South Austin Community Acupuncture

Kelly Jennings, CPA, L.Ac.

South Austin Community Acupuncture acupunctureworldheadquarters.com

Budgeting

 An art to budgeting – informed guessing  One tool; part of the business plan, which is part of the strategic plan  Strategic plan – big picture of what you want to do and accomplish; how do you want your clinic to look? o work for someone and get paid salary or % o rent room somewhere o open own place o where do you want to practice? o How many days a week? o Single practitioner, work in group, work for someone else  Business plan – within strategic plan; describes your financial plan to accomplish your strategic plan; includes budget, pro forma financial statements; will need to have if you want to get a loan  Budget – estimate of your income and your expenses o Hard exercise to do not in real time o Expenses will vary depending on how you want to practice o If you don’t know how you want to practice at least become familiar with the concepts and the terminology o Think about it – look at list in Points for Profit as starting place o Remember to include paying yourself – need to cover your personal expenses o Back into the income you will need to make to cover your expenses o i.e., total expenses = $2,600 / 65 = 40 patients o should plan on and budget a loss for first few months (probably at least a year)

Software

 QuickBooks o Tracks inventory o Tracks all income and expenses – can print all financial statements o Will handle payroll o Will handle multiple practitioners  QuickBooks for Dummies  Set things up correctly from the beginning – get help, use book Bookkeeping

 Decide how involved you want to be – recognize your strengths  Be as involved as possible even if you have a bookkeeper – you need to understand your business  Be organized – save all receipts, learn to file things properly  Keep track of how much people are paying you – don’t get to the end of the year and have to use your calendar to figure out how much you’ve been paid!  Have separate bank account for business  Bookkeeper – find someone you trust, someone who will explain things to you  Ask your massage therapist, hairdresser, etc for recommendations  Find a tax person  Taxes – make quarterly payments!!!

Inventory

 Start small, build gradually  Don’t carry things you’re not going to use  QuickBooks will track quantities on hand for you

Leases

 use a commercial tenant rep to help you find a space and negotiate a lease o make sure you and your rep are clear on what you need o don’t be afraid to ask for what you need  understand your lease; defined terms – hours of operation? Build out? Repairs?  have an attorney review your lease  renting room from someone else o lease term o what’s included in your rent (phone, etc) o who does scheduling  Working for someone else o How are you paid? % or salary o Who gets new patients? o Who gets $ from herb sales? o Who pays taxes?

Other contracts

 Partnership agreement  Merchant service agreement