x
RECEIVE BUSINESS TIMES FREE TO YOUR DOOR EACH MONTH, COURTESY OF ROYAL MAIL.
* indicates required

Six tips to benefit from firm’s experience

By Phil Harris

Principal

Harris & Co

NO matter how smoothly your business is running, or how bright the future looks – it’s always worth taking advantage of expert financial advice.

Another opinion, especially one with a financial focus, can often help to identify what’s working and what’s not, or to see opportunities to build on success and avoid the pitfalls that could lie ahead.

The team at Harris & Co Chartered Accountants are business advisers with a wealth of practical experience rather than simply a provider of financial and accountancy services – they really get to know clients’ businesses so that they can help them grow and develop through their hard won experience gained over the last 27 years.

Through that time the team at Harris & Co has guided many businesses through their phases of growth. Recently, a start-up business that came to Harris & Co for advice some 17 years ago sold out to a private equity house. Through those 17 years, the team at Harris & Co have been in daily contact with the company, guiding it through its growth process until the time came to sell out for £105 million. Not a bad conclusion to a business that started from the spare bedroom!

Harris & Co is a source of support and guidance, to help businesses make the right decisions, looking at forward planning and establishing a solid base, as well as making sure the financial position of the business is healthy.

With this in mind, Harris & Co has come up with a six tips to follow that should help any small or medium-sized business remain on track to be successful:

1 Sales – look at your sales and identify ways to increase the quantities sold, the number of customers, the price or the number of times a customer buys. These are the key variables in increasing sales.

2 Cost – look critically at your cost base and identify any you can reduce, especially the big costs.

3 Daily break-even sales – check every day how you’ve done against your break-even figure and if you don’t hit that figure regularly, go back to Steps 1 and 2.

4 Plan ahead – do a 12-month cash flow forecast based on realistic assumptions and give yourself some margin for error. Use the cash flow to identify how much you need and when you will need it. Then talk to your bank well ahead of time.

5 Debtors – monitor daily and chase them frequently.

6 Creditors – monitor regularly and don’t let major debt build up.

For further information contact Phil Harris on 01604 660661 or visit www.harrisandco.biz

Companies mentioned in this article

More economic advice & solutions articles: