business advice / 40 posts found
Keeping your cashflow strong in tough times
Small businesses are particularly vulnerable in tough economic times. When sales are slow, there are still overheads and salaries that need to be sorted. Pre-planning and being proactive can help you weather tighter economic periods and allow you to continue to thrive. Make sure you have a clear picture of your payroll, and any other planned expenses that will need to be accounted for. If there’s even a possibility that there could be a shortfall, it’s essential to meet this head-on. Whether this means talking to your supplier or creditors to figure out an arrangement, or compromising on other business [...]
Successfully scale up your business
There are three fundamentals to successfully scale up your business: having a clear organisation structure, having comprehensive systems, and developing great leadership. Heard the quote, “What got you here won’t get you there”? These are wise words (and the title of a book you should read!) are from Marshall Goldsmith. Choosing to scale your business does not come without risk! Many leaders focus on their systems and teams when looking to scale, which is important, but they must also focus on scaling themselves. Looking for some more in-depth help? Check out our 7 Ways to Grow webinar on 30th March [...]
Bringing your cashflow processes into the digital age
Keeping on top of your cashflow is even more important during tough economic times. With a global slowdown on the cards, energy prices soaring and supply chain challenges, cash is likely to be tight over the coming year and beyond. Cloud technology and fintech apps, can give your business the best possible control over its cash. Why is cashflow so important? To keep your business operating, you need enough money coming into the business to cover your outgoings – with enough surplus cash to live on. When recession begins to hit, this can have a significant impact on your income. [...]
Setting KPIs and measuring performance
Once you begin trading, you’re faced with a new challenge – successfully managing the course of your brand-new business and making sure it’s a profitable enterprise. It’s easier to manage your startup’s sales and finances when you have access to the best possible information and data about your performance. Tracking specific metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) allows you to see how you're performing against your targets – so you can take action to improve performance, sales, growth and profitability. But which KPIs should you be tracking? Sales and conversion rates An obvious metric to track is the number of [...]
Deep work – ditch distractions and be one of the focused few
With the development of technology and social media, distraction is the new normal. A recent study found that a typical office worker gets just 11 minutes between interruptions, while it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task after an interference. In his book, Deep Work – Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Professor Cal Newport suggests that serious professionals quit social media entirely. He defines deep work as "professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit". Here are five ways to get into what’s called [...]
Redefining Success
If there’s one positive to take from the events of the last two years, it’s the opportunity to consider what’s important. For those of us in business, it’s important to redefine our plan and goals that ensure the business delivers our definition of success. The natural extension, for those with team members, is to revise what the business needs to deliver to the team. Personal success Your definition of personal success will be different to what it was before the world was turned upside down by a global pandemic. For example, wanting to be able to travel the world, regularly [...]
How an accountant supports your business development
As your accountant, we won't just look after the financial side of your business, we can also advise you on the strategic side of your company, including the importance of business development as vital part of your growth plan. Business development (BD) is what helps your company move from slow, organic growth to fast-paced, hypergrowth. And it’s only by putting the right drive and expertise behind your BD that you can turn your strategic ideas into real success stories. So, how can we help you achieve this? Talk to you about your strategic goals The starting point for any kind [...]
Writing a mission statement
You've had your initial business idea and written a plan. But do you know WHY you're creating this business, or HOW you’ll deliver your end product/service? What will the company's underlying purpose be and how will your core values drive the business? To get these crucial elements ironed out, it’s a good idea to write a ‘mission statement’ for your startup – a short summary of the aims and values of your business. WHAT does your business do? The first thing to pin down is what the business actually does – i.e. at the most basic level, what is the [...]
Review your expenses – and save yourself money
Running a business will always mean incurring certain expenses, or ‘spend’. There are always costs, overheads and supplier bills that mount up – and these expenses will gradually chip away at your cash position, making it more difficult to grow and make a profit. So, what can you do to reduce your spend levels? And what impact will this have on your overall margins, profits and ability to fund the next stage in your business journey? Getting proactive with your spend management Spend management is all about getting in control of your expenses – and, where possible, aiming to reduce [...]
Improve your debtor days to boost your cashflow
It’s important to stay on top of your debt collection to free up cash. Establishing how long it takes you to get paid is the first step, but how can you measure this? Debtor days measures, on average, how long your customers take to pay you. 'Debtor' is, in this context, just a fancy term for customer. While there are many complex formulas to accurately calculate this, a nice easy formula is: current debtors balance owing / annual sales * 365. For example, if you have annual sales of £450,000 and debtors owing of £80,000, your debtor days are 65 [...]