Halftime Checkup: How Are Your Small Business’s Financial Goals?
How are your small business’s financial goals for 2022 coming along?
If that question sparked a fleeting moment of anxiety, chances are you should hear what we have to say next.
At the start of 2022, like every year, you couldn’t hop onto social media without seeing advice and tips about how individuals and businesses alike should set financial goals for the year ahead. And we’re hardly innocent! We routinely talk about financial new year’s resolutions for small business owners and discuss how to write a budget.
But while it’s vital for business owners to plot out the financial course for their year, it’s every bit as important to have some follow-through. And that means checking in on your budgetary progress routinely throughout the year, as well as making tweaks where necessary.
If you haven’t done so yet, there’s no better time than the present. Here’s what to do.
Checking In on Your Small Business Financial Goals
The Numbers
The very first thing you’ll want to do is compare your 2022 projections with reality. Look at all vital metrics – revenues, profits, operating costs, cash flows – and see if you are where you should be at the midpoint of the year.
That’s easy enough. A little more tricky is what comes next.
If you are falling short of your financial goals (especially if it’s your profits) at the 2022 midway point, you’re going to have to determine 1.) whether you have any reason to believe the second half will be materially better and put you back on track, and if not, 2.) where you can throttle back expenditures to get yourself back in the black. (For instance, try cutting back on indirect spend.)
If you’re actually ahead – a great problem to have – you shouldn’t sit on your hands. Determine the best use of your windfall, whether that’s building a rainy-day fund or plowing it back into growth initiatives.
Organization
One of the best things you can do from both an operational standpoint and a tax perspective is get (and stay) organized. Whether you keep paper documents or everything is on your desktop or in the cloud, a solid organizational method will ensure that all the information you need is right at your fingertips.
If you haven’t kept up with, say, filing receipts or addressing expense reports, now is the time to whip yourself into shape. Find time to work on the backlog, then focus on tackling these tasks more routinely, in smaller batches, going forward.
The Tools
One way that you can improve your organization – and a lot of other aspects of your business, too — is by giving your current suite of software and programs a midyear once-over.
For instance, you might consider adding on a finance app or two that can help you with everything from payroll to expense tracking to point-of-sales. Bill pay apps can get your payments to suppliers and other vendors more quickly and smoothly, as well as ensure you’re constantly paid on time via whatever methods you prefer.
Employees
Your workers aren’t just the foundation of your business – they’re also your eyes and ears. So it’s important to check in with your employees regularly for a number of reasons.
For one, it’s good to make sure that everyone is content. “A happy employee is a productive employee” might sound trite, but it’s also true. A regular check-in will help you take the pulse of your workforce, which ultimately can help you stave off turnover.
Employees can also give you insights into your business that you might otherwise not see. Whether it’s data you might not personally review to anecdotal discussions with customers to examples of team chemistry not being as great as you’d like it, employees might be able to help you identify a few squeaky wheels that you can oil up.
Let Us Help You Stay on the Path
Just like it helps to have a workout buddy to keep you on track, having a trusted source for business financial advice can keep your company poised for success.
McManamon & Co. is an accounting, tax, fraud, forensic and consulting firm that offers custom services to companies across a broad spectrum of industries. We offer a wide array of accounting services, including creating financial statements, maintaining records and providing expert guidance on financial accounting matters – and we can help you stick to the plan.
Learn more about what we can do for your small business. Call us at 440.892.8900 or contact us online today.
Tags: McManamon, small business, small business finances | Posted in McManamon & Co., small business, Small business finances