WWW.IMAGEMAGAZINE.COM.AU DEC 2022/JAN 2023 47 The EASY way to make your business Financially Fit Order this FREE ‘super-sized’ eBook for Business Owners … Packed with pages of helpful – easy to read financial tips – all in plain English. The Financial Fitness Plan – An amazing resource for businesses who want to boost in-house financial performance – no expensive accountants fees. You’ll learn small ‘tweaks’ that make a BIG Difference to Sales, Profit and Cash-flow. This book explains – Profit & Cash-flow tips, Budgeting & Costing, Pricing, Overheads management, Stock & Supplier issues, Quoting-Tendering, Staff Productivity, Smart Systems, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), Growth, Business and Exit Planning. It’s a 1 hour read – but could be the most valuable time you’ll ever spend on your business! Free for business owners and key staff. Request by email to: [email protected] Include your name and business email address please. Without the hassle of doing an accounting degree! SUE HIRST CF0-ON-CALL CFO-ON-CALL is a team of Financial and Business Advisors who work with open-minded people committed to business growth and achieving success. For a no obligation FREE chat about your profit growth opportunities please call us on 1300 36 24 36 or visit www.CFOonCall.com.au SUE HIRST 8. Accounting and Operational Systems Every transaction entered into your accounting system can be reported on, providing insights into performance. e.g. an invoice tracks sales, who owes, GST owed, types of sales, sales margin… a lot from one document! It must be set up to get this information and data appropriately entered to avoid making decisions based on wrong information and overpaying taxes. Operational systems help efficiency and deliver the best service to customers. Systems improve business value, as knowledge isn’t in the business owner’s head. 9. Reporting and KPIs Did you make a profit? Where were the profits and losses? Did you maintain the expected gross profit? Did you stick to a budget for overheads? How are accounts receivable and payable tracking? How are stock and jobs tracking? How ‘liquid’ is the business? Can it pay dividends? How would a lender view the company based on financial reports? KPIs are a great way to improve results. Leading KPIs lead to outcomes, such as the number of sales enquiries, percentage of sales won etc. Lagging KPIs are financially related, such as sales, profit, and cash in the bank. 10. Growth Planning and Funds To Grow Business Growth is a sensitive time for a business. Resources get stretched if growth isn’t planned. A question often asked is, “We’ve made more sales, but where’s the cash?” This is caused by a lack of cash flow planning to handle growth. Where funds are going to come from to allow for growth needs consideration. Will it be borrowed from a lender or injected by current or new shareholders? You’ll need to prove a solid case to providers. This usually means a business plan, financials, projections etc. You need to present your business proposition best to secure funds. 11. Business Planning and Time Management A Business Plan sets out the goals and how they will be achieved. It considers all aspects, including SWOT Analysis, i.e. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. When starting, you do everything; as growth occurs, you can’t continue to do this. Others need to take over tasks. An ‘Organisational Chart’ sets out what needs to be done and who will do it. It’s a basis for job descriptions as a business grows. It needs to be regularly revisited as things change, and roles must be realigned with business development. 12. Business Exit Planning Many business owners plan to exit. Unfortunately, their businesses haven’t been run with ‘value maximisation’ in mind. Owners leave it too late to prepare a business for sale and suffer with a smaller sale price. Some forethought and planning can have a significant impact on the sale price.
