The current series of blogs has been focused on your business strategy or plan for the coming year. Marketing is one key element and so is your budget.
Your budget has specific elements that should be considered as it’s developed. These elements are relevant whether it’s a new business or one that has been in existence for many years.
The tools you need will depend on you. Some business owners like spread sheets developed on the computer, others might be more comfortable with paper and pen. You might create one of your own design, specific to your needs or you might use accounting software or a template.
The goal is to examine where you have been, where you are now and project where you expect to end the year.
The timeframe should span the year for your annual plan, but you should divide the plan into comfortable and meaningful segments for your plan to be useful to you. (You can also create budgets that span five years.) You might be comfortable with monthly analysis, or you might prefer quarterly analysis. You business and your temperament will dictate which you choose.
The mainstay of your budget will contain fixed assets, revenue and expenses.
You should also create a cash flow document. This is going to show your income for the period you determine works best for you. Again, monthly tracking is is usually manageable and will give you a very good idea of your monthly income if you are a solo entrepreneur and gives you your profits if you are a business. Of course, you can choose other increments of time, such as weekly or every two weeks.
Your financial numbers may not always look the way that you expect or want. On the other hand, they may be just what you want, but without collecting financial information, you will never know what to expect.
Don’t try to work through your financials alone. Enlist the aid of key employees. If you have an accountant on staff or as a consultant, access his or her skills.
At Exceptional, we can help you with your business solutions. Developing your budget may be the least of what you want to do, but it should be at the top of the priority list of what you must do to be successful and profitable.
Until later….
Be Exceptional!
Audrey, CEO/Founder
Exceptional Business Solutions, Inc. 