With the ratio of household debt to disposable income climbing to a staggering 163% as of late, personal budgeting is of increasing importance to the financial health of Canadians. Creating a budget is one thing, but sticking to it is another story altogether. Here are some simple steps that will help develop, and more importantly,…

{ ... read more ... }

Of course different things work for different people, but these steps could probably apply to most of our busy, distracted, multi-tasking, first world lifestyles. In a Harvard Business School survey, 94% of working professionals reported working more than 50 hours per week and nearly half said they work more than 65 hours per week. What…

{ ... read more ... }

Pinnacle has the good fortune of having a new team member join us this month (welcome Melissa).  Something we have learned over the years as we’ve grown and shrunk and grown again, is how important a robust orientation for new team members is.  We know that the best people can choose to take their brain…

{ ... read more ... }

I thought we were going paperless. So why were we still using so much paper? Almost 10 years ago our office implemented “paperless” files. The decision arose partly out of a concern for the environment but mostly from the realization that we were spending a lot of money on: Storage – physical filing cabinets, office…

{ ... read more ... }

If you are anything like me, you need a reminder if you are going to get anything done on time.  Fortunately for me, there aren’t any consequences to missing my hair cut appointment – save for looking like a bit of a hippy. Dealing with CRA is a different ball game.  If you owe CRA…

{ ... read more ... }

Many small businesses face a common dilemma regarding financial reporting. They want to minimize tax, which means reporting low income. But they also want to keep their banker happy, which means reporting high income. I often need to counsel clients that they can’t have it both ways. Or can they? Construction contractors can have it…

{ ... read more ... }

I’m typing this from Crete.  Where I will spend the next 5 months, or longer.  The Mediterranean Sea beckons mere steps from my apartment, the smells and sounds of new adventures and experiences entice.  And something is not right.  My world is in a state of turmoil, my mind is racing, I am anxious, worried,…

{ ... read more ... }

In the last few years, there has been an explosion of new technology in the business application environment. I recently attended a conference where some of these software applications were on display. One speaker at this conference likened the recent “app explosion” to the Cambrian explosion of roughly a half-billion years ago when life on…

{ ... read more ... }

Recently, I moved from Castlegar to Kelowna and began working remotely again. The transition to a remote office was smooth this time as I had a prior stint with it a couple years ago. Undoubtedly there are some obstacles to overcome, but for me, the benefits definitely outweigh any minor inconveniences. Learning to work remotely…

{ ... read more ... }

Quick Books Online Conversion We recently did our first conversion of a client from Quick Books Desktop (QBD) to Quick Books Online (QBO).  With only a couple of hitches, it went off pretty well. Our client is a building contractor with 8 employees.  The in house bookkeeper has a low to moderate skill level.  The…

{ ... read more ... }