Business Tip – Productivity tips for business owners

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Published on Friday, 08 November 2024 18:43

“You're heading to amazing destinations! Today is your moment! Your challenges await, so get started!” - Dr. Seuss.

As business owners/entrepreneur, the days where you accomplish a lot are crucial for your progress. They help you stay ahead of your rivals. More importantly, they allow you to relax at the end of the day, feeling satisfied with your accomplishments.

Today, here are three productivity strategies to help you, in the spirit of Dr. Seuss, get started moving!

Tackle TOUGH tasks FIRST

This is a valuable tip that has significantly improved my productivity both in business and in life. It seems straightforward, but it can greatly enhance your efficiency. Once you complete a challenging task, you’ll feel a sense of relief that allows you to breeze through the rest of your day with confidence. I’ve learned that success often comes to those who are willing to confront the tough tasks that others avoid. Make those challenging phone calls first thing in the morning before you have time to hesitate. Go out and introduce yourself to potential clients. Save the enjoyable tasks, like posting on social media, for after you’ve handled the difficult ones. I tend to overthink things and before I know it, a chunk of my day is gone while I wait for the right moment to tackle the hard tasks. Since I’ve adopted the practice of addressing difficult tasks first, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Listen to upbeat music

I find that playing music while working is beneficial, but I reserve it for simpler tasks that don’t require much thought. For instance, when I’m scanning documents for filing or uploading receipts, music can really enhance my productivity. It’s amazing how much you can get done with some tunes lifting your spirits, and it feels like a reward for finishing the more challenging parts of your work earlier.

Utilize online invoicing tools

Is this your invoicing routine? You open Word, update the invoice number, fill in the customer’s details, save the document, attach it to an email, write a professional message and send it off. Plus, you have to remember to back up your files in case of a computer crash. You might have guessed it, but there are much smoother and more efficient ways to handle invoicing - like using online invoicing software. With your phone or tablet, you can send an invoice to a customer while you’re with them, ensuring they receive it. If you send out the same invoices regularly, you can set up recurring invoices, which saves you a lot of time compared to doing it manually each month.

For me, being productive means working smarter, not harder, embracing technology and remembering to treat myself. Not every day is a productive one and that’s perfectly fine. As a bookkeeper, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the numbers and need a break to return with a fresh perspective another day.

Sometimes I remind myself to just do it! However, there are still days when I postpone that difficult call or task.

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Cash Flow tip – Sales Insights from your Accounting Software

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Published on Thursday, 31 October 2024 12:00

Your accounting software provides valuable insights you can gain about your sales & customers, beyond its typical functions, such as preparing for the end of the financial year, handling payroll, managing leave and superannuation, calculating GST automatically and generating profit and loss and cash flow reports to assess your financial standing. It also facilitates online invoicing to streamline payment processes.

Your best clients

Gaining insight into your clients' behaviours is crucial for achieving business success. Your financial records can offer a comprehensive understanding of your customers, including identifying your top clients, their spending habits, the products or services they prefer, their payment reliability and peak sales periods. This information can enhance your sales strategies and improve cash flow.

Identifying Your Top Clients 

By generating sales reports, you can pinpoint who your most valuable clients are, what they purchase and how much they spend. For instance, a sales report can reveal the sales volume for each client. You can also create more in-depth reports that detail every item or service sold, as recorded in invoices or receipts. These reports offer various options to analyze the data further and align it with your business goals.

The Importance of Knowing Your Best Clients 

It's commonly stated that 80% of your revenue typically comes from just 20% of your clients, known as the 80/20 or Pareto principle. Additionally, it's often significantly cheaper - up to five to seven times - to sell to existing clients than to acquire new ones. By leveraging this knowledge, you can specifically target your top clients for upselling, cross-selling, promotions, discounts and reminders. Providing excellent customer service and proactive marketing will help maintain strong cash flow and encourage repeat business. Furthermore, understanding your best clients and their purchasing patterns allows you to effectively market to similar demographics, ensuring a more focused and efficient sales and marketing strategy.

