It’s a tough time to run a business after a global pandemic and increased demand on household budgets. Profit margins are tighter than ever in the commercial world, so how do you survive in turbulent times? We review some of the best things you can do to keep your business successful.
Value Your Staff
One of your most essential assets in the business is your employees, primarily if you rely on specialist workers or shift coverage. Treat them well, and make your organization a pleasant place to work. Look at how you can offer incentives to encourage good employees to stay. It costs significant time and resources to recruit workers, so retaining the ones you have is critical.
Outsource Administrative Tasks
Outsourcing administrative tasks is a highly cost-effective strategy for a business, especially for small companies. Many business-critical tasks can be outsourced, from invoice factoring to human resources and payroll. When you outsource to other organizations such as remote access administrators or a factoring company, you save valuable time that allows you to focus on growing the business. Another cost-saving opportunity for you when outsourcing tasks is that you do not employ the staff, which means that you do not have to pay benefits, wages, and other expenses as this is covered within the outsourcing company.
Focus on Finances
As a business owner, you must oversee your finances and ensure people pay bills on time. A slow or deferred payment has all kinds of consequences for your company. So, how do you stay ahead of the payments and chase bills when you have a business to run? Invoice factoring enables you to raise cash quickly by selling your outstanding payments for a proportion of what is due. The factoring company will chase up debts and recover the money, but you get the funds to pay staff and keep your business solvent. In addition, if you can allocate your default payments to a factoring company, you will recover your cash flow and free up time to do other business-critical work.
Track Your Invoices
It is easy to forget to invoice promptly or to chase up a payment, and before you realize it, the time has sped by, but your business has not received the money. Set up a process so you invoice as soon as a job is complete. You can outsource invoicing or set up reminders on your desktop. Allocating a specific time in the week for invoicing also works. If you stay ahead of the game with your finances, your cash flow will improve, and you will get paid on time. If you need to use invoice factoring for payment defaults, it saves you critical time chasing people for money.
Look for Cutback Opportunities
If your business is starting to feel the effects of cost pressures, start looking for ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses. Start by looking at where your outgoings are and possible areas for cutting back. For example, is your electricity with the best provider? Do you need to cut the photocopying and use more digital products? Don’t forget to ask the staff for ideas; they will have valuable insights into areas that can save the company money.
You should also review what your workers are doing and whether they should focus on other areas. If you have employees with a poor performance record, it may be time to dismiss them, so you are only working with effective and productive people. Some of the work your teams are doing could be outsourced. Bad debts, for example, can be outsourced to a factoring company which frees up your workers to do more productive things.
Always Look for New Business.
If you lose a large client, it seriously impacts your business. Always look out for new opportunities and clients, even if you have a complete order book. You mustn’t be reliant on one funding stream or customer. If they default on payments and you have to use invoice factoring or debt recovery, your company’s finances are in a challenging position. Your business model is more robust when you attract new opportunities and can be more resilient to a sudden change.
The business world is challenging now due to the global economic position and the cost of living. As a business owner, your job is difficult, but you can remain resilient with your business by looking at how to keep your finances in order and your cash flow working. Using resources such as invoice factoring and outsourcing will help you remain efficient in a challenging financial climate. By taking steps to look at everything in your business and make efficiencies, you will survive a turbulent ride with the economic challenges ahead.
