With the end of the financial year just around the corner, many business owners are likely to be spending the coming weeks and months tied up with gathering records and completing paperwork.
However, now offers the perfect time to reflect on the past year and develop a solid growth strategy for the coming year.
First Class Accounts has pulled together a selection of hints and tips to help you plan for growth in 2013/14.
Organise your records – it is important to keep your records up to date and in order all year round as filing records and keeping receipts is a must.
Set new financial goals – while reassessing the progress of the last 12 months it is important to ask whether or not you reached your targets. Following a review of the previous financial year it is time to set new financial goals and objectives for the year ahead. These goals and objective should be realistic, achievable and in line with the budget.
Review your business plan – The financial year is a great time to reassess your current business plan and adapt it to reflect your new or revised business focus for the long term. We have a handy template that can help with your business planning for the next financial year, saved here.
Make sure you have adequate banking support – make sure you have the financial support you need to achieve your strategy by visiting your bank manager to discuss cash flow and any necessary banking products/tool you might require for the next 12 months.
Focus on sales growth – sales growth is necessary for the health of a growing company and ongoing sales performance training is key to ensuring long-term success.
Create additional revenue – look for creative ways to generate additional profit from your existing products and services. For example, ‘monetising’ non-revenue-generating assets to generate revenue can be a great way to generate additional profit.
Assess your expenses – review expenses from the previous year to save costs and reduce overheads. Also consider pre-paying expenses you know are imminent or delay them until the next financial year.
