TIPS FOR MANAGING FINANCES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Managing finances can be a challenge for any small business owner. Often, the reason your small business is successful is because of the skills you bring to making your product or providing your service. If you don’t have a lot of experience with managing business finances, it can feel like a chore and you could be slipping into bad financial habits that could one day harm your business.

The importance of managing your business finances

The most important step for any business owner is to educate themselves. By understanding the basic skills needed to run a small business – like doing simple accounting tasks, applying for a loan or drafting financial statements – business owners can create a stable financial future and avoid failure. In addition to education, staying organized is a major component of sound money management.

“There is nothing more terrifying, costly or risky than showing up at your accountant’s office at the end of the year with a shoebox of receipts and nine of your last 12 bank statements.

Tips for managing small business finances

Here are a few things you should do as a small business owner to stay on top of your finances.

1. Pay yourself.

If you’re running a small business, it can be easy to try and put everything into day-to-day operations. After all, that extra capital can often go a long way in helping your business grow. Alexander Lowry, a professor and director of the master of science in financial analysis program at Gordon College, said small business owners shouldn’t overlook their own role in the company and should compensate themselves accordingly. You want to ensure that your business and personal finances are in good shape.

“Many MSME owners, especially at the outset, neglect to pay themselves,” he said. “They [believe] it’s more important to get the business up and running and pay everyone else. But, if the business doesn’t work out, you won’t have ever paid yourself. Remember, you’re part of the business and you need to compensate yourself as much as you pay others.

2. Invest in growth.

In addition to paying yourself, it’s important to set aside money and look into growth opportunities. This can allow your business to thrive and move in a healthy financial direction. Edgar Collado, chief financial officer of Tobias Financial Advisors, said business owners should always keep an eye on the future.

“A small business that wants to continue to grow, innovate and attract the best employees [should] demonstrate that they are willing to invest in the future,” he said. “Customers will appreciate the increased level of service. Employees will appreciate that you are investing in the company and in their careers. And ultimately you will create more value for your business than if you were just spending all your profits on personal matters.”

3. Don’t be afraid of loans.

Loans can be scary. They can lead to worrying about the financial repercussions that accompany failure. However, without the influx of capital you obtain from loans, you may face substantial challenges when trying to purchase equipment or grow your team. You can also use loan proceeds to boost your cash flow and thus face fewer issues paying employees and suppliers on time.

4. Keep good business credit.

As your company grows, you may want to purchase more commercial real estate, acquire additional insurance policies and take out more loans to facilitate all these pursuits. With poor business credit, getting approval for all these transactions and acquisitions can be more difficult. To keep good credit, pay off all your debt funding as soon as possible. For example, don’t let your business credit cards run a balance for more than a few weeks. Likewise, don’t take out loans with interest rates that you can’t afford. Only seek funding that you can quickly and easily repay.

5. Have a good billing strategy.

Every business owner has a client that is consistently late on its invoices and payments. Managing small business finances also means managing cash flow to ensure your business is operating at a healthy level on a day-to-day basis. If you’re struggling to collect from certain customers or clients, it may be time to get creative with how you bill them.

“Too much cash tied up in unpaid invoices can lead to cash flow problems, a leading cause of business failure,” said James Stefurak, managing editor of Invoice Factoring Guide. “If you have a chronic late-paying customer, which we all do, instead of badgering them with repeated invoicing and phone calls, try a different approach. Change the payment terms to ‘2/10 Net 30.’ This means if the customer pays the invoice within 10 days, they receive a 2% discount off the total bill. If not, the terms are full payment due in 30 days.”

6. Spread out tax payments.

If you have trouble saving for your quarterly estimated tax payments, make it a monthly payment instead, said Michele Etzel, owner of Bayside Accounting Services. That way, you can treat tax payments like any other monthly operating expense.

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BASIC ELEMENTS OF A GOOD WEB DESIGN

There are several basic elements of web design, each one of these fundamentals contribute in their own way to the overall user experience. Therefore, you must make sure that a single element doesn’t let down the entire website.

