[23.01.15]

All businesses regardless of their sector or size, face similar issues.   These issues include: cashflow, having the right staff, managing costs and creating new sales opportunities.   Here we explore those issues.

Cashflow
Cash is the lifeblood of all businesses.  Getting the cashflow right is essential to ensuring that a business survives and grows.  Key to this is ensuring that businesses raise their invoices in a timely manner and then chase the payment of those invoices.  A strong credit control system can be the difference between being able to pay your own bills and not.  Simple things like moving your invoice dates can have a significant impact on your cashflow.  We also advise clients to ensure that cash is put to one side for their tax obligations – VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax.  If you would like help and advice with your cashflow, please speak to Jackie or Andrew.

Right Staff
As you grow your business, it is vital that you surround yourself with the right staff who can help and support you.  This is not just from a skills and experience perspective, but also from the perspective of the cultural fit.  A member of the team who doesn’t fit with the company’s culture, can be even more damaging to the business, than somebody who does fit culturally but doesn’t have the appropriate skills and experience.  It can be difficult to identify if somebody will fit or not culturally.  There are psychometric tests that you can use; but sometimes it’s just a case of spending time getting to know the individual before you appoint them.

Managing Costs
We advise all clients to review their costs on a regular basis to understand if they can get a better deal by moving suppliers.  It is important to look at costs objectively, are you really receiving value for these costs.  Also going back to cashflow – moving the payment date of a bill can make all the difference to your cashflow.  If you would like some advice on managing your costs, please speak to Jackie or Andrew.

Creating New Sales Opportunities
When we are busy, it is easy to forget about our future pipeline.  However, that is the key time to look at how you can create more new sales opportunities.  It is essential to have a focused plan in place which will drive you forward in creating those opportunities.  Don’t forget it is easier to develop more sales from those who already know and value your service, than those who are yet to know about you.  So look at whether you can upsell a service to your current clients; or ask them for referrals.  We are running a Workshop on Creating New Sales Opportunities on Wednesday 4th March 2015 with marketing consultancy, Mackenzie Marketing.  If you would like to join our Workshop let us know by email: admin@castletons-accountants.co.uk

Castletons Accountants