Many entrepreneurs struggle to manage their finances, either because they are not money-minded or they just don’t have the time. Of course, if you’re busy running your business, you probably don’t have the time to pour over spreadsheets and input expenses, which is why most business owners hire accountants. However, outsourcing your financial management can end up being yet another cost to squeeze into your budget, and it’s one that many new startups simply can’t afford.
Luckily, technology has made it easier than ever for business owners to manage their money on the go without the need to hire externally. With this in mind, here are some tips to help you get on top of your business finances once and for all.
Use Automation Tools
Automation tools are changing the way businesses operate, so when it comes to technology, you don’t want to get left behind. You can use apps to track expenses, automate reports and scan receipts, while other digital tools deal with taxes, invoicing and virtually every other part of your company’s financial records. Companies like
Redbrick Solutions provide services to help you automate and manage your business finances, including manual and system bank reconciliation, electronic invoices, budget planning and more.
Track and Monitor Your Spending
Whether you run a startup or an established business, if you don’t stay on top of your cash flow, you’re going to run out of money quickly. It may sound obvious, but the best way to avoid financial hardship in business is to establish a budget and stick to it. This means you need to stay organized by tracking and monitoring every dollar you spend. You can do this using accounting software or money-tracking apps. There are plenty of full-service accounting solutions for both small and established businesses that will allow you to share data with colleagues, send invoices and manage your money on the go.
Long Hours Don’t Equal Profits
Nothing has more monetary value than your time, and you only get a fixed amount each day. Therefore, one of the biggest lessons you’ll learn in business is that doing everything yourself is just not sustainable. You might decide to tackle your cash flow problem by minimizing staff and not outsourcing, but completing every task on your own only eats into time that could be spent growing your business. Doing this as a method of survival is fine for a while, but it’s not sustainable in the long term. Not only will your profits remain stagnant, but you’ll quickly burn out and end up running your business into the ground. The motto “work smart, not hard” springs to mind here.
Prepare for the Worst
It may sound pessimistic, but you never know what could happen when you’re running a business. Therefore, it’s best to prepare your organization (and yourself) for failure as well as success. This might mean working your day job alongside your startup so that your business is not your only source of income, or it could mean keeping reserve cash in an emergency savings account.
There are plenty of ways to manage your finances as a new or emerging business, but it will require some commitment to change on your part.
