How To Boost Your Business To The Top
This is for all those business owners out there. In running a business, what do you think is most important? I hope your answer was ‘finance’ because reality is harsh and without proper management of finances, it is difficult to sustain your business whether it is a small or big company. In fact, what differentiates a small and big company ultimately lies in how they manage their finances. Bigger companies are just better at it. Of course, do not be disheartened. This is why we have come up with the top 10 tricks for small businesses to own their finances. One of them is to come up with efficient payroll processes - here are great selections of paycheck stub templates .
1- Bosses deserve employee entitlement
What we mean to say here is that as you pay your employees for their service, do not minimize your role as a boss, you deserve payment for your hard work and dedication too. While we understand the psyche of small business owners who want to have as little expenditure as possible and pump it towards development, doing so will only accustom yourself to the idea that there is this excess money to fall back on. So, rid yourself of that idea and reward yourself too.
2- Set aside money for growth
After putting aside salary payments, you should look at parking remaining funds under any opportunities for growth. We need to remember that in doing up a business, no business owner is looking to stay stagnant, so always invest in ways to expand. This will bode well for both customers and employees. When customers see that the business is trying to improve their services, you can retain customer loyalty. When employees see that the business is trying to improve their structure, they see a place with potential to grow together. So, it is important to always be on the lookout for growth opportunities.
3- Do not fear borrowing
Maybe it is because of television dramas that loans have such a bad reputation which results in most business owners frowning upon it. However, recall the previous point on looking for growth opportunities. Opportunities are not forever and when it comes to it, you might need the capital for it but do not possess it on hand. You might think that you can wait until you have more capital but they will not wait. So, take loans as a form of investment, you are borrowing money to purchase items that can help multiply profits. So when it comes to it, do not be afraid of taking on loans.
4- Improve business credit
If you are familiar with loans already, then the importance of having good business credit should not come as a surprise to you. It is important to maintain and improve business credit because it is directly linked to how easily you can obtain a loan and a more favorable interest rate. Good business credit assures loaners that you are responsible.
5- Strategy is key for paying clients
In business, there are bound to be unpleasant experiences and one of them is customers who frequently delay payment. The worst part is you are unable to chastise them for it. So, instead of wracking your mind over the unpaid invoices, which can lead to unhealthy cash flow. Think up of strategies to incentivize clients to fork up their part of the bill promptly. For example, discounts for early payment is one.
6- Distribute quarterly tax payments
Everything else is nicely timed so that all expenses and profits can be categorized monthly, except tax payments. Annoyingly, tax payments happen every quarter which throws off that accounting perfectionism as we need to take into account that there are tax payments every three months. Our suggestion is to break it up monthly so at least, there is consistency and the chances of unintentionally neglecting it is lower.
7- Keep your books under tight scrutiny
When people get into a routine, they tend to become complacent however this is something you should avoid with bookkeeping. We are not saying to distrust your bookkeeper, but it does no harm to take extra precautions and review through your own books. This way, you can not get more familiarized with expenditures and profits, you can also prevent your company from being susceptible to financial crime. Plus, reviewing books can even be done in just a day, so it does not hurt to take a day in every month to check on them.
8- Spend but make the ROI worth
While an ability to spend is telling of a company’s success, you should not go overboard with it and approve just any expenditure. While you are bookkeeping, you should also take the time to calculate the ROI of expenditures to see whether there are any expenses that are senseless. Cutting senseless spending would do well to improve profits as you will be able to source for more affordable alternatives or to discontinue it completely.
9- Build up good financial systems
You should set up a solid internal financial system to keep the business on track. While small businesses tend to treat employees as friends, there must always be a line drawn where the boss has to put their foot down, especially when it comes to finance. You should be clear of how the finances work in the company, this could mean protocols for purchasing items, for reimbursements and more. This is to prevent fraud of any kind and also to protect yourself and your employees from potential legal issues.
10 - Failing to plan is planning to fail
To end off this guide, our final advice is something that can be applied in every aspect of your business, not just for finance. When planning for expenditures or investments, always look forward to the future and not just take the present into consideration. Do not limit yourself to the myopic vision of current times because, for example, there could be investment opportunities that will pay off exponentially in the long term but that would mean you need to brave through the earlier costs first. So, always plan ahead.
Conclusion
With that said, we hope your business flourishes and the key thing to remember is that building up a business is a dynamic process, always be prepared to adapt.
