During a volatile economic landscape, even the most adept businesses can find themselves facing unexpected turbulence. Market fluctuations, shifting consumer behaviors, and unforeseen challenges can threaten established operations and cast a shadow of uncertainty on future trajectories. Here, you will find practical strategies to equip you to preserve momentum during economic downturns.
Simple Ways to Keep Your Business Going in Hard Times
These general tips apply to all
Keeping a small business afloat in difficult economic times is challenging. Unfortunately, there is no set playbook to follow to ride out the storm and right the ship. Every small business is different, and each carries its own risks and rewards.
These differences make copying another company’s turnaround strategy to the letter unrealistic. Still, there are some general strategies business owners can follow to help them stop taking on water and start bailing themselves out.
Look at the Big Picture
People have a tendency to attack the most obvious immediate problems with vigor and without hesitation. That’s understandable and might make good business sense in some situations. However, it is also advisable to step back and look at the big picture to see what is still working and what might need changing. It’s an opportunity to better comprehend the size and scope of existing problems and further understand your company’s business model—determining how its strengths and weaknesses come into play.
For example, suppose a small business owner discovers that two employees are consistently making mistakes with inventory that cause certain supplies to be overstocked or understocked. While an initial reaction might be to fire those employees, it could be wiser to examine whether the manager who hired and supervises them has properly trained them.
If the manager is to blame, that person could be fired, but this might not be the best approach. If the manager’s relationships with existing clientele have a history of bringing in repeat business and substantial revenue, they are likely someone you’d want to keep. Retraining might be a better alternative than termination.
By thoroughly scrutinizing the strengths and weaknesses of the employees, the owner is looking at the issue from a top-down perspective, reducing or eliminating the chance that the problems will recur while avoiding a change that could adversely impact future sales.
Fix a similar kind of lens on analyzing how your product or service fits into the marketplace now, how the economic crisis has affected your customers and suppliers, and all the other key aspects of your business. You need to know how well your business model fits the current environment and forecast what various alternative scenarios of the future might mean for it.
Inventory Your Staff
Payroll is often one of the top costs a small business owner has, so seeing to it that the money is well spent makes sense. This may involve a thorough review of the staff—both when a problem arises and during the normal course of business—to make sure the right people are on board and doing their jobs effectively.
Both small business owners and large corporations tend to be penny wise and pound foolish when they hire the least expensive workers. Sometimes the productivity of those workers may be suspect. Hiring one worker who costs 20%Â more than the average worker but works 40% more effectively makes sense, particularly during periods of crisis. By constantly seeking resumes and interviews with new people, business owners can make changes to staff when needed to increase efficiency.
Ensure Access to Cash
Small business owners should take steps to ensure that the company has access to cash, particularly in periods of crisis. Visiting a bank loan officer and understanding what’s required to obtain a loan is a good first step, as is opening a line of credit in advance to fund possible short-term cash-flow problems. Establishing a good relationship with a banker is always useful for a small business.
Small business owners should have other potential sources of capital lined up as well. This might include tapping into savings, liquidating stock holdings, or borrowing from family members. A small business owner must have access to capital or have a creative way to obtain funds to make it through lean times.
Start Sweating the Small Stuff
Although it is important to keep an eye on the big picture, a small business owner should not overlook smaller things that may have an adverse impact on the business. A large tree obstructing the public’s view of the business or the company’s signage, inadequate parking, lack of road/traffic access, and ineffective advertising are examples of small problems that can put a big dent in a business’ bottom line.
Considering and analyzing the numerous factors that bring customers in the door can help to identify some problems. Going through your quarterly expenses line by line may also help. Owners should not be checking for one-time expenses here, as those items were most likely necessary charges. Instead, they should look for small items that seem innocent but are actually draining the accounts.
For example, the cost of office supplies can quickly get out of hand if they are ordered improperly. Similarly, if your supplier increases product prices, you should consider looking around for a cheaper supplier.
Don’t Sacrifice Quality
Keeping a handle on costs is crucial in tough times. Owners need to stay on the offensive and get employees on board with changes that are being made. However, be cognizant of not sacrificing quality when making these product changes.
Business owners seeking to improve profit margins should be wary of making dramatic changes to key components. For example, if a pizzeria is going through a dry spell, the owner could seek to expand margins per pie by purchasing cheaper cheese or sauce ingredients. Note that the strategy could backfire if customers become dissatisfied with the taste of the pizza and sales decrease. The key is to make cost and other cuts that don’t compromise the quality of the finished product. Perhaps there is a way to cut the price of takeout boxes or paper napkins instead.
How Does a Bad Economy Affect Business?
