6 ways to optimise your business for increased productivity
Through the hustle and bustle of everyday business, and with the year coming to an end, we sometimes forget why we started our businesses. The truth is that running a business is hard on both ends, operations and administration. By starting with the optimisation of your admin, and in particular your financial admin, you may be very surprised at how much better your business can run.
Below are 6 tips that can help you refocus your energy to ensure your finances are taken care of. We know, admin sucks, but if you optimise the way you work you will surely see results and increased productivity.
1.
Speed
up
your
invoicing
process
As a
small
business,
you can
not
afford
to see
your
invoices
going
unpaid
for
lengthy
periods
of time.
The best
and most
reliable
way of
ensuring
that you
receive
payments
from
clients
in a
shorter
timeframe
is by
speeding
up the
process
at your
end of
the
equation.
Invoicing
faster
gets you
paid
faster
By systematically and routinely sending out invoices at the earliest opportunity, you will very likely see significant benefits in terms of how soon your invoices are paid in full. In fact, there is often a disproportionate tendency for companies to pay their invoices quickly when they are received shortly after the relevant work has been completed. With Stratushop you can generate and send an invoice from a quotation in less than 30 seconds.
2.
Be
clear
about
your
terms
Few
small
businesses
can
afford
to see
their
invoices
going
unpaid
for
lengthy
periods
of time.
The best
and most
reliable
way of
ensuring
that you
receive
payments
from
clients
in a
shorter
timeframe
is by
speeding
up the
process
at your
end of
the
equation.
With
Stratushop
you can
add
multiple
types of
“terms”
to your
quotations
and
invoices.
Order
Forms
can also
ensure
that
your
client
is aware
of your
terms by
signing
the
order
form
before
you
invoice
them.
3.
Map
out
plans
for
cash
coming
in
In an
ideal
scenario,
a
company
would
see the
cash it
brings
in
piling
up
nicely
and
waiting
to be
spent on
new
projects,
equipment,
ideas
and
bonuses.
In
reality,
most
small
businesses
will
need to
reallocate
funds
they
bring in
to
creditors,
service
providers,
employees
etc. To
streamline
and to
optimise
the way
these
processes
work,
plan as
closely
as
possible
where
your
cash
will be
used
when it
is
received.
You can
make
these
plans
easily
by using
the
Stratushop
dashboard
to see
what is
coming
in, what
is
outstanding
and what
is
overdue.
4.
Set
business
and
financial
goals
It would
be
difficult
to
overstate
the
importance
of
setting
clear
goals
when it
comes to
small
business
finances.
Sketching
out
exactly
where
you want
to be
financially
at
various
intervals
in the
future
provides
focus
and
contextualise
any
progress
made in
the
business.
5.
Play
to
your
strengths
Small
businesses
or any
organisation
that is
looking
to grow
and
achieve
sustainability
in
future
should
always
focus on
its key
strengths.
In the
context
of small
business
finance,
this
means
doing
more of
what is
delivering
profits
and less
of
whatever
activities
are
proving
costly.
The best
route
forward
might
not
always
be the
one you
had in
mind but
financial
figures
and
simple
maths
can
always
be
relied
upon to
illuminate
the
details
the
options
you have
at hand.
6. Keep Learning
There is always scope for small business leaders and company directors to keep learning about how to manage financial issues and practices more effectively. It helps to have access to relevant support and specialist advice as the more you’re able to learn about managing money, the better equipped you will be to build your business for the future.
When you’re running a small business of any sort it can be easy to overlook a whole range of finance-related issues in favour of other operational aspects you might find more engaging but it’s essential to your company’s success that finance remains at the forefront of your business strategy.
The above is an excerpt from an article that can be read here