Applying for a business loan

Applying for a business loan can be a daunting task, especially with all the paperwork and number-crunching involved. However, it's important not to take lending lightly, regardless of how easy it may seem to take on debt.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we understand the challenges that business owners face when seeking financial assistance. So today we're sharing some valuable insights and tips to keep in mind throughout the business loan application process.

Present a clear business case

While banks are experts in money, they’re not necessarily knowledgeable about your area of business.

It's crucial to present a clear story that connects the dots for them. Show the bank how the loan will unlock business growth, ultimately ensuring that they will be repaid. By presenting a compelling business case, you can make the bank's job easier and increase your chances of securing the loan.

Essential documentation

To support your loan application, you will need to gather certain documents that demonstrate the financial health and viability of your business. Make sure you have the following:

Income statements and balance sheets 

Provide financial statements from the past two years to showcase your business's financial performance.

Up-to-date financial statements

Keep your financial statements current and accurate. These documents reflect the financial position of your business and help lenders assess its stability.

Business plans or project plans

Outline the direction your business is taking, including your growth strategy, market analysis, and future plans. This will demonstrate to the bank that you have a clear vision for your business's success.

Tax returns 

Provide recent tax returns to verify the accuracy of your income statements. This helps the bank evaluate your income stability and repayment capacity.

Bank account statements

Include bank account statements to validate your business's financial transactions and cash flow.

Leveraging accounting software

Using cloud-based accounting software, like Xero, can significantly simplify the loan application process. These platforms generate comprehensive reports and financial data on demand, providing essential information to support your loan application.

With features such as income and expense reports, growth trends, and forecasts, you can present a well-rounded picture of your business's financial performance and potential.

Talk to us when applying for a business loan

Navigating the complexities of the business loan application process can be overwhelming. At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray and Busy01 Consulting, we are here to support you every step of the way.

From organising your financial documents to analysing your business's financial health, we can help position your business for success. 

Secure Your Business Loan with Confidence

Applying for a business loan requires careful preparation and attention to detail. By presenting a clear business case and providing comprehensive financial documentation, you increase your chances of securing the loan you need to take your business to the next level.

At First Class Accounts Ovens & Murray, we understand the unique challenges faced by business owners, and are here to assist you throughout the loan application process.

Contact us today to get the support you need and put your business in a better position for success.

6 Warning Signs You're Undercharging & tips to increase your prices

As we head through 2023, business owners are continuing to face a challenging year ahead. With the cost of living increasing and the possibility of more interest rate hikes, it is more important than ever to ensure that your business is charging appropriately for your services. It's important to have clients value your worth and understand that your time and expertise are valuable.

If you're unsure if you're charging enough for your services, here are 6 warning signs you're undercharging & tips to increase your prices. 

1. Flat pricing for two years or more

In most industries, prices increase slightly each year to keep up with the market. If you've kept your prices the same for two years or more, it may be time to review your fees and make sure that they're competitive.

While it's understandable to want to keep prices stable for your customers, leaving your prices unchanged for too long could lead to missed opportunities for revenue growth and leave you vulnerable to competitors who are adjusting their pricing.

In today's dynamic business landscape, where the cost of living and interest rates are constantly fluctuating, it's important to periodically review your pricing to ensure that it remains competitive and aligned with your business goals.

One potential solution to flat pricing is to adopt a dynamic pricing strategy, where prices are adjusted regularly based on market conditions, customer demand, and other factors. This approach can help you stay ahead of the competition and maximize your profits, while still offering value to your customers.

Another option is to consider offering tiered pricing, where you provide different levels of service at varying price points. This can give customers the flexibility to choose the level of service that best fits their needs and budget, while also providing you with opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.

By regularly reviewing your pricing and exploring different pricing strategies, you can ensure that your business remains competitive and profitable in 2023 and beyond.

2. Your profit margins are shrinking

If you find that your profit margins are shrinking despite working more hours or taking on more clients, it's a clear indication that your pricing is not aligned with your business goals. While it's important to stay competitive, it's equally important to ensure that your pricing allows you to generate the profits you need to sustain and grow your business.

