Falling Sales? There is a Solution!
Business Consulting Firms CA Help In Many Ways
If you notice that the sales of your business have slowly been declining over recent times, you may want to look into hiring a business consultant. You will find these experts at business consulting firms CA, and they can help any type of business with any type of problem. The problem of falling sales is common in all industries, and it can sometimes be hard to determine what the cause is. Determining the cause of this is very important though, because this will help a business solve this problem. Business consulting firms CA help companies like this all the time, and they can help with a lot of other problems too.
The business consultant will meet with you to discuss the problems you are experiencing. He will need to know a lot of information about your business and he may need to come to its physical location. It may takes several days or even weeks for the consultant to fully understand what your business does and what is causing the problems, but he will eventually figure it out. When he does, his job is to come up with solutions that will correct this problem and that will start helping the sales resume again.
Original post: http://www.1eye1wing.com/2013/04/17/business-consulting-firms-ca-help-in-many-ways/
April 17, 2013 Jonathan Wiley Finance & Money
How IT Support Team Can Help Your Business Grow!
IT Support Bay Area Will Keep Your Company Running Smoothly
My little company I started in my basement has been steadily growing now for about five years. We outgrew me as being the IT department over a year ago, but I had not hired anyone to take over yet. I was now bogged down keeping desktops, laptops and tablets running for my employees at out new office while still doing what I needed to do as CEO to keep us in business. I finally decided to look at IT support Bay Area.
I found a place that could take over that part of my business. I am always leery of letting things go, but this was a good decision. I have not had any complaints at all. All of our stuff just works without any real problems now. When an issue does crop up, the company we hired that does IT support Bay Area takes care of it. I like it that I am not up at all hours of the night fixing computers for customer service and the sales staff to use the next day. I now just concentrate on getting us new business. It is a much wiser use of my time. I would have done it a long time ago if I wasn’t so stubborn.
Source: http://www.mycommenthere.com/2013/03/26/it-support-bay-area-will-keep-your-company-running-smoothly
How to Choose Top Advisors for your Business!
Hiring top Business Advisors
Business advice is important for any entrepreneur or company venturing into any form of business activity. This advice may be obtained from various sources by a person in need. There are advisors who offer their services to clients on a regular basis regarding different aspects of a business they may be undertaking.
Types of Advisors
There are different types of advisors that offer their experts in various business aspects. Financial experts and analysts are some of the most common top business advisors in the field. These are people who follow trends in business operations and market making all critical observations and after a given period of time making the necessary deductions from the observations made. A critical analysis is performed by the annalists regarding various fields and businesses in order to come up with important findings. These may be later used by their clients in making critical decisions.
Another type of top business advisors who are commonly referred to are experienced business persons. These are individuals who may have specialized in a given field for a very long time. During their business dealings within that time, they are able to make crucial deductions from a situation that is experienced by a client.
Importance of Business Advice
Top business advisors offer various solutions for businesses around the clock. Improvement of businesses may be possible from advice offered and asset and liability handling also being advised on. Investment opportunities can also be recognized and taken by advice given.
Original blog: http://www.sharingourwords.com/2013/04/10/hiring-top-business-advisors/
Understanding cash flow cycle and cash flow projections and their impact on your business!
Cash Flow Cycle
“Cash is king” and in tough economic times, managing a business for profitability and survival becomes number one priority. The cash flow statement is the most important financial planning tool available to business owners and their executives. The cash flow statement provides a format that shows where and when cash flows in and out of business over a given period of time: monthly, quarterly, and annually. The same format allows you to forecast your cash flows for future periods of time and is called the cash flow projection. They help you to predict whether the sales or income you forecast will cover the costs of operation. Additionally, the projection allows you to analyze profitability of a project.
By carrying out a Cash Flow projection on a spreadsheet package you can investigate the impact of changing factors within the projection. A structured spreadsheet enables business owners to immediately see the changes. As a result, business owners are able to project the borrowing needs.
Understanding cash flow:
It’s simply the movement of cash in and out of your business when sales are finalized and expenses are paid. Below is the Cash Flow Cycle.
As seen in the above diagram, the cycle involves purchasing inventory, converting that inventory to cash or accounts receivable by selling your products, collecting the accounts receivable, and paying suppliers. Some suppliers offer trade credit which is the primary source of credit. In some cases where the trade credit is not available or the account receivable is slow, the business needs to have a secondary source of credit. The secondary source of credit is a bank line of credit. You can learn about bank lines of credit here.
Business consultants and advisors can help small to medium-sized business owners to put together the cash flow reports and projections. These two reports along with other reports will improve your profitability and your business bottom line.
Instant Cash For Your Short Term Needs!
How a bank line of credit can help your business!
A bank line of credit can help business owners to run an efficient operation. Let’s assume that you want to increase your inventory for the holiday season and need $50,000. You can simply write a check or ask your banker to transfer $50,000 from your line of credit to your checking account. It’s simple and efficient.
Let’s talk about another example, as you increase your inventory for the holiday season, you will need to hire two temporary sales associates and need $10,000. As the example above, you can write a check or transfer the funds as you need.
