The average business owner needs an additional four hours in their working day to complete their admin, according to recent research by OnePoll.

If your people are spending 20 hours per week wading through tedious and unproductive admin, that’s bad for the business and for your efficiency. Fortunately, technology and software automation can go a long way towards automating these low-level admin tasks.

Better productivity through automation

Automation is an important way to ease your business workload, with a host of different business apps and cloud solutions offering ways to automate your admin.

With ‘smart business tools’ increasing in number and choice, software is utilizing automation algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cognitive solutions to help remove the mundane admin tasks from your workflows.

Core processes that will benefit from automation include:

• • • Automated bookkeeping – Simply take a photo of your receipts, expenses and invoices and ‘optical character recognition’ (OCR) technology will digitize the output and pull it through to your accounts software. No data entry, no human error and no lost receipts! We can do the rest to ensure your records are accurate.
    • Automated credit control – chasing up debts and late-paying customers takes time. Automated credit control apps track your debtor numbers and automatically sends out customized chaser emails as soon as an invoice is late. This reduces your credit control time, speeds up cash collection and cuts your aged debtor figure.
    • Automated payment collection – the easier it is to pay you, the faster your customers will pay. Automated card payments and cloud-based Direct Debit solutions allow you to automatically take payment from a customer as soon as an invoice is due. Some solutions will even automate the invoice matching and bank reconciliation process.
    • Automated reporting and forecasting – the better your reporting and business intelligence, the easier it is to make informed decisions about your company strategy. Accounting platforms and fintech tools now offer automatic, real-time reporting and forecasting, giving you access to the important numbers and metrics, fast.
    • Automated digital marketing – digital marketing is key to raising your brand’s profile. Marketing platforms offer important time-saving ways to create, schedule and post social media content, or email automations to send a pre-programmed cadence of emails to specific target audiences within your wider customer base.

Talk to us about embracing the power of automation

If your admin is holding you back, come and talk to us about how automation can pick up some of the heavy lifting as well as giving you the metrics you need for decision making. We can review your business processes and identify the automation opportunities, helping you choose the best apps to drive your business efficiently.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

Facebook Business is an excellent platform to raise the profile of your business, build up a customer following, sell your goods and market your brand to your selected audience.

Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world and, it’s about more than sharing pictures of your latest family barbecue. Facebook Business provides you with all the tools you might need to run and market your business online.

For many smaller, micro or freelance business owners, it’s the ideal way to start marketing your company in the online space and reach your target audience.

Key reason to get proactive with Facebook Business

For business owners who are just starting out, a Facebook Business page may be all you need to get your venture off the ground. And for established businesses, Facebook’s huge reach and level of engagement makes it perfect for communicating with your customers and driving prospects to your new content, product pages or news stories.

Setting up a Facebook Business page is free, and will get you set up with the basics. But there are additional features that you’ll need to pay for – so it’s worth factoring these social media costs into your monthly marketing and social media budget.

These are the key ways to get up and running with Facebook:

• • • Create your Facebook Business page – creating a page for your business gives you a company hub on the Facebook platform. You can describe your business, upload your logo and company branding and include all the relevant address details, contact links and opening times that customers will be interested in. This is also where you post your updates, content, videos and new stories. If you’re looking to get started with online promotion, this could be your first step into marketing your business.
    • Post regular fun, interesting and engaging content – posting frequent content is critical for success when using social media. So, try to post something on Facebook at least a couple of times a week, or daily if you have the time available to commit to your social strategy. Post about your latest offers, share videos of your events or case studies, run competitions or include links to your latest blogs and news updates. The key here is to post regular varied content, and to keep your followers engaged and interested. Try to leave the corporate-speak and ‘professional persona’ behind and make your Facebook page a fun place for customers and prospects to visit.
    • Boost your posts and extend your reach – once you have a decent following on Facebook, you can reach a large number of people through organic posting and everyday updates. If you want to extend the reach of your marketing, you have the option to ‘Boost a post’ and promote the content to a wider audience. This is a paid service, but it can be a worthwhile way to target your content to both a larger global audience, or to target a very specific niche audience. It can be tempting to boost every post, but be strategic about the messages you want to promote.
    • Use Facebooks Ads – Facebook Ads will help you to get truly granular with your advertising. This is a cost to factor into your marketing, but it will help to widen the scope of your Facebook presence. Create custom advert copy, add call-to-action buttons, include images/video and target your ad to a very precise target audience. You can filter by age, location, gender, interests, occupation or even by income bracket, making it very easy to hone in on exactly the demographic who will be most engaged by your products and/or services.
    • Set up Facebook Shops – selling online has become the norm in recent times. Facebook Shops allow you to make your own online shop. You can also set up an eCommerce function, through a provider like Shopify, to allow you to take online payments and send out purchased items to customers. With very little set-up time, you can start to generate whole new revenue streams from your online shop, increasing awareness of the brand and boosting your sales and income.
    • Go live with Facebook Live – one way to connect with your followers is to run a Facebook Live session, where you stream live video and audio directly from your page. This could be used to run a product demo, to report from your latest event or to give a face-to-face update on your latest plans for the business. Streaming live is an excellent way for your followers to get to know you and your business – and people buy from people, so becoming a more human presence is a brilliant way to humanize your brand.
    • Be smart and review your Insight analytics – one of the most important parts of any digital and social media marketing is to understand your return on investment (ROI). Facebook’s Insights section shows you analytics covering most elements of the page and your audience engagement, allowing you to see where content and campaigns are working, or where there’s room for improvement. By tracking these metrics, you can go a long way towards improving and evolving your social media marketing strategy.

