What’s more exciting than starting your own business? Your mind races 24/7 with ideas about your product line, marketing concepts, sales strategies and hiring your A-team. But in the midst of all that, there’s a vital aspect of entrepreneurship that often gets overlooked: finances. A company’s finances dictate success or failure.
Skyrocketing sales and a brilliant product roadmap won’t matter if fixed expenses are too high, you’re spending money in the wrong places or ignoring basic rules of cash flow–so now is the time to get your finances right.
Cash flow management is key
Most startups fail for a variety of reasons, but one is far more common than others — running out of money. You need to know where every single dollar is coming from and where every single dollar is going.
If you don’t stay on top of your cash flow, you are going to put your business in a very dangerous position. It doesn’t matter how good your idea might be when you run out of money you hit a brick wall. Establish a budget and stick to it.
Track and monitor all spending
With a new startup, there are going to be expenses coming at you from every direction. Hiring a full-time staffer to handle the books in the beginning isn’t very budget-friendly, so use accounting software to remain organized.
Not only will this help with cash flow management, but it also makes it much easier when tax time rolls around every year. As you grow …