Celebrating 16 Years of Inspiring and Empowering Child Care Business Owners

Record Keeping Tips For Child Care Providers

11 29 10

Accounting is not just a once per year task. It should be scheduled as a regular part of your routine. You may be like many other business owners who hold off until they need financials prepared for tax time. If you are not having your books updated regularly you may become frustrated because you want to go directly to the top of the game but cannot figure out what is missing and why. A lack of financial information can keep you from advancing from one phase of business to the next.

  •   Accounting helps you make sound business decisions. Faced with several alternatives, the best choice is the one that you can assess qualitatively and backup with verifiable numbers. The financial results that you want your company to achieve can be quantified by information in your accounting system. It doesn’t matter if you are using a manual method of accounting or a sophisticated software program. As long as the method you choose gives the information you need when you need it then the choice of systems is entirely up to you.
  •   Success is where preparation meets opportunity. Always prepare financial reports to be ready to move on growth opportunities. With accounting reports you can make conclusions about ways to grow your business. Some examples where accounting information comes in handy other than at tax time include sales analysis and projects, weighing investment options, and deciding whether to include financing in your capital structure. All of the choices require forethought and accounting data helps reduce your financial risk.
  •  Avoid impulsive decisions. Successful companies are built by managers who use qualitative and quantitative data in investment decisions. Before tackling any new project, whether it is starting something new or expanding an existing company, you should always count the cost of the project. Use up-to-date information from your accounting reports to get a good idea of where the company stands now and how it should proceed in the future.

For more practical tips and advice, visit the financial center for business owners at http://www.tbsusa.com

About the Guest Writer: This blog post has been provided by Benita Tyler, The President of TBS USA Accounting and Tax Advisors and Creator of the Position to Prosper System™. Contact Benita at btyler@tbsusa.com: Connect with Benita on Facebook and Twitter!

Category:

Administration

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7 Steps To a Safer Child Care Program

11 15 10

The United States product safety commission (CPSC) staff conducted a national study on 220 licensed child care settings across the country. The CPSC staff investigated eight product areas with potential safety hazards: cribs, soft bedding, playground surfacing, playground surfacing maintenance, child safety gates, window blind cords, drawstrings in children’s clothing, and recalled children’s products.

At least two third of the childcare settings exhibited at least one of the safety hazards targeted in the study. moreover, at least 31,000 children over the age of four were treated in the emergency room due to injuries obtained in childcare.

To assure that your childcare program is not included in these statistics, here are seven ways to reduce the number of accidents/injuries in your childcare program:

  1. Remove all pillows from cribs to prevent suffocation. Be sure that a child is not able to get his or her head, arms, hands or feet stuck in between the railings of a crib. Supervise infants while they are napping.
  2. Check playground daily for proper surface coverage under playground equipment. Use wood or rubber mulch, sand or pea gravel around climbing equipment. This must be maintained to cushion the fall of a child.
  3. If you have mini blinds, tie the strings up into a not and place up high to prevent strangulation. * Move cribs away from window blinds.
  4. Children can easily be strangled from strings in their own clothing. Consider creating a policy that will require parents to remove strings from clothing in children under the age of four.
  5. If you are a home provider, be sure to install safety gates at the entrance of your kitchen and at the top of stair ways.
  6. Have you checked on recalled products lately? Child equipment is recalled every month and it is vital that you check to see what items have been recalled. moreover, share the information with parents.
  7. Conduct a safety check in your home or center every morning including: checking the playground for unsafe items, check to see that electrical outlets are covered; remove all damaged toys and materials. Most of all, scan your program for anything thing that will cause harm to a young child.

Now that you have these seven steps to creating a safer environment for children, create a safety plan. Having a safety plan is a sure way to reduce your liability and keep children safe!

Resource Links:

http://www.safekids.org/our-work/recalls/2010/

http://www.in.gov/fssa/files/PlaygroundChecklist.pdf

http://www.ehow.com/list_6111897_child-care-facility-safety-checklist.html

With your Child Care Business in Mind!

~Shiketa Morgan

Category:

Health/Safety, Quality Care

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