Start exploring the benefits of Facebook Business

Getting started with social media marketing may seem daunting. But a Facebook Business page can be a straightforward and simple introduction to the benefits of social media.

Start by creating your business page and then gradually explore the options to post, boost and advertise your marketing content. Over time, you’ll build up a growing following of customers and prospects, giving you an online hub from which to run and grow your business.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

As a business owner, it’s never been more important to have a good grasp on your finances.

For many businesses, priorities have changed, customer behaviors have mutated and revenue streams have had to evolve and pivot in order to maintain a profitable business model.

To track, monitor and drive your financial performance in this updated business environment, it’s increasingly important to have a handle on your key financial reports and metrics.

Getting to grips with your financial reports

Whereas in the past, extra cash in the business may have been seen as a surplus that needed to be spent on something, recent years have shown us that having reserves is vitally important for the survival and long-term health of your business.

To truly be in control of this cash, it’s vital that you can dip into your accounts, financial reports and dashboards and ‘see the genuine story’ behind your financial position.

Here are the key reports to focus on:

• • • Budget – your budget is the financial plan that’s tied to your strategic plan. In essence, the budget is your approximation of the money it will take to attain your key strategic goals, and the revenue (income) and profits you hope to make during this period. It’s a benchmark you can use to measure your actuals (historic numbers) against, allowing you to see the variances, gaps and missed targets over a given period.
    • Cashflow Statement – a cashflow statement shows the flow of money into and out of your business. Understanding these cash inflows and outflows in detail allows you to manage this ongoing process, allowing you to aim for a ‘positive cashflow position’ – where inflows outweigh outflows. In this ideal positive scenario, you have enough liquid cash in the business to cover your costs, fund your operations and generate a profit.
    • Cashflow Forecast – forecasting allows you to take your historic cash numbers and project them forward in time. As such, you can see where the cashflow holes may appear weeks, or even months, in advance – and that gives you time to take action, whether it’s increasing your income stream, reducing your underlying costs, chasing up unpaid invoices (aged debt) or going to lenders for additional funding.
    • Balance Sheet – the balance sheet shows you the company’s assets, liabilities and equity at a given point in time. In a nutshell, it’s a snapshot of what the business owns (your assets), what you owe to other people (your liabilities) and what money and profits you currently have invested in the company (your equity). The balance sheet is useful for seeing what stock and equipment the business owns, how much debt (liabilities) you’ve worked up and what the company is actually worth – all incredibly useful information to have at your fingertips when making big business decisions.
    • Profit & Loss – your profit and loss report (P&L) gives you an overview of the company’s revenues, costs and expenses over a given historic period of time. While the balance sheet is a snapshot, your P&L is more like a moving video. It shows you how your finances are progressing by demonstrating how revenue is coming in and costs/expenses are going out (rather than cash coming in and going out, as you see in your cashflow statement and cashflow forecasts).

Talk to us about accounting and financial reporting for your business

We’ll run you through the key reports in your accounting software, and can help you track performance, take action and position your company for growth.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

The purpose of a business is to make money, and that means you need to know the difference between profit and cash flow.

Net profit is what you have left after you deduct all your business expenses from all your revenue. You can improve net profit only by changing the things that affect revenue and expenses.

For example, if:

• • • You renegotiate with your suppliers, you may get stock cheaper, or carry less inventory
    • Your staff engage with customers better, you can learn more about what they do and don’t like – and get more business
    • You can roster staff differently, you may be able to run your business more efficiently.

Cash flow comes from various sources. However, it also covers operating expenses, taxes, equipment purchases, repayments, distribution, and so on.

Note that a profitable business does not always have good cash flow. And a business with good cash flow is not always profitable. For example, you can have good cash flow, and loss-making expenses.