Here are the basic elements to web design:

1. Solid navigation

When users access your site, they want to access information quickly and easily. If you want leads to remain on your page, you must implement a navigation that is easy for your audience to use.

Your audience doesn’t want to struggle to find information. They want to access your navigation bar and easily be directed to the information they need. If your navigation is poor, you’ll discourage your audience from engaging on your page.

Visitors’ attention spans are short. If you want to keep them on your page, you must help them access information quickly. A properly designed navigation will help them get to the information they need.

Your navigation should be simple and self-explanatory. Include broad headings that encompass numerous subtopics, so your audience can easily find the information they need. This is the easiest way for you to help your audience find information fast.

2. Responsive design

With the growth in mobile devices, responsive design is more important than ever. Your audience will access your site from a multitude of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. If you want these leads to remain on your site, you must ensure that each person has a positive experience.

Responsive design ensures that your audience has a good experience on your site, regardless of the device they use. Your website will adapt to the device to ensure that your website is sized appropriately for their device. This is valuable for keeping leads engaged and interested in your site.

Responsive design keeps leads engaged on your page longer. If you want to have a successful website design, you must integrate responsive design.

3. Style guide

As we stated previously, one reason why web design is important is because it creates consistency across your entire website. Consistency helps your audience build brand recognition and keeps them engaged on your page longer. A style guide will help you keep a consistent brand image on your website.

Your style guide is the basis for how you want your website to look. You decide the color, format, typography, and more, for every page on your website. This ensures that every time someone adds an element to your site it is consistent with other pages.

You’ll help your team creates consistency across your website, too. They can reference your style guide anytime they add an element to your site. It makes it easier for different people to work on your website and add elements to it.

When you have a consistent design across your website, you create a more cohesive site. Your audience will engage on your site longer and build brand recognition. This will help you earn more conversions down the line.

4. Purposeful visuals

Companies are quick to integrate visual elements because they help improve engagement on a website. In fact, customers are 10 times more likely to interact with a video than text.

While visual elements are great for engagement and breaking up text, some businesses go overboard with the images. Their sites are crowded with photos and videos. It makes the site feel overwhelming and cluttered.

You may think that it’s great to integrate and abundance of photos and videos to increase engagement, but it can become overwhelming if there are too many. Too many images makes it difficult to read on the page.

If you want to see success with your site, you must create a balance between images and text on your page. Don’t add visual elements for the sake of trying to increase engagement as much as possible.

Use visual elements purposefully. If you have a block of text detailing your services, integrate a video below that text that explains your services further. This still gives your audience a point of interest to interact with and keeps them engaged.

When you know why web design is important, you make more tactful decisions about your site. As you build your dream website, it’s crucial that you don’t overload your site with too many visual elements.

5. Good copy

Your audience visits your website to obtain important information. It’s important that when you include information on your site, you write quality copy.

Writing good copy keeps your audience engaged on the page longer. They’ll read all your information and learn about your business. Your style of writing should align with the style of your website for consistency.

The content on your site matters just as much as the overall design, so it’s necessary for you to provide your audience with valuable information they need.

6. Call-to-action (CTA) buttons

Once you have leads on your site, you want to guide them towards converting. A key element of that is your call-to-action (CTA) button. Web design importance is evident when you’re trying to get your audience to act.

A well-designed CTA button will get your audience to proceed to the next step. These buttons fit into your design but stand out on the page. Your audience’s eye immediately goes to these buttons.

If you had a color scheme of black, white, gray, and yellow, a yellow CTA button would stand out on the page compared to these other colors. It still fits with the scheme, but people will automatically be drawn towards a bright yellow button.

By integrating CTA buttons into your website’s design, you’ll help drive better results on your page.

7. Page speed

You can have an awesome website design, but it won’t matter if your audience never gets to see it. Page speed is an important element of web design. It ensures that your page loads quickly, so your audience can access information fast.

Your audience hates to wait for slow loading pages. If your page takes too long to load, your audience will lose interest. They will return to the search results and select a competitor’s page instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IMPORTANCE OF WEB DESIGN AND DEVELOPEMENT

There are many benefits to having a sleek, beautiful, and easy-to-navigate website. Here are just a handful of the top benefits.

1. It sets the first impression

When your audience visits your website, it gives them their first impression of your business. They will judge your business within seconds. In these first few seconds, you want to make a positive impact on your audience.

If your website looks unappealing or outdated, your audience will immediately have a negative impression of your business. They won’t find your website appealing, which deters them from your page. You’ll miss out on leads because they’ll leave your page for a competitor’s page.

2. It aids your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy

Many web design elements and practices influence how you publish content on your website, which in turn affects how search engine spiders crawl and index your website.

This is one thing you cannot afford to mess up. If your on-page SEO fundamentals are not good, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle for visibility from the start.

Aside from how content is published on your website, certain web design elements can directly affect SEO in and of themselves. Web design can be difficult to understand if you’re not familiar with how it works, but to put it simply, your code needs to be SEO-friendly.

The best way to ensure proper web design practices (and subsequent search engine visibility) is to partner up with a web design agency

3. It sets the impression for customer service

People can judge how you will treat them by looking at your website. Your design gives them insight as to how you view your audience. If you don’t put any effort into your website’s design, your audience knows that you won’t put effort into helping them.

Your website is like a customer service representative. If your website is bright, modern, and inviting, your audience will feel more welcome on your page. You’ll give the impression that you are open and welcoming to new people who visit your website.

On the other hand, an outdated and unappealing site makes your business appear cold and aloof. People don’t want to check out a business that doesn’t value them enough to make a good first impression.

Think of your web design as the digital face of your business. If someone walked into your physical location, wouldn’t you want a friendly face to greet them and make them feel welcome? An updated and modern web design is the equivalent to a friendly face greeting your new visitors.

4. It builds trust with your audience

People don’t trust poorly designed websites. If they see your poor design or the information looks outdated, they won’t trust your site. They may view your site as seedy or shady because you don’t have an updated web design.

On the other hand, a professional site signals trust with your audience. They will trust your business and feel comfortable checking it out further.

It’s important to build trust with your audience so they remain on your site. When visitors remain on your site longer, you create more opportunities for your business to capture those leads.

5. Your competitors are doing it

If you need a reason for why web design is important, here’s a big one: Your competitors are already utilizing web design. If you want to remain in competition with them, you must use web design for your site.

You want your website to stand out from the competition. If you have an old, outdated, and low-quality website, your competitor’s will outrank you. Their well-designed website will perform better than your website.

This means you’ll lose leads to your competitors. They’ll attract more leads to their page because their page is more appealing.

Your website’s design is an opportunity for you to set your business apart from the competition. When you’re competing with other businesses, you generally have the same services and similar pricing. You need that one thing that will make your business stand out from the rest.

6. It creates consistency

When you’re trying to get new leads for your business, you want to build up your brand. You want your audience to get familiar with your brand so they choose you when they’re ready to convert. Online web designs are important because they help create consistency across your page.

You need to have the same fonts, styles, and layouts across every page on your website. If you have a different design on every page, this will make your site look unprofessional. It also makes it more challenging to build brand recognition because your audience won’t know which colors to associate with your brand.

If your website is not consistent, people will bounce from yours to one that looks more professional. By building consistency, you keep leads on your page longer and get them familiar with your business. You’ll earn more leads and conversions down the line when you redesign your site for this key element.

 

 

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BENEFITS OF BIOMETRIC TIME ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOLS

 

 

 

Biometrics is a form of technology that uses thumb impression or fingerprint characteristics to authenticate and verify the identity of the user. The reason being, the thumb impression or fingerprint of an individual is unique and doesn’t match with any other person’s fingerprint, making the biometric system reliable & trustworthy.

