Healthy businesses have financial clarity. So getting your numbers sorted out from the get go is wise housekeeping for your business. Recently, Micro Business Forum brought together three experts across the financial spectrum to share their experience and knowledge about how business owners can empower themselves by sorting out their finances.
Read about it on Brilliant-Online blog:
And rest assured, it's not as intimidating as it seems. The first step is simply to find a supportive space where others have been and are on a similar journey to you and can offer guidance. Watch this friendly conversation led by our three panel speakers and you'll find yourself a lot more intrigued and keen to make a difference to your finances.
Panel Speakers:
Judith Jackson is a Registered BAS Agent and Bookkeeper at Bean Guru supporting small business owners and accountants on essential parts of running a successful business. Judith ensures the books are up to date and accurate and help you understand your financial reports.
Dean Cohen has been running Persuasion since 1991 with 100 active clients that he recovers money for. Persuasion uses many tools to collect money from sending letters, emails & SMS to proceeding with legal action if needed. They also use a Debt Recovery program called DebtCol to manage all our debt collection needs.
Alyson Ogilvie-Lee is an Accountant & Business Strategist, specialising in business restructuring and insolvency, helping in excess of 200 companies in Australia, New Zealand, USA & Germany since 1994. In July 2021 Alyson joined three partners and relocated to Cor Cordis to focus on the recovery of Australia post pandemic, guiding small to medium businesses.
Moderator: Edgard Lopez
Disclaimer:
This presentation is intended to provide general information only and is not financial and tax advice. It should not be relied upon as financial and tax advice or as a substitute for financial/tax/legal advice.You should consult with a qualified Taxation Lawyer or Accountant. MBF uses this platform to provide small business owners with guidance and information only.
Top Six Challenges of a Small Business Owner
The panel speakers shared about the most pertinent challenges small business owners face. Do you resonante with these six challenges?
Access to funding
Debt collection and repayment
Inconsistent cash flow
Emergency expenditures
Reporting
Top tips to prepare for your tax returns
Watch the panel discussion here:
Access to funding (Go to 05:40)
There are many opportunities and alternatives of income available to business owners. It is true that we spend money in order to make money. The key is how we get the funding and how we are spending it.
Do we cut expenses or do we invest to grow or do we redistribute money?
So why is it good to sometimes take up a loan or look for investors?
How can we take advantage of grants from the government?
What other sources of funding are available?
Debt collection and repayment (Go to 11:57)
We don’t want to be in debt nor do we want to have customers owing us money which affects our cash flow.
What is an acceptable debt level?
Should we give credit?
What are some of the strategies to collect payments?
Should businesses charge interest for late payment? How much?
How much does a debt collector charge for debt collection?
What if we need to sue a debtor?
Do you write off bad debts and implications to tax?
Inconsistent cash flow (Go to 43:33)
How do we ensure good cash flow? Here are some strategies to consider:
Prepare and maintain a cash flow forecast
Establish clear payment terms
Invoice right away
Offer periodic payment packages
Make payment easy for your clients
Minimise your debtor days
Focus on cash flow, not profits
Look at the big picture
Outsource CFO services
Emergency expenditures (Go to 47:46)
Surprises may happen despite careful planning e.g. repairs (due to floods, fire, accidents etc). What can businesses do to reduce the negative impact of such events?
How much should we buffer and why?
How about insurance?
Reporting (Go to 52:47)
Organize, organize, organize! It's important to get your books in order.
How can reporting prevent financial loss or give headlights to where the business is going?
What can we do to have effective reporting?
How often should we look at these reports?
Top tips to prepare for your tax returns (Go to 1:09:17)
The panel experts explains what we need to know about personal, company and super.
What are the things to think about when preparing your tax return?
What can we write off or expense out?
Tax payment - instalments?
Which of these tips are you going to start implementing first in your business?
About Micro Business Forum
The Micro Business Forum or MBF supports small business owners like you. We are a professional and the friendliest business network in town. We pride ourselves on providing education, networking and support to both start-ups and established micro and small business owners so that they can learn, grow and succeed in their businesses.