February 2026

Why Annual Budgets Matter in a Professional Service Business

In the world of professional services, success isn’t just about delivering exceptional work—it's about running a financially sound and strategically aligned business. One of the most effective tools to help achieve that is a well-prepared annual budget.

While some leaders may view budgeting as a tedious or restrictive process, the truth is that annual budgets provide a roadmap for long-term sustainability. Here’s why your firm should be using one:

1. Sets Clear Financial Targets

An annual budget defines where your firm wants to go financially. Whether it’s hitting a revenue milestone, reducing overhead costs, or improving margins, a budget provides clarity and focus. It translates vision into measurable goals.

2. Supports Strategic Decision-Making

Budgeting forces your leadership team to evaluate priorities. Do you need to invest in more staff? Upgrade systems? Enter new markets? An annual budget aligns spending decisions with your strategic goals, ensuring you don’t spend reactively—but proactively.

3. Helps You Manage Cash Flow

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any professional service business. With a budget, you can forecast periods of low cash and plan accordingly—whether it’s by adjusting billing schedules, managing payroll, or delaying non-essential purchases.

4. Improves Accountability Across the Team

When department managers understand their budget parameters, they make smarter decisions. A budget creates a framework for accountability, empowering team members to operate within realistic financial boundaries.

5. Tracks Progress and Promotes Agility

With monthly or quarterly comparisons of actuals vs. budget, you gain early insight into what’s working—and what’s not. This allows you to pivot quickly, rather than discovering shortfalls or overages too late in the year.

6. Gives Confidence to Stakeholders

Whether it’s your leadership team, board, lenders, or even employees, a sound annual budget instills confidence. It demonstrates that the business is being managed responsibly, with a long-term plan in mind.

Final Thoughts

Creating and managing an annual budget doesn’t limit your business—it empowers it. By providing structure, visibility, and alignment, a budget enables your professional service firm to grow with confidence and resilience.

Even the most flexible and innovative firms need guardrails to ensure they’re heading in the right direction. And that’s exactly what a solid budget provides.



If your firm isn’t using one yet, now is the perfect time to start.

Major Changes to Meals and Entertainment Deductions

(Effective 2026)

Due to new IRS rules for Meal Deductions in 2026, new GL codes need setting up in order to be able to track which meals are 50% deductible and which are 0% deductible. Note, there are big changes for snack/meals held in office. Please see the chart below for a quick summary.  Read full article here.

Contributed by:

Delman Advisors, LLC | an Archer Lewis firm

Greensboro, NC  336-540-1990

4 Tangible Ways Professional Service Firms can use AI Today

Contributed By: Baileigh Galan



Rather than fear AI let's start to look at this as an amazing tool to help us accomplish more. In the same way we use our calendar as a tool to stay organized, get tasks done or time management, let’s look at ways to use AI in our day-to-day work life.

1. Knowledge and research at your fingertips in an instant. If you need a quick summary of a project or firm, you can use Smart Summary (found in the project or firm hub and is role specific) within Vantagepoint to give you this data in a matter of seconds rather than spend time gathering and organizing this data. This saves you time to provide supervisors or clients with accurate and timely information.
2. Writing responses that are quick and professional. Using Microsoft Copilot to help draft email responses so that you always sound professional, in addition you can even ask AI to tailor these responses to sound more like you, so the receiver would not know the difference.
3. Use ChatGPT to prepare an entire presentation for you (given you provide enough data), saving you hours of time that can be spent in face-to-face client meetings or helping team members.
4. Coming soon in 2026.1 – Enter time in Microsoft Teams with Vantagepoint Assistant. This must be turned on by your system administrator under Settings> General> Communications. You can use natural language with Microsoft teams to update your timesheet within Vantagepoint. Example – “Log 4 hours to project 12345 for Friday the 23^rd of January”. 

Contributed By: Jacki Dembinski and Joy Cranford

Tip #1 - Daily Reconciliation of Cash

There is a reduction of financial risk when reconciling bank accounts daily. Meaning, when there is a clear view of the available cash, incoming funds, and outgoing transactions, there is less likely of a chance for there to be mistakes. Daily reconciliation of cash acts like a radar system to detect issues and prevent them from being costly problems. It also provides a better understanding of the company’s financial health for any present or future financial decisions. A daily reconciliation gives clear understanding to everyone involved in the financials of your company.

Tip #2 - Positive Pay

Positive Pay helps prevent fraud in the moment and won't leave you scrambling weeks after the fact if there had been fraudulent activity. You will need to sign up for this service at your bank. It allows for approval of all checks when they are presented for deposit to ensure they were not altered by anyone with intention of stealing your funds.

Tip #3 - Remote Deposit of Cash

The bank will issue you a scanner that scans the image and is transmitted to the bank. Funds are generally available same day or the next day. This eliminates trips to the bank, and you will have better audit trails because the check image is stored and searchable.