A bad economy can hurt a business in a number of ways. Adjustments to interest rates could affect a business’s ability to borrow necessary funds. People saving their money during a period of economic uncertainty could mean they are spending less and therefore the business has fewer customers. Some sectors may come to a relative standstill if the market falls enough.
Can a Small Business Thrive in a Bad Economy?
A small business can absolutely thrive in a bad economy but it depends on the business and how they are structured, which line of business they are in, and if that business has the ability to make necessary adjustments in order to retain profit or simply stay open.
How Do You Survive Hard Times in Business?
Companies can cut costs, which is a common thing to do when facing hard times. This can mean laying off non-essential staff or executives taking a temporary pay cut. Companies making a physical product can change their suppliers, while others may opt to use less expensive materials. Businesses can also issue equity or take on additional debt, although those can be quite risky depending on how they are implemented and the long-term effect on the company.
The Bottom Line
When times become difficult for your small business, it is important at that point, more than ever, to retain a cool head. Sometimes, there is a simple solution that may help you keep the business running that you wouldn’t have noticed if you were too stressed or bogged down in tiny details. Being aware of the big picture and making sure you as the number one employee are performing well are the number one priorities during a period of hardship.
Let our PT marketing experts analyze your unique needs and craft a personalized plan to reach your goals. We’re here to help you with proven techniques and ongoing support to navigate any marketing challenge. Contact us at (833) 764-0178 and visit our IG @performpracticesolutions.
Selling your PT business is a significant decision that requires careful planning and strategic execution. Here, we explain this intricate process, offering valuable insights and practical tips for entrepreneurs navigating this critical juncture in their business journey. We’ve done this more than just a few times, so if you would like guidance and support, Perform Practice Solutions is here. You can book a consultation with Kevin Rausch at any time do discuss your challenges and brainstorm!Â
7 Steps to Selling Your Small Business
Selling a small business is a complex venture that involves several considerations. It can require that you enlist a broker, accountant, and/or an attorney as you proceed. Whether you profit will depend on the reason for the sale, the timing of the sale, the strength of the business’s operation, and its structure.
The business sale will also require much of your time and, once the business is sold, you’ll need to determine some smart ways to handle the profit. Reviewing these seven considerations can help you build a solid plan and make negotiations a success.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Identify why you want to sell your business and make sure it’s ready to be sold.
Take the time you need to prepare your business for sale, determine the value of your business, and consider hiring a business appraiser.
Decide whether you want to hire a broker or negotiate the deal yourself.
Once you find a good buyer, there are a series of financial screenings and other steps that need to be taken to keep the process moving.
Take the time to work with a financial professional and determine how you want to invest or otherwise use the money you make from the sale of your business.
1. Identifying the Reasons for the Sale
You’ve decided to sell your business. Why? That’s one of the first questions a potential buyer will ask.
Owners commonly sell their businesses for any of the following reasons:
Retirement
Partnership disputes
Illness or death
Becoming overworked
Boredom
Some owners consider selling the business when it is not profitable, but this can make it harder to attract buyers. Consider the business’s ability to sell, its readiness, and your timing.
There are many attributes that can make your business appear more attractive, including:
Increasing profits
Consistent income figures
A strong customer base
A major contract that spans several years
2. Deciding the Timing of the Sale
Timing is everything. And that includes the time it takes to get everything ready to sell off your business.
Prepare for the sale as early as possible, preferably a year or two ahead of time. The preparation will help you to improve your financial records, business structure, and customer base to make the business more profitable.
These improvements will also ease the transition for the buyer and keep the business running smoothly.
Selling a business involves negotiations, discussions, and a lot of leg work. If it’s not possible for all this to occur in person, then certainly using services like Zoom or Skype to hold business meetings with potential buyers digitally is possible.
3. Getting a Business Valuation
Determine the value of your business to make sure you don’t price it too high or too low. You can do this by finding and hiring a business appraiser to get a valuation.
Once you hire an appraiser, they will draw up a detailed explanation of the business’s worth. The document will bring credibility to the asking price and can serve as a gauge for your listing price.
You can also determine the overall value of your business using some key metrics. Consider evaluating your company by determining the market capitalization, looking at earnings multipliers, book value, or other metrics.1
4. Hiring a Broker
Selling the business yourself allows you to save money and avoid paying a broker’s commission. It’s also the best route when the sale is to a trusted family member or current employee.
In other circumstances, a broker can help free up time for you to keep the business up and running, or keep the sale quiet and get the highest price. That’s because the broker will want to maximize their commission. Discuss expectations and advertisements with the broker and maintain constant communication.2
Even if you decide to sell your business to a close family member or employee, rushing through the sales process is not advised. However, if a relatively quick turnaround is needed, hire a business broker to speed up the proceedings.
