Smart Money Tips for Small Business

I talk a lot about managing your business finances because that’s what I do, ha! Today I want to change gears a little and delve into some smart money tips that might save you money, and time and maybe even help guide your next business move. Some are little things that add up, others are really more strategic. Hopefully, you’ll be able to implement one if not all of them to help you grow, manage and strategise your moolah.

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Multiple Business Bank Accounts

Having one business bank account is great. Well done to you for not mixing business with pleasure, it’s always messy and usually, your bookkeeper or you (if you do the books) pay the price. So how many do you need? Well, as a guide, you need accounts for:

  • Income & Expenses (of course!)
  • Tax: chuck 30%* of your profit in this account and hopefully, there won’t be too many surprises Tax Time
  • GST: if you are registered for GST, you need to save the 10% you charge clients and customers for BAS and having a separate account will really help. If you have any GST on expenses to claim you will have over saved (hello new laptop you can now pay for in full!).

* These percentages are not financial advice and should be used as a guide only. Please consult with your own Tax Agent for the amount(s) you should use to calculate your Tax estimates.

Depending on your style if you need more bank accounts than that to know what you can (or can’t!) spend.

Monitor Your Money 

This is simple but so effective. Set a daily reminder on your phone to spend 10 minutes monitoring your money every single day. Some key areas to focus on:

  • Income: are payments hitting your bank account as expected? If not, chase up clients, and customers and even use third-party apps if you need to. You’d be surprised at what gets missed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
  • Charges: is there anything coming out that shouldn’t be? Subscriptions you aren’t using, weird charges from a foreign country, double payments? Being on the ball here is crucial.
  • Cashflow: incoming and outgoing. Is this flowing nicely and growing the bank balance? If not, can you shift a few things so that big bill doesn’t bounce and you’re left at the end of the month with $0 in your account?

Monitoring your money saves a lot of drama later.

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Track Profitability

So you’d likely have a good idea about your profit overall but do you have a solid grasp of what’s driving that profit? Smart business owners know exactly what product or service is providing the best return on investment. Not sure?

Open your income or sales report and break down how much income you’re making for each product or service. Rank them from highest to lowest and you’ve got a better idea.

Take it one step further by running a report detailing expenses or the cost of goods related to each product or service.

  • Product expenses can include manufacturing, materials or stock, packaging and shipping. This will give you your cost of goods.
    • If your costs per item are too high, this will likely affect your profitability. 
  • Service expenses affecting gross profit can include subcontractors, software, and your time spent on providing that service.
    • List the different services you provide and see which ones are making (or losing) money

Bottom line? That $5,000 per month product or service might just be costing too much overall to provide but you won’t know that unless you track your profitability.

Want some help with tracking your income and expenses? You can grab my free P&L Generator here – simply plug & play!

Schedule Your Obligations

That missed BAS payment can result in late payment fees. Those fees may as well be thrown down the drain, it’s wasted money. So grab your calendar and markdown:

  • Income Tax/PAYG Payments
  • BAS Payments
  • Big contractor fees
  • Phone bills & credit card repayments
  • Repayments, loans and any larger payments

And never, ever pay late!

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Money Mindset Matters

This one’s a bit woo woo but the secret to stability lies in your mindset. My top tips to get it right?

  • Money isn’t scary: treat it like you would any other element in your life. Pay attention, manage it and move forward. Letting it build up as a big, scary beast in your mind won’t help!
  • Understand that money is fluid and needs to flow! Sometimes you’ll be flush and other times, you’ll have to be more strategic and that’s ok. Acceptance and planning is key.
  • Consistency is your best friend. $10 a day saved is $3,650 per year. Little actions can create a BIG impact.

And now, the big one. Are you ready?

Outsourcing

Make a list of everything you do in your business and how long it takes you. Then rank what you do well and what you struggle with or don’t like doing. In all likelihood, the things you don’t enjoy or aren’t skilled in are taking you the longest.

Your time is money.

Look at it like this:

  • Social Media: 15 hours a month OR spend $795 to outsource it
  • Graphic Design: 10 hours a month OR spend $800 to outsource it
  • Bookkeeping: 8 hours a month OR spend $600 to outsource it
Lisa Turner seated at outdoor white table with pink donut and fruit smoothie writing in a notepad with other notebooks and phone on the table

If you are doing it all yourself to save money, it’s a false economy. Specialists will do it faster and they’ll do a better job of it than you can. Use that time to work on your business generating revenue and growing, rather than IN it.

Sending ALL the good money vibes your way. If bookkeeping is a blind spot for you, I’d love to help! Book a discovery call and let’s find the right package for you.

Lisa x

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