To determine whether your profit margins are healthy, it's essential to track your expenses and revenues regularly. You can use accounting software or work with a financial management professional to help you analyze your financial statements and identify areas where you can cut costs or increase revenue.

By paying close attention to your profit margins and adjusting your prices accordingly, you can ensure that your business is on track to achieve your financial goals and thrive in 2023 and beyond.

3. Overworking with no room for expansion

If you're overworking yourself and can't afford to hire additional help, it's a sign that your prices are too low.

While being busy is a good problem to have, overworking yourself to the point where you can't afford to hire additional help is not sustainable in the long run. If you find yourself in this situation, it's a clear sign that your pricing may not be aligned with your business goals.

To address this issue, you could consider raising your prices to better reflect the value you provide to your clients. Additionally, you could look for ways to streamline your processes and increase efficiency, which can help you get more done in less time and reduce the need for additional staff.

Another option is to explore different pricing models, such as performance-based pricing or project-based pricing, which can help you charge for the value you deliver rather than the time you spend. This can give you more flexibility to scale your business and increase your profitability while still providing value to your customers.

By taking a strategic approach to pricing and exploring different pricing models, you can ensure that your business is profitable, sustainable, and able to grow in 2023 and beyond.

4. No questions asked about your quotes

If all of your new clients accept your quotes or charges without any questions or attempts to negotiate, it's possible that you're charging too little for your services. Your clients may be thrilled to be getting a good deal, but it's important to make sure that you're not undervaluing your skills and time.

So, if you find that all of your new clients accept your quotes or charges without any pushback, it may be time to reevaluate your pricing. While it's great to have satisfied customers, it's important to ensure that you're charging what your services are worth.

To address this issue, you could consider conducting market research to see how your competitors are pricing their services. You may also want to look at your pricing structure and determine whether it reflects the true value of your skills and time. If you're consistently undercharging, it may be time to adjust your pricing to better reflect your expertise and the value you provide to your clients.

5. Clients don't treat you well

Do your clients take you for granted or fail to appreciate the work you're doing? If so, it could be a sign that you're undercharging for your services. When clients feel like they're paying too little, they may not fully understand the value of your time and expertise.

To address this issue, it's important to communicate the value of your services to your clients. This could involve explaining your pricing structure and the amount of time and effort that goes into each project. It may also be helpful to set clear expectations upfront, including deadlines, project scope, and any additional fees that may apply.

Another solution is to cultivate a client base that truly values your services. This could mean shifting your focus to a more niche market or simply being more selective in the clients you take on. By working with clients who understand the value of your expertise, you can build stronger relationships and increase your profitability over time.

6. Overbooked and turning away clients

If your business is thriving and you're turning away clients because you're fully booked, it's a clear sign that you're in high demand and providing valuable services to your customers. However, if you're not charging enough for your expertise and time, you may be leaving money on the table and missing out on potential growth opportunities.

One effective solution to this problem is to raise your prices. By increasing your rates, you can maintain your level of service quality while also boosting your profitability. However, it's important to be strategic when implementing price increases. Research the market rates for similar services and adjust your prices accordingly. You don't want to price yourself out of the market or lose your existing clients, so consider implementing the price increase gradually or only for new clients.

Another alternative is to outsource services like bookkeeping and payroll as an effective way to free up your time and focus on revenue-generating tasks. By delegating these tasks to professionals, you can ensure that they're handled accurately and efficiently while also reducing your workload.

Being fully booked is a great problem to have, but it's important to ensure that you're not leaving money on the table by undercharging for your services. By raising your prices strategically and implementing efficiency-boosting strategies, you can continue to provide high-quality services to your clients while also growing your business.

What should you be charging?

Setting the right price for your services can be a challenge. You'll need to do some research and evaluate the market to determine where your competitors are pricing their rates. Additionally, you'll need to take into account your level of expertise, the value that you provide to your clients, and your overall costs.

One strategy that many businesses use is value-based pricing. This approach involves setting your prices based on the value that you provide to your clients. By focusing on the outcomes and benefits that your clients receive from your services, you can set prices that are more in line with your worth.