5. Preparing Documents
Gather your financial statements and tax returns dating back three to four years and review them with an accountant. In addition, develop a list of equipment that’s being sold with the business. Create a list of contacts related to sales transactions and supplies, and dig up any relevant paperwork such as your current lease. Make copies of these documents to distribute to financially qualified potential buyers.
Your information packet should also provide a summary describing how the business is conducted and/or an up-to-date operating manual. You’ll also want to make sure the business is presentable. Any areas of the business or equipment that are broken or run down should be fixed or replaced prior to the sale.
6. Finding a Buyer
A business sale may take anywhere from a few months to years. This includes the time you take to prepare all the way to the end of the sale, according to SCORE, a nonprofit association for entrepreneurs and partners of the Small Business Administration (SBA).3
Finding the right buyer can be a challenge. Try not to limit your advertising, and you’ll attract more potential buyers. Once you have prospective buyers, here’s how to keep the process moving along:
Get two to three potential buyers just in case the initial deal falters.
Stay in contact with potential buyers.
Find out whether the potential buyer pre-qualifies for financing before giving out information about your business.
If you plan to finance the sale, work out the details with an accountant or lawyer so you can reach an agreement with the buyer.
Allow some room to negotiate, but stand firm on a price that is reasonable and considers the company’s future worth.
Put any agreements in writing. The potential buyers should sign a nondisclosure/confidentiality agreement to protect your information.
Try to get the signed purchase agreement into escrow.
You may encounter the following documents after the sale:
The bill of sale, which transfers the business assets to the buyer
An assignment of a lease
AÂ security agreement, which has a seller retain a lien on the business
In addition, the buyer may have you sign a non-compete agreement, in which you would agree to not start a new, competing business and woo away customers.4
A business broker often charges an average of 10% for businesses under $1 million; while that may seem steep, the broker may also be able to negotiate a deal that is better for you than the one you would have arranged by yourself.
7. Handling the Profits
Now that you’ve sold off your business, it’s time to figure out what to do with the profit that you’ve made. The first instinct may be to go on a spending spree, but that probably isn’t the most wise decision.
Here are a few things you may want to consider:
Take some time—at least a few months—before spending the profits from the sale.
Create a plan outlining your financial goals, and learn about any tax consequences associated with the sudden wealth.
Speak with a financial professional to determine how you want to invest the money and focus on long-term benefits, such as getting out of debt and saving for retirement.
How Do You Sell a Franchise Business?
You’ll need to work in conjunction with your franchiser, as they will need to determine if the new buyer is appropriate. Plus, that new buyer will need to sign a franchise agreement with the franchiser.5
There are a variety of fees and rules associated with owning or selling a franchise that can be found in the FTC’s compliance guide.6
How Do You Sell a Business Idea?
It’s possible to approach a company with a business idea, but first, you need to do your research, prepare a presentation, and research and approach potential targets. While some business plans are best protected with a patent, others can be secured by getting a potential company you want to work with to agree to a non-disclosure agreement.
How Do You Sell a Small Business Without a Broker?
While many people would like to avoid the 10% a business broker may charge, the risks of selling on your own may outweigh the loss of money. But if you’re going to go it alone, prioritize selling to a buyer you know, make use of the advice of experienced, retired owners and executives, and use all the internet resources available, such as the Small Business Administration, or the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
How Do You Sell Your Share of a Business?
Selling your share of a business to your partner(s) is a common ownership transfer method, particularly for small businesses. Having an agreement in place with your partners ahead of the sale will help smooth the transition, increasing the likelihood that both the staying and exiting partners benefit.7
How Much Does It Cost to Sell a Business?
If you go through a business broker and your business is under $1 million, the broker’s commission is likely 10% to 12%. Other fees that can crop up include attorney fees, marketing fees, and the costs of making any cosmetic or more substantial upgrades to your business so as to make it more sellable. There are also fees that may come up if you are transferring a lease to the new owner of your business.1
The Bottom Line
Selling a business is time-consuming and for many people, it’s an emotional venture. A good reason to sell or the existence of a hot market can ease the burden, as can the help of professionals.
It may also be possible to receive free counseling from organizations such as SCORE, and your local chamber of commerce may offer relevant seminars and workshops. When all is said and done, the large sum of money in your bank account and your newfound free time will make the grueling process seem worthwhile.
Are you ready to sell your physical therapy practice? Or perhaps just thinking about getting ready to sell? We’re here to help you get ready and navigate you through all the steps to get it done right. Contact us at (833) 764-0178 and visit our IG @performpracticesolutions.
