Small business finance tips for success

Keep business and personal finances separate

If you have your own business, it can be easy to fall into the trap of mixing personal and business finances. As a general rule, they should be kept completely separate, otherwise dealing with taxes and liabilities can become difficult. A separate business bank account helps simplify your accounting and tax reporting, and some banks offer small business accounts free of charge.

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Set a budget and keep to it

Make time to plan your business budget and ensure you stick to it. If you understand how much money is coming in and going out of the business, you can see how successful you are and identify areas that need attention. There are lots of ways to manage expenses and make sure you’re using your business money wisely, like the tips on offer here:

Optimise cash flow

One of the main reasons that small businesses fail is cash flow. If you have to pay out money before your customers pay their bills, you risk negative cash flow and needing expensive credit, which eats into your profit. Like many things in business, managing cash flow is a skill that a business coach, like those at randall-payne.co.uk/services/business-advisory/business-coaching can help you navigate.

Manage debt

Borrowing money is inevitable in most business settings but it is crucial that your debts are manageable. If you think that you have too much debt or you are struggling with payments, it makes sense to consider consolidating loans and looking at other ways to reduce your debts. In Gloucestershire, you can find Cheltenham business coach services that will work with you to understand different options for managing your business debt.

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Make use of technology

Financial management and planning tools for small businesses have become highly sophisticated and relatively low-cost. You might be surprised how much difference it can make to your efficiency and productivity to use programmes that are designed specifically with small businesses in mind.

Protect personal assets

Make sure that you understand and take steps to mitigate the potential impact of a business failure on your personal assets.