Making Business Finances Easy

Running a small business is all about keeping it simple. When you are the product design team, the assembly supervisor, the marketing VP, and the delivery driver, you really don’t need to waste time on inefficient tasks.

Today’s online business world can sure make this easier. Gone is the era of waiting days and weeks for things to arrive by mail. You can buy and sell online, with instantaneous accounts receivable and payable. And by the way, it’s all very neatly tracked for your records–no endless hours of balancing spreadsheets necessary.

When your customers and vendors are thoroughly versed in online commerce, shouldn’t your financing company do the same? Instead of burning hours of time going back and forth to the bank, waiting to meet with a loan officer, it’s far easier to use online business loans for your company’s financial needs. You can step away from the manufacturing line for a few minutes, log in, take care of the loan process, and step over to the customer relations department.

Of course, borrowing isn’t the only thing that’s easier online. Let’s look in detail at some of the other electronic financial services that are streamlining today’s companies.

Financial Management is Essential

But first we will briefly touch on why you should optimize the management of business expenses and finances. Good financial management is insurance against market fluctuations and an unstable economy, especially in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are most exposed to the fallout from economic crises. Here is why it is essential to have a grip on your business expenses. Regular monitoring of expenses implies better profitability, afterall.

Many companies look at financial management software for example. This can help manage finances well, which in turn makes it easy. However, regular and methodical monitoring of business expenses is not only crucial, but also favorable for your finances in the medium and long term. A monthly, or even daily, monitoring of your expenses will allow you to control your costs and ensure that you are within your budget. This could help you correct the gaps in your financial plans and adjust your spending habits so as not to exceed pre-established thresholds.

By having control over your spending, you can even save money that could be allocated to other projects, departments, and investment funds. Monitoring your expenses on a regular basis allows you at the end of the year to better manage the process of closing accounts, and manage your taxes without stress. It is very often underestimated how calculating profitability is a time consuming and sensitive process. Make your job easier by regularly monitoring your expenses and updating your balance sheets – so you can focus on the other things that matter.

Online Stores

Imagine having a one- or two-person operation in your home that sells products worldwide. Not long ago, it wasn’t just unthinkable. It was hilarious. Yet here we are today, with an endless variety of options for buying and selling products all over the world.

If you want to expand your market far beyond just those you can reach with TV and radio ads, an online store is just what you want. But it’s more than just a bigger market. It’s an easier market, for one thing. You don’t have indecisive customers, milling about in your store for long periods of time and leaving without making a purchase. They aren’t tracking in mud, breaking merchandise, or mixing up your products. No bounced checks or counterfeit cash will be involved, either.

When customers buy online, you avoid all these problems and get all the transactions neatly recorded electronically for simple bookkeeping that saves you even more time and money. It’s easy to see why online products are far more profitable at the same price as in a brick-and-mortar store!

Electronic Payment

We’ve noted this already in the context of your customers, but you can pay online as well. There are a number of online payment systems that simplify your incoming and outgoing funds. What’s great about them is that you only have to set up your account. There’s no need for you to reinvent the wheel (leave that for your own products). You just sign on with a reputable system and let them take care of securing things.

These systems have very low fees and can let you issue refunds faster and more cheaply than writing checks. Most of the process is automated as well, which reduces your labor requirements and ensures a lower probability of errors. And once again, the whole thing is operated securely to reduce the chance of hacks and intrusions.

Electronic Marketing

Television sure is expensive. So are radio, print advertising, billboard marketing, and all the other traditional forms of advertising.

The internet has revolutionized this process, and social media has gone even further. Can you imagine if a 1975 television commercial had been able to get people to buy their own commercial time to talk about your product? That’s exactly how social media works.

You tweet something that triggers a positive response from consumers, and soon they’re re-tweeting you or using your hashtag to promote your business on their account.

Have fun with your business. Get people reacting to what you say, because that’s what gets them to perpetuate the conversation. It’s the perfect way to build buzz about your company, and the cost is nothing. What could be easier financially than free advertising?

Finances can be very complicated. When you’re wrapped up in the day-to-day demands of building your product and your brand, it can be tough to keep all the math and measurement on track. When you have the opportunity to do so electronically, it will save you time. And even with everything that has changed, time is still money.

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