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On average, small business owners spend 10 hours each week recording, organizing, and processing financial transactions – everything from accounts receivable and payable, to employee payments, expense receipts and supplier invoices. While the process may be time-consuming (and tedious!), effective bookkeeping is the foundation of sound financial management – which in turn, is the lifeblood of your business. Feeling overwhelmed by mountains of paperwork and complex calculations? Here are three…  Read more

Recession  The pains caused by a recession can be excruciating, which is why most of us dread the thought of it. A recession can mean massive layoffs, jobs becoming harder to find, and wages frozen, which means consumers hunker down and spend less– often worsening the economic slowdown unknowingly. For most businesses, especially small businesses, recessions can be brutal. Just take for example, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) that struck…  Read more

In my spare time I like to dream up projects that I will work on. One of those projects has now been on my list for 18 months….and that was to create a podcast. So introducing the “Becoming Financially Fit” podcast. OK, so the podcast is not live yet. It doesn’t even have a website (but it is a work in progress) and I haven’t recorded any episodes (that is…  Read more

End of financial year is a great time to start using accounting software, either for the first time or perhaps upskilling to ensure your current software is kicking goals for you. Maybe you need to upgrade your excel worksheet or shoebox of receipts to something a bit more robust.  Perhaps you are still highlighting items from your bank statements and getting sick of spending hours on historical transactions. Getting organised…  Read more

Email marketing is one of the best ways to develop a relationship with your customers. Yep – even us nerdy accountants can use email marketing. But let’s not confuse email marketing with spam.  Nobody wants spam. The key to maintaining high open rates with your email campaigns is to craft catchy subject lines for every email you send out to your customers. You need to get their attention, and amongst…  Read more

Running a small business is hard work. Entrepreneurs know they have to put in long days and give up personal time in pursuit of success. There’s a line, however, between putting in some extra time and becoming addicted to work, and it’s important to know the difference between them. Being addicted to work—sometimes referred to as being a “workaholic”—can have serious negative consequences for your personal life and your health.…  Read more

These days, you can use technology to take care of almost any issue facing your business. If you have a task you don’t like to do, there’s an app or software program to take care of it for you. It might take a few moments of your time to learn and understand how the software or app works, but doing so will save you valuable time and precious energy. It…  Read more

Looking into affordable video chat and voice calling options for your small business? These four popular, user-friendly alternatives to Skype will help you connect seamlessly with staff, colleagues, and customers. Read on for a breakdown of each app’s features to decide on the best fit for you. WhatsApp With more than 1 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp is currently the most popular multi-media messaging app for mobile in existence – and…  Read more

Businesses of all sizes are under constant threat from cyber criminals and malicious software, with even some of the world’s largest and apparently impenetrable organizations making headlines in recent years after falling victims to cyberattacks.   Although the risk is generally lower for smaller companies, since they don’t tend to be primary targets for hackers, it is still essential to take every precaution to make sure that you, your employees…  Read more

It’s natural for small business owners to think that they won’t be victims of cyber attacks. Most of the news surrounding hacking and data breaches involves large corporations, but that is because that’s where a high number of victims are affected. Hackers may find they have an easier time going after small businesses and start-ups that aren’t prepared for a Cyber security breach. So while they might get less information…  Read more

As a small business owner, you’re likely concerned about every penny you spend. That’s a good thing, because you need to keep track of your income and expenses. It also means, however, that you might be less likely to hire people who can help your business. People like bookkeepers, who are great investments for any small business. So what does a bookkeepers do? Bookkeepers take care of the daily financial…  Read more

As a business owner, we often get asked by clients “what does my profit mean?”, “am I doing ok?” and most often “am I a success?”. Now whilst profit is one measure of success, looking at that number alone is dangerous.It could mean that you sail along in your comfort zone, not knowing how, when or if your business is actually successful in the first place.     Now we…  Read more

There are some things in life that go together well and others that definitely do not. Business and personal finances  are in the category of items that should not be mixed.       Although it may seem like a headache to keep them separate—who wants to manage all those bank accounts?—your life will be greatly simplified once you separate your personal and your business finances, especially your expenses. Paperwork…  Read more

For small business owners, business conferences can be both a blessing and a curse. They give you the opportunity to develop new skills and learn strategies.  And they also provide you with the chance to meet new people and expand your business network. Unfortunately, they also pull you away from your business and they cost money.  So it’s important that you understand the return on investment for any business conference…  Read more

Business owners fall into two categories: those who love business travel and those who hate it. I am kind of in the hate it pile most of the time. The love/hate dynamic may depend on how much you travel for work or whether you fly in economy like me, but even if you love business travel there are stressful aspects to being away from your comfort zone. Although we can’t…  Read more

The Christmas holiday season is once again here, and with it comes time to relax, focus on family and friends and take stock in what is really important in life. Unless you are a small business owner! Every small business owner knows that being away from the office can be just as stressful as being in it. Phone calls from employees dealing with a minor crisis will pull your focus…  Read more

Management habits of a business owner can be incredibly effective if everyone works in cohesion, but there is always a flip side. The problem is that many employees won’t tell their manager what any weaknesses are, often out of fear of retaliation. So while managers conduct employee performance reviews pointing out areas for staff improvement, when do the management habits get reviewed? And who is reviewing them? There are a…  Read more

Small business owners already have a difficult and time-consuming job running their business. If their business is open five days a week, they usually need the weekend to catch up on paperwork, pay bills and manage any tasks they didn’t get to during the week. For those with a seven-day-a-week business, there’s even less time off – in fact often work life balance does not exist (although I think it…  Read more

PayPal is the world leading online payment service. You can transfer money to and from your bank account, pay for goods, and even receive payments worldwide. It’s a useful tool for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and even for personal use.   However, it does have its drawbacks. PayPal takes a significant chunk of money when it comes to converting and billing international payments. You could end up losing about 5% of your…  Read more

Small business owners know how important it is to save money and be frugal. They know that one day that dollar could come in handy, especially during slower times. Saving money is definitely important, but there are also things small business owners can, and should, spend their money on today. It might seem counterproductive to spend money when you want to put it in the bank – and make no…  Read more