Posts

Why Businesses With Top-Notch Bookkeeping Thrive Over the Rest

/in , /by

Whoever said bookkeeping was just about “crunching numbers” clearly never ran a thriving business. Bookkeeping, often seen as the broccoli of the business world—good for you, but not that exciting—turns out to be a hidden superhero cape. Let me explain.

Financial Clarity and Decision Making:

Picture this: you’re on a road trip with a map that’s been through the wash a few times. It’s faded, has coffee stains, and let’s be honest, you can barely make out the next turn. Running a business without clear bookkeeping is a bit like that. Chaotic? Absolutely. Recommended? Not on your life.

Good bookkeeping doesn’t just tell you where you’ve been—it illuminates where you’re going. When your financial picture is crystal clear, every decision, from buying that fancy new espresso machine for the office to expanding into a new market, becomes informed and calculated. No more shooting in the dark.

Time and Resource Efficiency:

Raise your hand if you love last-minute scrambles during tax season. No takers? That’s what I thought.

The beauty of organized bookkeeping is like having one of those fancy closet systems for your finances. Everything is in its place, saving you time, grey hairs, and the frantic search for that one rogue receipt from February. Plus, with everything running smoothly, you can channel your energy where it truly matters – growing your business and delighting your clients.

Trust and Credibility with Stakeholders:

Ever tried getting a loan with a shoebox full of random receipts and some handwritten notes? It’s not a winning strategy.

Whether you’re courting investors or trying to convince a lender you’re good for the money, having a clear and organized financial history speaks volumes. It’s like showing up to a first date in a clean outfit versus the shirt you painted your house in. First impressions count, and clear finances make you look like the reliable, trustworthy business you are.

Proactive Problem Identification and Solution:

Imagine if you had a little fairy that whispered in your ear every time something was about to go sideways. Good bookkeeping is kind of like that (minus the wings and pixie dust).

By regularly keeping tabs on your finances, you spot those little gremlins in the system. Maybe it’s an area where costs are creeping up, or a product line that isn’t as profitable as you thought. Recognizing these issues early means you can pivot before they turn into money-eating monsters.

Enhancing Business Growth Opportunities:

Alright, pop quiz time! Which product or service brought in the most revenue last quarter? If your answer was a shrug or a guess, it’s time for a bookkeeping glow-up.

Clean financial records are like a treasure map to gold mines in your business. You can identify growth trends, see which products or services are fan-favourites, and uncover hidden opportunities. Who knew that little side product you introduced last year would become a best-seller? Well, with proper bookkeeping, you would!

 

Bookkeeping, far from being the most boring superhero at the business justice league, is actually one of the most powerful. It’s the unsung hero making sure businesses not only survive but truly thrive. And the best part? You don’t need X-ray vision to see its benefits.

Feeling inspired to give your books the love and attention they deserve? Drop us a line. At Cloudit Bookkeeping, we believe that every business deserves a shot at greatness, and it starts with understanding your numbers. Let’s crunch, calculate, and create your success story together!

 

The 3 Most Common Financial Strategies Creative Businesses Use to Achieve Greater Profitability

/in , , /by

Creative businesses face unique challenges when it comes to managing their finances. However, by deploying the right financial strategies, creative businesses can achieve greater profitability and long-term success. In this article, we discuss the three financial strategies that creative businesses use to achieve greater profitability.

  1. Monitor Your Cash Flow

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and creative businesses are no exception. Managing cash flow is essential to ensuring that your business has enough cash to pay your bills and invest in growth opportunities. Cash flow management also helps you identify potential cash shortages before they become a problem.

To monitor your cash flow effectively, you should regularly review your cash flow statement, which shows the flow of cash in and out of your business. You can use this information to identify trends and make informed decisions about managing your cash.

  1. Set Profit Targets

Profit targets are specific goals that you set for your business to achieve. By setting profit targets, you can focus on achieving specific financial outcomes, such as increasing revenue or reducing expenses. Profit targets can also help you measure your progress and identify areas for improvement.

To set profit targets, you should start by reviewing your financial statements and identifying areas where you can improve profitability. You can then set specific, measurable goals and develop a plan to achieve them.

