Money management for a small business doesn't require a team of Wall Street bankers. But it does require a business owner to think deliberately about how money moves in and out of their business. Many failed home business can attribute their troubles to flying blind in the area of finances.

By properly understanding and controlling your revenue and expenses, you'll enable yourself to make more informed decisions, as well as plan for the future of your business. Here are some basic tips for helping you get your business finances running smoothly.

First, you should separate your business finances from your household finances. By doing this, you will have a crystal clear picture of where the money came from and where it went. This is essential for both your tax preparation, as well as your purchasing and pricing decisions.

Once this account is setup, you should attempt to have every transaction for your business run through that. Using debit cards and online bill payment are great ways to simplify this process.

Second, consider opening your account with a that bank allows you to download your transactions into a program like QuickBooks. These programs are very simple to use, and offer you the ability to do everything from billing customers to tracking inventory. The use of a program like QuickBooks is highly recommended, and will shave hours off your administrative load.

Third, If you are planning on having any type of online presence, you need to consider accepting credit cards. While that might sound intimidating, especially when you look at what your bank might charge, there are some great options available. Check out PayPal and Google Checkout.

Both of these services allow you to accept credit cards, as well as send email requests for payment, for no monthly fee. The only cost to you is the processing fee, which ranges from 2-3%, and is competitive with what you'd find at a bank.

Fourth, make sure you and your business are adequately covered for a lawsuit. While that may not seem like it has a lot to with money management, you need to keep in mind how litigious our society is. Check with your insurance about umbrella liability policies, and make sure they cover the type of business venture you are engaged in.

Lastly, bring in an expert for your taxes and payroll. Both of these are extremely confusing areas, that would take hundreds of hours to understand adequately. Mistakes in both either of these areas can be extremely costly.

If you stick with these tips, you'll free yourself up to build customer relationships. Doing that will make sure there is plenty of money there to manage!

Learn more about this author, Ken Clark.
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