Thus, biometric readers in a biometric attendance system can identify a student or staff member and record his time of arrival and departure from the school by reading and authenticating his finger or thumb print or other biological (physiological) characteristics. The advantages are discussed below

1. Easy-To Use

Biometrics, despite the very technical sound of the term, is surprisingly easy to use. All it takes is a fingerprint or thumbprint for the biometric reader of the attendance management system to identify the student or staff member and register the time of arrival or departure.

2. Precise

The strength of this type of school attendance management system lies in its accuracy. There is no possibility of fraud or tampering with the fingerprint data or any other data on physiological characteristics captured by the software. Every student is thus accounted for, with precise details such as check-in/check-out times, and number of activities/classes attended by students, etc.

3. Prevents Proxy Attendance

The issue of proxy attendance has been plaguing institutions since decades. With manual attendance systems, students could get their peers to check in for them under their name. Staff members are also known to misuse the traditional system to get their clocking-in time altered. However, the biometrics-based system is fool-proof and fraud-proof. Examination centers also now have biometrics to prevent cheating, which was commonplace when students could easily get a proxy to write out their papers for them.

4. Simplifies Payroll

Payroll processing is a massive and tedious responsibility. Your school attendance management system has that sorted out too, since payroll processing software can be integrated with the biometric attendance software, recording leaves taken by faculty and administrative staff, as also half-days, late check-ins, overtime hours or extra days. Thus deductions and additions can be made to the payroll with accuracy and in real time. Moreover, with biometrics, it becomes easy to know what a teacher is doing at a given time. Tracking and monitoring of staff members becomes easy and calculations are a cinch.

5. Saves Time

Biometrics-enabled attendance software is a terrific time-saving system. Teachers who have been overburdened with attendance marking every morning can heave a sigh of relief. Attendance records are also easily maintained without the need to store heavy registers and spreadsheets.

6. Financially Viable

Biometrics is also excellent ROI. Manual attendance costs the school or college not just time but also manpower and stationery. Attendance registers, storage space, file organizers, security – everything costs money. In the long run, biometrics readers require minimal maintenance. So initial installation costs may seem higher than getting your teacher to mark attendance, but you save on security personnel to man entrances, on administrative staff to maintain the attendance data and report on attendance trends. Finally, time freed up to focus on more productive activities such as enhancing learning outcomes.

Schools, colleges and other educational institutions can opt for the Robisearch attendance management system  It can successfully eliminate the risks of unfortunate events and mishaps in the institutions, making the campuses and schools more student-friendly and safe places to be.

 

 

 

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Kenyan Businesses and How Software Solutions Can Help

Kenya has a population of 42 million. With such a high population and a limited number of resources, we rely on businesses to help us prosper. The truth is, businesses are the backbone of our economy and Kenya is a great place for entrepreneurs. Kenya has a diverse population and therefore, has a diverse business market. This article will explore Kenyan businesses and the various business types that exist in Kenya. Next, it will discuss software solutions and the impact they have on the Kenyan economy. Finally, it will explore the future of Kenyan businesses and how software solutions can help.

Kenyan businesses need software solutions to help them grow.

Kenya has a unique set of challenges that software solutions can help solve.

Pushpin pointing Nairobi in cheap plastic globe. Shallow depth of field


 

Business Types

Kenyan businesses are some of the fastest growing businesses in the world. With this type of growth, it is very important for Kenyan businesses to have the right software solutions in place to help them grow. These software solutions will help Kenyan businesses run more efficiently and effectively. Some of the
software solutions that Kenyan businesses can benefit from are ERP, CRM, POS, Bulk SMS, and biometric systems.


Software Solutions

There are many software solutions that can help Kenyan businesses. These software solutions can help companies improve their productivity, streamline processes, and reduce costs. There are many software solutions that can help Kenyan businesses. These software solutions can help companies improve their productivity, streamline processes, and reduce costs. There are many software solutions that can help Kenyan businesses. These software solutions can help companies improve their productivity, streamline processes, and reduce costs. There are many software solutions that can help Kenyan businesses. These software solutions can help companies improve their productivity, streamline processes, and reduce costs.


