There are many companies that have zero-reliance on paper, yet for many of the small business owners I meet, it would seem unimaginable to operate daily without paper. If you are looking to make a small change that will make a big difference to your business in 2020, my advice is to ditch paper and …
For many small business owners dealing with an accountant can seem an expensive task, useful only for getting the accounts finalised and helping with tax compliance. However, while a bad accountant could cost you much needed money, a good one could save your business cash in ways you may not have considered. Rather than focusing …
Five questions all small business owners should ask their accountant Read More »
There are many business owners who are great at product development and sales, but struggle to keep up with the daily demands of business management. If you’re finding it difficult to allocate time to basic but essential tasks such as bookkeeping, it’s worthwhile considering outsourcing the job. At Ozlop we regularly meet business owners who …
4 effective bookkeeping habits to adopt in 2020: Regular contact with your business plan (plan for big expenses such as tax, rent and people Process receipts and keep records (easier than ever with apps) Regular invoice chasing and processing Regular oversight of books Too often at Ozlop we meet with entrepreneurs who have turned their …
Effective Bookkeeping Habits For Small Business Owners Read More »
When you want to boost your business’ profitability without taking on more customers, the best thing you can do is look at where efficiencies can be made in your day to day operations. Not all businesses aspire to be the biggest and boldest in market. In fact, many of the business owners I meet think …
Tactics To Boost Profitability Of A Small Business Read More »
It is not uncommon for me to meet new business owners who are tempted to take a major contract because it will get their business off with a bang. Tempting though this might be, my advice is to be cautious about ‘big money’ contracts, they may end up costing you more than you think. Let …
When A Small Business Should Say No To A Large Contract Read More »
With doom and gloom predictions in the press daily, you may be starting to feel a little concerned about what 2020 has in store for your small business. We don’t know what impact Brexit or a Christmas general election will have on the small end of the business community. What we do know, however, is …
Why Uncertainty Is No Reason For A Small Business To Panic Read More »
This week I want to talk about one of the most common bookkeeping mistakes we come across at Ozlop and how to tackle it: confusing statement of accounts with invoicing. The challenge is that some people wrongly believe that an ‘invoice’ and a ‘statement of account’ are the same thing, when the reality is that …
Why Confusing Invoices Can Mean Trouble For Your Business Read More »
It is not unusual for me to meet with small business owners who, having ignored their books for several months, come to Ozlop for help with getting them into shape. Yet time and again, we meet the same business owners who feel that having outsourced bookkeeping, the job is done. This is a fundamental mistake …
Outsourcing Your Bookkeeping Is No Reason To Ignore Your Business Finances Read More »
There are many reasons why businesses have quiet periods, especially if its market is cyclical by its nature. But if you are concerned that a quiet spell is turning into a chronic problem then you may need to make some changes to revive its fortunes. Many business owners come to Ozlop when things are quiet …
You run a small business, things are going well and now you want to make some big investments, perhaps a costly new piece of equipment to provide a new service or a bigger van. But the big question is “will you get a good return” from spending this extra money, and how much extra income …
When Is The Right Time To Spend On Your Small Business? Read More »
Overspending can be disastrous for your business: after all, there’s no point in splashing out thousands on a fancy marketing material if you don’t have enough to pay the tax man.
All too often at Ozlop we meet small business owners who put their new ventures at risk simply because they fail to measure its success against a carefully considered business plan.
With the advent of Making Tax Digital and ever-improving cloud bookkeeping software, there is an increase in regular bookkeeping requirements at small businesses. But this gives smaller accountancy firms a dilemma…
Rent and people are the biggest costs facing most small businesses, so savings here are likely to have the biggest impact on your profitability.
It doesn’t matter how much money your business is owed by customers or how profitable it is – if you don’t have enough cash in the bank your business is in danger.
If you have sleepless nights because you worry that your customers are not paying you quickly, then you need to make some changes.
Cash is a lifeline for any small business. So waiting 30 days to be paid is a challenge, but 60 or longer can be crippling.
Just because you run a small business, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use the latest technology to manage it efficiently.
Rather than being a burden, Making Tax Digital is a blessing because it will get you up to speed with modern working techniques and force you to embrace the digital era.