16 Jan
7 Tips To Boost Your Startup
Strategic Tips to Boost your Startup
Starting a business is hard work and while business plans, product development and marketing are crucial, neglecting accounting needs can be fatal. Launching a startup requires a solid infrastructure which includes plans for marketing, operations and most importantly; accounting. If you aren’t a number cruncher, this can be a difficult task. Our startup accountants went hard at work and devised these strategic tips which will help you boost your startup.
A lot of startups fail because they do not pay adequate attention to their financial and cost models. It is important to know the status of your capital, where your money was spent and what changes need to be made. Basic accounting knowledge can help startup owners run their business more effectively. These strategic accounting tips can help you cover your accounting base and before moving to the next step.
1. Create Separate Bank Accounts
You have launched your business, congratulations! The next step is to create a bank account to record your financial transactions. Having a separate business checking account will be less stressful in terms of keeping records distinct, organizing funds and planning for taxes. It will make recording business transactions easier for founders. To avoid combining your personal and business assets, create separate accounts for withdrawals and deposits. Before opening your bank account, do your research, look at different banks and compare their fee structures.
2. Establish Financial Goals
Establishing S.M.A.R.T financial goals around your business model is a crucial business activity. Building financial milestones can allow you to stay on track and make the necessary increments for constant growth. Achieving little goals along the way can give you the confidence to hit a larger milestone. Some common financial goals for startups can centre around Profitability, Cash Flow and Profit Margins. Financial goals can help you effectively monitor business growth checkpoints in your business journey.
3. Track And Monitor Expenses
Most startup founders make a common mistake of not having a ledger for their financial activities. They do not record every expense from the beginning and are too focused on customer acquisition. A good bookkeeping specialist and software can help you effectively record your financial transactions. Not tracking your expenses can be an extremely costly mistake from a tax and cash flow perspective and turn away future investors. Write everything down!
4. Hire Experts
“Time is money and expert accountants will save you time, money and possibly your sanity”
Startups function in high-frequency environments and can often skip crucial business steps along the way. Accounting and financial experts can help to develop performance evaluations and do business health checks to keep the company on track. Having experts can make the entrepreneurial duty less stressful, and help founders focus on key business decisions. An Accountant in London can provide you with a financial map to take final decisions and prepare your company for accelerated growth. Delegation can also help your company cut bleeding cost margins that stunt growth.
5. Automate Manual Tasks
In the operational journey of a startup, there are always manual tasks that can be automated. It is true that certain functions must be handled manually, but to ensure consistency, time-saving and increased efficiency automate whatever you can. Services such as IFTTT are available online that can help businesses achieve their automation goals. For accounting purposes, a solid software infrastructure will save money and prevent costly manual errors. For managing staff, specialist SAAS tools can add immense value, our friends at hubstaff have created a guide to show you how this tool can integrate with your cloud accounting software to improve productivity and therefore business performance.
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6. Research Tax Law
Nothing sinks a startup’s budget faster than a big tax bill. Every process of your business from an operating structure to tax deductions should be kept in focus while preparing tax returns and cash flows. Having knowledge about tax implications for your business allows you to make choices about spending and allocating liquid capital. An important step can be to call a tax and legal consultant helpline to take advice on your business.
7. Create Budgeting And Forecasting Scenarios
Sustainable budgets require realistic estimations of revenue and expenses that might incur in the future. Some expenses like payroll and leasing fees remain static other like merchandising change over time. Startup costs are variable, but as the expenses grow founders should be prepared for future scenarios. Anything can happen during a business lifecycle, therefore it is best to create sustainable budgets and financial forecasts. Forecasting helps business owners keep reserves for future expenses. These expenses can be both personal and related to the business.
Clear House Accountants are Startup Accountants in London. We understand starting a business can be overwhelming, but keeping it on track is as crucial as the starting line. Smart business planning and intelligent accounting solutions can help your business achieve rapid success. Every task inside an organization is related to other tasks and has an impact on the overall success of a startup. Use these strategic tips to boost your startup to build further processes to improve performance and increase productivity.
Author Bio
Jibran Qureshi FCCA is the Managing Director of Clear House Accountants, and has over 10 years of experience in practice and across multiple industries. Jibran’s educational background includes a Master’s in Financial Strategy from Oxford University and an Executive MBA from Hult International Business School. His experience in Financial Strategy, Tax Planning, Operational Consultancy and Performance Reporting guide his cognizant approach to leading Clear House and its clients to the future. It was this dexterity that led him to be Enterprise Nation’s Top 50 Advisors.
Jibran is fueled by his passion for helping businesses. He unequivocally believes that as business advisors and accountants for our clients, it is our responsibility to work with them as business partners. As specialists, it is our duty to help our clients navigate through the complexities of constant change and the implications that come with it.
Over the past decade, innovative disruptions have changed the way businesses work, everything from cloud software, innovative business models, to AI and machine learning, have impacted how businesses operate, grow, and expand.
Jibran recognized the need to manage these disruptions sustainably, early on and shaped Clear House Accountants to not just be compliance specialists, but advisors who help build complex ecosystems around cloud accounting software, provide advice on funding support, help manage innovative tax schemes, set up and implement complex strategic plans, and much more. So, his clients can thrive, not just survive.
Jibran developed his prime role as the Managing Director to build Clear House’s capabilities so it can add value for their clients. He is of firm belief that this can be done through consistent high-level training, building the right tools, and creating roadmaps to help businesses cope with prospective disruptions. He envisages that every client that comes on board, is provided maximum value through onboarding, ongoing services and the right mix of tools to help them become the best in the world.