Give your business a spring clean
Entrepreneurs should make the best possible start to financial year by giving their businesses a ‘spring clean’, according to Bibby Financial Services.
Bibby’s top tips are:
Get back to basics – get your paperwork in order. You need a system for storing all your purchase and sales invoices, a petty cash system and a cashbook to summarise all the information. Keep all bank statements safe.
Invoice on time – Late payment is sadly a way of life for businesses. So, make sure you send out invoices and statements early. Keep a record of all ongoing projects so its easy to raise an accurate invoice. Always ask your customer for a purchase order number and quote that on your invoice.
Take control of your credit control – Its vital that you ‘get tough’ on credit control. Perform credit checks on new customers, set sensible credit limits and if payments are late, chase them up.
Look at new funding options – If you are stuck with a bank overdraft that is repayable on demand and not flexible enough to cope with the demands of your business then consider more innovative methods of funding, such as invoice finance.
Review your suppliers – Review the prices your suppliers are charging you – just a five or ten per cent reduction could make a huge difference to your business.
Dust off your business plan – When you launched your company, chances are that you worked hard to produce a winning business plan. Have you ever looked at it since? Don’t forget that this was once the core distillation of your ideas. Review it now.
Call an accountant – Accountants not only get your systems in order; many also offer business advice. If you are worried about fee levels, make sure you get quotes before appointing your chosen firm or individual.
Source: www.startups.co.uk 16/4/04 (adapted)
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