02 January 2018
It’s a brand new year and time to create a fitter business for 2018. After the Christmas break, it can be hard to get your motivation back – but we’ve done the hard work for you by highlighting 5 key ways to improve your business over the coming 12 months.
No successful company stands still – like a shark, your business needs to continue moving and hunting for the next opportunity in order to stay alive. So there’s a need for a constant process of evaluation, refinement and change. With the best tools, strategies and tactics you can stay ahead of the pack and get your teeth into the prize you’ve set your sights on.
So here are our 5 tops tips to start the year with a renewed sense of purpose in your business.
We’re real advocates for cloud accounting, here at FD Works. Moving your accounts over to the online space, and achieving all the benefits of instant 24/7 access to your numbers is a real game changer for your financial management.
But where an online accounting platform like Xero really adds value is in bringing you the competitive advantage of real-time numbers – the capability to see your financial information as it stands right now, not weeks or months in the past.
Having real-time, current information around your finances brings you real value, including:
4 in 10 small business fail within five years, according to research by Ormsby Street. And a significant cause of these failures is poor management of cash and a lack of positive cash flow.
Good cash management is fundamental to setting solid foundations for the business, whether you’re a sole trader, a new tech start-up or an established family business. Without the lifeblood of liquid cash flowing into the company, you’re soon going to flatline.
So getting a handle on your cash inflows and outflows really is a key part of making your business ready for the year ahead – and giving yourself the best possible chance of getting past that statistical five-year barrier.
Positive cash flow stems from three core principles:
With these three cash pillars forming a solid foundation for your finances, you know you’ll have the financial clout to fuel your business goals and growth plans.
Knowing WHY you’re in business may seem like an obvious thing for any owner, MD or CEO to comprehend. But over time it’s easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of day-to-day trading and to lose sight of your key business goals as a company.
So, before diving headlong into your 2018 planning, take a moment to step back and evaluate what your business is ABOUT, and what you want to achieve.
Looking objectively at your business model and pinpointing the core objectives of the company help you to set the ideal blueprint for the year ahead.
This evaluation process will:
As the company grows, it’s important to have some real direction and strategic thinking behind your financial decision-making. And that’s where a finance director (FD) helps to steer the future direction of the company, by providing robust financial oversight.
But in the cloud age, you can access all the critical benefits of an FD without taking on an internal director role – and that’s by partnering with a ‘virtual FD’ on a part-time basis.
With the instant access to business numbers and reporting that cloud solutions allow, you can work with a virtual FD who offers the self-same advice, support and financial guidance. You still have the the quality financial advice needed to drive the company forward, but with some additional bonuses, such as:
Understand more about the value of partnering with a virtual FD
At FD Works, we love working with ambitious businesses and helping them to achieve their true potential. And a key element of supporting our business clients in this journey is giving them the confidence to make bold business decisions.
‘Helping with bold business decisions’ is our strapline and it’s an underlying value within the FD Works manifesto. It’s in our DNA, and it’s a mantra we aim to convey to every single business leader that we partner and work with.
If your aim is to reach the top of your own particular business ‘Everest’, our virtual FDs, finance business analysts and outsourced finance team are with you during each step of that climb.
Well be there to:
If you’ve got your business to basecamp and think you’re ready to attack the summit, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and let’s make 2018 the turning point in your growth.
Learn more about the Everest Principle and take the 5 steps towards bold business decisions.
From organising your data to understanding your business goals and providing actionable insight, our team of accountants take a different approach to finance. We’re based in between Bristol and Bath and work with companies across the South West and wider UK.
If you’re ambitious and ready to grow, let’s talk
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