无论您是新创业公司还是经营数十年，您的公司都需要资本才能成长和蓬勃发展。而且，对资本及其如何使您的公司有益于您的公司可以为您提供帮助，无论您的业务阶段是什么阶段。那么，什么是资本？

资本定义：

So, what does capital mean? Capital is anything that increases your ability to generate value. You can use capital to increase value in your business’s financial assets. Generally, business capital includes financialassetsheld by your company that you can use to leverage growth and build financial stability.

Capital and cash are not one and the same. Capital can be stronger than cash because you can use it to produce something and generate revenue and income (e.g., investments). But because you can use capital to make money, it is considered an asset in your books (i.e., something that adds value to your business).

那么，资本如何工作？公司可以利用资本投资任何东西来为其业务创造价值。它创造的价值越多，企业的回报就越好。

Capital examples

So, what does capital include? Capital can expand to a variety of things in business, both tangible and intangible. Here are a few examples of capital:

• Company cars
• 机械
• 专利
• 软件
• Brand names
• Bank accounts
• 股票
• Bonds

业务中也有不同类型的资本，包括：

• Working capital
  • 利用这笔资金支付日常业务运营
  • 转换成into cash more quickly than other investments (e.g., a new oven at a bakery)
• Debt capital
  • Capital a business earns from taking out loans and debt
• Equity capital
  • 有几种形式，包括公共权益和私募股权（例如，公司的股票）
• Trading capital
  • Amount of money available to a company for purchasing and selling assets

Capital gains and losses

当您进行投资时，目标是为您的企业创造财富，以帮助其发展和扩展。作为您的投资grow your business, the capital itself can increase in value, which can result in capital gains.

Capital gains

当您的资本价值增加时，您会看到资本收益。当您的投资值得时，就会发生资本收益morethan its purchase price.

For example, say you buy a machine for $1,500. The machine needs work, but you fix it without needing any new parts. You then turn around and sell it for $2,000 because you gave it a higher value by fixing it.

To calculate the gain in your business accounting records, take the final sale price of the machine ($2,000) and subtract the initial purchase price ($1,500). Your accounting records should reflect a gain of $500.

Capital losses

Not every investment is going to be worth it in the end. This is where capital losses come into play. With a capital loss, your investment is worth较少的than its initial purchase price.

Let’s take a look at the machine example again. You purchase the machine for $1,500, but you spend $600 on new parts to fix the machine before you sell it for $2,000. Between the cost of the machine and its new parts, you spend $2,100. This is considered a capital loss of $100 because you spent more money on the total investment ($2,100) than you received for the sale ($2,000). In your books, record a capital loss of $100.

如何增加资本

那么，您如何去增长资本？您可以通过多种方法来增加资本，包括：

• Apply for asmall business loan
• 寻找天使投资者
• Ask friends and family for a loan
• Usecrowdfunding
• Look intoSBA贷款和程序

增加资本可能需要时间和大量奉献精神。为了确保您在增加资本方面有良好的努力，请发展和完善您的business plan。而且，练习推销为什么投资者和贷方应该投资您的业务。

Once you establish your company and get it off the ground, you can typically gain funding from other sources. You should gain capital primarily from your profits. And as you gain equipment, property, and other assets, your capital grows. When it grows, the financial worth of your business grows.

Capital in accounting

Business owners can use their capital records to make savvy investments and help make smart financial decisions. But in order to do that, your accounting records need to be as accurate as possible.

To easily track capital, make smart financial moves, and avoid major mistakes, record your investments in your books regularly. And, be sure to examine them to see what’s working and what isn’t.

To easily track capital in your books, you can opt to use accounting software. That way, you can record your capital quickly and avoid makingaccounting mistakesyourself. Plus, you can access numerous reports andfinancial statements帮助做出投资和决策。

To determine if an investment was worth it, examine your books and ask yourself the following questions:

• Did the capital I invested in help grow my company?
• 我可以在财务上的好地方，我可以在公司中投资更多吗？
• Which investments were not worth it?

当您的资本增长时，您的业务也是如此。因此，为了保持业务繁荣，建立一个坚实的跟踪，使用和获得投资的策略。

是否想节省自己的时间和挫败感，以跟踪您的业务资本和其他交易？给爱国者的online accounting旋转以保持书籍的井井有条。今天免费尝试30天！

This article has been updated from its original publication date of January 15, 2016.

This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please点击这里。