The most effective way for small business owners to be sure that they are aware of their company’s financial status is to have an accurate balance sheet that reflects the most current information available. By keeping this information up to date every quarter, you can help yourself avoid a lot of problems and surprises down the road.

A balance sheet provides you with an at-a-glance summary of your company’s financial health as of a specific day. It is broken down into what the business’s assets are, what the business’s liabilities are, and the amount of owner or shareholder equity. The balance sheet gets its name from the fact that the assets must be balanced by and equal to the liabilities plus the equity. Some business owners have found current balance sheets so helpful that they update them every month. Read More