  1. Manage Your Expenses

Managing expenses is crucial for creative businesses who want to achieve greater profitability. By keeping your expenses under control, you can improve your profit margins and invest in growth opportunities.

To manage your expenses effectively, you should review your expenses regularly and identify areas where you can reduce costs. For example, you may be able to negotiate better rates with suppliers or reduce your overhead costs by working remotely.

You can also consider implementing cost-saving measures, such as implementing energy-efficient practices, reducing travel expenses, or outsourcing non-core activities.

In summary, creative businesses can achieve greater profitability by deploying financial strategies that focus on managing cash flow, setting profit targets, and managing expenses. By following these strategies, you can improve your financial performance and achieve long-term success.

Business Finance Options

/in , /by

Throughout the cycle of a business, there is often a need for some additional cashflow to support business growth. Ever assumed that only struggling businesses need extra finance? Securing cashflow finance for your business can actually mean the opposite.

Business Loans can be used to fund the growth and expansion of a business, the purchase of a new premises, additional stock, recruitment or simply to provide some extra funds in the bank to offer some peace of mind.

What different types of business loans are available?

The most common types of business finance are Business Loans, Invoice Finance, Asset Finance and Property Finance. There are also many other alternative finance options such as Revolving Credit Facilities, VAT Loans and Merchant Cash Advance.

Why would a business need finance?

There are lots of reasons a business may choose to source additional funding. Here are some examples of how the different products work, and the benefits to the business:

  • Business Loans – often used for cashflow, expansion and growth. This loan would be a fixed amount over a fixed term, and many lenders don’t charge an early repayment fee if the loan amount is settled prior to the end of the term.
  • Invoice Finance – a way to improve cashflow when you have 30/60/90 day invoice terms. For example, a construction firm who has to pay out for materials and labour before their client clears the invoice, which heavily impacts cashflow. With Invoice Finance, the construction firm could borrow up to 90% of the invoice amount in advance, automatically paying the balance back when their client pays their invoice.
  • Property Finance – covers a variety of products including Commercial Mortgages, Bridging Loans and Development Loans. A property developer looking to fund their next project could utilise property finance to purchase the property or land and cover all projected costs.
  • Asset Finance – a facility which allows businesses to purchase new assets, including vehicles, plant, machinery and hardware, without using cash from their bank. You can spread the cost of the asset over a fixed term with a fixed interest rate.
  • Revolving Credit Facility – works in a similar way to an overdraft and allows you to withdraw, repay and withdraw again, whenever your business needs a cashflow injection. You only pay interest on what you use of the facility. A flexible solution which grows with your business.
  • Merchant Cash Advance – an additional financing solution for businesses such as retail, leisure or hospitality who take payments via a card terminal. You can borrow against forecasted revenue and pay back using the transactions taken, either in person or online.
  • VAT Loans – a type of borrowing specifically to spread the cost of an unexpected VAT bill. A VAT Loan can be arranged prior to the VAT being due, or can be put in place shortly after the VAT has been paid, helping to maintain cashflow within the business.

How does a business owner know if they are eligible to apply for a business loan and how much could they borrow?

A businesses eligibility is based on lots of factors including company trading history, the directors’ personal circumstances and company financials. A business would typically need a minimum of 3 months trading history, but the longer you’ve been trading and the more evidence you can provide of your affordability, the more attractive your business becomes to a lender which is then reflected in the rates, amount and term offered.

How can a company apply for a business loan?

The first place a business will usually go for a loan is their bank. The risk appetite of a bank is low, so applications can be rejected unless the business is extremely favourable. If your bank says no, you can then approach an alternative lender directly, or via a finance broker. A broker will use their experience to match you with the most suitable finance product, and as they generally work with a large panel of lenders, they have lots of options to choose from.

How does a business owner know what type of business loan is right for them?

There are so many different products in the market, so it’s hard to know where to start. Having a conversation with your bank or a finance broker is a great starting point so they can understand your requirements, and suggest some options that suit your needs and that you would be eligible for.

Where would a start-up business look for funding?

If you are a start-up or have been trading for less than 3 years, you may be eligible for a British Business Bank loan, which are backed by the government. You can apply online at www.startuploans.co.uk and they will assess your application along with your business plan, cashflow forecasts and directors experience in order to make a decision. You may also be able to raise funds via private investors or crowd funding, and your Local Enterprise Partnership should be able to offer advice on any grants and funding that you may be eligible for within your local business community.

