Our Services

Business Consulting for Existing Businesses

What is Business Consulting?

Whether your business is struggling or thriving, First Financial can help make your business better. Outside, objective views of your business will strengthen your existing operations. No one can know everything about running a business and often, the owner is too close to the situation to see what is truly going on. What you know, you do well, but in business, it’s what you don’t know that drains profits and eventually kills the business , causing unnecessary stress. The starting point is to let First Financial do a nominal cost 2-day study of the operations. You get a personal physical each year, why not get a business physical? In this confidential study, we will look at over 200 areas of the business to answer the following 6 questions:

1. What problem exists?
2. What is the root cause of the problem?
3. How much is that problem costing you?
4. How is it affecting present or future profit?
5. How long will it take to correct the issue?
6. What can you do to permanently fix it?

The total cost of this study is only $1,500. There are no hidden fees and no additional obligations on your part. Our goal is once you see the depth of knowledge, you will feel confident calling on us when you need us.

What Do You Get for $1,500

Every First Financial Analytical Business Physical provides an examination of 5(five) key areas of your business.

They are as follows:

1. Profit Physical:

We find that business owners treat profit as what is left over after expenses are deducted from sales. There are no budgets or profit forecasting. There is no formula of predetermined profit measured against any level of sales. Profit advice is nonexistent from in house bookkeepers or from the company’s CPA or chartered accountant. In short, the business owners are left in the dark to fend for themselves when it comes to their fiduciary responsibility to maximize profits in their business.

The First Financial physical is an important vehicle to study the profit history of a business. More especially, it will calculate what the profit potential of the business should be if it were to operate at its optimal levels. For the first time, a business owner will get a clear look at how much they are leaving on the table every year without profit controls in place. This lost profit potential is typically a shock to our clients.
This portion of the physical is certainly on its own worth $1,500, but every survey does much more!

2. Human Resources:

For Most companies, payroll represents the largest or second largest single expense line item on the P&L statement. The majority of firms we survey operate at below acceptable levels of employee productivity. This translates into thousands of lost profit dollars a year. Employee productivity has many components, skill sets, punctuality, training & morale. Deficiencies in any one of these components will adversely impact profits of your firm. What does employee turnover really cost you?

The First Financial Analyst will examine each of the elements of employee productivity and place a value based upon substandard employee productivity. In most instances, internal resources cannot look objectively at employee productivity because they are usually too close to the source. That is exactly why a survey can measure employee productivity and calculate a close estimate of increased profits through increases in employee productivity.
This portion of the physical is certainly on its own worth $1,500, but every survey does much more!

3. Documentation:

If a business owner were suddenly to become incapacitated for health or other reasons, what resources are left behind for subordinates to run the business in a manner acceptable to the owner? Many firms lack a formal business plan and have no job descriptions or a system of job evaluations. There are no inventory control manuals or credit & collection policies stated in writing. In short, the vital functions of the business have little or no documentation. This would be similar to a head football coach sending their team onto the field without a game plan. Can there be a cost associated with the lack of documentation? The answer is most certainly yes! This translates into higher labor costs, and write-offs attributed to poor collections. Your Analyst will carefully examine all elements of the business that should require documentation and put a value on the cost of not having proper written procedures.
This portion of the physical is certainly on its own worth $1,500, but every survey does much more!

4. Sales Planning:

Many business owners arrive at their office on January 2nd, after suffering a disappointing previous year in terms of sales, with little to no advanced planning on how to make the New Year better. What they did yesterday, last week or last month is how sales activities are directed in the New Year. No business can reach acceptable levels of profit without positive sales trends. It is therefore essential that every business has a detailed Sales Plan that undergoes periodic review and adjustment as market conditions change. Your Analyst will carefully review sales trends in your business and determine the overall efficiency of your sales department. For many owners, this can be the first outside valuation of the effectiveness of this vital function.
This portion of the physical is certainly on its own worth $1,500, but every survey does much more!

5. Administration:

One of the best methods to determine the overall effectiveness of the Administration function of a business is to apply the following test: the business owner suddenly and without warning is taken out of the business and for six months and can have absolutely no contact with the firm. The resulting question is, will there be a business to come back to? Will the business operate at peak level of performance without the President? Are the staff members fully trained to step into the President’s shoes and operate efficiently? Will sales and profits remain the same? No embezzlement or theft? In a well-run business, the answers to these questions would be affirmative. However, can you as a business owner feel 100% comfortable today that your answers would all be positive? Your Analyst will carefully examine your Administrative functions and apply the above tests to your firm. It is very difficult to correct a problem without first knowing that it exists, and more importantly, what’s causing it and how much lost profits are affected by these deficiencies.
This portion of the physical is certainly on its own worth $1,500, but every survey does much more!

