The Do's and Don'ts of Managing Business Finances
| Posted in Bank Blogs
Running a business is never dull. There's always something to do – whether it's serving your customers, managing your employees, or troubleshooting technology. And that doesn't even take into account one of the biggest responsibilities and most important tasks for business owners – managing your finances.
To help simplify your financial duties, we’ve put together a list of these financial Do’s and Don’ts.
DO:
- Keep your business and personal income separate.
- Set and track a monthly budget.
- Monitor your monthly expenses.
- Stay on top of your cash flow using online and mobile banking.
- Set account alerts to help you monitor transaction activity and uncover fraud.
- Pay your bills on time.
- Invoice on time and work your receivables.
- Make saving money a monthly priority.
- Create cash reserves to help pay for unexpected expenses.
- Ensure you have a credit line or savings to manage seasonal cash flow.
- Use credit wisely.
- Know tax deadlines and set aside funds to help with tax payments.
- Capitalize on tax-saving opportunities, such as retirement plans.
- Maintain a good credit score.
- Put idle funds to work for you.
- Invest profits back into your business.
- Set financial goals for each year.
- Run financial statements periodically.
- Hire a professional accountant.
DON'T:
- Ignore your cash flow.
- Forget to pay yourself.
- Mix personal and business expenses.
- Ignore your accounts receivables.
- Borrow unnecessarily.
- Incur high-interest credit card debt.
- Pay suppliers late.
- Miss tax deadlines or not plan for taxes.
- Overspend on inventory.
Bottom line, doing the right things with your finances will pay off today – and for years to come.