The Future of Kenyan Businesses

Kenyan businesses are set to grow exponentially in the coming years. The reason for this is the rapid development of technology and the rapid growth of the country’s population. The Kenyan economy has also been growing at a rapid and unprecedented rate. The future of Kenyan businesses is bright, but it is not without challenges. Kenya has a high unemployment rate, and the development of the country is outstripping the growth of its workforce. Software solutions are needed to help Kenyan businesses grow and flourish.

 

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Tips on Stock Taking

Specialised in selling groceries

Introduction

Stock taking is a crucial part of the business. Inventory management helps in keeping a stock that is neither too high nor too low. It results in optimum utilization of financial resources and thus prevents wastage of money. You do not want to spend thousands on items you may never sell or lose out on sales because there are no stocks available! There are certain things to keep in mind when it comes to inventory management and stock taking.  

Stock Keep a Record

Stock keeping records are important. They help you to keep track of stocks, which can be difficult to do if you don’t have a system in place. They also allow you to take stock of your current stock levels and plan the purchase of future items. A good system is key when it comes to recording your stock levels, so make sure that you have one that works for you. You should know exactly where all your items are at any one time, but also where they were purchased from and how much they cost so you can keep track of their value over time. If there’s a change in product pricing from one supplier or store location compared with another (which happens all the time), then this will affect how much money has been spent on different items over time too – making it easy for managers or directors who want some hard facts before making decisions about whether or not something needs changing!  

Think of Location

Location is key when it comes to storing your stock. You need to consider the space available, how long you will need to store your stock and what size it is. It’s also important to think about the temperature of the room you will be storing your stock in. If a room is too warm or cool, this could have an impact on its lifespan.  

Track Your Inventory

  • Keep track of what you have, what you need and what you need to order.
  • Keep track of the expiry dates. It is important to know when your inventory will expire so that you can plan ahead for the expiration date.
  • Keep track of the stock levels so that if there are any shortages in future they can be easily identified and rectified before they happen.
  • Keep track of sales and returns on items which are not selling well or have been returned by customers because they were defective or damaged at purchase time respectively.
 

Maintain the Stock Levels

Maintaining stock levels at the minimum, maximum and desired/standard levels is one of the most important tasks of an inventory manager. The recommended level is generally considered an ideal state to be maintained by every business. The recommendation for this level can be based on several factors such as:
  • Financing requirements
  • Profit margins
 

Get a Dependable System

You need a dependable system. Here are some features you should be looking for:
  • Easy-to-use. The best systems are easy to use and understand, so that you can implement them quickly and with little training.
  • Flexible. Try to find a system that accommodates your current inventory management needs, but also has the flexibility to grow as your business grows over time. For example, if you’re just starting out and only have one store location, consider software that works well for small businesses like yours—but which also allows you to add more locations easily when it’s time for expansion down the road!
  • Reliable. Look for solutions from companies with good track records; don’t trust any software from an unknown source! You’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort in the long run by investing in quality hardware/software from reputable manufacturers like Robisearch Ltd .
 

Plan in Advance

Masai in traditional clothes joining hands in unity (Zanzibar, Tanzania),

  Planning is the key to success. When you plan ahead, you can avoid stress and make sure that everything runs smoothly. If you don’t plan ahead, there’s a chance that your inventory will be incomplete or incorrect due to human error. It may be easy to forget about a certain product or another store location when taking inventory, but having a solid plan will keep you on track and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.   Planning is also important because it helps prevent mistakes from happening during stock taking. If you’re not careful with your planning, there’s a good chance that mistakes could occur during this process—and those mistakes could cost your business money or time! By planning properly before starting each phase of stock taking (counting items versus counting cases) and being aware at all times what part of the process is coming up next (counting boxes versus counting cases), then any potential mishaps will be avoided.  

Plan in advance to ensure a smooth stocktaking.

