Mike Hall and Apex Accounting help businesses get their finances in order

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt

For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Mike Hall of Green Bay says it was easy making a plan for his new business, Apex Accounting Plus, LLC.

“Grow your client base. Grow your revenue. Control your expenses,” Hall said.

The longtime Green Bay SCORE seminar leader has had a vast array of business experience, including years of helping entrepreneurs write business plans. He was used to writing lengthy plans, but insists that not every business needs that much detail. Recently he taught a class on preparing a one-page business plan.

“For many businesses, you don’t need to write a storybook with a bunch of charts and graphs and industry statistics," he said. "The important thing is to think about your business and what you bring to the table relative to your skills. Short and to the point is more important than a book.”

The short plan works well in preparing an entrepreneur to consider the validity of an idea and whether or not it can produce needed revenue. The one-page plan or the popular business plan canvas where plans are written visually are excellent in certain instances. However, Hall cautions that those documents usually aren’t adequate when it comes to obtaining financing.

“I don’t think it will work with a commercial lender,” he said. “The lender will want to see a narrative, a page to a page and a half on each section, financial projections and attachments. The financial projections are usually the biggest challenge.”

In his business, one of Hall’s goals is to work as a strategic adviser and help clients produce accurate financial statements. Projections have to be realistic in order to obtain financing and are absolutely vital to ongoing operations.

He said that businesses often come to him with financial records that haven’t been updated all year and with no system in place to record information.

“The hurdle I have with small businesses is that generally they don’t put together a budget, use basic financial statements or understand cash flow," Hall said. "My standpoint is that I start with the balance sheet. If your balance sheet is messed up, the financials can’t be correct."

A first step is to help clients set up a system. As a QuickBooks adviser, Hall encourages them to become well-versed enough in the software that they can do accurate reporting and forecasting. He estimated that about 90 percent of businesses use QuickBooks because of the capability and flexibility.

Hall is able to do as much or as little as the client requires from training to working as a part-time chief financial officer. Since many entrepreneurs tend to be more focused on the creative aspects of running a business, they often dislike accounting and tend to put it off. If that’s the case, he says it’s better to hire an expert.

“You have your expertise in the business and if that’s what makes you money, that’s where the majority of your time should be spent,” he said. “If there are experts who can do a better job of it, pay the people who can help you grow in the areas that aren’t your core competency.”

Hall, on the other hand, loves accounting and says it is his passion. His new business is located in the Business and Manufacturing Center at NWTC-Green Bay and he says he is anxious to help people improve their businesses.

“When I meet with clients, what it is to me is pain management,” he said. “What is causing you pain in your business with your financials? What is it that you don’t want to do? What is the issue? Once that is figured out, I can help them see what might be going wrong and what we can do about it. If you don’t know that, you keep plugging along and before you know it, you could be in trouble and out of business.”

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.