“Financial planning is critical to the survival of any business, especially the volatile small business. Essential to this planning is an accurate set of financial records plus a basic understanding of simple accounting practices.” Thus Karen Orszak launches us into the minefield of small business finance. In this short booklet (16 pages), she manages to pass on to the reader copious amounts of sound advice for small business owners, written in a chatty, readable style. While the prose is simple and easy to understand, the value of the information conveyed should not be underestimated.

Orszak creates seven scenarios, from Piper the Plumber, who doesn’t realize the importance of inventory, to Get Your Weekend Gary, who spends every Saturday and Sunday working out his weekly payroll using a vastly complicated and time-consuming home-made accounting system only he understands.

In each of the seven examples cited, the author sets the scene, briefly describing how the business is run, and taking us through the series of events that eventually led the puzzled owner to her doorstep, looking for help. She homes in on the problems that are all too easy to create – and overlook – in the day-to-day running of a small concern. Each major problem is succinctly stated, and then Orszak suggests a number of short-term strategies to get the business out of trouble as quickly as possible, and a list of long-term solutions to ensure a smoother and more profitable future.

The presentation is informal, with a touch of humor, and the main points (problems, strategies, and solutions) are clearly laid out for easy reference later. The author tosses in some worrying business statistics to stop us in our tracks, and to remind us that this is, after all, serious stuff, despite its user-friendly presentation. After dealing with the seven bewildered owners of unprofitable businesses, Orszak presents a concisely written, deceptively simple, reference checklist “for the prudent business owner or manager.” In that ten-point list is a wealth of information that all small business owners would do well to heed. As for me, I am going home to balance my checkbook right now.