At First Class Accounts Ovens and Murray, we understand that finding the right pricing strategy for your business can be challenging. We're here to help, and we can provide guidance and support to help you determine the right rates for your services. Our team has extensive experience working with businesses in a variety of industries, and we can provide insights and advice that are tailored to your specific needs.

In addition to helping you set your prices, we can also provide support with other aspects of your financial management. From bookkeeping to payroll, we can help you streamline your financial processes and improve your profitability.

Staying sustainable

As we enter 2023, it's more important than ever to ensure that your business is charging appropriately for your services. By keeping an eye out for the 6 warning signs you're undercharging and implementing the appropriate tips to increase prices you can improve your profitability and ensure that your business is sustainable in the long term.

At First Class Accounts Ovens and Murray, we're here to help. Whether you need assistance with pricing, bookkeeping, payroll, or other financial management services, we have the expertise and knowledge to support you and your business. We understand the challenges that businesses are facing in 2023, and we're committed to providing you with the guidance and support that you need to succeed.

Get in touch to discuss how we can help with your pricing, bookkeeping or payroll today.

Planning a financially stress-free holiday period

Holiday breaks are a chance to recharge for the year ahead, especially after the year we have had.

We look forward to warmer weather and finally setting up an out-of-office email for the break. However, for business owners, this time can be stressful without careful cash-flow planning.

Here are some simple strategies that can help you plan for a financially stress-free holiday period.

The strategies and tips shared below are generalised, however, we are here if you need to budget and prepare a cash-flow forecast.

Decide your Christmas and holiday break dates

Deciding when to take Christmas and holiday breaks is an important decision for businesses.

First, you need to consider your staffing and resourcing needs; how many people will be taking leave over the break period and who will be covering for those employees that take annual leave? Can your business afford to close entirely or run with a smaller team?

Once you have decided on your dates, share them with staff, customers and suppliers. It can provide peace of mind for customers; if they know how long you will be closed they can plan their spending accordingly. This will help ensure that your business runs smoothly during this time and that your customers are taken care of.

Budget and plan for annual leave

One of the most important aspects of budgeting and planning for annual leave is to factor in the pay rates for staff. At Christmas time, in most cases, these rates will be higher than standard hourly rates, so it's important to take this into account when creating your budget. Additionally, you must also take into account statutory public holidays. These days must be accounted for when calculating annual leave entitlements, and they cannot be carried over or swapped for another day.

Another thing to consider when budgeting and planning for employee annual leave is leave loading or long service leave. Staff may be entitled to receive this type of payment, which can add up to a significant amount of money depending on how long an employee has been working for your business.

By using software such as Xero, you can forecast your annual leave accrual and plan ahead. This will help ensure that you have enough money budgeted for staff wages during the holiday season. If you need help with this process, get in touch with us. We can provide you support to make sure that your annual leave planning is as accurate as possible.

Decide leave payments

There are many things to consider when deciding how and when to pay out your employees' leave payments during the Christmas break. For example, you may want to consider their preferences and travel needs, as well as any other financial factors that may impact your decision.

When it comes to making this decision, it is important to keep in mind the needs of both your employees and your business. Ultimately, the choice that works best for everyone will depend on a variety of factors, such as employee preferences, budget constraints, and company policies.

If you are unsure about what to do in this situation, it may be helpful to speak with your staff or consult with an HR professional for guidance. Whatever you decide, it is important to communicate clearly with your team and ensure that everyone feels supported throughout this process.

Overall, there are many things to consider when deciding how and when to pay out your employees' leave payments during the Christmas break. However, by carefully weighing all the different factors involved, you can make a decision that works well for both your employees and your business.

Review your work in progress (WIP)

Plan to complete jobs or services that can be invoiced and paid before Christmas (remember if you don’t invoice and get paid before Christmas, you may not see the money until mid to late January).

1. Send out invoices as soon as the job is complete. This will ensure that your clients have the invoice and can make payment in a timely manner.
2. If you haven't already, sign up for online invoicing and payments. This will make it easier for your clients to pay you, and they can do it from the comfort of their own homes.
3. Follow up with clients who haven't paid yet. A gentle reminder can go a long way in getting those payments in before the holidays.
4. If all else fails, consider offering a discount for early payment. This may incentivize your clients to pay sooner rather than later.

