Accounting Blog - Page 16 of 17

24Mar2018

Growth vs Quality―How to Balance Expansion with Production Standards

When it comes to expanding your business, there are several risks involved, the biggest of which being sacrificing your production quality to serve your new (and larger!) clientele base. It can all become overwhelming rather quickly, and without careful planning, it can actually bring a company to its proverbial knees. That said, it’s not impossible to scale your business and continue to produce high quality products―in fact, it’s far from it! All that it requires is some select and careful planning from the top tiers of the company.

Make Sure You Want to Expand and You’ve Set Expansion Goals

While this may seem trivial, it is absolutely necessary that any business getting ready to grow their company makes sure that they are ready for it. With great power comes great responsibility. If you are not prepared to take on more responsibility, then expansion will not work. You must be mentally ready for the challenges that will arise. Once you have that out of the way, establishing goals is a must if you want to have a successful venture.

How fast you want to grow
Which markets you want to break into
What new products you’d like to produce
Where will expansion lead―franchise, incorporation, overseas ventures, etc.

All of these goals need to be set early, before expansion even begins so you have a direct line of sight to your end goal (or at least your next mile marker).

Know Your Company (Core Competence)

Again, perhaps this seems like an inconsequential step, but it makes a world of difference to understand your company from the inside out. You and your team must completely understand what it is that sets you apart from the rest of the competition before you can take on the competition. You must be able to identify without delay:

What makes you unique
Your brand
Your company culture and values
Your mission as a corporate entity
How you want your clientele to see you

Once you have established this, you must take it a step further―you must identify how your clients see you. If you have adhered to your mission statement and established a strong set of values within your corporate culture, then they will most likely see you the way you intended; however, this is not always the case and it is imperative to find out how you are viewed in the eyes of the public before expanding. If there is any discrepancy in how you view yourself and how your audience views you, then growth will be turbulent and may collapse.

Build Broad Management Skills for Upper Management

Growth and expansion is full of unknown variables. This means that it is imperative to have a team behind you that can not only keep stability within the company but be prepared to handle the unexpected when it arises. By building a strong skill set of complimentary and broad management practices, you’ll be able to maintain firm policy during your expansion while having the leverage to overcome any obstacles that arise.

Establish Protocols and Processes That Are REPEATABLE

This is an incredibly important step―while management must be ready to take on changes head-first, your support staff must have stability in order to maintain the quality of production required during the expansion. Therefore, it is imperative to establish a standardized and repeatable process for each of your departments and your staff members to follow and keep the company grounded. Any and all changes to standardized processes must be slow to implement and must be with good reason―superfluous or unnecessary changes can slow down production and affect the quality and efficiency of production.

Understand the New Markets You Are Breaking Into

When it comes to breaking into new markets while expanding, it is of the utmost importance to learn about them backwards and forwards. Without this knowledge, you will not know how to properly market your products to them. Make sure in any new market you can answer the following questions:

Who makes up my targeted market?
What is/are the biggest benefit(s) I can bring to this market?
How diversified is this market?
How does this market perceive my company?
Which other companies are in this market? Which of my competitors are in it?
Is this a growing market or not?

In making sure to answer all of these questions, you can gauge what your production process will look like down the line and what your marketing strategy will be so you can more accurately estimate your potential profit margins.

Finally, Make Sure You Are Financially Informed―Hire an Accountant That Can Help You Plan for Growth!

Last but not least, remember that in order to grow, you must be financially viable and you much have the resources to do it. With an experienced accountant, you can receive detailed reports about your company’s financial standing and growth capabilities. This is essential in planning for any upgrades to buildings, staff, equipment, and marketing, as well as for understanding where you cannot make immediate changes. Once you have the financial plans all underway and an experienced accountant to offer advice and guidance throughout, you will be absolutely ready to expand without sacrificing the quality of your products and services.

Have more questions about how you can expand your business and cope with the finances that follow expansion? Call Beaton Accounting today and we’d be happy to help! 631-921-6894.

If you have other topics or questions you’d like to discuss, you can also email us at info@beatonaccounting.com

9Mar2018

Yes, that costs money! Here’s some ways to reduce your small business overhead.

When it comes to running your business, the hardest thing to do is to lower your overhead costs. These expenses can easily stack up and seem impossible to lower, but here are a few tips for getting them down to manageable levels.

Reduce Your Energy Bills

Energy costs account for a good portion of your company’s overhead costs, especially in businesses reliant upon machinery for production. By improving the building’s energy efficiency (e.g. new roofs, energy efficient doors and windows, LED lights, etc.) you can greatly lower your energy bills and start saving on your monthly overhead.

Lower Your Rent

If you have the ability to maintain your manufacturing/production quota in a more affordable facility, it would be in your best interest to switch buildings. Shaving off a few hundred (or even a thousand) a month will lead to significant yearly savings and opens up your budget for emergency expenditures or expansions!

Keep a Close Eye on Your Company Vehicle Mileage

If your business relies on vehicles to carry out any sort of operations, it is incredibly important to keep a close eye on how the vehicles are being utilized and the amount of mileage/fuel being used on a weekly basis. Since vehicles are depreciating assets, a good chunk of your overhead will have to be put toward fuel, maintenance and vehicle replacement. Monitoring your fuel consumption and mileage can save you in both immediate and future costs.

Examine Your Employee Salaries and Benefits

Obviously, looking to reduce your employee salaries/benefits expenditures is a tricky business, but there are ways to do it. First, see if there are ways you can add to your employees’ responsibilities without overloading them and reducing the quality of their work. This can aid in your operations, without requiring the addition of other employees to the team. Second, see where you can hire part-time employees who will not be eligible for benefits. Finally, find creative ways to reduce the cost of benefits without reducing the actual benefits. Example could be providing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), high deductible plans, voluntary benefits and switching carriers.

