Tips to being a proactive business

Recent times have certainly shown us that the future path of your business can change in an instant. Usually, due to influences that are far beyond our own control.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing global economic recession have both had a negative economic impact on the business world. So, when a challenge arises, you need to be ready.

The key is to be proactive. Be prepared, have a ‘Plan B’ and react in a proactive way to the uncertainty. But what elements of your business should you focus on to get your downturn plan ready?

How to be a proactive business

To keep your business afloat, you’ll need to be agile, innovative and resourceful. And being flexible in the face of adversity is also likely to play a big part in your survival. 

No business owner has all the answers, and there are some important steps to take if you’re going to overcome the challenges of a downturn.

Proactive steps to take will include:

Enhancing your business knowledge

Knowledge is power, and being in control of your business data gives you that knowledge. The latest cloud reporting tools, like Futrli, help you to understand the financial numbers and forecast the future path of the business, allowing you to make truly informed decisions.

Improving your cashflow

During a downturn, money will be tight and your cashflow position is more likely to be poor. To improve this, you need to be proactive about reducing overheads, billing promptly, following up on overdue invoices and making sure that the minimum amount of cash flows out of the business, and the maximum flows in.

Negotiate with your suppliers

If you can wrangle a better deal from your suppliers, that goes a long way to enhancing your cashflow position. Negotiate with your suppliers to agree on better terms, or cheaper prices. And talk to your landlord about a reduction in rent – or even a rent holiday if the situation is extremely dire.

Accessing additional funding

When your cash reserves get tight, there may be a need to look for additional funding. This could mean asking your bank manager for an extended overdraft, approaching business lenders for a loan, or even looking at attracting private investors or private equity firms that may want to pump money into the business – although you’ll need a strong business plan for investors to be willing.

Evaluating your market offering

To generate enough revenues to survive, you need your products and/or services to be selling. To that end, it’s worth evaluating your market offering and making some changes. Do some products deliver a much higher return than others? If so, you could make more money by focusing purely on these products and having a tighter and more profitable product range.

Evolving your marketing and sales

Communication with your customers during a downturn is vital. Keep them in the loop and let them know that your products/services are still there for them. And reevaluate your marketing channels to make sure you’re hitting the right audience. Is your online presence as good as it could be? Are you providing enough information on your website and social channels to help solve your customers problem? If not, what else could you do to bring in more enquiries and sales.

Learning to pivot and diversify

Some sectors, for example, the travel and hospitality sectors, were badly hit by Covid. If this happens, you may need to pivot into a new niche or sector to find a new audience and more revenue streams. You can also diversify your product range to meet the needs of a wider range of customers, bringing in more revenue streams and bumping up your cash position as a business.

It’s all about having that Plan B in place. When (and if) a downturn hits, you’re then primed and ready to respond.

The better prepared you are, and the faster you react, the more likely it is that you’ll ride out challenging times successfully.

If you’re looking to improve your business planning, or improve your financial model, come and talk to us.

JobMaker Scheme - Key Points

The JobMaker hiring credit scheme is now open for registration.

Here’s a summary of some of the key points around the JobMaker scheme.

If you are considering applying for JobMaker, please take into consideration the administration of JobMaker can be quite complex, so we don't recommend attempting to manage this on your own. Talk to us about how we can assist.

For background, JobMaker was announced by the government in the October 2020 federal budget, and will operate until 6 October 2021.

Key points:

As mentioned at the start, this is a summary of some of the key points around JobMaker. There are many other requirements and a thorough understanding of those requirements are needed to ensure your JobMaker administration is correct. 

Talk to us if you need support in applying for or administering JobMaker.

Leveraging your technology

The decisions you make in your business are only as good as the data you use to make them. The more accurate and up to date your data is, the better your decisions will be. Leveraging your technology will provide you with accurate real-time data to make more informed decisions in your business.

Processes and systems drive your business, so it’s important to ask yourself if all of yours are clearly documented and up to date? Some processes may be followed simply because they always have been. Although other processes may have evolved over time, your documentation might not necessarily reflect this.

Using technology to streamline your processes and systems increases efficiency in your business, saving time, money, and reducing stress. You’ll also prepare your business for the future, making it more sustainable, scalable, and saleable.

Leveraging your technology can help you to:

1. Make your data accessible from the cloud, allowing you to view real-time data and make decisions on the go.
   Example: Xero.
2. Reduce human error and increase productivity by automating repetitive tasks and workflows.
   Example: Asana for workflows.
3. Track your expenses and load them directly to your accounting software simply by taking a photo.
   Example: ReceiptBank.
4. Minimise double handling and increase efficiency by integrating your apps.
   Example: Xero Marketplace.
5. Collaborate with your team regardless of where they are.
   Example: Slack and Microsoft Teams.
6. Save the time and money needed to travel by using online meetings.
   Example: Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
7. Induct new team members seamlessly with clearly documented processes.
   Example: Deputy.
8. Monitor your inventory in real-time, reducing inventory days and freeing up cash.
   Example: Fishbowl and Unleashed.
9. Store customer preferences to personalise customer experience, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.
   Example: Vend and Kounter.
10. Make your business become scalable with systems in place to allow the business to grow without the wheels falling off. Talk to your business adviser. 

Using technology to its maximum advantage will help to improve your business. However, implementing these changes can often be overwhelming.