Stocktake

Do you need to order in goods now to be able to complete your work in progress? Check that there is stock on hand available. If there is going to be a partial stocktake at the end of this financial year, now could be the time to get some extra stock in to make sure that you can complete orders.

If you are planning a stocktake for your business, it's important to prepare well in advance and make sure that you have all the necessary equipment, staff, and resources to complete the task effectively. This may include getting the help of a third party stocktaking company or enlisting your suppliers or distributors to provide you with any stock data they have on hand.

You should also communicate clearly with your team about what will be involved in the stocktake process and make sure that they are aware of any changes to your usual operations, such as working hours or product handling procedures. By planning ahead and taking the time to prepare for a stocktake, you can ensure that it runs smoothly and gives you the accurate data you need to make informed business decisions.

Capacity planning

It can be difficult to find the time and resources to complete a project before Christmas, but with careful planning, you can ensure that everything is done in plenty of time.

Start by prioritising which tasks need to be completed first, and make sure you have the necessary staff or equipment to get the job done. If possible, try to avoid taking on new projects or clients during this busy period, as your focus and energy will be elsewhere.

At the end of the day, it's important to remember that you can't do everything yourself, so delegate tasks where necessary and ask for help from colleagues or family members if you need it. With a little bit of planning and flexibility, you'll be able to make the most of the festive season and complete all your projects on time.

So if you're looking for a stress-free Christmas, take some time now to plan out your capacity and resources so that you can focus on what really matters this holiday season – spending quality time with friends and family.

Making an arrangement with the Tax Office

If your budget forecast indicates you won't be able to meet your tax obligations, it is possible to apply for an instalment arrangement. There are costs associated with this, however it may provide a solution that gets you through the holiday period. Talk to us, we can help.

Plan for the new year

In addition to the tasks above, having a solid plan for getting your cash-flow back in shape after the break is essential. To help you with this, look at reviewing your forecasts and budgets (including debtors), ensuring you have good management information available, and checking that all your key operational systems are running smoothly.

Talk to us about enhancing your financial support

If you identify that you'll need financial support over Christmas, now is the time to organise short-term financial relief like an arranged overdraft or loan, rather than hoping it will come right. Please let us know if you need any help with cash-flow forecasting, budgeting or finance applications.

How to say thank you this Christmas

It's that time of year again! The temperature is getting warmer and holiday music is playing everywhere.

That can only mean one thing - it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts!

If you're like most business owners, you want to reward your team for their hard work over the past year and thank your top customers for their loyalty.

But what's the best way to do that? And how can you stay within your Christmas budget? Keep reading for some tips and ideas.

Ideas for Rewarding Your Team

One of the most common ways to reward employees at Christmastime is with a bonus. A bonus is a great way to show your appreciation for a job well done and give your team members a financial boost during the holiday season.

If you decide to go this route, be sure to run the numbers beforehand so you don't overspend. Talk to us about doing this for you.

Alternatively, you may also want to consider giving each member of your team a gift card or voucher that they can use as they please. This allows them to buy exactly what they want or need, which is always appreciated.

Another thoughtful way to show your team how much you appreciate them is with a personalised gift. This could be something as simple as a mug with their name on it or a gift basket filled with their favourite things.

Whatever you choose, make sure it comes from the heart and shows that you know and appreciate them as an individual.

Ideas for Thanking Your Top Customers

Your customers are the lifeblood of your business, so it's important to show them how much you appreciate their loyalty.

You could send them a handwritten thank-you note along with a small token of appreciation, like a branded keychain or pen.

If you really want to go above and beyond, invite them to an exclusive event or give them VIP treatment when they next visit your store or office.

Whatever you do, make sure your top customers feel valued and appreciated this Christmas season.

Your Christmas budget

Your Christmas budget is an important consideration when it comes to gift-giving.

To stay on track, set a budget at the start of the season and decide in advance how much you are willing to spend per person for both your team members and clients.

