We have been seeing some television commercials recently marketing a brand-new cloud-based accounting program for small business owners. The program looks promising inasmuch as it provides a one-stop solution for business accounting that includes everything from invoicing to inventory control. What is interesting about it are the reasons some of their customers have given for using the software. Most of those reasons boil down to a single, common thread: organization.
Any small business owner will tell you that organization, or the lack thereof, largely determines how well a company succeeds. Organization is vitally important in every area of small business, especially in the area of cash flow.
Understand that cash flow is the lifeline of small business. Whether a business is based at home or run out of a storefront or small office, it is impossible to conduct day-to-day operations without financial resources. Moreover, it is challenging to manage those limited resources without proper organization.
Organizing the Paperwork
Was the computer age not supposed to eliminate all of the paperwork involved in running a business? Yet it seems as if there’s more paperwork now than there ever was before. The unfortunate thing is that a mountain of paperwork can quickly become a disorganized mess that makes it impossible to keep an effective handle on accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Getting back to that cloud-based accounting software we referenced, one client explains how she would not send out invoices for months at a time because she hated the invoicing and accounting process. The new software changed things by organizing her invoicing and automating as much of it as possible.
This type of organization improves cash flow by ensuring customers are always invoiced on schedule. When customers do not pay their bills on time, an organized system makes it easy to identify them and deal with the problem. Organization also helps on the other side of the equation. It helps the business owner stay abreast of his or her own bills and their individual due dates.
Organizing the Space
Small business organization is about more than just getting paperwork in order. It is also about organizing workspace in order to improve efficiency and productivity. This, in turn, also increases cash flow.
Imagine being the owner of a small bakery out on Long Island. Despite having a disorganized kitchen, you and your staff manage to put out enough product to keep the lights on and generate a little profit. You have a sincere desire to expand your menu, but you do not know how you’ll manage in the limited amount of space you have. Then you meet My Divine Concierge. We look at your business and discover you could do a lot more by making better use of your space.
By helping you reorganize your kitchen, storeroom and customer area, we also help you and your staff be more efficient. It’s not long before you realize you really can start offering those customized wedding cakes you’ve been thinking about. That brings in more business, which brings in more revenue, which grows your small bakery substantially.
Running a small business is hard enough without having to combat a lack of organization. By the same token, don’t beat yourself up if you’re having organizational problems. Organizing for small business requires a certain amount of skill and talent not everyone possesses. That does not make you a bad business owner.
Instead of allowing a lack of organization to determine the course of your business, why not let us come in and help you organize? The services we provide will allow you to run your business in a way that is more efficient, more cost-effective, and better for cash flow. That is what it’s all about.