How long does it take? W...