When is the right time to start thinking about business finance?

Often business owners only start to think about business finance when they need it, by this time your eligibility may have suffered, or there may be limited options available to you. By forecasting your cashflow for the year ahead, you may be able to identify any opportunities that may require additional funding, for example an upcoming VAT bill, dips in revenue due to seasonal trading or planned expansion costs. By applying when your finances are healthy, you are ensuring you have as many options available to you as possible, on the best terms.

 

Grange Business Finance are an FCA approved commercial finance brokerage based in Suffolk, sourcing cashflow solutions for your business. For more information on their services, visit www.grangebusinessfinance.co.uk.

 

3 Fail-Safe Business Growth Ideas

/in , , /by

There isn’t a small to medium sized business that isn’t looking to manageably scale and grow their business. Yet growing a business can be difficult for many companies. If nothing else, attempting to work on the business whilst you’re working in it, is exhausting. However, we have three fail-safe ideas which we always tell our clients to follow if they want to start making meaningful differences in growing their company.

Simple Business Growth Ideas for SMEs

 

  1. Put Your Prices Up!

The majority of clients rarely think to put their prices up, or worse — feel like they can’t. However, everyone else is putting their prices up; so of course, you must also. Price is often tied up with concern over a. worth or b. demand. The truth is, if people want your product or service, they will pay for it. If you are competitive and professional, why shouldn’t you expect to charge the correct price?

Undervaluing and underselling a product or service is not only detrimental to our mental states as we start to believe our worth is akin to the charge amount, but also terrible for our industries. Repeatedly I witness horrifically low hourly rates on agency sites. Not only are these personally unsustainable, but it devalues the sector as a whole. At some point, the people who are initially selling their work for such low rates have to put their costs up to survive, then guess what? Clients will look for the cheaper option – pushing these guys out of the sector as they can no longer afford to remain with these sorts of clients. Very simply, cost your work properly and charge what is required to offer a first-class service or product, the right people or companies will pay for the best. It is these clients or customers you should be looking to align your company alongside.

How to easily raise your prices

Try answering these questions:

  • Are you charging enough?
  • How do you measure your profit margin on each sale you make?
  • What does a 5% increase in sale price do to your profit margin?

Now try two simple exercises:

  • Look at all your services and simply add £50 to them. What does that increase look like? What difference does that make?
  • Now consider your clients: if you have 10 clients bringing in £1,000 per month each, put £50 on each (5% increase). What would £500 extra per month mean to you? See how much more you can earn by adding a slightly greater increase.
  1. Sort out your sales and marketing!

Yup, if no one knows you exist how do you expect to sell anything? Marketing is essential for bringing in new leads to convert into clients or customers.

Have you ever considered how many new clients or customers you actually need to earn the money you’re looking to achieve?

Marketing consultant and founder of Sasa.Marketing, Cat Bowyer, offers three genuinely helpful pieces of advice to companies looking to get better noticed:

A. Do you really know who your customer is?

  • Do you know their motives?
  • What are their communication channels?
  • What concerns do they have?
  • What size are their budgets?

Understanding your customer will ensure you’re investing your marketing spend in the right places.

B. Make sure your marketing objectives reflect your business objectives. Are you looking to achieve growth through new customers, or growth through increased sales per customer? What about your profit margin and sales relationship? Do you have a high margin and low sales or a low margin but high sales?

C. Websites and social media content are great, but you still need to let people know you’re online. Otherwise it’s like having a box of leaflets under the desk. Make sure there’s a mix of campaign and brand awareness activity.

From a bookkeeper’s perspective we look at the figures involved in marketing from a time and value ratio.

  • Do you know your conversion rates? (The conversion rate is the percentage of new leads who take a desired action and become paying customer.)
  • How many leads do you need to generate, so they eventually convert into the desired number of clients or customers?

For example, conversion rate of new leads to paying customers is 5% and you would love to gain two new clients in a month. How many leads do you need to generate? The answer is 40 new leads, which at 5% conversion rate will secure you two new clients.

