We’ve heard it all before: my business is only small, and I know exactly what’s going on, so I don’t need to worry about monthly reporting.
Is that right? You might think you know exactly what’s happening, but when it comes down to it, the only way to truly understand what’s going on with your sales, suppliers and cash flow is by monitoring it regularly.
Is that right? You might think you know exactly what’s happening, but when it comes down to it, the only way to truly understand what’s going on with your sales, suppliers and cash flow is by monitoring it regularly.
Why monthly reporting is essential
By looking at your financial picture monthly, you’re giving yourself the best chance of spotting ‘blips’ and responding quickly.
Without them, would you really know if sales were slipping, a customer was reducing their order because of an issue with your service, a supplier raised its prices, or one of your employees had developed sticky fingers?
Without monthly reporting, you’re effectively running your business in the dark and inviting trouble to your door.
Reasoned business decisions can only be made when you have timely and accurate data about your company’s financial standing.
Spotting the ‘blips’
Consider this scenario – one of your suppliers has increased its prices. Because you don’t have monthly reports it took you a few months to realise, by which point the damage to your bottom line has already been done.
With monthly reporting, you would have seen that one month’s profits had decreased even though sales had stayed the same. After a bit of investigation, you would have seen the hike in prices by your supplier and acted quickly.
In other words, monthly reporting is your early warning system.
Spotting trends
Monthly management reports will also help you if your business has a seasonal element to it. The insights they bring will help you understand your customers’ behaviour, so you can anticipate how demand will change throughout the year.
You can scale up and down as required, making sure your business is constantly firing on all cylinders no matter what comes your way.
I don’t have time to do monthly reporting
No one said YOU had to.
Putting together monthly management reports takes time and a fair amount of skill.
Working with a professional bookkeeper, you can get on with running your business while they compile the management reports for you.
Doing so will make your life a lot easier – no more guessing about overheads, sales, or costs.
You might think you’re doing OK, but you can’t make informed business decisions without insight into your liquidity and profitability.
Timewise VA works with small- to medium-size businesses to make their working day that little bit easier. Call the team on 0161 211 9837.