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Watch
What’s Tossed in the Budget Dumpster
“Oh
just stick it under miscellaneous.” How often
do you find yourself saying those words when searching
for somewhere - anywhere in the budget to assign this
or that expense? After all, it can pretty much be tossed
and forgotten there, sort of like yesterday’s
newspaper.
It’s
the landfill of the practice budget. Don’t know
where to allocate this charge – stick it under
“miscellaneous.” That expenditure really
doesn’t fit anywhere specifically, just dump it
into miscellaneous. Before you know it, all kinds of
questionable expenses have found their way into what
has become the budget dumpster, each one cleverly disguised
as “miscellaneous.”
It is not
unusual to see miscellaneous expenses at 15% of monthly
collections, which is well above the 10% benchmark.
“Miscellaneous” is typically where you find
professional association dues, subscriptions, legal
fees, accounting fees, business taxes, equipment purchases
as well as maintenance and repair costs, business and
malpractice insurance, bank charges, telephone/Internet
expenses, and advertising and marketing costs –
all worthy and necessary expenditures.
However,
because miscellaneous items are often listed separately
on a profit and loss statement, they are easy to disregard.
Consequently, the impact of each expense on your overall
budget is often overlooked. |
Sally’s
Recommended Actions
- Monitor
miscellaneous expenses
- Avoid
the tendency to just pay the bills as they come in
for expenses such as malpractice insurance and accounting
services without questioning them
- Comparison
shop for lower insurance premiums
- Know
exactly what you are getting from your accountant
and your attorney in exchange for that monthly stipend
they are getting from you
- Ask for
itemized invoices
- Make
the miscellaneous items listed above sub categories
under "Miscellaneous" in order to view a
total amount rather than having them scattered through
out the report. As a result, you don't pay any attention
to 1.3% or .75% for example.
Pay attention
to those small, seemingly insignificant expenses that
ultimately chew up a sizeable chunk of your practice
budget. It will go a long way in helping you control
the overall finances
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| Technology
Tool Box
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Mark
Dilatush
VP of Professional Relations
for McKenzie Management
Mark@mckenziemgmt.com
1-877-777-6151
Ext. 28 |
A series
of short weekly chores designed to keep the return
on investment in technology at its highest level.
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Top
Ten Technology Do's and Don't's #10
This is the last in a series of Top Ten Technology
Do's and Don'ts. If you missed any of the previous
issues CLICK
HERE.
Purpose:
- Every week we will publish one of the top
ten. Unlike the “Tonight Show”,
these are not in any particular order. These
are compiled from watching 20 years of mistakes
and helping to fix those mistakes. We would
rather our clients just avoid the mistakes!
Situation:
- We currently store sensitive data on our
computer system and are in the process of going
paperless? How do we protect ourselves from
IRS audits, insurance company audits, or malpractice
claims?
What
NOT to do:
-
Do not assume the IRS, an insurance company,
or lawyer will believe what is inside your computer.
Do not ignore the problem. The solution is
simple.
What
TO do:
-
Install a CD burner on one of the PC’s
in your office.
Buy a pack of 24 rewritable CD’s and
24 jewel cases. This is enough for the next
two years.
Once a month, burn a CD of your practice
management system directories onto the CD.
Send the CD to your home using certified
mail with a return receipt requested.
When the CD arrives, do not open it! Place
it on a shelf somewhere safe in your home.
Tape the receipt to the package.
If any entity ever questions the validity
of the data in your computer system, you have
month by month non-alterable proof of the
validity of the data in your computer system.
Total
cost of the solution should be under $150.
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You have 17
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. . .
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Will you make it?
Take this
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Advanced Business Education for
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Missed any past
issues of Sally's
Weekly
or Monthly
Newsletters or Magazine
Articles?
(click an item to view archive)
This
issue is sponsored in part by:
DentalTown
Secure
Data Express™ (SDX™)
McKenzie
Management
CareCredit
The
Center for Dental Career Development
Lares
Research
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