Stocktaking, as an essential part of inventory control and management, should be done at least once a year. It helps to determine the value of your stock and its location. The results will enable you to identify areas where additional storage space is required or where it would be more cost effective to obtain another piece of equipment rather than purchase another copy or upgrade. Planning in advance will ensure that your stocktaking goes smoothly and efficiently. The main thing is to take care not only about what you need but also when and where it is needed, whether it’s a new piece of equipment or some spare parts for existing machines – planning ahead will help avoid unnecessary problems when time comes for their delivery!  

Conclusion

Stocktaking is an important part of business. It helps to ensure that the right policies are in place to keep inventory levels in line with demand. The process does not have to be onerous and can even be fun if you plan ahead for it. A great way to do this is by using a software system such as Stockpile. This will help you save time, money, and energy on your stock taking needs!
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How to boost your hardware business in Kenya

Introduction

Kenya is a highly dynamic economy and a great place for starting a business. Hardware businesses in Kenya are amongst the highest growing sectors of the economy with consistent growth over the last decade. To succeed as a hardware business you need to have top in class technology tools that make running your business easier.  

Why is POS Software important for a Hardware Business?

POS software is a computer program that allows business owners to manage their business. It is not just a cash register, but it also helps you manage your inventory, sales and purchases, customers, employees, finances and other aspects of running a successful business. POS systems can be integrated with accounting software or used as stand-alone systems for companies who prefer to keep their data in one place. Most modern POS systems offer an array of features that make it easy for you to run your enterprise smoothly from opening till closing time every day.   POS software gives hardware businesses the power to automate processes like tracking inventory levels so they know exactly how much stock they have at any given point in time without having to go through stacks of paperwork which could take days if done manually; making accurate reports based on customer preferences; managing employee holidays and shifts through automated calendars; helping reduce theft by identifying employees who steal money from registers using hidden cameras installed near them etc.  

How to improve cash flow with Accounting software?

You want to improve cash flow, customer service, inventory management and customer retention. You can do this by using accounting software. Accounting software is a computerized system of recording business transactions in order to generate financial reports. When you know where your money is going and what is happening with your business on a daily basis then it becomes very easy to improve cash flow because you can identify problems before they become big issues that will cost you time or money.

How Good VRM and CRM can boost your Hardware business?

VRM (Vendor Relationship Management) is a way to get more customers, keep them and make more sales. VRM is important because it helps you get more business from your existing clientele. Your customers are always looking for you but they might not know how to find you when they need you. This can be frustrating for both parties, especially if one party has something valuable that can help the other party solve their problems! The goal of any business owner should be getting more sales through an effective CRM system that automates tasks while increasing customer loyalty by providing personalized service at scale. This process starts with having a good customer database where all customer information is stored in one place. The database needs to be easily accessible so that everyone working in your company knows where everything can be found without having to search around different systems until they find what they need!

How to manage multiple stores with Inventory Software?

  When you have a hardware business, managing inventory can be quite tedious especially when you have multiple locations. You need to make sure that all the items on your shelves are in stock and if they aren’t, then you need to order them from your suppliers and ensure that they reach their destination in time for the next delivery. Inventory software helps store owners manage their stock across multiple stores or locations by providing an interface where data about items can be entered quickly. This will help them keep track of inventory easily and efficiently by allowing users to view it in an organized manner using charts or graphs as well as search through it using keywords.  

POS Software can help you manage your Hardware business efficiently

POS Software, or Point of Sale software, is an application that helps manage your hardware business efficiently. In this section we will discuss what POS Software is and how it can help you improve your hardware business in Kenya. POS Software helps you manage your inventory The first thing POS Software does is help you manage your inventory. It allows you to keep track of all the items in stock and their locations so that when someone wants to buy one, they know where it can be bought. This makes sure that nothing goes out of stock at any given time as well as ensuring no duplicate purchase occurs which means less wastage and more profit for you! POS Software helps you manage customers Having a good customer service is vital if you want loyal customers who are happy with what they bought from doing so on multiple occasions. With POS software installed on your shop floor, employees will be able to enter details about each customer like name contact number etc. which gives them an accurate record of every transaction made online or offline thus enabling them provide better service than before!