And the Best Solution of All…Hire an Accountant to Monitor Your Expenditures!

At the end of the day, the best way to reduce your overhead expenditures is to hire an accountant who can examine your records and conclude where costs could be cut. A thorough investigation into your bills, payroll and financial practices can give you the information you need to make immediate changes to your spending habits. A skilled accountant can also prep your taxes in a way that maximizes your deductions and return.

Reducing your overhead just takes a little imagination and a good handle on your business requirements/employee needs.

Need more ideas on how to reduce your overhead and make your business flourish? Call us at Beaton Accounting today―we’re always happy to help! 631-921-6894

Have a question or topic you wish we’d discuss? Leave a comment or email us at info@beatonaccounting.com

16Jun2016

4 traits of EVERY successful business

A successful business has attentive customer service.
If you don’t know it by now, I’m going to tell you: if you don’t have happy customers, you won’t be in business for very long. No matter if you sell hospital equipment or design houses, your customers should come first, period. You should employ full-time staff whose job is exclusively to listen to the customer and make them feel important—as if they are your only customer. Do this and your business will thrive.
A successful business markets their business consistently.
Repetition is the key to successful marketing. How will people know you exist if you don’t tell them? You cannot expect the customers to just find you. Business isn’t magic; you have to market. With many consumers researching products online, it’s a good idea to spend a lot of your time marketing to them online. You don’t have to spend thousands, or even hire a full-time marketing team. You just need to study your business and what has been successful for others, and then repeat this until the cows come home.
A successful business doesn’t find employees; it finds talent.
We could spend an entire week on this point alone. Any company can just hire people. But only the best companies have a system in place to find the right people. Make sure you have a process that finds competent, capable, committed employees that will fit in with your company’s culture and character. Trust us, it will pay off in the end when you’re not replacing people during busy season.
A successful business maintains an upbeat company culture.
Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos, wrote a best-selling novel entitled Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose in which he credited his multi-million dollar company’s success to one thing: positive company culture. You want employees to like working at your company. After all, who wants to give 100% to somewhere they dread going? Put a smile on their faces, foster a positive culture, establish guidelines for what happens when negativity pervades.

So there you have it, folks. Four qualities that successful businesses have in common. Even if you feel that your company has lost its way, you can still implement a plan for future success by following these guidelines. If you dream of topping your industry, it’s imperative that you follow the successful actions of other companies.
Want more tips? There’s always advice to be had at Beaton Accounting. Our experts are here, ready to answer your questions at a moment’s notice.
For a FREE tax consultation, call today! (631) 921-6894.

Have a question or certain topic you’d like to see addressed in our next blog post?
Just leave a comment, or e-mail us at info@beatonaccounting.com.

16May2016

How to embrace the digital age with gusto!

The digital age is quickly transforming the face of business. Businesses that fail to keep up with the times are falling prey to digital disruption, losing volume and profits.

Avoid Digital Disruption.

Nowadays, the educated consumer will do a great deal of research before purchasing goods or services. In order to avoid digital disruption, it’s important to invest the money, time and effort to making sure you have good content that potential customers can access. Stay ahead of the curve and you’ll show consumers that you care enough to meet their expectations—and that you’re savvy enough to keep up with the times.

Connect to Your Customers.

A website is great, sure, but you have to do so much more in today’s business world. Customers want to be able to get a hold of you, ask questions, compare prices, do business—from their mobile devices.

Instead of fighting change, you need to better understand how your customers are using mobile devices and social networks. Follow them digitally and you’ll be able to build better relationships and attract more business in the long run!

Continue Adapting—It Takes Time.

In order to stay competitive, you have to evolve with technology. Keep someone on staff whose job it is to constantly brush up on new tech and engage with customers via social media. Develop an app (if applicable) to make it easier for customers and employees to interact with you. Digital tools like this can open portals through which you can bring in clients you never would have sold before! If it’s bringing you money, why not?!

Want more tips? There’s always advice to be had at Beaton Accounting. Our experts are here, ready to answer your questions at a moment’s notice. For a FREE tax consultation, call today! (631) 921-6894.

Have a question or certain topic you’d like to see addressed in our next blog post?

Just leave a comment, or e-mail us at info@beatonaccounting.com.

15Apr2016

What you need to know about enrolling with a new payroll service!

So you’re starting a new payroll service. That can seem daunting at first. You may be asking yourself if it will work out and how to organize your payroll documents. Bottom line, you need to be prepared.

If you’ve never run payroll before, enrollment with your new service will be easier because you won’t need to provide any history.

Each payroll service is different, but there are certain basic laws that each state follows (like EIN numbers) that will help you enroll. Payroll doesn’t have to be challenging to set up.

If you are a new business:

If you are a new business, you must first register with the IRS to get your Federal Identification Number (EIN). It’s free and automatic. Visit www.irs.gov. For existing businesses, move to step 2.
New businesses must register with your state for income tax and employment insurance. (AK, FL, NH, NV, SD, TN, TX, WA and WY do not have income tax.) Existing businesses must find their number and the state’s unemployment rate from a letter, notice or previous tax filing.
Have an account number and routing number ready from your company bank.
If you have employees, you’ll need the following information:
a. Personal information: name, address, Social Security number and email
b. Pay information: birth date, hire date, status type, pay amount and deductions
c. Marital status and allowances from W4 form
d. Direct deposit information (if applicable)

Want more tips?

There’s always advice to be had at Beaton Accounting. Our experts are here, ready to answer your questions at a moment’s notice. For a FREE tax consultation, call today! (631) 921-6894.

Have a question or certain topic you’d like to see addressed in our next blog post?
Just leave a comment, or e-mail us at info@beatonaccounting.com.

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