Now is the time for entrepreneurs to contemplate ways to make the most of the upcoming year. If you’re looking to infuse your business with renewed financial vigor, our guide is here to help. Learn from our strategies to optimize your business and boost your bottom line for 2024. Questions? We are here — and you can always book a complimentary consultation with Kevin Rausch to walk through your challenges, and plan your 2024.Â
Starting a business requires more than just a great idea
To build a successful business, you need more than a good—or even great—idea. You have to be well organized, flexible, and creative, and develop a knack for paying close attention to the details while never losing sight of the big picture. You should also be prepared to make some personal sacrifices. Whatever type of business you have in mind, these nine basic tips, with links to additional advice, can help you get it started and keep it growing.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Starting and growing a business requires good organizational skills, creativity, and constant focus, among other essentials.
It’s important to be aware of your competition, particularly the things it is doing that you might want to adopt or improve upon.
You’ll almost certainly end up working harder for yourself than you would for someone else, so be prepared to make some sacrifices in your personal life.
9 Tips For Growing A Successful Business
1. Get Organized
To achieve success as a business owner you first have to be well organized. That will help you complete tasks efficiently and stay on top of the many things that need to be done. A simple way to get and stay organized is to create a to-do list each day. As you complete each item, check it off your list. Remember, too, that some tasks are more important than others. Aim to tackle the high-priority ones first.
There are many online resources that are available to help. They include tools like Slack, Asana, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. That being said, a simple Excel spreadsheet will meet many of a small business’s organizational requirements, especially in the early days.
2. Keep Detailed Records
No matter how busy they are, successful businesses take the time to keep careful accounting records. By doing so, they know where their business stands financially and can often get a better (and earlier) grasp of any potential challenges they might be facing. Investopedia periodically rates the best accounting software for small businesses.
Many businesses today keep two sets of records: one physical and another in the cloud. That way, a business owner no longer has to worry about losing crucial data if something unfortunate happens, like a fire, computer virus, or other calamity.
3. Analyze Your Competition
To be successful, you can’t afford to ignore your competitors. Instead, take the time to study and learn from them. Larger companies devote significant resources to obtaining this sort of competitive intelligence.
How you go about analyzing the competition can depend on the nature of your business. If you’re a restaurant or store owner, you may simply be able to dine or shop at a competitor’s place of business, ask customers what they like or don’t like about it, and gain information that way.
If you’re in a field with more limited access to your competitors’ inner workings, such as manufacturing, try to keep up with the news in relevant trade publications, speak with any customers you share in common, and obtain and scrutinize whatever financial information a competitor makes publicly available.
4. Understand the Risks and Rewards
Another key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. Besides contemplating the potential rewards if you succeed, a good question to ask is: “What’s the downside if this doesn’t work out?” If you can answer that question, you’ll know what the worst-case scenario is. If you could live with that scenario, and are prepared to take the necessary steps to manage the risk as much as possible, you might want to give it a go. Otherwise, this could be a good time to consider other opportunities.
Understanding risks and rewards includes being smart about the timing of starting a business or launching a new product. For example, the severe economic dislocation during the COVID pandemic provided some businesses with new opportunities (say, manufacturing and selling protective gear) and others with difficult-to-overcome obstacles (such as running a restaurant with constraints on indoor dining).
5. Be Creative
Always be looking for ways to improve your business and make it stand out from the competition. Recognize that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and different approaches.
Keep an eye out for opportunities to expand your current business or develop related enterprises that will lead to additional revenues and provide the benefit of diversification. The history of Amazon provides a good example. The company started out as an online bookseller and grew into an e-commerce giant, selling just about everything. Today it has a growing brick-and-mortar presence, as well. Among its many subsidiaries are Amazon Pharmacy, Amazon MGM Studios, Whole Foods Market, and Zappos.123
6. Stay Focused on Your Goals
The old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” applies to building a business as well. Just because you open a business doesn’t mean you’re going to start making money immediately. It takes time to let people know who you are and what you have to offer, so stay focused on achieving your goals.
Even many small business owners who ultimately achieve success won’t see a profit for a few years and will have to rely on borrowed money (if they can get it) or their own savings to support the business until it can become profitable. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to finance a business.
That being said, if the business is not turning a profit after a reasonable period of time, it’s worth looking into why that is and whether the business needs to go in another direction.
7. Provide Great Customer Service
Too many businesses forget the importance of providing great customer service. If you deliver better service for your customers, they’ll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition. High-quality service is one key to obtaining competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Some businesses refer to this as a taking a consumer-centric or client-centric approach.
In fact, in today’s hyper-competitive business environment, service is often the major differentiating factor between successful and unsuccessful businesses. This is where the saying “undersell and overdeliver” comes in, and savvy business owners are wise to follow it.
8. Be Consistent
Consistency is a key component to success in business. You have to keep doing what is necessary to be successful, day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money in the long run and create satisfied customers from day one. Customers value consistency, too.