Conclusion

We have covered the basic areas that POS Software will help you with. These are only a few of the many features of POS Software that can help you manage your Hardware business more efficiently. So, if you are looking for a new way to automate your Hardware business in Kenya, then RobiPOS Software, developed by Robisearch Ltd is here to make your life easier and better.
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WHY ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IS IMPORTANT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

 

 

 

Running a small business often means wearing many hats — sending emails, paying suppliers, invoicing, crafting workflows, and building financial reports. All these are must-dos, in addition to actually delivering the job that customers or clients pay for.

Of all the extra tasks small business owners have on their plate, none are quite as important as accounting. Solid accounting practices keep your business in top financial shape and help you make better decisions, while dropping the ball on accounting can cause business collapse or trouble.

Thankfully, small business software solutions are making it easier to outsource tasks to technology. These accounting tools help business owners to track accounts receivable and payable, pay sales tax and

Bookkeeping software vs. accounting software

The easiest way to understand the difference is to think of bookkeeping as the basic and accounting as the advanced. Bookkeeping software is used for data entry and storage — e.g., logging revenue and expenses. The best bookkeeping software will make that process smoother than, say, a spreadsheet. You can run double-entry accounting: managing incoming and outgoing expenses and payments for better oversight.

Accounting software is like the upgraded version of bookkeeping software. Accounting software should have the same functionality — data entry and storage. In addition it gives you more analytics and actionable accounting features, like forecasting and cash flow analysis.

Bookkeeping and accounting software both reduce the amount of time spent on data entry. Users can simply sync business bank accounts and credit cards. Automation takes uploading out of your hands. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on accounting software.

Why accounting software is important for small businesses

Oversight helps you to plan, spot potential issues, identify strengths and prove business viability. With this information, you can confidently make investments, ask for loans and predict what your tax requirements will be.

Here are seven features that make accounting software so impactful for small business owners:

Bank and credit card syncing

Syncing your bank account and credit cards with your accounting software is the greatest timesaver that accounting software can give you. Removing manual input of financial data gives you back hours of your working life to focus on other important business tasks.

Invoicing

Invoicing software is an important feature of your accounting platform. It means that once the payment is made, it’s automatically registered as paid. With your bank and credit card synced, and your invoice logged as it’s sent out, your accounting system will pick it up once paid. No data entry is required from you once the invoice is sent. Most solutions will include templates.

Accounts receivable

By adding your invoices to your software solution, you are able to have a view of your accounts receivable. This means the amounts owed to the business. Overview of your accounts receivable is helpful for financial reporting.

Accounts payable

Accounts payable is essentially expense tracking: all of the invoices or expenses that the business is due to pay. Your accounting software can make it easier to manage these by putting them in the system. Adding due dates and having this chart of accounts easily viewable helps you prioritize payments and not let any fall through the cracks. Registering this information also allows you to assess your profitability based on your incoming and outgoing payments.

Online payment collection

Most accounting software tools will have features that allow you to collect online payments from customers. This makes it easier for customers to pay their bills, which helps you secure payments in a timely manner.

Shared access

There are a few benefits to shared access that are both within and outside of your organization. Internally, you can share access with any team members that may send invoices to clients or are responsible for paying company bills. Outside of your business, you can share access with your bookkeeper, accountant, and tax professionals to make their life easier, saving them time and saving you money that would have been spent on their time.

Financial statement preparation

Your accounting software can help you easily prepare balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow statements. With all of your financial data in one system, the analytics capability lets you create complex reports quickly.

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WHY TASK MANAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR BUSINESS

Task management must be one of the foundations in any business sector. With a good management and control of demands, the managers or responsible for each sector are able in a practical, fast and objective way to define the tasks and priority activities, to improve the optimization of the teams’ available time of work and, consequently, do better decision-making.