To work out how fast you can grow your business, look at your projected cash flow. We can advise you on this.

Keeping cash crowned as King

Your business can’t survive without cash.

The following six takeaways are essential for business success:

1. Protect your cash position, by knowing what it is. Build a cash flow statement and always keep it up-to-date. If you foresee a shortfall, start at once to fix it.
2. Create a cash buffer as an insurance against unexpected difficulties.
3. Protect your cash position against revenue shocks, by maintaining a balance equivalent to at least two months of operating expenses.
4. Be realistic with revenue expectations. Take action now if it looks like sales are not going to get you to breakeven.
5. Credit checking up front will reduce the risk of customer non-payment. Make sure you follow up with clear payment terms agreed in writing. Communicate regularly with customers and automate where possible.
6. Every dollar you spend reduces cash reserves. The best way to protect your cash is to create a budget for the spend you know you need, and stick to it.

Looking to improve cash flow? Make a time to talk to us. We’re here to help.

The following content was originally published by Tradefy. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

For your business to make money, you need to generate revenue.

You produce revenue through your usual business activity, by making sales, getting your invoices paid, or taking cash from paying customers. So, the better you are at selling your products/services and bringing money into the business, the higher your revenue levels will be.

But what actually drives these revenue levels? And how do you get in control of these drivers?

Knowing where your cash is coming from is more crucial than ever

As a trading company, you face the multiple challenges of a global recession, changed consumer buying and higher inflation, all this impacts trading, markets and buying expectations. The better you can understand the nature of your revenue and its drivers, the more you can flex, manage and control your ability to generate this income.

This helps your medium to long-term strategic thinking, and your decision-making, allowing you to be confident that you’re focusing on the business areas that deliver maximum revenue.

Import areas to consider will include:

• • • Revenue channels – where does your revenue actually come from? Do you create income from online sales and ecommerce, through retail sales in bricks and mortar stores, or through wholesales to other businesses? You may focus on just one of these channels, or it could be that you use a mixture of two, three or more.
    • Revenue streams – your total revenue will be made up of a number of different ‘streams’ So, you might be a coffee shop, whose revenue streams include coffee sales, cake and pastry sales and lunch sales. Knowing which revenue streams you rely on, which are most productive and what return they are delivering allows you to make decisions. If 80% of your income comes from 20% of your products, perhaps you need to tighten up your product range and ditch some of the poor sellers. If you’re selling more services to one particular industry, perhaps you should focus more marketing in this specific niche, or downscale your sales activity in less profitable niches.
    • Product/service split – Do you know which products/services are the most profitable in the business? Which products/services have been resilient to market changes (giving you some revenue stability) and which have adapted well to change? The more you can dive into your metrics and find the most productive and adaptable products and services, the greater your ability is to provide constant and evolving revenue for the business.
    • Value vs volume – Is your revenue based on selling a high volume of products/services at low margin, or low volume at a high margin? Based on this, can you move your margin down to create a more attractive price point (and more value for customers)? Or are their ways to push volume up, shifting more units and boosting total revenue? By diversifying into new channels, new streams or new products/services you can aim to balance value and volume to create brand new sales – and higher revenue levels.

Talk to us about exploring your revenue drivers

If you want to boost revenue and increase your overall profitability, come and talk to us. We’ll review the numbers in your business, help you to understand your revenue drivers and will give you proactive advice on enhancing your total revenue as a company.

Get in touch to kickstart your revenue generation.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

Word of mouth is an extremely effective form of marketing and online reviews super-charge their already powerful effect.

Research shows that reviews have a very important role to play in customers’ purchasing decisions. According to Brightlocal 91% of people aged 18-34 trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 93% of consumers admit that online reviews helped influence their decisions.

Here’s your guide to scoring five-star reviews every day.

1. How to get reviews

The best way to get reviews is to simply ask. Most customers who enjoyed a positive experience won’t proactively submit a review — you’ll have to request one. Just be polite about it.

If customers are vocally happy with your work, you can ask them to leave a review right there on the job. You’ll find that people might be more willing to get a one-minute task out of the way when you’re with them, rather than complete a review days (or even weeks) later. Just make sure to follow up if a customer says they will, but nothing shows up.

Here are some other things to be mindful of when asking for reviews:

Do:

• • • Add links to your review profiles on your website, so people can find them easily.
    • Make requesting customer reviews part of your normal business processes when closing off a job.
    • Mention your review platforms on business cards and flyers.
    • Follow up on jobs with emails requesting reviews (add links here too).
    • Offer customers a choice, by signing up to different review platforms.