9. Prepare to Make Some Sacrifices
Having your own business often requires putting in more time than if you were working for someone else. That can mean spending less time with family and friends than you wish you could. The adage that there are no weekends and no vacations for business owners can ring true for anyone who’s committed to making their business work.
Owning a business isn’t for everyone. If, after an honest self-evaluation, you decide you aren’t cut out for it, you’ll save yourself a lot of grief, and probably a lot of money, by pursuing another career path.
What Is the Fastest Way for a Business to Grow?
Businesses will grow at their own rates, and many times this is out of the control of the business owner or workers. However, there are some aspects to running lean that may help a business grow quickly, such as focusing on a small product line, scaling up at a manageable pace, and providing some sort of obvious edge over your competitors.
How Do You Increase Sales?
Increasing sales can come from a few different places. You can raise ad expenditures where advertising has already proven effective, proactively solicit referrals from existing clients, build a direct-to-consumer email list, and others. You can also expand your product portfolio, but if the new additions underperform, that will negatively affect your bottom line.
What Makes a Startup Successful?
Business success is a difficult concept to quantify, but if it means generating returns for stakeholders, startups can be an excellent way to deliver returns. The best startups have a good product or service that is scalable. A well-run startup will understand the overall market and its particular place in it, be able to pivot quickly, and be ready to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
The Bottom Line
Growing a successful business is hard work, and not everyone succeeds at it. According to 2022 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of new businesses fail during their first year, 50% fail during the first five years, and 65% fail during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or beyond.4
If you want to be among that 25%, paying attention to these nine tips is a good start, but certainly not exhaustive. To own and run a successful business you’ll want to be in a state of constant learning and adapting.
Ready to turn the page and embrace a financially rewarding chapter for your practice? Perform Physical Therapy team specializes in helping entrepreneurs achieve their financial goals. Let’s collaborate to design a tailored strategy that aligns with your PT practice. Contact us at (833) 764-0178 and visit our IG @performpracticesolutions
Managing finances can be a challenge for any small business owner. Often, the reason your small business is successful is because of the skills you bring to the table — you know, the ones you went to school for and which are more up your alley — like PT! If you don’t have a lot of experience with managing business finances, it can feel like a chore and you could be slipping into bad financial habits that could one day (soon!) harm your business. We’ve selected some of the most important things to consider — and if you want some assistance, do set up a call to speak with us. We’ve done this successfully for hundreds of practices!Â
One area many business owners struggle with is keeping track of their finances, but it is one of the most important areas given that cash flow is the lifeblood of the business. Small mistakes and a lack of knowledge and resources can be costly and problematic.
We’ve selected some of the most important things to consider and provide these tips and resources.
Find the best local credit union. Given their frequent willingness to provide loans, finding a credit union that understands the needs of your business can go a long way. There are many online tools to find credit unions based on specified criteria. Many local credit unions require membership in an affiliated organization, often listed on their website, but costs to join are usually minimal and well worth it. Here are a few tools to start with: Find A Credit Union, Credit Unions Online, Credit Union National Association.
Find a trusted mentor.Access to free help is just a click away, with sites that help connect entrepreneurs with mentors fitting their needs. Having a mentor assist with setting up finances can be invaluable if the person is trustworthy. One resource is the Association of Small Business Development Centers, which provides access to full-time business counselors around the country, often former entrepreneurs or M.B.A. graduates. Other sites for finding mentors include SCORE (affiliated with the Small Business Administration), iMantri and MicroMentor.
Choose the correct accounting software. While software is a mainstay of small business finance, sorting through dozens of choices isn’t easy, since there may be better options for your specific needs than the popular QuickBooks program and related packages. Find Accounting Software is a free tool that helps find exactly the right solution through a detailed questionnaire. TaxSites provides extensive resources including a list of software for small businesses.
Consider hiring a bookkeeper. A good, trusted bookkeeper can handle all of the mundane tasks that go along with keeping finances on track. Be sure to understand the various types of bookkeepers and how to avoid fraud. A free bookkeeper hiring test (to be taken by prospective hires) can be requested.
Accelerate cash flow with mobile payment systems. Mobile payment systems can allow faster and easier acceptance of payments for products and services. A system called GoPayment from Intuit allows acceptance of payments through mobile phones and can directly download the data into QuickBooks. To monitor transactions, users can access Intuit’s online Merchant Service Center to search, view and create reports.
Look into factoring receivables. Accounts receivable financing allows immediate payment for invoices, rather than waiting 30 days or longer and tying up working capital as a result. Factoring services advance the amount of the invoice minus a “discount,” or fee (advances of 80 to 90 percent are common), and provide a “rebate” when invoices are paid – the amount depends on how long it takes the customer to pay. FactorFind provides a directory of factors specializing in small businesses. Businesses can be matched with the most appropriate factors at the International Factoring Association, BuyerZone, and Resource Nation.