In addition, there is also the expectation that, with a good policy of management of activities, all those involved have greater control and know exactly how to proceed in the event of any unforeseen in the day-to-day business.

These are some of the benefits that can be achieved by implementing a good task management and control policy:

1) Anticipating any problems

With a cohesive and complete management schedule, the performance of activities within that schedule becomes the main focus of the team responsible for such activity. If there is any discrepancy or difference between the objectives of the activity and what is actually being accomplished by the team, you can easily notice and quickly take action with your team to make sure that the activities from the initial schedule are actually being done.

Putting this attitude into practice, you can save a lot of money, resources, efforts and time just by changing parameters within a good management and control of activities.

2) Activity control

Every day workers perform various activities at their workplaces. Knowing who is carrying out what activity, viewing the progress of each job and knowing what demands are still pending are extremely necessary for good activity management.

Through virtual panels with information on the time available to carry out each demand and on the flow and prioritization of activities, it is possible to control the work and establish schedules and goals for carrying out each activity. Thus, a sector or department is brought to maximum productivity.

3) Delegation and prioritization of activities

One of the main characteristics for the success of a task management strategy is the prioritization of activities. A direct and immediate advantage is that it, through a management tool, allows you to complete the most urgent tasks first. This promotes better returns for organizations. With the most urgent tasks being performed, less important tasks can be delegated to be done after the most important ones.

When there is no such task management, it is quite common for employees or collaborators to end up performing less important activities first, thus jeopardizing the profitability and development of the entire company.

Conclusion

Therefore, we know that task management is a key point in the execution and planning of company activities in any business sector.

In this sense, for us to actually be able to perform good management, good tools are needed.

Spreadsheets, flowchart creation tools and other resources are highly recommended for successful management.

We, Robisearch Limited, have the ideal tool for you to be able to perform a good task management in your business that offers several benefits such as:

  • Organizing tasks quickly and easily;
  • Easy update and change of priority in each task;
  • A complete report of the tasks to be performed;

 

 

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WHY SMALL BUSINESSES NEED E-COMMERCE

These days, people prefer to buy things online as opposed to visiting retail stores. The same thing goes when hiring services, clients favor communicating with companies listed on the internet than personally visiting establishments. Indeed, the e-commerce business has become so popular that it is the number one choice of platform fancied by millions of people all around the globe.

As a small entrepreneur, it is important to create a strong online presence by engaging in e-commerce activities. Regardless of the nature of your trade, doing so will facilitate growth and expand the scope of your business. Although it might seem like a big and risky move to enter the world of online selling, there are many advantages of e-commerce for small business. From widening your customer base to providing choices and lowering operational costs, here are some of the most valid reasons why you should engage in e-commerce.

1. Low Operational Costs.

Running an online store involves less money compared to running a physical shop. That is because in a physical store, owners have to invest in purchasing business premises. Store location is a key factor; hence preference to get a space in a posh area with the targeted audience shoots up the cost.

2. Increased Revenue

Small business owners do not have to solely depend on foot traffic and can sell their products and services across the world. They can capture new audiences which they wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. This drives conversions and sales and the small business experiences a new level of growth.

3. Greater Customer Acquisition

Search engines drive massive amounts of traffic to e-stores that result in more number of customer acquisition.

4.Online Presence

Customers prefer eCommerce solutions and expect businesses to be available online. Small businesses who have dedicated online storefronts stay strongly in the competition and prevent their audience from flocking toward the competitors to make online purchase.

 5.Full advantage of Customer Advocacy

In an online platform, word of mouth recommendation is much easy and more effective! Customer reviews and testimonials are right there in the website. New visitors get influenced by these testimonials, reviews and product ratings. Trust is immediately built and not much persuasion is required about the quality of products and services.

 6.Customer Buying Analytics

Online stores empower small businesses to keep a constant eye on customers’ buying habits and interests.

In conclusion, E-commerce is a necessity for today’s small businesses. If you’re still on the fence about the importance of E-Commerce or do not know how to go about integrating it in your own store, reach out to us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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