Marketing is a numbers game! The more people you attract, the more customers or clients you’ll retain! The greater your marketing efforts, the greater your gain.

  1. Capacity

To improve capacity, it is essential your organisation runs efficiently. Rather than taking on more costly staff members, place in better systems and processes that actually work to reduce labour time in all departments.

  • Train your current work force with your new systemisation to effectively utilise your current team, before looking to employ more staff to cope with an increase in demand.
  • To systemise your organisation, you will need a plan. It’s essential you understand your figures and have a visualisation of the profit you require to achieve the kind of growth you’re looking to make. If the figures and goals aren’t attainable or tangible, how do you expect to get great results?
  • To get an idea of how to create a financial model and plan that will work for you, read our article: Financial Clarity – How To Sleep At Night.

 

Business growth doesn’t have to be confusing:

  1. Create a plan
  2. Put your prices up
  3. Market yourself
  4. Improve your efficiency.

However, if you want to chat through these ideas or look at figures you can achieve with a professional bookkeeper, get in touch! Call 01206 700 252 or email hello@clouditbookkeeping.co.uk

Financial Clarity – How To Sleep At Night

/in , /by

So, what’s stopping you from sleeping soundly? I would say like a baby, but we all know they sleep terribly …

Lying awake at night, with a thousand thoughts racing around your mind is a horrible state to find yourself. It leaves you exhausted and cranky with anxiety slowly clawing at your thoughts.

This is no way to function at the best of times, let alone when you’re attempting to navigate your business through financial and politically tricky times. As a business owner there can be many reasons sleep evades you.

Common business concerns often include:

  • Loss of clients — are customers leaving your services, creating a financial deficit?
  • Stagnation — is your business struggling to grow or move forward in direction?
  • Denial — admit it, are you in full control of your accounts?
  • Overheads — can you cover your business overheads and reliably pay your staff?
  • Income — are you struggling to personally earn enough to live on?

How to start taking control of your business

If any of the above worries resonate, it’s not surprising you’re finding it tough to sleep at night. Any of these concerns are difficult to know how to overcome. It often feels like the wood and the trees are one, and the light is never going to show at the end of a dark tunnel.

However, there are pragmatic solutions. Try answering these simple questions:

  1. How much money do you want to take home each month after tax?
  2. Where do you want your business to head?
  3. How are you going to reach your goal?

Financial Planning and Modelling

Once you’ve answered the above, it’s time to work backwards! How are you going to achieve your objectives?

If you want to feel in control of your business and profit, you need to make informed decisions based from your financial data. A financial plan and model helps you work out how much money you need, your expenses and what sources of income are available. In other words: a financial model helps a business budget, forecast and plan. It keeps companies in control of their business and finances, so they know they’re on track. And if they’re not — why they’re not on track so they can fix that problem.

What is a financial model?

Essentially it involves creating a spreadsheet (don’t groan – they don’t have to be terrible!) to act as a representation of some, or all of your business operations.

  • A model can be used as a decision-making tool. It can assist in forecasting business decisions as you will better understand how much or how little money you have, or when more revenue will be coming in so you can invest, spend or save accordingly
  • Financial plans can be used in strategic planning, cash flow analysis, sensitivity analysis or appraisal
  • Models help estimate the value of your business
  • A model is useful if you are looking to compare yourself with competitors
  • They are very handy when it comes to selling a business

Considerations for a financial model

On a spreadsheet you need to add your business assumptions – these are educated guesses based from your historical data: numbers, trends, external conditions, industry and market. It’s important to consider situations or challenges that may arise and place these into your model to help plan for unforeseen eventualities.

Ideally you need to create a model which helps you understand how to plan for:

  • Working capital: How much revenue do you need to make to support your business after paying out for your direct costs and operation costs?
  • Revenue: Is the business continuing on the same trajectory as previous years? This helps plan when and how payments occur, whether prices are correct, how and when customers buy and areas of business stagnation
  • Financial statements: Forecasting of financial statements helps with talking to investors, banks, auditors etc
  • Growth margin: How much money goes towards delivering your product or service and how much is left over? This helps you plan to successfully develop your company
  • Increase in demand: Do you have the manpower or software capabilities to cope?
  • Operational expense: How much does it cost you to operate as a business? How much does each area cost e.g. admin, marketing, software etc?
  • Significant decline: Look at why a product or service is no longer popular and use this to make an informed decision to find a successful solution

We know it may seem a tad daunting, especially if you have a lot to focus on, but believe us when we say how important a great financial modelling plan is to a business.

