Managing costs

The money that leaves a business, whether in the form of wages, suppliers? bills, general overheads or the interest on loans, can be as vital to its success (or survival) as the money that comes in from customers. Managing costs effectively should, therefore, play a central role in business financial planning.

Outsourcing delivers a range of solutions

Most business owner-managers find that they spend only a small percentage of their time on important strategic planning. A great deal of their effort is spent on the day-to-day running of the business - the 'housekeeping' side of things.

Reduce your utility costs

Utilities can account for a sizeable chunk of your firm's costs, but you might find that you can make considerable savings in this area.

Dealing with employee absence

Over two million people are reported to suffer from an illness which they believe was caused by or made worse by their current or past work. 35 million working days are lost every year (1.5 days per worker), 28 million due to work-related ill health and seven million due to workplace injury.

Protect your business when your customers go under

What would you do if one of your major customers went under, owing you a substantial sum? Would you be able to recover the outstanding debt - or reclaim goods they had not paid for? Unfortunately, experience suggests that if...

Improving productivity

Improving productivity is an objective for many businesses. We thought that we might offer an accountant's view of how to address enhancing company output.

Reduce your wage bill

The EU Working Time Directive, gives UK employees the right to refuse to work more than an average 48-hour week, and to have at least four weeks paid holiday a year.

Credit and tough economic times

With the credit crunch and the financial crisis providing the backdrop for recession there are now great concerns for the economy. Research shows that small businesses are now more in debt now than at any time since the late 1990's.

Buy, HP, or lease?

The decision to buy, hire purchase, or lease an asset will generally depend on the financing available to your business.

Can you cut your interest payments?

If you have a business loan, a commercial mortgage, or a permanent overdraft facility with your bank, the chances are that you may be paying more than you need to in interest.

Improve your debt collections

Do you find that despite your best efforts to charge customers up front and to plan for the worst, bad debts still cause major problems for your business?

How to protect your business when your customers go under

What would you do if one of your major customers went under, owing you a substantial sum? Would you be able to recover the outstanding debt - or reclaim goods they had not paid for?

Managing business budgets and finances

Introducing the discipline that finance management brings means a business is much better placed to organise and plan its development.

Cashflow forecasting

Even during the best of economic times, cashflow can be critical for many smaller businesses.

How to go about choosing reliable suppliers

The vast majority of businesses have suppliers - other businesses that supply them with goods and services.

Setting out the right payment terms

It's an unfortunate fact of business life, but not every invoice gets paid on time. For many smaller businesses this can be more than an inconvenience; it can be harmful to cashflow as well.