No matter how high your small business revenues are, if your small business finances are not managed correctly, there will be trouble on the horizon.
As an entrepreneur who has mismanaged finances, I know the heartache and stress that can come from it.
How did I overcome this problem?
It took seeking out mentors with a strong sense of financial management. Like you are doing now, I read books and blogs and most of all, I followed the tips, tricks and strategies all these experts gave me. And seeing that many entrepreneurs have the same issue, I, along with some partners, developed an app to help all of you manage your small business finances.
Read all these tips and I will then share a link to the application we designed.
Controlling Your Small Business Finances Tip #1: Give Yourself A Paycheck
This is one of the top mistakes many entrepreneurs make… They assume that everything needs to be put back into the business and they count their pay in that. While it seems commendable, in the long run, it will cause a lot of stress.
From day 1, determine what your pay will be and you will discover that your role will be easier because you are gaining too.
Controlling Your Small Business Finances Tip #2: Keep Business And Personal Accounts Separate
This is really a no-brainer, but some entrepreneurs still break the rule.
The main reason is taxes. When you have your accounts separated, figuring your taxes is much easier.
Do not use your personal credit/debit cards to pay business expenses and vice versa.
Controlling Your Small Business Finances Tip #3: Keep Track Of All Income And Expenses
Each and every paid invoice and all expense receipts should be tracked and accounted for.
Again, the app we developed will help you do this and the link to get it is at the end of this post.
Controlling Your Small Business Finances Tip #4: Keep Learning
Just as you are reading this blog, I suggest you keep learning. Set aside a certain amount of time weekly to learn more on finances.
There are some great people who can teach you. To name a few:
- Dave Ramsey
- Robert Kiyosaki
- Suze Orman
Controlling Your Small Business Finances Tip #5: Consistently Measure ROI
With all businesses, there are certain investments that must be made.
- Advertising
- Tools and Software
- Employees
- Outside Contractors
- Etc…
With every investment, you need to try to measure the Return On Investment (ROI) to see if it is worth the money you are spending. Some investments should show a return quite soon after investing, but others may take more time.
Controlling Your Small Business Finances Tip #6: Do Negotiate
Just like buying a car, you should negotiate with vendors. You may try to get
- a small percentage discount for early payment
- free delivery
- extra time to pay
- etc…
In most cases, vendors will give concessions to some clients if you just ask.
Conclusion
I could go on and on with tips, but these are the top of the list.
Now I promised you a link to an app that will help you a lot. It is called The Expense Tracker and you can find it here.
If you have any questions or feedback, you can post them below.
Thanks for stopping in.
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