Are you a small business owner, or someone contemplating starting their own business?
Have you thought about how your days will be spent? I’ll bet you think you’ll spend all you time doing interesting work for your clients? Or selling your beautiful new products. Yip, I thought that too when I started. Then reality hit and I realised I needed to spend an awful lot of time out trying to earn new business. Then when the business came flooding in I fell into that trap where I took my eye off the ball – I sacrificed my own business for the sake of my clients. And wham! I’m way behind in my invoicing and starting to feel nervous about cashflow. Reality really does bite hard sometimes.
I know it can be exciting doing your own “books” when you start up – every invoice you send is another step closer to growing your business and every deposit into your bank account brings a smile. Maybe you still get that thrill and want to do it by yourself, but is it really a good use of your time?

I can do it myself.

In my experience small business owners feel they need to do it all themselves – mainly to keep costs down but unless you have a real interest in finance you’ll never prioritise it and will always be on the backfoot.
Think it’ll cost too much? Think again. How much is it costing you already? How much time do you spend on your admin/finance? Wouldn’t it make sense to spend that time in other areas of your business – areas that only you can provide expertise?

What do I need to do?

The number one priority is to get paid for the product or service you provide. To do that you need to invoice your customer so my best advice is – get into a routine. If you don’t your cashflow will suffer. Send your invoices out promptly, and chase if they aren’t settled when they should be. Make sure you check and reconcile your bank account on a regular basis (at least every month, if not more) – this way you’ll know exactly where you are financially. When it comes to month end, make sure you tie up all the loose ends, enter all your bills, expenses (including mileage) and then your monthly reports will be more meaningful.
If this all sounds like too much then there are many Bookkeepers and Virtual Assistants who can take care of the detail – contact us for a quote. We’ll become a valued member of your team and you’ll never look back.