Starting a new business is a challenging proposition. As the leader of a business, your responsibilities include creating a financial plan. Just as your vision for a product or service requires deep consideration and a delivery plan to sell to consumers, your business needs a financial plan to sustain all of its activities.
Everything from the cost of employing workers to production and supply expenses should be tracked, measured, and routinely evaluated. With a financial plan in place, you can better guide your business to success in the short and long term. What are some of the key factors that make a financial plan for your business so important?
Long-range View Prospective
Whether you've just launched a new business or have had your doors open for a few years, it is too easy to become hyper focused on the short-term crises or issues that your company faces. However, focusing too closely on the short term results in little to no time being devoted to the long-term success of your business. A financial plan is, by nature, a tool for looking into the future. A financial plan allows you to better see the expenditures the company will need to make to remain on track toward reliable growth, and help you stay ahead of the competition.
Prioritize Spending
Early success in your business can blind you to the impacts of foolish spending. If your business hits the ground running and revenue streams are strong early on, it is easy to lose sight of what is and is not important to spend money on. A financial plan will help you conserve financial resources by identifying the most important programs to spend the company's revenue on. Money should be spent on improving productivity, efficiency, and market penetration, rather than smaller programs and initiatives that can be postponed.
Measure Growth
Sometimes, as a business owner, you are too close to the company to notice growth. You spend so much time guiding the business forward, working long hours to sustain growth, and cannot accurately see the growth as it occurs. A financial plan allows you to measure the growth of the company by identifying revenue growth from month to month and tracking cash balances over time.
Spot Trends
The ability to spot a trend is critical in the modern business world. If you spot a trend and adjust your business to take advantage before the competition, you can increase your market share and boost revenue. A financial plan allows you to set quantifiable goals for the company that tracks the success or failure of trend spotting. For example, you can determine whether a decision to increase advertising expenditures targeting a new consumer market resulted in the revenue boost you expected.
Tax Planning
Most importantly, a financial plan allows you to adequately plan for taxes at the end of the fiscal year. Many of the steps mentioned above lead to this critical factor. When you more accurately track your spending, cash flow, and revenue, you'll be better prepared to file your company's taxes at the end of each year.
Before your get your business up-and-running, take the time to put together a financial plan to help you track the fiscal movements of your company. In addition to the benefits discussed here, you'll find it much easier to secure loans for and investments in your business if you can provide verifiable financial information about your company. Let the skilled advisors at Manhattan Ridge help you with all your business financial planning needs.