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A Fall Financial Checkup for Your Small Business

Autumn is around the bend, and there’s just a little more than three months left in 2018. That means now is an optimal time for a financial checkup if you own a small business.

But what can you do with just a quarter of the year left?

As it turns out, plenty. Here are some tips on what you can do to assess and shore up your small business’ finances now so that you’re not scrambling during the last week of December.

4 Financial Checkup Tips for Small Businesses

1. Collect on Those Invoices:Collecting on overdue debt isn’t the most pleasant job in the world. But for small business owners, it’s an entirely too common and very necessary task that most entrepreneurs will have to take on at one point or another. It’s especially important to go after overdue invoices if you’re short on cash, as this is money promised to you for goods or services you’ve already delivered – in other words, the situation (and the law) is on your side. If you’re not sure how to go about pressing those you do business with, check out our primer on small business collections.

2. Snip a Little Here and There:It often can be difficult to make large, wholesale cuts to a small business without somehow crippling operations. Sometimes, the best you can do is nickel-and-dime your way to significant cost savings. But it is doable. Take a few hours to start looking over all your expenses, whether it’s office supplies, utilities, rent or even the fees you pay on a business banking account. You want to look not only for places where you can cut back a little, but also things where there’s wiggle room to renegotiate.

3. Adjust Due Dates:This tactic is more psychological in nature and won’t really save you money, but it still can give you a better semblance of control over your life. Utility and other companies sometimes will allow you to change the due dates of your bills – a method you can use to make sure your bills typically line up during the part of your month when cash flow is strongest, or to spread big bills throughout the month rather than take all the pain at once. Again, this won’t save you money, but it can make sure your intake and outflows match up better.

4. Consider a Small Business Loan:How you approach the next few months has a lot to do with your financial position. If you simply need to free up a little bit of cash between now and the end of the year, skimping to save a few bucks might do the trick. But if you really need to shore up your finances – say, because of an unexpected, large expense sometime this year – you may want to consider taking out a loan. Small business debt should never be considered lightly, but it’s also no boogeyman. While you typically want to be in a position where you’re taking out debt to grow, if you’re confident in your ability to survive and pay back the loan, now may be the time to seek out that influx of capital.

The best way to shore up your finances, of course, is to make sure you rarely (or never) have to shore up your finances – which you can do with proactive record-keeping and accounting. You don’t have to hire a CFO for that, either – the experts at McManamon & Co. offer a full suite of accounting services, including creating financial statements and filing your taxes. With McManamon & Co. on your team, you’ll learn to be vigilant throughout the whole year, avoiding situations where you suddenly need to play financial catch-up.

Whether you need to make a few financial adjustments now or want to direct yourself toward a smoother path going forward, call us at 440.892.9088 or contact us online today.

 

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