BLOGS

Many small business owners think they’re saving money by handling their financials themselves. While it’s a real asset to learn bookkeeping basics, cash flow management and your tax obligations, hiring an accountant to oversee your finances has many benefits.

While many small business owners prefer brainstorming new ideas to pouring over financial reports, getting a handle on financial analysis can be remarkably empowering.

The ability to network is a fundamental part of running a business. Running a business in isolation is difficult, so it helps to have expert partners and acquaintances available to share ideas with.

Did you know that 50% of small business expenses are generated on the go? It’s no wonder the majority of expense receipts end up shoved in coat pockets or an old shoebox.

Before you go down the path of seeking capital from outside your business or borrowing funds, identify any other ways of raising capital. If you need funds then sometimes it’s not a loan that you need.

If you’ve been reviewing your business’s financial position and are looking for ways to improve your cash flow, one of the first things to look at are your expenses. As your business grows, so will your costs, but there are things you and your employees can do to keep them down as much as possible and so improve your cash flow.

Bootstrapping is figuring out how to reduce the cash you need to start, by eliminating any unnecessary overheads while finding out who will give you a hand.

As small business owners look to operations after COVID-19, there are some important business questions to ask. These questions will help you determine what adaptations you want to keep, whether your business model is working, and if there are additional changes you want to make to keep your company operational through future economic downturns.

Dealing with a sudden cash flow crisis, even if you’re working hard to avoid shortfalls, is hugely distracting. A formerly reliable customer might take much longer to pay than anticipated or a large consignment might fail to show up, leaving you out of pocket. If you’re starting a business, it could simply be taking longer than expected to turn a profit.

If you're a small business owner whose company hasn't gone through hard times, that's great but it's likely to happen at some point. As much as we dream about being brilliant enough at business that we'll never face slow times, there are many things beyond our control that can negatively affect our business.

Most small businesses experience cash flow problems from time to time and urgently need working capital. Many business owners immediately think of the bank or loans when they’re short of money. But there are other resources you can tap before you ask for that expensive overdraft or overdraft extension.

As many business owners are experiencing, the COVID-19 pandemic has created serious financial difficulties for entrepreneurs. Small businesses especially are faced with cutting their budgets so they can continue to operate—even at a smaller scale—and not have to close for good.

Your "war chest" is the financial reserve your business has built up so you can take advantage of an opportunity or cover unexpected costs or emergencies. Building a cash reserve when finances are tight, however, can be difficult.

When customers make a buying decision, they’re not just considering the quality and price of your products or services, they’re also evaluating the ease and convenience of the whole buying process.

Change in business is almost always a good thing, but often poor management means that the workforce becomes disengaged and the change process painful. In the worst cases, this results in irreparable damage being done.

Now is the perfect time to evaluate your financial position and come up with innovative ways to add revenue streams and generate cash.

For many small businesses, the best way to improve profitability is to increase turnover, as there’s no limit to sales but there is a limit to how much you can reduce your costs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caught most of us off guard. Who would’ve thought that the world would spend the year battling a virus? This unprecedented global crisis is a reminder that these business threats are very real and acts as a wake-up call for business leaders.