You might like to create categories based on how much your clients spend with you and how valuable they are to you. Your top customers might all receive a larger gift, while the smaller customers might get something more modest.

It's important to understand what you can afford to spend. We can help you run the numbers to understand this.

Saying thank you

Christmas is a great time to show your team how much you appreciate their hard work and thank your top customers for their loyalty.

There are many different ways to do this, so take some time to decide what would work best for your business.

And don't forget to stay within your budget! With a little planning and thoughtfulness, you can make this holiday season one to remember for all the right reasons.

Learning to make good business decisions

Making good business decisions is easier to do when you have excellent information at your fingertips – and that’s the value of having great reporting at the heart of your business.

Any cloud accounting software worth its salt will offer you straightforward ways to run your financial reports and track your important metrics. That’s standard in the new digital world. And this level of reporting gives you real, tangible data on which to base your decision-making. But good decision-making isn’t just about the numbers.

As well as having an effective understanding of your finances, you need a sense of what's good for your business, how decisions will impact on your growth and what your future path looks like.

Run management information at least once a month

Modern cloud accounting software makes it easier than ever to run detailed, up-to-date reporting on your financial position.

With the click of a button, you can run numerous in-depth reports and statements that show your past and future position. Doing this regularly gives you a wealth of financial information on which to base your decision-making and strategic thinking.

At each stage in your business' growth, you’ll have to make important decisions about your next step. So, it’s important to think about the financial implications of any new projects, the amount of cash in your business and the availability of new sources of funding.

Use metrics and projections to inform your decision-making

Setting up a custom dashboard to monitor the most important metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) is definitely a good idea.

Most accounting apps will let you tailor your dashboard, so you can pick and choose from KPIs that are most relevant to your business.

Set clear and democratic targets for all of your main KPIs and track them on a weekly basis, so you’re monitoring the financial heartbeat of your business.

If cashflow is looking poor, look at freeing up some cash, or borrowing money to fill the gap. If sales revenues are dropping, put some renewed vigour into your sales activity, or get a new marketing campaign underway to raise awareness of your most profitable products and services.

Talk to your board and executive team when scenario-planning

You may be the sole founder of your business, or you may be part of a bigger team of co-founders. But the reality is that no one person can make all the decisions in a busy business.

To get the best overview of a challenge, or to come up with an effective way to grab a potential opportunity, you need to talk to your team – that’s the only way to get an effective consensus.

Talk through the current threats and opportunities and run through as many different potential scenarios as possible. What’s the best-case scenario, and how can you achieve it? What’s the worst-case scenario, and how do you plan for it, if things don’t go according to plan?

Work closely with an experienced external adviser

When you’re working in the business 24/7, it’s hard to see the business in an objective way.

Your judgement on some issues can be overly emotional and clouded by internal or political factors. Working with an experienced accountant, business adviser or business coach brings a fresh perspective to the business – both financially, strategically and emotionally.

Having a trusted external advisor on the team definitely helps you get your numbers straight. But they can also bring their knowledge and experience to bear on your strategic thinking, your decision-making and the impact of the business on your own mental health and wellbeing.

You can open up to them about your worries, share your aspirations for your business and bounce strategic ideas off them – taking some of the pressure off your shoulders.

Track how you’re measuring against your goals

To meet your goals and make good business decisions, it’s helpful to monitor and track your progress against these targets.

If you refer back to your reporting and KPI metrics, you can easily measure your performance over time – and take action if progress is starting to slip.

Areas to keep an eye can include your:

• Cashflow position – to make sure there’s enough cash in the business to keep your project moving forward and heading towards the agreed end goals.
• Sales figures and revenue – so you can see how you’re tracking against your sales targets and if the intended revenue from the project is being achieved.
• Budgets and expenses – to check that you’re not overspending on your project and that the team is being sensible with costs, expenses and essential overheads.
• Gross margin percentage – so you can keep the business profitable and aim to meet your profit targets for the period, or year-end.
  Growth against targets – to keep the business performing well and growing at the rate you predicted to meet your growth target for the period.
• Making a few bad decisions along the way is all part of the learning process. But by monitoring your performance and talking to the best advisers, it’s easier to keep the business on track.

