Page 22 - Home Business - Fall 2018
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Manage Your Small Business Finances


              Draw Up a Financial Action Plan to Properly Handle Your Accounts

                                                               By CompareMyRates

                 f you want to keep the cash fl owing into your   business owners will save you money in the
                 business, it is important that you are aware   long run and help you manage your fi nances.
               Iof all the fi nancial aff airs. Not only will this   Business credit cards have a higher credit lim-
                                                  it compared to other types of cards, and you
               help you maintain a safe fi nancial state, but it
              MONEY   will also help you avoid unanticipated business   will get exclusive perks and rewards for your
                                                  business. To make the process easier, you can
               debt. You can accomplish a sturdy position to
                                                  compare business credit cards at CompareMy-
               enable investment in business expansion plans.
                                                  Rates all at once, without having to manually
               1. Manage Business Accounts
                                                  do research and reviews.
               To manage the accounts, you can acquire the
               services of a competent bookkeeper. Purchas-  7. Maintain a Record of Personal Business   Keep a record of your business expenses
                                                                                       to assess invested money.
                                                  Loans
               ing accounting soft ware is a good option for
                                                  Keep a record of your business loans to stay
               keeping track of your investments and profi ts.
                                                  abreast with your fi nancial status. With an ac-  13. Invest in Renting Instead of Purchasing
               2. Assess Business Costs           curate record, you can pay back the loans before   Th  is is the best way to avoid maintenance costs.
               It is essential that you keep a record of your   having to pay a business tax on the profi t.  Consider leasing instead of purchasing; it will
               business expenses to assess invested money.                           save you money and you can cut additional ex-
                                                  8. Use Your Profits for Yourself
                                                                                     penses you'd have on the equipment you need
               3. Design Financial Projections    Using all your profi ts on yourself is not what we   for a limited time period. Similarly, you can
               Designing a clear fi nancial action plan will assist   mean here; you can start with 5 to 10 percent   rent your offi  ce to make expansion or reloca-
               you in anticipating your business obstacles so   of earnings fi rst. Th  is way you can save money   tion hassle-free and easier.
               you can work out a plan for overcoming them.  consistently and evaluate your business's prof-
                                                  itability and can pay the unexpected expenses   14. Apply for a Loan Before Any
                                                  of your business.                  Financial Instability
                    “  Create templates,          9. Be Frugal with Your Profits     Applying for a loan before you face any fi nan-
                 automatic SMS messages           Taking advantage of your business money as   cial instability in your business is the right way
                  or emails to follow up on       an owner is not a good idea. It is better that   to avoid ‘waiting for a loan’ when facing fi nan-
                                                  you set yourself a fi xed amount and use gov-  cial trouble. Apply for a business credit when
                         invoices.  ”             ernment-mandated advantages only. Th is tip   your fi nancial state is stable and good. Th is way
                                                  will help you become fl exible in terms of saving   you can use the credited amount on your busi-
               4. Be Active with Invoicing        money for the future.              ness's expansion or deal with any emergency
               Keep track of who you provide services to. Send                       situations.
                                                  10. Keep Your Traveling Costs Minimal
               them invoices once you provide services. Set
                                                  Make sure that your traveling costs on busi-  15. Calculate Your Capital for a Safe
               and adhere to the fi xed payment terms, which
                                                  ness trips are minimal. Be economical when   Business Startup
               should not be more than seven days. Th is will
                                                  choosing hotels or traveling packages. Try not   Th  is is one of the common problems most
               help you keep the fi nances clear. Payments
                                                  to overspend on heft y accommodations or   small businesses face. Th  ey lack enough capi-
               follow-up is a must. Create templates, auto-
                                                  luxurious hotels. Th  is will not impress anyone   tal amounts to get through the business startup
               matic SMS messages or emails to follow up on
                                                  and will cost you an unnecessarily large amount   phase. To avoid this, it is essential to save 3-4
               invoices. Keep a reference of the invoice num-  with no profi t.
               bers to cross-check them with the payments                            months' business expenses or the amount you
               that are due.                      11. Maintain Legal Fees for the Business  think you will need during the start-up phase
                                                  An average fee for a legal service is around $450.    in advance. Plan wisely if there is no business
               5. Make a New Bank Account for Business   Discuss your expectations and business deals   revenue in the startup phase.
               Payments                           clearly with your lawyer before procuring legal
               If you want to stay free from a tax headache   services. Select the most cost-eff ective business   16. Avoid Spending Prematurely
               and inexplicable losses, avoid mixing your   billing option, for instance, hourly payments.   Be wise with your decisions regarding spending
               personal fi nances with your business fi nances.   Discuss the possibility of payment deferment   money on business cards, marketing materials,
                                                                                     inventory, signage or cars before you make profi t
               Not only will this help you gauge profi tability   until your project is fi nancially stable.
               conveniently, but will also help you track your                       or revenue. Th  is will block the cash fl ow.
                                                  12. Manage the Business Expansion Cost
               business expenses.
                                                  It is important that you devise a business expan-  CompareMyRates is a leading comparison tool in Canada for all
                                                                                     kinds of bank accounts, credit cards, phone, and internet plans. You
               6. Get a Business Credit Card      sion plan in advance. Investing a large amount
                                                                                     can use it to get the best and cheapest rate available from different
               Having a credit card specifi cally designed for   in a business that is risky can be dangerous.  providers. Visit https://www.comparemyrates.ca/.
                                 ®
            30   Home Business Fall 2018                                                       www.homebusinessmag.com


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