If you don’t know where to start, or just want to talk things through, please give us a call.

As cloud-based bookkeepers, financial planning is just one of the many services we offer, so chat to us and we can help you get the sleep you dream of achieving.

Call 01206 700 252 or email hello@clouditbookkeeping.co.uk and take control of your business finances.

Great finances = great sleep!

3 Lessons Digital Agency Owners Can Learn from Nick Suckley?

/in , /by

The book “Start. Scale. Sell. 75 Lessons for Business Success” arrived on Friday morning and I have finished reading it by Sunday. The book just flows and is an easy read with concise lessons and examples. I believe any agency owner reading this would relate to most lessons Nick Suckley learned building and selling Media21 and Agenda21. I have picked out 3 that hit the cord the most with me being involved in helping digital agency owners manage and plan their financial side.

What can you, Digital Agency owner, learn from Nick Suckley’s experience?

  1. Measure your KPIs but don’t overcomplicate. Simplicity is key if you want to understand and use your numbers. The list of key performance indicators Nick uses is:
  • Pipeline – number and size of potential customers. If you do not have a sales strategy or there is no real sales pipeline, this will hurt the business most in the long run. You cannot leave new business to luck or referrals. This is unsustainable if you wish to grow. Imagine your best earning client decided to bring it all in-house or move the service you provide to another agency which usual mean you receive an email saying “we are bringing all our digital marketing under one roof and agency XYZ can do it all”. New business is the top 1 reason agency owners are stressed and anxious. Having data on sales pipeline will give you clarity and focus.
  • Pitch-to-win ratio – how many potential clients you converted via pitch or proposal. This is important as it will give you an understanding if your pitch material works and where you need to make changes. Correct positioning can help here too.
  • Billings per head – measure how productive your team is and if you are over or under servicing clients. The more efficient your team can be the more billings per head you can have.
  • Income-to-salary ratio – measure how profitable and productive the company is. If this ratio is too high you need to cut salary costs or increase your billings.
  • Gross profit margin – how good you are at charging clients.
  • Net profit margin – how profitable you are.
  1. Boost profitability – use the right tools. Nick calls this Profit Improvement Programme (PIP). You need to understand how each area of your business is generating income and what are the costs associated with it. Track each service you offer and associated team’s Profit and Loss (P&L). You might have media, paid search, SEO, social, affiliates and analytics services. You would match income with team costs for that service and any other associated expenditure. This will give you the profitability for each service area you provide. Nick has the Golden Rule which each team leader has to follow. This is – staff cost cannot be more than 50% of the income generated. If you follow this rule, you will have enough left for the general overheads and your own pay. Get this right and you will see great improvement in your net profit margin.
  2. Never make a loss. This is a tough but most important rule in my view. Nick Suckley argues that by not making a loss you do not lose control. Making decisions quickly when times are tough, cutting costs and staff will save your business. These are the toughest decisions for any owner but can mean survival or going under. That’s why having up-to-date and accurate financial information will make a difference and provide the data you need to make those vital decisions. You will have the gut feeling that things need to change, or things are not going quite right. Having your financial reports in good shape will help you understand the situation better.

What can you do right now to make a difference to your business?

Take these 3 steps today and you will be on the path to success:

  1. Measure, measure, measure. Decide on your KPIs, measure and report on them at least monthly. You will need to track staff hours spent on client work, service team P&L, sales pipeline and anything else you decide is vital in making business decisions. Start with simple Excel spreadsheet and build from there. You don’t need to overcomplicate it.
  2. Analyse your management reports monthly. Review your accounting function and make sure you have accurate data at least monthly. If you do not have management reports, then look at your P&L and Balance Sheet as a minimum.
  3. Set net profit percentage you want to achieve and maintain. Do everything you can to keep it above this level. Paying yourself is the number one priority.

If you are not sure where to start, we can help you get started and support your agency with providing accurate and up-to-date accounts information, reports and tracking. Get in touch with us today.