Talk to us about forecasting and understanding your numbers. We’ll help you integrate the best possible management information apps into your business to help guide your decision-making.

Using forecasting to help your decision-making

Producing regular management information is one way to help improve your business decision-making. But looking at historical numbers can only tell you so much.

In business, you want to know what the future holds. And to make truly informed decisions about your future strategy, it’s important to use forecasting tools to project your data forwards in time. By running projections, based on these historical numbers, and producing detailed forecasts, you can get the best possible view of the road ahead – that’s invaluable.

Run regular cashflow forecasts

Positive cashflow is vital to the short, medium and long-term success of your business. Without cash, you simply can’t operate the business efficiently. Running regular cashflow forecasts helps you overcome this challenge. With detailed projections of your future cashflow, you can spot the cash gaps that lie further down the road, and take action to fill these cashflow holes.

Income can often be unpredictable, especially in challenging economic times. If customers fail to pay an invoice, or suppliers increase their prices, this can all start to eat into your available cash. Using forecasting, you can extrapolate your numbers forward to which weeks, months or quarters are looking financially tight. And with enough prior warning, there’s plenty of time to look for short-term funding facilities, or to get proactive with reducing your spending.

Run sales and revenue forecasts

Keeping the business profitable is one of the key foundations of making a success of your enterprise. You want your sales to be stable and your revenues predictable if you’re going to generate enough capital to fund your growth plans. And you need to know how those revenues will pan out over the course of the coming financial period.

Revenue forecasts work much like a cashflow forecast. Instead of looking at your future cash position, a revenue forecast gives a projection of your sales and how much revenue is likely to be brought into the business in future weeks and months. With better revenue information, you’ll be more on top of your profit targets. You can manage your working capital in a more practical way. And you can improve your ability to invest in new projects, additional staff or funding of the long-term expansion of your business.

Run different scenario plans

What’s going to happen to your business in the future? None of us have a crystal ball to predict this future path exactly. But by looking at different possible scenarios, you can run projections to see what the potential outcomes and impacts may be.

These ‘What-if scenarios’ can be exceptionally useful tools when thinking about big business decisions. What if there’s an economic recession? What if our sales increased by 25%? What if we raised our prices by 10% next quarter? What if we lost a quarter of our customers? By plugging the relevant data into your forecasting engine, you can run these scenarios and see how each option pans out. That’s massively useful when the worst (or the best) does happen.

Update your strategy, based on your forecasts

By making the most of your forecasting tools, you give your board, your finance team and your advisers the most insightful data and projections to work with.

A good business plan is designed to flex and evolve to meet the needs of the changing market – and the changing needs of your own business strategy. By making use of your cashflow forecasts, revenue projections and what-if scenario planning, you give yourself the insights needed to update your strategy and your business plan. You can make solid, well-informed decisions and keep yourself one step ahead of your competitors. In the dog-eat-dog world of business, that’s a competitive edge that can make a huge difference.

If you want to delve deeper into the positive benefits of forecasting, please get in touch. We can showcase the latest forecasting software and apps, and show you the value that’s delivered through well-executed forecasting and longer-term projections.

Making data meaningful for your business

In today’s world the fast pace of business requires business owners to be able to react quickly to conditions.

This means having the ability to compile, analyse and act on data is increasingly important. Having access to your business data allows you to forecast and potentially identify trends and patterns before they emerge.

So, what is data?

When it comes to business, data includes the facts and figures that your business processes every day.

Over time, your business will obtain data.

For example, if your business is already using cloud software for bookkeeping and accounting, payroll, project management or CRM (customer relationship management), you likely have access to a goldmine of data. And that data gives you valuable insight into your sales, revenue and expenses, profit, payroll, and other business details that can help you make smart business decisions.

If you aren’t recording accurate data for your business, you can only rely on gut feel and assumptions about your business’ past performance to inform and guide your future business decisions.

It’s important to remember that your business data only becomes meaningful when it has context, relevance and purpose.

