The new year has arrived and along with personal goals and ambitions, you likely also have a few New Year's resolutions for your business as well.
If you’re already on the way towards making those a reality, you’re ahead of the curve. If you’re still brainstorming about how to make your business even better in 2019, we’ve found a few to give you some ideas (plus some tips on how to make them happen).
1. Get organised
This one might be more of a general resolution - who doesn’t want things to be just a little more organised? Whether it’s your flat or your business, being organised can have positive effects on productivity and peace of mind.
It can seem overwhelming, especially if you tend to hold on to things instead of doing a yearly spring-clean. But improving organisation can have an impact on stress levels and productivity, even improving your ability to meet deadlines.
There are numerous apps out there that help you to organise and manage certain parts of your business, from product design to customer relationships, to accounting. The right accounting software makes it easy for you to keep track of incoming and outgoing payments, generate financial reports, and maintain an overview of your accounts - without needing a finance background.
2. Stay on top of accounting
By using software created for freelancers, small businesses, and sole traders, you won’t need to do the extra work (or pay a professional for it) that comes with managing the accounting for your business.
It is usually a good idea to work with an accountant, and using software can significantly reduce the time, risk of error, and stress involved when it comes time to file tax. By keeping your records up-to-date and accurate, it reduces the time you or an accountant spends on checking your report.
Depending on the type of software you’re working with, good ones will offer a feature that gives your accountant access only to the data that they need to get the job done - without needing full access to your account or faxing/mailing of documents.
3. Get paid faster
Like the first resolution, we’d be hard-pressed to find someone running a business who wouldn’t want to see payments arriving faster than they have in the past. Small businesses tend to see payments for products or services much later than larger businesses.
But what can be done to help you get paid faster, consistently? While you can’t hand-hold customers until they pay, you can make it as fast and easy as possible for them to pay.
The first way to do this (and something you should be doing already) is to provide your bank account details on every invoice you create. This ensures that each customer you invoice has all the information they need to transfer you the money due.
However, there are also online options with the right accounting & invoicing software. Some invoice software will provide the option to connect an online payment option to be included with each invoice you send - meaning your customer can pay online instantly, the moment they receive your invoice.
We’ve seen that by connecting an online payment option such as SumUp or PayPal, can result in businesses getting paid up to 10 days faster.
Bonus - work from anywhere
Another one you could consider adding to your business resolutions for 2019 is to be more flexible in where and when you can work (not that you should work anywhere and everywhere, but having the option can mean improved sales and a more professional image).
How do you do it? With mobile apps. These days, there is an app for everything. But if you find app versions of the software mentioned above, you’re making it easier to run your business even while out and about. Good software will offer both an iOS and Android version, as well as offline capabilities.
