4 tips for managing finances as your small business grows

By Emma Sturgis

As a small business owner, you may feel like you’re treading water when it comes to finances. When examined as a whole, finances appear quite easy. Keep costs down to bring in a profit is everyone’s goal. However, when you start to focus in on the details, it can become quite a headache. In that regard, you’re not alone. Unless you have a background in finances, you likely don’t know what you’re doing. As such, consider these four tips to help you manage the finances of your business.

Invest in growth

One aspect of your company that you should always allocate resources to is growth. This keeps your business competitive and makes your customers more interested in sticking around. Perhaps there’s a new piece of software or a new technology that might benefit your business that’s being made. Invest in it and watch it help grow your business further. You can also look into investing in real estate or stocks. That will help you ensure you have other sources of increasing the amount of money coming into your business. Anything that offers a feeling of financial stability and abundance is worth looking into.

Use a financial advisor

It takes some humbling to admit that you don’t know everything. However, by admitting that, you can typically find an expert in the field that you’re unfamiliar with and benefit from their experience and knowledge. This is the case with financial advisor services. They can examine your finances at the macro and micro level and offer up further tips and steps that you can take to grow your business. With their careful guiding, you can be sure that you’re making the best choices for your business financially. Financial planners will also be able to think ahead when it comes to your finances. They will be able to make predictions for your business and help you make financial decisions based on the best future outcome.

Use an effective billing strategy

One problem that you’re going to inevitably run into is a customer that can’t pay immediately. They may not be able to pay at all. If this happens a lot over the span of a few customers, then this can hurt your business. You need to develop a strategy for your billing that will bolster your finances without cutting out the customer. You still want their business. However, you also need to be able to recognize when the customer is a bad investment.

Spread tax payments

Perhaps you’ve found it difficult to pay quarterly taxes. Instead of paying just four times a year, you may want to opt for monthly taxes. This can help you budget a lot easier. You can even set aside a specific account where you store money you will use to pay your taxes in the future.

 

Finances can be difficult. Having an expert on hand can help you navigate the rough waters of business finances. Otherwise, these four tips can help you get a handle on managing them.

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Emma Sturgis is a freelance writer based in Boston, MA. She writes most often on health and education. When not writing, she enjoys reading and watching film noir. Say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2.

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