5 Finance Management Tips for Small Businesses

While starting a business, revenue fluctuations are common and owners struggle to have a steady income. Rising manpower costs and spends on technology add to the burden of managing finance better. To ease up their life, small business owners can follow the below finance management tips that will help them to sail through initial finance-related challenges and even help them foresee them. Tapping into the latest technological solutions at the earliest will prove helpful and business owners should not ignore them.

1. Use Cloud Computing Solutions
 
Latest reports suggest that more and more small businesses are adopting for finance management solutions available on cloud due to the many free or low-cost options available and lower barriers to entry. The trend is fast catching on as spending on technology is proving to be far more affordable instead of hiring more people.

 
Managing bills and finances is a complicated task and can get stressful as well. Lots of companies are seeing the opportunity to help small business in this area. There are several accounting software available on cloud which help in not only sorting out the finances better but also help in taking effective business decisions.

  
2. Have Better Supply Chain Management
 
To efficiently manage supply chain, small business owners should ensure that there is tight supervision in the process and check that they rule out the possibilities of middle men who may add up to the extra costs. Efficient supply chain management would be more prevalent to B2C. Such businesses should reassess the supply chain process from time to time.

  
3. Be Ready for Risky Times
 
The global financial crisis in 2008 has taught businesses to be prepared for all possible type of risks. Hence, risk assessments should be an integral part of business and finance planning. Small businesses should be extremely careful while managing cash flow and ensure they have a risk strategy in place in case there is any turbulence in the business environment.

  
4. Go Paperless
 
One can be surprised with the amount of saving one can do by deciding to go paperless. Not only will it ensure cost reduction in the business but will also help you do your bit for the environment. Clients will love to partner with businesses which are more aware of the societal and environmental needs.

  
5. Latch on to BYOD Trend
 
It is unlikely that new businesses haven’t got bitten by the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) bug. Smart entrepreneurs are using and also promoting the use of gadgets like smartphones, tablets during work hours which helps them close on things faster. An AMI report states that spending on smartphones in India among SMBs increased steadily. According to AMI’s 2013 India SMB ICT & Cloud Services Tracker Overview, 55 per cent of small businesses and 43 per cent of medium-sized businesses currently have BYOD policies implemented. The report also states that SMBs enjoy several cost benefits with the implementation of such policies. These include cost savings on hardware, increased employee productivity as they are able to access their devices anytime anywhere.

About the author:

Nikhil Arora, Vice President and Managing Director, Intuit India