Test your business knowledge:

1. Do you utilize Sweep Accounts?
2. How much money do you have in your Funded Depreciation Account?
3. Are you the right corporate structure or did your accountant just tell you what type to be? Hint: According to the IRS 87% of businesses are the wrong structure.
4. Do you rate your employees’ productivity at 7 out of a possible 10 like most employers? (Is it fair to pay $10 for $7 worth of work?)
5. Do you have a bound employee handbook?
6. Do you have written, followed budget?
7. If you (and your spouse or other partners) could not communicate with the business for 6 months, where would it be when you returned?

Business Consulting for Start-Up Businesses

One of the worst things you can do is try to start a business without proper systems and controls in place to control all of the different elements of a business. Trial & Error is a costly endeavor, costing new businesses tens of thousands of dollars. Starting a business is not simply having a good idea. It needs to have a solid foundation. Over 50% of start-up businesses fail in the first year. Another 50% of the remaining don’t last 5 years. That means only 2.5 out of every 10 businesses makes it beyond the 5th year. First Financial can help you be one of those 2.5 businesses. We can design your business so it is ready to operate correctly when the doors open. To do this, your business will be given the following considerations:

1. Determine of proper corporate structure
2. Assign Officers/Members
3. Complete incorporation paperwork
4. Obtain tax identification number
5. Write operating agreements for partners
6. Write a business plan
7. Write a PPM (if you need funding)
8. Determine office location
9. Choose an effective business name
10. Establish price level strategy
11. Obtain necessary permitting & licensing
12. Write legal compliance documentation
13. Write employee handbooks
14. Develop job descriptions/evaluations
15. Determine pay structure
16. Determine equipment & furniture needs
17. Determine computer & software needs
18. Install accounting system (w/ training)
19. Determine proper banking needs
20. Website development
And More…

Are you intrigued by what our Business Consulting services could do for your business? Feel free to contact us anytime using the form at the bottom of this page or by calling 225-663-2382.

Our QuickBooks training class is a 6 hour interactive session that gives you the knowledge and experience you need to operate Intuit QuickBooks in the most efficient way for your business!

QuickBooks Training Agenda

Lesson 1: Setting Up QuickBooks

Lesson 2: Working with Lists and Accounts in QuickBooks

Lesson 3: Entering Sales Information

Lesson 4: Receiving Payments & Making Deposits

Lesson 5: Entering & Paying Bills

Lesson 6: Setting Up Inventory

Lesson 7: Payroll in QuickBooks

Lesson 8: Customizing Forms & Writing Letters in QuickBooks

Monthly Bookkeeping for as low as $200 per month

If you have 50 transactions or less per month, we will maintain and prepare your financial statements for you on a cash basis of accounting from your bank statements and check stubs for $150 per month. What do you get for this fee?

• Monthly Profit & Loss statements

• Checkbook reconciliation

• Complete list of all checks written, the payee, amount and check number

• Detailed list of all transactions with proper accounting designations

• Monthly profit analysis report with profit boosting suggestions, when applicable

If First Financial of Tax Service, LLC maintains your records for the entire calendar year, we will also prepare your corporate return for the business at no additional charge!!!

Below is a chart for businesses with more transactions per month.

# of Transactions	Monthly Fee
50 or less	$200.00
51 – 100	$300.00
101 – 150	$350.00
151- 200	$400.00
201 – 250	$450.00
251 – 300	$500.00
301 – 350	$550.00
351 – 400	$600.00
401 or more	Addition $100 per hundred transactions

Tax Preparation Fees

The following are Tax preparation fees for First Financial Tax Service, LLC as of December 1, 2021. Prices include preparation of Federal and State returns. They are meant to be a guideline and fees may vary based on individual tax situations.

— $ 150.00 1040 Tax Return with standard deductions

— $ 250.00 1040 Tax Return with Itemized deductions (Schedule A)

In addition to the above, the following forms add the amounts indicated below. The amounts below assume some organization on the taxpayers behalf. Poorly organized records may increase preparation time to be charged at an hourly rate.

• $225 for a Form 1040 Schedule C (business)

• $600-2,500 for a Form 1065 (partnership)

• $825-4,000 for a Form 1120 (corporation)

• $760-3,500 for a Form 1120S (S corporation)

• $967 for a Form 990 (tax exempt)

• $263 for a Form 940 (Federal unemployment)

• $142 for Schedule D (gains and losses)

• $265 for Schedule E (rental)

• $225 for Schedule F (farm)

–All prices are estimates and subject to change at any time. Some prices will vary based on the amount of information presented and the level of organization of information presented.