Understand and measure capital versus operational costs. The goal often is to drive down the totals on the capital costs side of the spreadsheet and move more over to the operational side of the equation. Operating costs don’t require complex depreciation calculations and are more easily adjusted from year to year. Outsourcing is one way to do this because it sits on the operating cost side and helps to free up cash by not tying it up in capital investments (such as IT infrastructure, servers, etc.) or tasks like head hunting and payroll management.
Measure bottom line impact by looking at the service budget year over year. Are the costs for delivering a service going up, staying the same or dropping? Figure out how much it costs to deliver specific services to the business such as recruitment, payroll or benefits management. Understanding cost-to-serve offers the business great insight into projects and tasks, how long it actually takes to do them, and as a result how much they cost. If you want to pare back on the budget, there are hard numbers to work with that show exactly what the impact on quantity and quality of service will be if resources are reduced.
You don’t need to do everything on your own. From billing to marketing, including credentialing and patient eligibility verification, Perform Practice Solutions can help. Give us a call today at (833) 764-0178 and join our Facebook community for more physical therapy billing solutions and ideas.
Creating a business budget is a crucial step toward success. Many people think of budgeting as their least favorite part of running a business — but if you want to be successful, creating and maintaining a proper business budget will be a critical component of that success. Don’t turn away from it! Here’s a step-by-step guide for how to create a business budget. If you want to save money in some places and make more in others — that’s where we come in! A quick consult at no charge to you — and you’ll quickly see where we can help you trim the fat and increase margins and revenue — FAST.Â
An organization’s budget dictates how it leverages capital to work toward goals. For this reason, the ability to prepare a budget is one of the most crucial skills for any business leader—whether a current or aspiring entrepreneur, executive, functional lead, or manager.
Before preparing your first organizational budget, it’s important to understand what goes into a budget and the key steps involved in creating one.
WHAT IS A BUDGET?
A budget is a document businesses use to track income and expenses in a detailed enough way to make operational decisions.
Budgets are typically forward-looking in nature. Income is based on projections and estimates for the periods they cover, as are expenses. For this reason, organizations often create both short- (monthly or quarterly) and long-term (annual) budgets, where the short-term budget is regularly adjusted to ensure the long-term budget stays on track.
Most organizations also prepare what’s known as an “actual budget” or “actual report” to compare estimates against reality following the period covered by the budget. This allows an organization to understand where it went wrong in the budgeting process and adjust estimates moving forward.
Budget vs. Cash Flow Statement
If the definition above sounds similar to a cash flow statement, you’re right: Your organization’s budget and cash flow statement are similar in that they both monitor the flow of money into and out of your business. Yet, they differ in key ways.
First, a budget typically offers more granular details about how money is spent than a cash flow statement does. This provides greater context for making tactical business decisions, such as considering where to trim business expenses.
Second, a budget is, quite literally, a tool used to direct work done within an organization. The cash flow statement plays a different role by offering a higher-level overview of how money moves into, throughout, and out of an organization.
Instead of thinking of the two documents as competing, view them as complementary, with each playing a role in driving your business’s performance.
STEPS TO PREPARE A BUDGET FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
The steps below can be followed whether creating a budget for a project, initiative, department, or entire organization.
1. Understand Your Organization’s Goals
Before you compile your budget, it’s important to have a firm understanding of the goals your organization is working toward in the period covered by it. By understanding those goals, you can prepare a budget that aligns with and facilitates them.
For example, consider a business that regularly experiences year-over-year revenue growth that’s offset by rising expenses. That organization might benefit from focusing efforts on better controlling expenses during the budgeting process.
Alternatively, consider a company launching a new product or service. The company may invest more heavily in the fledgling business line to grow it. With this goal, the company may need to trim expenses or growth initiatives elsewhere in its budget.
2. Estimate Your Income for the Period Covered by the Budget
To allocate funds for business expenses, you first need to determine your income and cash flow for the period to the best of your ability.
Depending on the nature of your organization, this can be a simple or complicated process. For example, a business that sells products or services to known clients locked in with contracts will likely have an easier time estimating income than a business that depends on active sales activity. In the second case, it would be important to reference historical sales and marketing data to understand whether the market is changing in a way that might cause you to miss or exceed historical trends.
3. Identify Your Expenses
Once you understand your projected income for the period, you need to estimate your expenses. This process involves three main categories: fixed costs, variable expenses, and one-time expenses.
