As you know, running a small business requires you to wear multiple hats. Many small business owners do not have the time to be on top of their finances as much as they should.
And it’s easy to understand why. There’s a lot to handle from making sure you’re deducting your expenses correctly, taking care of payroll, to ensuring your accounting is organized for tax season.
But here are some important resolutions you should make this New Year if you want a significant improvement in your wallet.
I Resolve to Take Control of My Business Cash Flow
Your cash flow controls the flow of your business, so delays can quickly halt the progress of your business.
If you’re dealing with cash flow problems due to the way you are accepting payments, you may have to come up with an alternative that works with your customers or clients.
If you’re spending too much on inventory at once and can’t come up with a decent budget for marketing, it’s a good idea to try to restock twice rather than all at once.
The point here is that you need to manage your cash flow to ensure that your business runs smoothly and isn’t at risk of taking a financial hit. Cash flow will be vital for paying your employees on time, having a budget for marketing, and paying for inventory, so even the slightest of delays can hurt your business.
I Resolve to Make the Best of My Inventory
If your business is based on physical goods, then it’s time to take a serious look at your inventory this year. You want to really go through your inventory to see which products are costing you money, which products to order less of on the next run, and which products you need to order more of.
Evaluating inventory has always been one of the best ways for small businesses to save money, but it is also a good way to spot opportunities.
For example, a product that you didn’t think much of may be popular with customers or a product that’s not seeing much volume might have a high profit margin and may be worth marketing to customers.
I Resolve to See My Business Tax Professional Early
Working with a tax professional that specializes in business tax can translate into a significant amount of savings for your business.
You’ll be able to get information on what you can deduct, avoid tax violations that can get you into trouble, prevent your business from being audited, and learn various ways to save even more money.
But it’s very important that you consult with a business tax professional far earlier than when your taxes are due. This will give you the time to run your numbers back to back for accuracy, better organize your tax records, and ensure that all your deductions are accounted for.
Those are just some of the finance resolutions you should make for your small business this New Year. It sounds simple enough, but each of the three on the list does require a respectable amount of your time.
So rather than trying to spread yourself thin trying to put all three into place, start with one until you feel that you’ve gotten that aspect of your small business finances in order.
Once you see some success, you’ll quickly gain the motivation to put the other two financial resolutions into action.
Photo: 401(K) 2012 / CC 2.0