Should We Keep Score in Little League Games?

   You often hear the debate among parents about keeping score in Little League. Some parents say there is no need in it, since the kids are just having fun and learning to play the game. Other parents say that kids need to learn the value of hard work and skill paying off.  

   You would think with four mothers at Hardee Accounting, we would just like for our kiddos to have fun and not worry about winning or losing, right?  Wrong!   We are accountants.

We.  Keep. Score.

   We also think that keeping score or bookkeeping in your business is crucial. Unfortunately, we see many business owners taking the advice of the first set of parents.

   Here are 4 very good reasons for accurate bookkeeping in your business.

1. Paying Uncle Sam – One of the quickest ways to become extinct is to have inaccurate bookkeeping records.  That will cause you to fall behind tax deadlines and even pay too much in taxes. And with 20 – 40 tax deadlines throughout the year, accurate bookkeeping records are essential.
2. Freaking cash flow – Cash flow is the life blood of any business.  You can have a negative number at the bottom of your Profit and Loss statement, but not the Cash Flow Statement.  It must be positive and if not, that equals game over.  Not having accurate bookkeeping can easily result in not having cash flow.  This is one of the top reasons that businesses do not survive. 
3. Controlling expenses – Accurate bookkeeping lets you know where your money is going.  Also, your accountant can help you compare your expenses to other businesses in your industry, to see how close you are to them.  This tells you if you are high or low in particular areas.
4. Growing the business –It’s hard to see if you are growing your business without knowing how much money you are making and spending.  This would be like trying to double the size of your brownie recipe, without having the proper measurements of the first set of brownies.

   So how will you keep score?  You can buckle down and do it, hire another employee to do it, or you can outsource it.  What matters most, is that it is accurate and timely.