Fixed costs are any expenses that remain constant over time and don’t dramatically vary from week to week or month to month. In many cases, those expenses are locked in by some form of contract, making it easy to anticipate and account for them. This category usually includes expenses related to overhead, such as rent payments and utilities. Phone, data, and software subscriptions can also fall into this category, along with debt payments. Any expense that’s regular and expected should be included.
Variable expenses are those your business incurs, which vary over time depending on several factors, including sales activities. Your shipping and distribution costs, for example, are likely to be higher during a period when you sell more product than one when you sell less product. Likewise, utilities such as water, gas, and electricity will be higher during periods of increased use. This is especially true for businesses that manufacture their own products. Sales commissions, materials costs, and labor costs are other examples of variable expenses.
Both fixed expenses and variable expenses are recurring in nature, making it easy to account for them (even if variable expenses must be projected). One-time expenses, also called “one-time spends,” don’t recur and happen more rarely. Purchasing equipment or facilities, developing a new product or service, hiring a consultant, and handling a security breach are all examples of one-time expenses. Understanding major initiatives—and what it will take to accomplish them—and what you’ve spent in previous years on similar expenses can help account for them in your budget, even if you’re unsure of their exact values.
4. Determine Your Budget Surplus or Deficit
After you’ve accounted for all your income and expenses, you can apply them to your budget. This is where you determine whether you have enough projected income to cover all your expenses.
If you have more than enough income to cover your expenses, you have a budget surplus. Knowing this, you should determine how to use additional funds best. You may, for example, move the money into a rainy day fund you can access should your actual income fall short of projections. Alternatively, you may deploy the funds to grow your business.
On the other hand, if your expenses exceed your income, you have a budget deficit. At this point, you must identify the best path forward to close the gap. Can you bring in additional funds by selling more aggressively? Can you lower your fixed or variable expenses? Would you consider selling bonds or shares of company stock to infuse the business with additional capital?
AN IMPORTANT FINANCIAL STATEMENT
The person responsible for generating a budget varies depending on an organization’s nature and its budgetary goals. An entrepreneur or small business owner, for example, is likely to prepare an organizational budget on their own. Meanwhile, a larger organization may rely on a member of the accounting department to generate a budget for the entire business. Individual department heads or functional leads might also be called on to submit budget proposals for their teams.
With this in mind, anyone who aspires to start their own business or move into an organizational leadership position can benefit from learning how to prepare a budget.
Perform Practice Solutions can help you optimize your day-to-day operations, from billing to marketing, including credentialing and patient eligibility verification. You don’t need to do everything on your own. Make the commitment to improve your clinic’s performance for real this year — and don’t look back. Visit our Facebook page or give us a call at (833) 764-0178.
2021 is quickly coming to an end, and while most of us are busy scrambling for holiday gifts and preparing for parties, business owners have their schedules jam-packed with mountains of responsibilities. From reviewing accounting to adding-up expenses, this is the time of the year when your small business needs attention. Don’t worry; we bring you some planning tips below for easing the process — and are available for a complimentary consultation to help you with billing, marketing, credentialing, and even your practice sales!
It’s that time of year again! While many people focus on holiday celebrations and new year’s resolutions this time of year, small business owners also need to focus on year-end business planning. This includes both preparing for the new year, AND taking stock of the year past!
But because the end of the year is so hectic, it’s not always easy to keep up with all the end-of-year preparations you should be doing to wind down 2021 and plan for 2022.
These activities — taking stock, preparation, and planning — are key to running a successful business. After all, what is measured is improved. This review helps you realign goals and resources so you can take advantage of new opportunities.
That’s why we’ve prepared this year-end small business checklist. It’s a rundown of every major and minor task you need to take care of before 2022 becomes a reality.
Small Business Checklist: End of 2021
1. Prepare Your Key Financial Documents
Financial documents play a crucial role in your company. Reviewing your financial documents gives you three benefits.
First, it shows you whether you’re running a healthy business or if you need some belt-tightening going forward. Your documents should provide a guide to your company’s financial position and health, and should include details about your assets and liabilities, profit and expenses, and cash flow.
Second, if you do need some adjustment (more sales, say, or fewer expenses), financial documents show you where adjustments are needed and tell you how much you need to adjust. Third, if you’re in the market for funding, expansion, or mentorship, financial documents are often required to let interested parties see the financial records of your business.
The financial documents you need before year-end are:
The balance sheet report, showing all the assets, liabilities, and equity;
The income statement report, showing revenue, expenses, and profit; and
The cash flow statement report, showing opening and closing cash within a specific period, with inflow and outflow itemized.
Let’s get started. Don’t forget to see if your accounting software, accounting team, or CPA can put these together for you!
