"A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain."
-Robert Frost

It’s not surprise that small business owners have a thing against banks. We don’t usually have a ton of money in the bank to begin with, so seeing it all disappear because of service charges and high interest rates is incredibly frustrating.

We all try our best to find the “perfect bank”; well, I know I sure do. I’ve got bad news for you.

There isn’t one.

I’m not trying to come down on banks universally. That’s too easy. There are a lot of great people working in our banks. I’ve had the pleasure of working side by side with many of these people. One good bank teller or loan manager can completely turn your day around; it’s happened to me several times.

The problem is that what we need, as small business owners, becomes a contradiction. We all want the features of a big bank, with the charm and personal attention of a small, local bank.

Maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough. Perhaps that “perfect bank” has been right under my nose the whole time. If that’s so, please let me know. I’m not too proud to admit when I’m wrong.

From a big bank, I want the following things:

• email money transfers
• iPhone app
• powerful online features

From the smaller bank, I want:

• efficiency
• personal attention (they actually know my name)
• policies not driven by mindless bureaucracy

In the 20 years I’ve been a bookkeeper, I have worked with a lot of banks. My needs have changed over the years. I have yet to find that perfect combination.

The big banks do a great job at the first list. RBC has a really good iPhone app, and features on their online banking site that no other bank has. However, it still takes me 20 minutes to get one bank draft done every time I go in. Why? Because they don’t remember me from last time, can’t remember where to find my name on the authorized list, and have to go through the same mindless procedure…for a bank draft.

When I banked at ATB, I could go in and have that same bank draft done in 1-2 minutes, even if it was a new employee behind the counter. But, when a friend wanted to email me money they owed me, I was out of luck.

In the end, the problem with the bank is not unique for us small business owners. We’re in that strange “no man’s land” between individual and big corporation. Our bank fees cost more, our insurance costs more, and (if you live in Lethbridge) our business licenses cost a lot more.

When you find yourself in this situation, you need to make a decision. Instead of sitting around getting bitter, you have to decide what is more important to you. In this case, it’s features vs. customer service. In my case, I have chosen features. I do 95% of my banking online. Having an iPhone app lets me transfer money at 3:55 from the cereal aisle at the grocery store instead of having to rush down to the bank before it closes. Email money transfers means I don’t need to write a cheque or get hit by PayPal’s fees for small purchases.

It doesn’t mean I don’t hate going in to get those drafts done. It just means it’s the price I’m willing to pay for convenience.

Do you have decisions like this that need to be made? Are you focusing on them more than you should? Share them with us in the comments.

It’s February 14th, Valentine’s Day here in my part of the world. I hope that you all have someone special to celebrate with today.

While I’ll be spending a considerable portion of the day telling my wife why I love her, I didn’t feel that this was the right venue for that. Instead, I thought I’d take a minute to tell you why I love my business.

Being a bookkeeper has it’s ups and downs. So does working from home. Put them together, though, and what I’ve discovered is that I get a pretty darn good combination of the things I enjoy most about running a business.

1. Helping Others

More specifically, helping others’ businesses. Sure, I like numbers too, but that’s not the main reason I enjoy being a bookkeeper. Everyday I get to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals. Most of the time it’s really basic stuff: make sure the bills get paid, the government remittances are on time, and the employees get their paycheques.

But every once in a while I get to do something more significant. I spot a way to save them a lot of money, or a new direction to take the business. Whatever it may be, I get to take a little pressure off the business owners who just need some time to focus on what made them want to launch their business in the first place. That’s a great feeling.

2. Confrontation-Lite

Running a bookkeeping business (especially from home) comes without a lot of the stresses that other businesses have. I don’t have to argue with vendors over pricing. I don’t have to confront the jerk who keeps taking my parking spot. I don’t have to hire or fire anyone.

I have worked all sorts of jobs in my life. I was even the manager of a retail store for a (very long) year. All of these roles have taught me a lot about myself. I learned that, in a pinch, I could work in a wide variety of roles within a company. More importantly, I learned that what I’m good at is being behind the scenes. I’m a bit (read: a lot) of an introvert. Arguing with someone over the phone about my costs on Widget A is not my idea of fun. Neither is explaining to a customer why their shipment will be 3 weeks late. So, I get to let the owner know about potential problems, and then they get to make the uncomfortable phone calls.

3. Open Schedule

I know some assume that running a home business means you can sleep in and work in your PJ’s. Actually, for the most part, you’d be right. I don’t do either of those things, but I sure could. Bookkeeping in general isn’t really time of day sensitive. Sure, there are lots of deadlines to manage, but unless I need to get a deposit into the bank before it closes, most of my work can be done just as easily at 2am as it can at 2pm.

For example, as I’m writing this, I have a nasty cold. Do I have to drag myself across town to infect an office full of people? Nope, I can sit in bed with a jumbo pack of Halls and get work done while I rest. If my kids have a recital or a dentist appointment, no problem. I’ll be there, and it won’t affect how much work I get done today.

Aren’t there downsides to this?

I suppose. If I was more extroverted, I would miss being able to talk with coworkers. I guess I don’t get the chance to meet potential clients at networking events. But then again, I’ve never met most of you face to face either. Despite that, we’re still able to talk. If you have a question, you can still ask me anything, regardless of whether you’re across town or across the globe.

At the end of the day, I have a great job. Sure, there’s always room for improvement, but that’s the challenge.

So, what about you? Do you love your business? Share your business love in the comments.

I know it’s still a couple months away. There’s no need to panic just yet, but I ran across a really good article on tax returns.

Darwins Money over at Wise Bread posted an article about the information your tax preparer should tell you. These are great tips, and you should absolutely ask this information before you get started. Not only will it help prepare you, it will also serve as a good list when interviewing those potential preparers.

These are the people who will be representing your finances to the government, so it’s a good idea to be sure they know what they’re doing. Do you have any other tips, or other questions you should ask? Let us know in the comments.

5 Things Tax Preparers Should Tell You | Wise Bread.