Planning and Projections

If you are a calendar year business, November should be your planning month. (Fiscal year companies – the advice is the same only the month may change.)

Regardless of the size of your company it is an excellent time to reflect on the first 10 months of the year and to look ahead to the next. You need to be deciding if this is the right time to purchase something to reduce taxes and how that purchase will affect cash flow.

So many people go see their Accountant for tax planning this time of year with incomplete and inaccurate books and no real plans. In order to get the best results for that time and money you really need to do your homework a little beforehand. I do advocate for doing a full budget process even in small companies; especially if you are planning to grow your business. It is not critical the process be executed fully to reap benefits from some of the steps.

At the very least do some analysis:
Look at your sales, expenses, margins and work force, make sure your financial house is in order. Determine if your assets are working for you or against you. Would replacing a piece of equipment increase productivity?

Set some goals for you and your team: Studies prove giving your team goals helps motivate them to Set goals for advertising and a related spending plan. Too many companies advertising in a vacuum, if you can’t measure the effectiveness of those dollars you may be wasting money. You may be surprised how spending a few hours can positively affect your bottom line and your cash flow.

Let us know if we can help you with any planning process or get you started on your way.