Author: Michael Austin

I can have the business I want – by stopping the business I’ve got

Some time ago I posted a blog entitled “I can’t have the business I want…..because of the business I’ve got!” which concerned an owner-manager who had become trapped in his company by time-consuming, low-profit clients he didn’t really want but couldn’t afford to lose.

Recently, I was talking to another owner-manager who solved the problem by simply changing her business.

She started up some years ago providing the same services to her own clients that she had provided in corporate life and that got her new company off to a good start. However, she had become disillusioned with what she was doing and didn’t want to continue with it.

And this is one of the beauties of running your own business – you can make it do what you want it to.

And when you change direction you have one massive advantage – you already know how to start up and run a business!

Having made some profits and built up some cash in the bank, she stopped marketing her existing services and re-trained in a different activity. She’s now about to launch her new services into a new market and is very confident that she’ll succeed and also be a lot happier with what she’s doing.

What she had before was hardly an Ugly Duckling but she emerges from it as a beautiful swan gliding towards success and fulfilment 😉

So, good luck to her and it’s a lesson to all of us who run our own businesses – use the freedom you have to run the business you want.

 

Michael

@diaryofanomb

 

Making tax digital – misses the point!

Make your bookkeeping digital and you will have made tax digital.

Making tax digital for business is part of HMRC’s continued drive to interact with tax payers online. You can read more about it here – HMRC – MTD.

For years and years we have been submitting tax returns online (VAT, corporation tax, self-assessment) and more recently payroll data has been submitted online under the Real Time Information rules.

So MTD is the next set of steps in a long process.

But it’s also a flag that accountants and accountancy software providers are running up the flagpole and using as a marketing tool. Which is fine, but I think the tax cart is being put before the business horse.

The sensible move is to make bookkeeping digital!

Make bookkeeping digital

The time has surely come to get your accounting done using proper accounting software and ideally in the cloud for added accessibility.

Ditch the spreadsheets, ditch the shoebox full of receipts, ditch paper!

Sign up for one of the cloud accounting packages (our favourite is QuickBooks) and:

  • link it to your bank
  • use an app like AutoEntry capture invoices and receipts and do the data entry
  • see financial performance in real time on your phone or tablet
  • share the data with your accountant
  • save time and money

And when you have something like a VAT return or an MTD submission to send to HMRC, get the numbers right and send it from the software.

What could be easier?

 

Michael

@diaryofanomb

I have a three-month project – which month has the profit?

Accurate and consistent management accounts are a key tool for monitoring and improving business performance and they should be tailored to the needs and nature of your business.

Many businesses work on short-term projects for clients and add value during the life of the project, but when should the profit be counted in the management accounts?

Continue reading “I have a three-month project – which month has the profit?”

Credit control

A sale is a gift until it’s paid for.

If you give credit terms to your customers then make sure they pay you on time.

You’re not a bank so don’t let your customers borrow from you, which is what they’re doing if they delay payment.

We help companies stay on top of credit control from start to finish:

  • credit checking prospects and ongoing customers
  • invoicing accurately, electronically, punctually
  • chasing for payment – phone is best!
  • taking action against slow payers

Put credit control front and centre in your business – you can’t afford not to! Continue reading “Credit control”

Credit management – A sale is a gift until it’s paid for (part 3)

Another very simple target is the amount of cash collected each month. You can have a minimum collection level and then consider paying bonuses to your credit control team for beating the basic target.

If your business model doesn’t allow you to be paid upfront…….…..read on. Continue reading “Credit management – A sale is a gift until it’s paid for (part 3)”

Credit management – A sale is a gift until it’s paid for (part 2)

Every business should be compelled to sell to a large, multinational organisation every now and then just to be reminded of the pain you have to go through sometimes to get paid.

If your business model doesn’t allow you to be paid upfront…….…..read on Continue reading “Credit management – A sale is a gift until it’s paid for (part 2)”

Accounting for deferred income – QuickBooks training video (7 min)

If your business sells annual subscriptions or licences and you issue invoices upfront but want to see the revenue come through you P&L over the life of the contract, this is how to do the accounting in QuickBooks.

If your business sells annual subscriptions or licences and you issue invoices upfront but want to see the revenue come through your P&L over the life of the contract, this is how to do the accounting in QuickBooks.

Continue reading “Accounting for deferred income – QuickBooks training video (7 min)”