Data is only powerful if there is context

You want your data to be able to provide insight into answering these questions:

• What is your business goals?
• What is happening in the business now?
• What has influenced the past?

Is your data relevant?

With all the tools available for data collection it’s important to focus on what’s relevant to your decision making.

Make sure you know what data is necessary rather than what’s nice to have.

• Are your financials up-to-date?
• Are the right systems and processes in use for different parts of your business?
• Are your cloud systems set up correctly (and being used correctly)?

The worst thing you can do is to attempt to analyse irrelevant data and then make business decisions based on it! Make sure you’re collecting and looking at the data that’s relevant for your business.

Your data needs to have a purpose

Don’t forget what you’re collecting your business data for.

Focus on what truly matters and build from there.

• What data/numbers/information determines success for you?
• What do you want to understand most about your business?

If you want help with setting up and understanding your data, so you can forecast and make better, informed business decisions, get in touch.

We can accumulate, analyse, report and advise on your data; or show you the tools to use.

Upsizing or downsizing: forecasting can help

2020 and 2021 have created a number of challenges for the average business. Depending on your business purpose and strategy, you may need to either upsize, or downsize, to secure the long-term future of your company.

But what are the implications of upsizing or downsizing, your operations? And how do you refine your business so it's fit for purpose and ready to take on your new aims and goals?

The answer is to look carefully at your forecasting and your future decision-making.

Looking at the ongoing needs of your business

Our experiences of the pandemic have demonstrated one very clear lesson – you never know exactly what lies around the corner for your business. But the more prepared you are, the better you can respond, as and when new threats and opportunities do appear.

With this in mind, forecasting and scenario-planning can be exceptionally important tools.

Rather than crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, you can plan for two, three or more different outcomes – with different strategies and tactics for each separate scenario. You can’t bullet-proof your business, but you CAN make sure that you at least have a Plan B (or C).

Scaling up, or scaling down?

By making constructive use of forecasting, you’ll be able to see the most viable path for your business. From here, you can make a decision on whether upsizing, or downsizing, is the most appropriate action for the long-term health of your business.

Some key questions to ask during your decision-making may include:

Do you have enough funding to grow, or do you need to downsize?

Knowing how much working capital you have available in the business is a vital piece of information. If you have a healthy balance sheet, a workable funding strategy and access to lenders, you’ll be able to fund your growth. If your cash reserves are depleted and access to finance is limited, now may be the time to shrink the business and consolidate things down – helping you to survive to fight another day, even if it is at a reduced scale.

Do you need more, or fewer, employees?

If your market share has dropped, you may need to downsize your team. And if you've hit a winning streak of sales, you may need to upsize your workforce to meet demand. Look at what resourcing you need and the types of skills, capabilities and long-term knowledge you need from your team in order to meet your new goals and targets.

Do you need to train your existing people?

If your business purpose has evolved, or you're moving more into the online or digital arena, you may need to train up your staff. Upskilling your people helps to bring them more in line with modern digital business practices, software and online customer interactions, all of which helps to increase your operational capabilities and your customer service levels as a business.

Do you need the same number of branches/shops/offices? 

If you've instigated remote working or hybrid working, you may not need so much office space for your people. And if you’ve moved a lot of your business to online selling, fewer bricks-and-mortar outlets will be required. Cutting building lease costs and/or commercial mortgage expenses can be a serious cost-saver for the business. Conversely, if you’re aiming to scale up, it’s likely that larger premises will be needed – resulting in higher property costs, but increased income from your scaled-up operations.

Do you need new equipment, machinery or vehicles?

Knowing what tangible assets you need in the business is an important part of your new business plan. If you’re expanding your operations, new equipment and/or vehicles will be needed to meet the new demand. This is likely to mean taking out third-party finance, or digging deep into your cash reserves. If you’re downsizing, there’s potential to sell-off existing equipment and assets and to free up this equity for other projects in the business.

Talk to us about scenario planning and decision-making

If you’re in the process of evolving or changing your business purpose, please come and chat to us. We can help you review your existing business plan, run scenarios and forecasts, and look at the long-term future path of your business.