Identifying Your Most Popular Products or Services 

By analyzing the sales data in your accounting software, you can gain a clear understanding of which of your offerings perform the best. Running reports on item sales will reveal valuable historical data. If a particular product or service stands out in terms of sales, it’s essential to focus your marketing and sales efforts on promoting these top performers. Conversely, you can also identify your least valuable offerings based on client purchasing behaviour, allowing you to phase out these items and concentrate on those that provide higher value.

Understanding Payment Behaviour 

A crucial element of client knowledge involves accounts receivable, which refers to the money owed to you by clients, typically in the form of unpaid invoices. If you've issued invoices for services rendered but have not received payment, this represents your accounts receivable. By generating accounts receivable reports through your accounting software, you can identify your best and worst-paying customers. This information can inform your future invoicing strategies and help you determine which clients require closer attention.

Creating an Accounts Receivable Ageing Report 

You can generate an aging report within your accounting software to categorize accounts receivable based on how long they have been outstanding. For example, these reports often classify debts into categories like '30-60 days overdue' and '60-90 days overdue.' By analyzing an aging report, you can identify clients who need follow-up, assess their financial health and recognize those who consistently pay promptly. This knowledge may lead you to relax credit terms for reliable clients while tightening them for those who pay late, potentially requiring down payments or stricter terms for future transactions.

Identifying Optimal Sales Periods 

By examining sales data in your accounting software, you can gain insights into your peak and off-peak sales periods. If certain days of the week or months attract more clients, you can utilize this information in several ways: 

• Concentrate your marketing efforts during these peak times to maximize sales; 
• Encourage sales during slower periods by offering attractive promotions or incentives; 
• Use quieter times to focus on other business activities, such as launching new campaigns.

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Business Tip – Open Book Management needs more than Financial records

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Published on Thursday, 24 October 2024 09:10

Open Book Management - Jack Stack rescued a company that International Harvester planned to shut down in Springfield, Midwest USA, known as Springfield Manufacturing Company (SRC), by altering its management approach. He embraced an innovative concept, recognizing that if employees comprehended the financial workings of the business and understood how their actions impacted the company’s sustainability - along with having a share in the profits - they could unite as a team to turn the business around. And it worked!

More than Open Book

Years ago, journalist John Case from Inc. magazine introduced the concept of “open-book management.” He was inspired by companies like Springfield Manufacturing Company (SRC), which began sharing their financial information with employees and teaching them its significance to improve outcomes.

However, Jack Stack of SRC discovered that merely opening the books isn’t sufficient to quench employees’ thirst for information. They were eager for as much insight as possible, including financial data, which ultimately reflects the stories of the people involved.

To provide the team with as much information as possible, they hold Zoom calls every week or two, inviting everyone in the company to discuss updates ranging from the latest developments to organisational performance. These calls also feature “shout outs,” allowing team members to recognize their colleagues for exceptional contributions.

As an example of one company-wide call, management shared details intended for the upcoming Board of Directors meeting, demonstrating commitment to full transparency. For instance, they discussed one Critical Number - retention rate - and highlighted the Human Relations team’s success in recruiting and onboarding 808 new employees over the past year, despite the ongoing talent competition. Despite this, they still have over 100 job openings, and the action is to encourage all associates to help fill these positions through referrals and word-of-mouth.

Another issue, also addressed the significant challenge of rising healthcare costs, which increased by 21% per person over the last year. As a self-insured organization, it’s crucial for employees to understand how these expenses affect our bottom line and what we can do together to manage them.

Additionally, they reviewed the prior-year financial results, which were quite promising, and shared forecasts for the coming year. While they anticipated some volatility and growth in, it was unlikely to be as robust as the prior-year, which was seen as an opportunity to regroup.

Leadership Development in Action

What was appreciated most about these calls - despite the preparation they require - is that they serve as valuable learning experience for the associates. They also enable all to delve deeper into what drives the business, especially for those who have been for less than five years.

The more information shared, the more employees seek to understand. This creates a compounding effect. Rather than just presenting profit and loss statements, they analyse the ratios that reveal the underlying stories behind the numbers.

Plus, they also use these sessions to show staff associates how they can build fulfilling careers within the organization.

See staff explain in a video down the page HERE.

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