Whether you’ve recently launched a startup, or you have many years of experience behind you, running a successful business takes hard work, determination, and drive. For customers and clients to jump on board with your brand, it’s important that you deliver an efficient and productive operation.
If you’re a small business, staying in control of every aspect of your company is crucial, so here are five organizational tips that will save your business time and money.
Outline Objectives and Goals
If you’re about to launch a startup, outlining your objectives and goals from the beginning is essential. Unless you have something to work towards, it’s likely that you won’t be motivated and driven for success. Creating a business plan can help identify your objectives and goals, sales forecast, as well as the strategies to use to market and promote your brand.
A good business includes key information, such as your short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, cash flow projections, your target market, an overview of your suppliers, and how you plan to make a profit.
If you’ve never written a business plan before, you can download a template from various online sites. This will give you a useful starting point. Don’t forget also that if your embryonic business requires funding, the lender will ask to see a professional-looking business plan.
Choose the best Vehicle for Your Company
It’s very important that you set up your company in the right way. Whether you decide on an LLP or incorporate, take professional advice. The type of company you set up will determine how you organize the administration on a daily basis. Starting a business is no easy feat, so you may want to use a professional service like My Company Works to form your business. This ensures you have filed the correct paperwork – on time.
Keep Track of Customer Support
Without loyal customers, your business won’t be profitable. As the heart of your business, it’s important that you look after your customers and show that you value and appreciate them. To make sure that you are reaching them effectively, there are numerous tools that you can use such as Groove, which is designed to help businesses strengthen their relationships with customers. Keeping track of who your audience is, and what products or services they’re most interested in will give you time to come up with strategies to ensure your customers get the most out of your business.
If you receive negative feedback, online or offline, take appropriate steps to fix the issue. This is especially important when people complain via social media, as negativity can take on a life of its own, which isn’t great for your brand.
Plan Your Marketing Campaigns in Advance
Marketing campaigns can be time-consuming and costly if you’re not careful. Thanks to technology, gone are the days of having to fight for a newspaper spread or advert slot on the television. If you’re a small business that doesn’t have an endless pot of money, there are many marketing methods that you can adopt in your operation to reach out to consumers without worrying about the cost. What’s more, many marketing tactics are free to use, such as setting up a business page on Facebook. Most businesses have a social media presence, so it’s best to schedule your campaigns in advance, rather than wasting time publishing posts every couple of hours. This simple organization tactic will save you time and help improve your productivity and efficiency.
Manage Your Expense Records
No matter how long you’ve been running your business, you will know how irritating it can be to keep track of all your expense reports. Although they can be a hassle to manage, you need to keep them organized so you are up to date with taxes. Software like Expensify is designed to do all the hard work for you. Using tools to keep your expenses organized and recorded will mean you can focus on the areas of your business that really matter.
Your accountant will also thank you if you maintain accurate and well-organized records for your business. In addition, the less work an accountant has to do when it’s time to file your business taxes, the lower your invoice will be!
Go Paperless
We’re all aware of the seriousness of climate change, so if you’re looking to make your business greener, why not go paperless? If your business operates in an office environment, going paperless can be a great way to reduce clutter and management that is commonly associated with all the papers that you need to keep track of. Rather than having dozens of files and folders building up on your desk, opting to do everything online will save you time and money, and you’ll be doing your bit for the environment too.
There are lots of apps you can use to reduce the amount of paperwork you have to deal with. Look for accounting apps that let you scan receipts and upload documents directly to your accountant. This will save time, space, and a few headaches along the way.
Every second counts in the business world. Taking your foot off the gas for a split second can have devastating consequences for your company, so all the organizational tips listed above can help you regain control and stay in charge of your operation.
Have you got any more great tips you can recommend? Tell us more below.
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