Prepare Your Year-End Balance Sheet
A balance sheet helps you determine if you’re in the black or the red. It does this by comparing everything the business owns against everything the business owes. The business owns things like physical inventory, property or equipment, trademarks, and invoices the business needs to collect. The business owes things like pension plan obligations or invoices they need to pay. By doing this comparison, you can determine whether you should be cutting back on your spending, or pushing your business to grow. And yes, the balance sheet should ALWAYS balance.
How to Prepare Your Year-End Income Statement
The income statement is important because it clearly shows you if you are earning more than you’re spending, or vice-versa. It compares the amount earned in a period of time versus the amount spent. Because of this, it is also called a profit and loss statement. It’s different from the balance sheet because it looks at business expenses and earnings across a period of time, instead of a single, frozen instance like the balance sheet. It also doesn’t take into account any external equity you, as the business owner, might have, such as stock. While the income statement of a large company might be longer than that of a sole proprietorship, the overall format of an income statement is uniform across business sizes. First, choose a period of time, either 2021 as a whole or just the last three months. Write down all your revenues and gains during that period on the top half of the page. On the bottom half, document all your expenses and losses. Subtract the latter from the former, and you’ll be able to see your net income during that time period.
How to Prepare Your Year-End Cash Flow Statement
Your cash flow statement should show how much cash you have at the beginning and end of a specific period, and where it all went. On a cash statement, you want to document three things:
Cash flow from operations, such as revenue and expenses. In other words, the money you earned or lost from doing business as usual.
Cash flow from investments, such as assets bought and assets sold. This can also include stock.
Cash flow from financial decisions, such as loans and their repayment.
Once you have an itemized list of all of the above, you should be able to clearly see up how much cash you have at end of this period. When compared to what you had at the beginning, you can see if you generated or lost money.
Putting Your Financial Reports Together
From these documents, you should calculate the following numbers:
Current Ratio – the current assets divided by your current liabilities. Ideally, your current ratio should be between 1.5 and 2. A current ratio of 1 means you may not have enough money to last the year, whereas a current ratio of more than 2 could mean you’re not investing enough money into your business or outside investments.
Debt Ratio – your total debt divided by your total assets. A “good” debt ratio depends largely on the industry, but anything below 0.3 is considered fair. Anything above 0.6 tends to make it difficult to bet additional loans.
Gross Profit Margin –  First, divide your profit (what you have leftover after paying your costs) by total revenue (the total money you brought in). This shows you what percentage of your income is actually profit!
Small business owners should keep these statements on a monthly or at least a quarterly basis. You want to know the state of your business consistently, so you can plan accordingly. If you want to expand, you need to know you can, for instance. If your business is starting to show red ink, you want to know as soon as possible.
However, especially if your business is a new startup, you may have put off either compiling the information or having it done. There’s no time like the present!
2. Get Your Tax Documents Together
While the end of the year may not be tax season, it’s a good idea to get Get your tax documents together as well. The financial reports you prepared in the previous step should help you fill out your small business return. However, you may need to fill out additional tax forms, which may include:
Form 1099-NEC and Form 1096
W-2 Forms and W-3 Forms
State and federal payroll returns annually (Form 940) or quarterly (Form 941)
You should also compile your income, both business and personal, if relevant. Gather all your deductions.
3. Assess Your 2021 Goals
If you had a specific 2021 goals list, pull it up and go over it. If you didn’t, write down what your unwritten goals were (and consider a written list for 2022). Review your goals systematically and assess them using the following questions:
Were your goals achieved? Why or why not?
If they were exceeded, why? How?
What are the next steps? (Do you want to use higher than anticipated revenue to expand, for example, or make debt payments?)
If they fell short, why? How?
What are the next steps? (Do you need to pull back on your product line, for example? Pare down your forecasts? Lower prices?)
4. Plan Employee Morale Events
Don’t forget your employees in your year-end planning. They’re an important ingredient in your business success. Not only that, but the year-end holiday season provides multiple opportunities to reward them for what they’ve done.
As a stellar business owner, you want to boost morale and company loyalty. Consider what your employees might value: A big holiday party? More time with their family over the holidays? (If so, can you swing extra days off for everybody?) Flexible time to shop? (Could you give flex hours so they avoid the huge crushes in stores?) Company time to conduct a drive for charity? Could that be used for your business’s benefit?
5. Plan Your Own Vacation
All too often, small business owners put off their own vacation until the year is totally over! Everybody needs some time to recharge and relax. Plan a vacation or think through your time off before the year is out.
Perform Practice Solutions can help you to optimize your day-to-day operations, from billing to marketing, including credentialing and patient eligibility verification. You don’t need to do everything on your own. Make the commitment to improve your clinic’s performance for real next year — and don’t look back. Visit our Facebook page or give us a call at (833) 764-0178.
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