Talk to us about any of the above technology to improve efficiencies in your business.

Saving time and money with a bookkeeper

Turning a profit will be high on your list of goals as a business owner. And if you want to generate the best margins, that means keeping an eye on the money that’s going out of the business, as well as what’s coming in.

So, how can your bookkeeper help with this?

The days where your bookkeeper just did the bookkeeping, compiled your accounts and filed your BAS are well and truly over. Modern bookkeeping firms are far more interested in helping you with your financial performance, your business strategy and offering flexible value-add services that put you in better control of your finances.

If you partner with the right bookkeeper, we can actually save you money – in both the short, medium and long-term. And that’s good news for the growth of your business.

Key ways your bookkeeper can save you time and enhance your financial health

The less expenditure you have as a company, the bigger your profit margin. It sounds incredibly simple, doesn’t it?

The smaller your costs, the larger your profit. But if you’re not fully in control of your financial management, it’s very difficult to know WHERE you’re spending money, and WHY you’re not achieving your profit targets.

This is where working with a bookkeeper adds a huge amount of value. Your bookkeeper helps put you back in the driving seat of your finances. And that’s never been more needed than in the current economic climate.

So, what specific things can your bookkeeper do and what will the impact be on the future of your business?

Cashflow management and advice

‘Cash is King’ may be a cliche, but it’s true. Unless you can balance the cash inflows and outflows from your business, you’ll never have the liquid cash to pay your bills, cover your payroll costs or cover your operational expenses. We’ll show you where money is going out, and coming in, so you achieve the ideal positive cashflow position.

Cost control and spend management

To improve your cashflow, you need to reduce your cash outflows. An important way to do this is to focus on cost control and spend management, reducing your expenditure, removing unnecessary costs and negotiating better deals with your suppliers. The more you cut costs back, the better your cashflow will be and the easier it will be to thrive, grow and become more profitable.

Forecasting and financial modelling

When we understand the key financial drivers in your business, we can build you a full financial model. This allows us to change the variables, run different scenarios and forecast the various future paths of your business. Being able to project these numbers forward gives you a clearer view of the path ahead. And that’s invaluable in the challenging economic times that we all face at present.

Better management reporting and information

Your decision-making stands or falls on the information you have available to you. We provide detailed management accounts, breakdowns of key metrics and forecasts of your cashflow, spending, aged debt and revenue – all of which helps you to save money, make sound decisions and keep the revenues flowing into your business.

There are a number of Apps that create efficiencies with cashflow management and forecasting to help you save time and money, and have a life.

Rather than spending your life working in your business and trying to do everything yourself, you'll be saving time and money with a bookkeeper. We’ll help you optimise the most profitable parts of the business and increase your overall return on investment.

Let’s talk about how we can work together to support your ongoing business profitability.

Setting Sales Targets

Setting sales targets for your business is standard practice for any aspirational, growing company. If you’re going to stretch the sales and marketing teams, it’s important to have clear, unambiguous targets for them to aim for.

Setting sales targets in uncertain times

In uncertain times it’s more than likely that your established sales targets will effectively become unrealistic and impractical for your teams to use.

So, how do you set sales targets when the world has changed? 

And how can you ensure these targets are meaningful, accurate and workable for your business goals?

Understanding your strategy and sales numbers

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to defining your business strategy during uncertain times. The better you understand your position, the easier it will be to agree on the right strategy and to set sales targets that support these aims.

With a plan in place and targets to meet, everyone knows what they need to achieve. A list of key tasks to do at each point along the sales journey adds real value. Even if you don't end up gaining new business, you’ve made every effort to solve the customer's needs.

Important steps for setting sales targets:

Understand your turnover and profit goals.

Do you know how many sales to make if you’re going to break even, or want to actually make money? 

Understanding your gross margin, your break-even point and your desired profit margin helps you calculate how many sales will be needed to achieve this profit goal.

Bear in mind, of course, that your sales will, most likely, be down during uncertain times. And work this into your figures and targets.

Make your targets SMART

If you set sales targets then these numbers have to be Smart (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely).

Break them down into achievable goals, such as weekly or monthly targets, and track your actual sales over time. That way you can see how you’re performing against your sales target. 

Look at regular performance reports and make these part of your regular management meetings. Discuss how you’re tracking and what action you can take if you’re not hitting your desired targets.

Track other sales elements

It’s also worth considering what other elements of the sales process you can measure, to get a handle on how you’re doing as a business. Track things like calls/enquiries, visits to your home page, trials, bookings or customer demos.

Analyse what drove these enquiries or visits, so you understand where things worked well and can do more of the same.

Run forecasts and scenarios

Use your tracking data to project your sales position forward in time. Base your projections on the historic information you have available and the other drivers you’ve identified. 

Run different scenarios. For example, 75% sales based on prior year numbers, 50% sales and 25% sales. And see how you’d need to tweak your sales targets to account for these drops in sales activity.

Fill the information gaps

Are there any gaps you could fill to get a better understanding of the market and your customers?

A proactive effort to make more follow-up calls with existing customers can be incredibly informative.

Running a customer feedback survey can also help to gauge where the sales process works well, where you could do better and what their future buying intentions might be over the coming months of the crisis.

Talk to us about your sales targeting process.