If you are in the process of or are thinking about starting up a new business one of the most important things to consider is your financial plan and cashflow. This covers a massive part of your business planning and affects everything from how much money you can send on marketing to how many special offers and deals you can offer your customers. And yet many entrepreneurs have little or no background in cash handling, financial planning or business planning, so just how do you get started?
Outgoings
Consider what you will have to spend money on first. Doing this means you will then know how much money you need to make to first break even and then run a decent profit margin. Make a clear list of all of your outgoings with estimated or actual costs if you have them.
Thinks to think about include. Do you need to pay for a website domain, adverts in local press, printing of leaflets and so on for marketing purposes? DO you need to buy in stock or products? Have you got a shop or office that needs furnishing? What is the rent and business rates on your business property? Are there any transport costs such as a company car?
Income
Next consider where your income is coming from and how you are going to handle it. Are there ways to reduce any fees or charges that you might incur from banks or other retailers?
Things to think about include: How are you planning take payment for your goods and/or services? Might cash, card, cheque, online, face to face or telephone payments suit you best? Are you going to offer account services to repeat customers and if so how will that affect your cash flow? Where are you going to pay money into? How are you going to save for the future of your business?
Consider your business bank account, is it the best for your way of trading? For example, some banks offer special rates if most of your transactions are electronic or charge large fees for cheque payments. Make sure you are on a plan that suits your needs. Card Cutters offer a range of payment plans for your customers without the high merchant service charges traditionally charged by banks. This is a great way to cut the cost of money coming into your business whilst still delivering the service expected by your customers.