Archive for Business Finance
Analyze Your Product And Services Profitability
Posted by: | CommentsGiven the number of times we’ve had clients ask for help evaluating their product or service mix this past year, I figured it was time for a bit more of a technical discussion. So get that fresh cup of coffee and use this entry to begin to ponder how your products or services help — or hurt — your business.
Knowing the profitability of each individual product/service you provide can help you make decisions to improve your bottom line. You may want to discontinue products and services that aren’t particularly profitable while promoting the ones that improve your overall results.
One basic method of looking at profitability is called cost-volume-profit analysis (CVP). At its core CVP relies on the separation of fixed and variable costs to determine the break even point of a product (or service) and how much it contributes to profit after reaching this point. Read More→
Use financial ratios to review your Company’s results
Posted by: | CommentsFinancial ratios can be helpful tools in understanding your company’s financial health. They are a benchmark by which you can compare your business to industry standards and analyze changes over time.
In fact, benchmarking and comparing to your competition is so important to business success that I provide all my business clients with an annual report on the benchmarks and results for their particular industry or profession. Without this it can be like traveling back roads without a map. Read More→
Time IS Money So Get The Best Return On Your Investment
Posted by: | CommentsHave you ever reached the end of the day and wondered where all your time went? Playing catch-up to retrieve wasted time is what keeps many business owners welded to their business premises way outside of ‘normal’ business hours.
For many business owners a number of their customers, suppliers and employees are likely to be friends as well as business acquaintances. This overlap of private and business relationship can lead to requests for assistance or for special deals that can make serious inroads on their time. A lot of small business operators go slowly broke doing work for friends at discounted rates or for free. ‘Discounted rates’ translates as ‘at less than your market value’ and that means more hours you have to put in to make up for the lost profit. Read More→
Avoid Budget Blowouts
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A budget is an important management tool. Being a projection of your income against your expenses you can check it at any time to see how well or how poorly your business is doing. The value of a budget is in direct proportion to the accuracy of the figures you use to create it. Here are some precautions to take to keep your budget figures accurate. Read More→
Building Your Loan Package
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If you’re ready to ask your bank for a business loan — whether for a credit line or a term loan — before you make your request be sure you have your ducks in a row. This is your chance to demonstrate to your banker that you’re a sophisticated business person well worthy of the loan.
So, how can you help your loan process along? Make sure you have all the following documents and information ready to go. Read More→
