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Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/99887
We know accountants are big on numbers. Here is one of our favorites: on several reasons that he is exited and passionate about small breweries like Intuition Ale Works. Among them is their contribution to the economy at many levels, their involvement within the community and, for beer lovers, the more "luscious, succulent ingredients that craf breweries use." One of the frst steps the CPA helped the brewery with was selecting the bookkeeping and business management system they would use. For bookkeeping and payroll, Chris helped them get started with a hosted version of QuickBooks, so that Ben could access business data from anywhere. At the same time, this allows Chris to have day-to-day, or as-needed, access to all back-ofce operations, including managing invoicing, payables, receivables, reconciliation functions, and monthly and annual fnancial reporting. FINDING A MARKET DEMAND FOR SOMETHING YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT DOING IS OFTEN A ROUTE TO SUCCESS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. Chris also helps manage compliance issues to the seven diferent local, state and federal agencies that the business has to report to for sales and liquor regulations. He works with another area CPA to manage the business' income taxes. In addition to having more complex regulation concerns than most other small businesses, breweries also have many unique business processes they have to manage. Because of this, they need specifc features and reporting tools that aren't available in QuickBooks. For these functions, they looked at specialty systems. "We looked at two diferent programs that are designed for brewery management, and we ended up choosing BeerRun Sofware (www.beerrunsofware. com)," Ben noted. "It was more our speed, and the other main program on the market was far more expensive and a lot more complex than we needed." Te system is web-based and integrates with QuickBooks, which was also a key in the selection process. Chris also helped train Ben on both sofware systems. Although he's more focused on fnancial aspects, it's easy to see that Chris shares much of the love of craf brewing. "Two years ago I was given the awesome opportunity to help Intuition Ale Works," he said. "While I spend most my time doing back ofce work, I can still feel the energy. Te smells, employees, forklifs, tanks, patrons, all exude positive energy." Cheers to their mutual success! Join 1.3 million QuickBooks Online users and see how easy it is to securely do business in the cloud. ® QuickBooks online More and more, your customers are coming to expect their numbers to be in the cloud. With QuickBooks Online, not only do you get the convenience and time savings of the cloud, but also all the security you expect. Get your customers in the cloud today, and discover why QuickBooks Online is the leader in cloud-based accounting for small businesses.* Get the new version designed for accountants, at no cost to you. Visit FreeQuickBooksCloud.com January 2013 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 35