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MYOB CEO Tim Reed (pictured) shares his top five tips for small business for the new financial year.
Congratulations to Australia’s SMEs on making it to the start line for the new financial year. So, now EOFY is in the rear vision mirror, how do you recharge, refresh and jump into the business race anew?
The day to day demands of running a business mean important activities like reviewing your business plan or sitting down with a financial advisor to talk tactics can often get pushed aside. However, these steps are important to help ensure your business is working to its full potential.
The beginning of a new financial year is the time to make things happen. With a little professional advice and advanced planning, you can take charge of your financial destiny.
Review and reflect
Before you race off, it helps to take a step back for a moment and reflect on the last financial year.
Obtaining a big picture view should enable you to review the fundamentals of your operation.
Did your business run as smoothly as it could last year? Why or why not and how can it be improved? Does your business need a technology or tools upgrade? Has your market changed and is a competitive analysis in order? These types of questions will enable business owners to progress many facets of their business.
They can also help you confirm goals for the year ahead and work out what steps you need to take to get there. Those goals are different for everyone. They might include finding more time to spend outside work, boosting revenue, experimenting with new lead generation activities, moving into new products or expanding the team.
Reflecting on how well operations ran last year while considering your goals for this year will assist in establishing priorities for the year ahead. For example, streamlining bookkeeping processes and updating your technology should help cut administration time and let you concentrate on other aspects of business or life.
Plan ahead
Creating a business plan for 2013/14 is vital. If you have one already, great – now is the time to review and fine tune it. This will enable you to address issues from last year and reduce the risk of them revisiting. It presents the perfect opportunity to set or re-set goals and aspirations; to take advantage of new opportunities in the market.
It is much easier to create a business plan with a trusted accountant or financial advisor. Not only can they offer expert advice on how best to tackle challenges and stay on top of your financial position, they can help implement growth strategies tailored to your business. Working closely with them all-year round will help give you a real advantage, not to mention make the next end of financial year less stressful.
Here are MYOB’s top five tips for a happy new financial year:
1. Create a business plan; if you have one then revisit it with today’s and tomorrow’s market in mind. It doesn’t have to be long, in fact shorter is better, but it should be written and should provide direction for the year ahead.
2. Work closely with an accountant or financial advisor throughout the year. They can provide strategic business advice and planning, and assist with sales and growth forecasts, cash flow management and more. Make sure they have a copy of your plan.
3. Update your accounting software so you’re compliant with legislation changes. Running a good back office give you more time to focus on the client facing activities.
4. Streamline productivity and processes for a more efficient team and business.
5. Conduct an audit of your suppliers and delivery channels – are they still the most appropriate / affordable?
Taking the time to complete these steps can go a long way to ensure you’re prepared for the year ahead.
Visit http://myob.com.au/EOFY for tips and resources to help make the EOFY period easier.