What exactly is a bank line of credit? A bank line of credit is like a credit card with a lower interest rate. You simply make draws against your credit line. You pay interest only on the amount used and expected to make payment on the amount drawn.
Let’s say that your bank has approved a $100,000 line of credit and you have drawn a total of $60,000 as in above example:
$50,000 (inventory) + $10,000 (payroll) = $60,000
$100,000 (total line of credit) – $60,000 (amount used) = $40,000 (available line of credit)
Your line of credit is intended for short-term cash needs and your bank expects you to pay down of payoff your balance as your cash flow improves. As in the above example, once the holidays are over and your holidays inventory is turned to cash, you should pay off your balance. As you pay off your balance, your credit line will be available as you may have several occasions during the year to borrow on your line of credit.
Banks expect you to pay off your line of credit annually which means to bring your balance to zero for 30 days. This means that if you need to buy new equipment or expand your building, arrange a term loan for that specific need. Thus, do not use your line of credit for any investment in your business.
Most bank lines of credit require no collateral but may require a UCC filing on your business assets. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing may be filed when a lender wants to secure their loan with company’s assets.
A bank line of credit can help you run an efficient operation and a profitable business. There is comfort knowing that you have funds available when you need it. It’s convenient that you know instant cash is ready by writing a check.
There are many banks that are willing to make loans and lines of credit to businesses. If your business has been profitable for the last couple of years, you need to take time and shop around to know a few things:
- Is your bank willing to approve your loan?
- Is your bank having several customers in your industry and do not want more customers?
- Is your loan package a bank-friendly package that meets all bank’s ratio requirements?
Big banks approved nearly 15% of all small business loan applications in December 2012, according to Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index. It was the highest approval since 2011. Loan complications and quality of loan packages are two reasons among many that you need professionals such as finance consultants to package your loan. They know how to apply with the bank that is more likely to approve your loan request.
Please contact Sina Advisory Group if you would like assistance in preparing your loan package that gets you a line of credit or a loan to help your business.
6 Critical Numbers to Know for Managing your Business Effectively!
6 Critical Numbers to Know for Managing your Business Effectively!
No matter the type of your business or industry, keeping track of these six financial indicators will help your business run more efficiently and become more profitable. Conversely, neglecting these numbers may have serious damaging impact on your business and even threaten the existence of your business.
Your company’s “state of health” is based on managing one or more of the following key financial indicators:
- Liquidity. Understanding your cash position is vital. That’s why business owners should reconcile their bank statements monthly. Your bookkeeper or accountant should make sure that the general ledger agrees with the bank statements, meaning all deposits and withdrawals are matching. For example, if your bank statements show a $2,500 withdrawal, that should be reflected in your ledger.
- Inventory. Keep track of the items in your shelves or in your warehouse. If you have some inventory that you purchased last year, and it’s been sitting idle, that inventory should be discounted and turned to cash immediately. Buying too much inventory or insufficient inventory may hurt your business.
- Break-even analysis. Knowing your monthly expenses (both fixed and variable costs) will help monthly goals and sales expectations. If you need $50,000 to cover expenses in the month of April, you then manage to sell enough to cover those expenses. Based on the above analysis, there may be a need to slash some expenses, to launch a new advertising campaign, or look into a new and less expensive supplier.
- Payroll expenses. There should be a relationship between payroll expenses and revenue. Businesses may face an increase in labor expenses and it may be necessary to adjust the payroll or increase the sales of products and services.
- Total revenue vs. unit sales. Your business may experience a significant increase in total revenue due to price increase and the business owners may be presented with a false picture. Tracking the sales numbers by unit will give you more detailed picture. This method of tracking will give you a chance to track if customers are returning your products, or if you need a more comparative analysis.
- Cost of sales. In a competitive marketplace, controlling the cost of sales is a key aspect to the success of your business. Quality control, customer service, and negotiation for the best possible payment terms with vendors are steps you can take to ensure reducing the cost of sales. Additionally, you can optimize shipment process, optimize packaging, and evaluate the pricing of raw materials.
These financial indicators are dynamic in nature and may change frequently. The key to your success is to know your numbers monthly. A simple and brief report will give you the tools to keep your business on the right path to success.
Consultants and advisors can be instrumental to help you create the reports, translate the ratios in plain English, and guide you to manage your business effectively.
15 essential must have requirements for designing your website!
Stunning, fast, creative, and effective website designs involve the following requirements:- Well laid out web pages to improve navigation for the user
- Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to help you with search engine ranking
- A sitemap to help visitors find what they are looking for
- Search engine friendly navigation menu
- Load time of a web page, should be between the ranking of 70 – 100
- Attractive visual design that identifies and works for your target market
- Clear instructions and labeling for a perfect user experience
- Content Management System allowing you to easily edit your website
- Email and information request forms to allow visitor feedback and inquiries
- Application optimization and functional enhancement
- Code review and optimization
- No compatibility issues with any apps being utilized
- Professional stock photography
- Cross web browser friendly, your website works on all browsers
- Link to your social media accounts
Is your website meeting all these requirements? If not, you should consult with your web designer.
