How to manage your business finances

Running a business can be a big adventure and there are lots of different elements that you need to manage. As well as looking for new markets and customers to promote your products and service to, it is important that you look after your business finances. This not only means ensuring that you are getting the sales in, but it means forecasting the direction in which your business is headed. All of this can be time consuming, and it is one of the reasons that people look to use an Accountants Bath way such as https://chippendaleandclark.com/accountant-in-bath.

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There are a number of ways that you can ensure that you are managing your business finances in the right way.

Invoicing – if you run a service business you will need to think about ways in which you can issue invoices to your customers. In the past this would have been completed by sending paper invoices in the post and then waiting for the customer to pay their bill. Since the invention of accounting software like Xero and Quickbooks it is possible to send electronic invoices which not only makes this process much less labour intensive, but it also means that it is possible to receive the necessary income much quicker.

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Expenses – one aspect of business finances that can be difficult to manage is that of expenses. These can relate to mileage claims, fuel allowances or items that you need to buy for your business such as paper and stationery. It is important that if these are purchased out of a personal bank account, that you claim this money back from the business.

Forecasting – anyone can start a business but whether or not that business is successful will depend on a number of factors. In order to see how your business might be performing and to look at the future of your business finances, you can use forecasting and projections. It is often best to do this with the support of professional accountants as they will be able to give you a good indication of how your business is currently performing and what it might look like in the year and three years’ time. This can then help you to plan your income requirements and also to look at whether you might want to expand your business and seek funding in the future.