We take the work out of PaperWork.

Whether your paperwork comes in Safeway bags, organized in file folders, or added to cloud based storage sites such as Receipt Bank or HubDoc, we can make your bookkeeping and reporting process so much easier. We’ll sort it, code it, post-it, reconcile it, review it, adjust it, and send you financial statements that help you make decisions.

We can let you know which bills need to be paid and when, which clients still owe you money, which advertising campaigns were successful, or which construction project finished on time and under budget. We can let you know how your sales reps are doing based on sales and commissions paid, or how profitable Product A is compared to Product B. If there is a question related to dollars, chances are we can find it in a well thought out bookkeeping system.

From reporting on the past, to budgeting and planning for the future, great bookkeeping is the means to providing some of the most important information you need to run your business.

Know the Rules! Avoid the Penalties!

Did you know that Boxing Day is NOT a statutory General Holiday in Alberta?

Did you know that an employee must have worked a minimum of 30 “work days” in the prior 12 months to qualify for General Holiday pay?

Did you know that there are very specific criteria Revenue Canada and Alberta Employment Standards use to determine whether an individual is a sub-contractor or an employee? Penalties for getting this wrong may include your having to pay both the employer AND the employee portion of CPP and EI, along with late remitting penalties and interest. Questions used to make this determination include:

Did you know that there are rules requiring employees to give notice to you, the employer, just as there are rules for the employer to give notice when terminating an employee? And, if the employee does not provide notice when required, final payment can be withheld for 10 days plus the required notice period.

Did you know that when the work shift is LESS than 5 hours, the employer is not required to provide a break? And if the work shift is 5 hours or longer, a minimum of 30 minutes must be provided, but it can be broken in to two 15 minute breaks. Furthermore, the break can be paid or unpaid.

Many employers know that overtime is generally paid at 1 and ½ times the regular hourly wage. But, did you know that, instead of paying overtime at “time and ½”, you can “bank” any overtime hours, and have the employee take the time off, at the regular rate of pay, at a later date, IF… there is a signed, written agreement, in place to bank the hours AND the hours are taken as time off within 3 months of the overtime pay period?

Many employers know that “managers” do not receive overtime pay. However, did you know that just because someone carries the title, “Manager” or “Supervisor” does not necessarily exempt them from overtime rules? The criteria is extensive, and includes questions such as:

Achieving Excellence in Thought & Action

Are you overwhelmed by the personal or team challenges of growing your business? Are your employees as productive as you would like them to be? Are you as productive as YOU would like to be? Through the use of several tools and techniques such as “Human Synergistics” LSI, WSI, and GSI assessments, coupled with NLP, TLT, and Cht both you and your team can overcome barriers such as communication, improved teamwork and work flow, setting and accomplishing goals, reducing self-doubt, and developing the potential of you and your team.

You may be thinking, “What does all that mean?” What is NLP and TLT? Who is ‘Human Synergistics’? What’s so special about LSI and NLP?

These are techniques and assessments that are used by Fortune 500 companies, universities, businesses both large and small, individuals, and many more, to develop personally, as a team, and as organizations.

Human Synergistics is a “…pioneer in the field of measurement for organization and individual development”. It was formed in 1971 by Dr. J. Clayton Lafferty, a highly respected clinical psychologist who has received several notable awards for his work on the research and development of “…diagnostic instruments… focusing on self-assessment, achievement thinking, and responsible decision making-that encourage effective personal and leadership behavior”. It’s CEO, Dr. Robert A Cooke, also has a very extensive and formidable background, with several awards and publications to his name.

According to Allan Stewart, CEO of Human Synergistics Canada, “Clients of Human Synergistics include: IBM, Royal Bank, Shoppers Drug Mart, the Canadian Armed Forces, Agriculture Canada, GM, CMHC and Bombardier.” Furthermore, “Human Synergistics training materials are used in executive development programs offered at York University, McMaster and McGill Universities“, (Laura Payton, editor of St. Marys Journal Argus, Metroland Media).

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) was discovered and formalized by John Grinder and Richard Bandler in the early 1970’s as a system which recognizes and works with the link between the brain, the body, and language, to achieve excellence in life. This field of study has grown considerably since then and is used all over the world in countless ways, both professionally and personally, to facilitate communication and effect positive change in individuals. As Robert B. Dilts puts it, “NLP is not only about competence and excellence, it is about wisdom and vision.”

TLT (Time Line Therapy) is an NLP technique developed by Dr. Tad James, to create powerful change in people. It recognizes the power of our subconscious mind, and how our mind stores memories along a linear line. These memories are used by our subconscious mind to control and influence our bodies.

For instance, if we want to move an arm, we make the conscious decision to do so, and our unconscious mind does the rest. It decides which muscles to move, how much blood and oxygen to send to those muscles, and in which order to move the muscles. All our conscious mind does, is make the decision to “move my arm”. Sometimes it’s not even conscious… such as swishing at a mosquito flying around your face.

Jacqueline Bernal, President and CEO of Bernal Business Services Inc, has been a member of:

For the Independent Growing Entrepreneur

Do you prefer doing your own bookkeeping? Wishing you had someone that could get you started, answer questions along the way, review things every once in a while, help you find ways to reduce your taxable income?

Wishing you knew which bookkeeping method or software program to use? Whether it’s Pencil and Paper, Excel, QuickBooks, Xero, Freshbooks, PayPal, OpenInvoice, or others, we have the people that can help you.

We can train you, answer questions, provide suggestions, and offer support along the way. As your business grows we can help you move to more robust software programs, and perhaps someday, to hiring an in-house bookkeeper to manage your accounting needs.

From Fix-ups to Clean-ups…

Is your bookkeeping a mess? Do your Accounts Receivable reports show invoices that customers have paid? Do your Accounts Payables reports show invoices YOU have paid? Are your financial statements messy and too complex to make sense out of? Are your bank and credit cards reconciled? When you look at the Reconciliation Report, does it show debit or credit card transactions from weeks, months, or even years ago that should have cleared the bank?

Is your desk a mess, covered with paperwork that needs to be dealt with? Do you have a system in place to manage your paperwork and bookkeeping? Do you have a neat filing system, either in your office or in the clouds? Are you able to find information and documents quickly and easily?

Whether it’s cloud based or desk based, we can help with these areas. From cleaning up accounting systems that aren’t balancing or aren’t working, to helping you identify areas for improvement, and even handling all your filing, we can make your bookkeeping life a more pleasurable experience.

From GST filing, to preparation of T4’s, T4A’s, T5018 and ROE’s… from WCB Annual Returns to Payroll Statistical Reporting… from remittance of NR tax to corporate installments… from monthly financial statements to Year End Working Papers for your accountant… reporting is our thing.

Do you need to know the amount of sales your commissioned sales people made to process payroll? We can help with that.

Do you need to know how much your labour costs and material costs were for the renovation project you under took? Or what your profit was for that particular job? We can help with that?

Are you wondering how much of a return you received on your advertising program? We can help with that.

If you have a question, we can often find ways to access the information you need, especially with programs like QuickBooks. Give us a call with your government and reporting questions.