Don’t:

• • • Hassle customers too hard for reviews. If they don’t want to offer feedback, leave it at that. Don’t ask more than twice.
    • Write fake reviews or pay third parties to leave positive reviews. Fake reviews are often easy to spot and you don’t need it coming back to bite you.
    • Source too many reviews all at once. This could trigger some review site spam filters and lead to reviews being deleted.

2. How to handle bad reviews

Misunderstandings happen, but there’s no way around it — now and then bad reviews will come your way. Rather than get all hot under the collar, take it as an opportunity to improve your service. If the feedback is constructive, make some changes, respond to the review, thank them, and let them know what you’ve done to resolve the situation.

If the review feels wholly unfair, still respond (in a controlled manner) and contact the customer offline to hear more about why they’re upset. Handled well, bad reviews can show that you’re transparent and responsive to customers. Fronting up and trying to make things right can build more trust than never making a mistake in the first place.

Monitor your reviews

Customers have come to expect responses to their online reviews. This is where services like Google Alerts can help. Sign up and you’ll be notified every time your trades business is mentioned online. This will help you stay on top of the chatter and proactively manage your online reputation.

3. Online reviews and SEO

Online reviews have been shown to heavily impact purchasing decisions, but you need lots of them to make an impact. A handful of four or five-star reviews might not cut it. Focus on getting ratings and reviews from every job you do. Eventually, your customer review count will hit the hundreds mark, showing customers that you’re popular, reliable and consistent.

Reviews are an effective way to improve your SEO by associating your trade business with popular search keywords and phrases. For example, reviews that include who you are and what you do, e.g. ‘Plumber in Sydney’ and ‘Fixed my blocked toilet in London’, will increase your online credibility and raise your local ranking. That means more eyeballs, more clicks on your website — and more jobs.

4. Review platforms

As tradespeople offer local services, it pays to focus on localised sites. Here are our top picks for highly effective review sites for trade businesses, backed with local relevance.

Google My Business (GMB)
Creating a Google My Business listing is the best way to reach potential customers in your immediate vicinity. It helps Google users in your local area find and contact you through Google Search or Google Maps. The listing gives your customers additional insights too, like what your busiest time of day is, as well as review ratings.

• • • Add as much information as you can, especially:
    • Business name & logo
    • Physical address
    • Phone number
    • Business type
    • Hours of operation
    • Website link
    • Photos

Facebook

Facebook is an ‘all-in-one’ resource for finding customers. When set up correctly, it can be used as an alternative to a website where people can message you directly and book appointments. The extra cool thing about Facebook is that when users leave a positive review, their friends will probably see it — exposing your trade business to a new network of potential customers.

Learn how to use Facebook for your trade business.

Online small business directories
Online small business directories can work wonders for your trade business. Customers who use them are actively looking for someone to hire. They generally categorize by trade and location, so to win business in your local area, you need to demonstrate why you’re the best. Use your reviews to do this.

• • Online directories for trade businesses in the USA.
  • Online directories for trade businesses in the UK.
  • Online directories for trade businesses in Australia.
  • Online directories for trade businesses in New Zealand.

Yelp
Yelp is another popular internet search and review service. ‘Yelpers’ rate their experiences on a five-star scale and are offered the option of leaving text-based feedback. Profiles are free to set up, and you can respond to any review you receive. When you set up a profile, be sure to request a “Find Us On Yelp” or “People Love Us On Yelp” sticker to stick on your car or van.

5. Streamline reviews with software

Getting customers to write reviews without asking isn’t easy, but with a little encouragement, they’re all too happy to shout out about your services. Cue modern software like AskNicely. Simply sign up to the service and AskNicely will automatically send basic review emails to your customers once jobs are complete.

If the feedback is above average, it’ll automatically prompt them to complete a customer review on a review platform of their choice. For low scores, the software follows up with a complaint mitigation email designed to find out where the experience went wrong. If you’re on a budget, Delighted offers almost the same service, at a cheaper price point.

6. Managing your online presence

Whenever you receive a great review, go through your list of online platforms and consider where it could help to generate brand awareness or enhance your online credibility. Take an excerpt from the review and add it as a testimonial to your website or share the quote as a social media post on Facebook or Instagram.

In the same way that Google loves fresh web content, customers respond far better to recent reviews. If your last review was over 12 months ago, people may trust you less.

7. Reviews pay back in spades

Online review ecosystems are immensely important. They’re one of many online marketing tools you can use to build a successful, long-standing trade business. Establishing a glowing online presence doesn’t happen overnight, but with a little time, commitment and proactivity, you can turn your customer reviews into key sources of leads to help you win more work.

For more tips and tricks on how you can create a stand-out online presence and get more work for your trade business, download our Marketing Plan for Tradespeople.

The following content was originally published by Tradify. We have updated some of this article for our readers.