Tip #4 - Got Extra Cash? Let it work for you!

Be sure that you are keeping your extra cash that is not necessary for day-to-day operations in interest bearing accounts. Reach out to a certified financial planner for more assistance. We recommend starting with Coach Mike!

Tip #5 - Cash Flow Reporting in Vantagepoint

In order to give proper presentation of the cash flow reporting, a cash receipt or AP/cash disbursement through a bank code is best. If you journal entry to cash, it will prevent this reporting from being successful.

Dashpart Data (Records Selected)

Contributed By: Baileigh Galan

A common problem we see people run into when creating a Dashpart in Deltek Vantagepoint, are the saved searches or records selected that are used to filter the data being pulled. For example, the dashboard itself may have a filter on, showing to be pulling ALL projects, but if the Dashpart was built with its own records selected pulling only active projects, then you may not be getting accurate data. Be sure to check the records selected within each Dashpart specifically to ensure that you are getting accurate results. 

ACA Reporting Reminder for Employers

Employers classified as Applicable Large Employers (ALEs)—generally those with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees in the prior calendar year—are required to complete annual Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting. This includes providing Form 1095-C to employees by January 31 and filing Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the IRS by February 28 if filing on paper, or March 31 if filing electronically. Accurate reporting depends on tracking employee eligibility, offers of coverage, affordability, and coverage months throughout the year.

ACA reporting errors can result in IRS notices, penalties, and time-consuming follow-up, often long after the forms are filed. Employers are encouraged to confirm ALE status each year, review data for accuracy across payroll and benefits systems, and ensure deadlines are met. Treating ACA reporting as an annual compliance obligation—rather than a one-time filing task—can help reduce risk and avoid surprises.

For questions or more information, please contact:

Spencer Witherspoon

Cell: 704-578-7327

Office: 704-218-2899

Email: spencer@c-ben.com

Website: www.cbasimple.com

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Top 10 Love Songs of All Time

Love may not come with a perfect formula, but it definitely has a soundtrack. This Valentine’s Day, we’re turning up the volume on some of the most iconic love songs of all time—songs that have stood the test of time and still make us feel all the feelings. These timeless love songs have earned their place on the ultimate Valentine’s Day playlist!

More Love Songs: Top 50 Love Songs of All Time (Updated)

Did You Know?

President’s Day was originally established to honor George Washington’s birthday—and has since become a time to reflect on leadership and service across generations.

Note: In observance of Presidents’ Day, most government offices, banks, and the U.S. Postal Service will be closed.

Groundhog Day is a popular cultural holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2nd. It is a superstitious prediction about the arrival of spring based on a groundhog emerging from the ground.

• If the groundhog sees his shadow:

👉 Six more weeks of winter

• If the groundhog does NOT see his shadow:

👉 An early spring

Groundhog Day Push-Up

Cake Pops

🥣 Ingredients:

• 6 fun size Milky Way bars – you can use any candy bar you’d like, but the smoother, the better. Nutter Butter Cookies also work well.
• Chocolate frosting
• 12 candy eyes
• 1 red Airhead candy
• White disc-shaped sprinkles or small white candies, such as Tic-tac's or marshmallow bits
• 24 brown mini M&M’s
• 6 treat pop containers
• 12 mini cupcakes or brownies
• 3-5 Oreo Cookies – scrape out the centers and crush the chocolate cookies
• Green frosting – you could also use green coconut flakes
• Flower-shaped sprinkles (see variation below if you prefer a winter scene)

🥄 Instructions:

To make the chocolate groundhog:

1. Spread chocolate frosting over half of one side of a small candy bar.
2. Place two candy eyes onto the frosting, towards the top of the “face”.
3. Pinch a small piece of Airhead candy to mold into the shape of a nose for each groundhog. Place the nose just under the eyes.
4. Place 1 white sprinkle under the nose for the groundhog’s “teeth”.
5. Place 2 mini M&M’s under the nose, overlapping the teeth to make the “cheeks”.
6. Place 2 mini M&M’s above the eyes for the “ears”.

To make the cake pops:

1. Place one mini cupcake or brownie on to bottom of each push pop container.
2. Using a ziplock bag with a whole cut in the corner, pipe chocolate frosting on top of each cupcake or brownie inside of push pop container.
3. Sprinkle chocolate cookie crumbs on top of frosting.
4. Pipe “grass” with green frosting on top of the cookie crumbs.
5. Add flower-sprinkles to the “grass”.
6. Place the groundhog into the Push Pop containers, pressing gently into the frosting to secure.
7. …and you’re done! Enjoy!

Variation: If you are hoping for 6 more weeks of winter, try white frosting in place of the green and snow sprinkles in place of the flowers for a snowy effect cake pop! We are hoping for an early spring!

Source & For More Fun Groundhog Day Recipes: 12+ Groundhog Day Desserts and Treats - Pineapple Paper Co.