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Proving Your Ongoing Business Viability Though 5 Financial Reports

Whether you’re applying for government subsidies, taking out a business loan or seeking investor support, you need to be able to demonstrate your ongoing viability as a business.

To prove this viability, it’s important to have the right financial information at your fingertips. This information is also just as important for your own internal planning and decision-making.

So, where do you start and what are the reports that you’ll need?

Prove You Are A Business With a Future

The numbers that prove you’re a business with a future

Any lender or government body wants to know that your business has a future.

As the owner, you may believe in the destiny of your company, but you also need the numbers to reinforce this argument. Banks, lenders and investors are taking a risk in backing you. Because of this, they want to know that you’re capable of making the agreed repayments, and that the business is in a financial position to deliver profits and payouts for investors.

Before investing in your business, organisations will want to see:

- Evidence of a healthy sales pipeline and sales revenue
- Manageable debt that’s not eating into your capital
- A positive cashflow position that covers your main costs
- Forecasts that show stability or growth in your revenues
- A meaningful business strategy for the next two to five years of growth

The data you need to plan your future

You can’t run a business on a wing and a prayer. With so many different ways to track and record your business data, there’s no excuse for not being up to speed with your performance, your targets and your forecasted sales, cashflow, debt and profits.

This information isn’t just useful when approaching investors and lenders. It’s also vital for your own strategic thinking, your business planning and your internal decision-making

Crucial management information to know will include:

Your targets and budgets for the upcoming period
Your sales and financial performance against these targets
Your basic financial position and health
Your forecasts for future sales, cashflow and end profits

The 5 key reports that define your company’s growth

Today’s cloud accounting software makes it a breeze to produce detailed and informative financial statements. These are the main statements and reports to focus on:

- Business plan – your business plan is a written document that outlines the company’s goals, strategies and financial projections for future success. It’s your route map for the business journey that lies ahead, and a crucial document when approaching investors.
- Sales reports and forecasts – sales reports give a historic summary of your past sales data, so you can track how you’re performing. Sales forecasts project this data forward in time to show future sales trends and potential sales growth you may achieve.
- Revenue forecasts – a revenue forecast is a projection of your expected income or revenue for a specific period. Being able to track and forecast your revenue position is vital information when carrying out financial planning and decision-making.
- Cashflow forecast – a cashflow forecast is an estimate of your expected inflows and outflows of cash over a specific period. By forecasting these cash inflows/outflows you can aim to keep the business in a ‘positive cashflow position (more cash coming in than cash going out).
- Financial statements – the main financial statements to keep your eye on will be your:
  - Cashflow statement – shows your current cashflow position, so you can make the most informed decisions about spending and cost management.
  - Balance sheet – shows your present assets, liabilities, and equity. It’s a snapshot that reflects the company’s financial position at a specific point in time
  - Profit and loss statement (P&L) – a breakdown of the income coming into the business, and the expenditure going out. Crucial for managing your profitability.
  - Aged debts – categorises and analyses your outstanding customer invoices, based on when they should have been paid. Keeping on top of this helps to speed up payment and improve your cashflow position.

Talk to us about proving your business viability

Having the data and evidence to prove you’re a viable and stable enterprise is crucial. It’s these numbers that will help you plan your growth and access the investment you need to scale.

We’ll help you create a detailed business plan, revise your strategy and produce all the financial and non-financial statements you’ll need to make informed business decisions.

As your adviser, we’re in the best possible position to provide your management information.

Get in touch to talk about your financial reporting.

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

Getting in Control of Your Inventory – Unlock Efficiency and Cashflow

As a manufacturing or product-based business, efficient stock management is a big part of running a smooth operation.

But the way we manage stock and inventory has changed radically in the past decade, in no small part due to the evolution of inventory technology.

With cloud-based inventory management systems now available for even the smallest business, and direct integration with your accounting and finance systems, there’s no excuse for not being in control of your inventory and stock purchasing.

But with the ups and downs of the global supply chain in 2023, what can you do to get more from your stock, your inventory systems and the capital locked up in these stock assets?

How do you set up four financial systems to put yourself back in the drivers seat?

New ways to enhance your inventory management

With today’s inventory management solutions, it’s never been so easy to have complete oversight of your stock levels, popular products and restocking information. Data is king and the more information you have at your fingertips, the easier your stock management will be.

Let’s take a look at some important ways to get more from your inventory management:

- Use the latest inventory management systems – when you use cloud-based inventory management software you get the benefits of real-time tracking, accurate forecasting and seamless inventory control. This gives your operational efficiency a boost, reduces errors and optimises your stock levels, all of which can make your business more efficient, productive and profitable.
- Integrate your inventory app with your finance and business platforms – by integrating inventory management tools with your finance and business platforms, you streamline your workflows, automate key processes and synchronise your stock data. With all this info at your fingertips, you can make better business decisions, cut down the time-consuming manual tasks and enhance the performance of the business.
- Keep your stock management lean and agile – embracing lean stock management means only producing or ordering in the stock you actually need. This helps you to optimise your inventory levels, reduce carrying costs, minimise wastage, avoid stockouts and align supply with genuine customer demand. This cuts unnecessary waste and spending and makes your stock operations far more effective and profitable as a result.
- Sell off your surplus stock to free up cash – if you have stock sitting idle, why not sell this dead stock at a discount to turn these assets into cash? Your inventory management software can quickly identify surplus stock, allowing you to run targeted sales strategies such as discounts, marketing campaigns or customer events to liquidate excess stock. This is a fast way to generate additional revenue and boost your current cashflow.
- Reevaluate how big your warehouse capabilities need to be – could you move to a smaller warehouse facility to save cash and be more effective? The data you get from your inventory management software gives you deep insights into your stock movement. This gives you the evidence you need to decide whether downsizing could reduce overhead costs, enhance your operational efficiency and improve profitability.

Talk to us about getting in control of your inventory

Being the master of your inventory and stock management is an incredibly valuable skill for any product-based business. If you want to get in complete control of your inventory, switching to a modern cloud-based inventory management solution is an investment you won’t regret.

We’ll advise you on the best inventory software tools and how they integrate with your accounting and business platforms. We’ll also share the best tips on how to improve your operational efficiency, stock management and overall revenue generation.

Get in touch to upgrade your inventory tools.

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