3 Ways to Drive Business Growth

3 Ways to Drive Business Growth

by | Mar 9, 2016 | Growth, CFO, Mentor

Being the CFO in a high growth company is challenging. Handling business responsibilities, strategies, managing people and responding to setbacks can really chew up your day. Here are 3 things I have learned from great leaders that drives business growth.

1. Empower Your Employees to Act Like Executives

By empowering employees to act as managers, you’ll free up your time to focus on your to-do list. This is a step beyond delegation. When you give trusted employees the power to make decisions, you lift the burden from your own shoulders. At the same time you fuel your staff members’ confidence in their own abilities to lead. This strategy is only successful if you let your employees what your expectations are and how they will be measured. If you have chosen the right employees, they will proudly embrace their new responsibilities and strive to exceed your expectations and drive growth.

2. Leverage Technologies That Pave The Way Toward Easy Management

Take advantage of technology solutions that integrate data and eliminate information silos that are difficult to breach. Decision making is much easier when you have a set of best-in-class applications that integrates and gives you 24/7 access to data in the office and remotely. You and your employees will spend less time struggling to generate useful data and more time analyzing your metrics. This will in turn allow you to make more informed and strategic decisions that will drive business growth.

3. Understand Your team, and Plan Around Its Strengths and Weaknesses

Every group of employees is different. Working with your employees, instead of imposing a workflow on them, will remove friction between leadership and your staff. Examine your employees and establish procedures and policies for work that allow each employee to have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. As a result, your employees will be settled and comfortable with the company culture and the personalities on your team and can focus on strategies that drive growth.

Do you have any tips on how to drive business growth? Feel free to share in the comment section.

Missing Metrics: The Hole in Your Donut

Missing Metrics: The Hole in Your Donut

by | Mar 3, 2016 | Accounting, Adaptive, Analytics, Financial Services, Intacct, Metrics

Good Decision-Making is About Having and Using The Right Information

If you are missing metrics you need when you need it, your business will experience difficulty reaching its full potential. So here are two important questions:

  1. Do you have the view you need of your business?
  2. Are you missing out on important metrics that could make the difference for you?

If you answered “No’ to the first question and “Yes” to the second question, it is likely time to upgrade your firm’s accounting and reporting software.

Accounting Software Solutions Are Often Limited

They may be fine for a certain select range of functions, but they won’t deliver a complete, 360 degree view of your business. And the comprehensive view is essential for optimized decision-making. For example, operational data, which includes everything from energy usage to inventory and beyond, is a critical part of your business. But does your accounting reporting incorporate this data? Can you see operational data side-by-side with your financials in your reports? If this information isn’t incorporated in a visible, intuitive manner, you won’t have the complete picture when making strategic business decisions.

The same is true when it comes to financial depth. After all, there are many layers of financial data that need to be analyzed. Do you have access to real-time up-to-date business performance metrics from any venue? Can you slice and dice your accounting information to make comparisons and tracking even more effective? Or is your accounting software static? Do your reports have limited metrics? Can you only see a sneak peek of your company’s performance, instead of the whole story?

The more flexible and comprehensive your accounting and financial reporting software is, the better. In fact, you can gain a serious advantage over your competitors if you upgrade to a more adaptable, in-depth solution while they’re stuck with rigid, unrefined tools – or, even worse, still using spreadsheets for their accounting. So what software solution should you choose?

Related: Cloud Accounting Software: Ultimate Guide

Intacct Dimensions

One of the software solutions that we employ for our clients is Intacct Dimensions, a cloud-based application that delivers best practice accounting and reporting solutions for companies of any size. Intacct’s accounting and reporting software is based on the notion of dimensions. Multiple dimensions of data provide a deeper and far more accurate picture of your company’s financial situation. With Intacct, you can look at all transactions through eight distinct filters:

  • Department
  • Location
  • Customer
  • Vendor
  • Employee
  • Item
  • Class
  • Project

Integrating all of this information into unified reporting ensures that business leaders have the ability to examine their financial operations from many different angles. Reports can be modified to incorporate any or all of these different dimensions, depending upon what the user is trying to discover. And because of the high degree of integration, examining this wide range of metrics is a simple matter. Business leaders become more agile, more informed and more confident in all of their decision-making.

This isn’t just an accounting issue. There should never be any blind spots or mysteries when it comes to your company’s performance, finances or operations. Choosing the right software solution – such as Intacct Dimension- ensures that you will know what you need to know when you need to know it.

Maximizing Business Efficiency with Sage Intacct Implementation by Lavoie CPA

by | December 19, 2023 | Accounting | 0 Comments

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Managing Multiple Entities: A Guide to Effective Accounting

by | April 26, 2023 | Accounting | 0 Comments

Businesses struggle with numbers all the time, and for multiple-entity businesses, this struggle is complicated as there are lots of financial statements to consolidate. This article will serve as a guide to help you learn the challenges of multi-entity accounting,...
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Bookkeeping vs Accounting: Differences & Benefits

by | March 24, 2023 | Accounting | 0 Comments

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Guide for Start-Ups Looking to Partner With an Outsourced Accounting Firm

by | February 23, 2023 | Accounting, Startups | 0 Comments

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Due Diligence Checklist 101: What Venture Capitalists Need to Know

by | February 23, 2023 | Accounting, Startups | 0 Comments

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How Outsourced Accounting Benefits Your Private Equity Clients

by | February 13, 2023 | Accounting, Outsourcing | 0 Comments

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The Best Budgeting Methods for Your Business

by | July 6, 2022 | Accounting, Blog, Budgeting | 0 Comments

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by | July 6, 2022 | Accounting, Small Business | 0 Comments

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by | June 20, 2022 | Accounting | 0 Comments

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by | March 14, 2022 | Accounting | 0 Comments

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Maximize Cash Flow with Accounting Practices

Maximize Cash Flow with Accounting Practices

by | Feb 24, 2016 | Accounting, Cashflow, Cloud

Cash flow often doesn’t get the attention it deserves until there is a problem. By then, it might be too late.That is why it is so important for all businesses, especially small and medium sized businesses, to embrace accounting practices that maximize cash flow. With that in mind, here are just a few of the most important accounting best practices for businesses to embrace.

1. Upgrade to Better Accounting Software Solutions

Advances in technology have transformed the way businesses are run. Managing cash flow with Excel is time-consuming, inefficient and inaccurate. Instead, companies should embrace more sophisticated cash solutions that make these processes simpler, faster and more accurate. And it gets even better! Many of the more advanced cloud based accounting software solutions can be accessed remotely or with mobile devices, providing real time visibility into the company’s cash flow at any time and from anywhere. Real time access to this data allows business owners to react proactively to cash flow challenges that could cause big problems down the road.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Cloud Computing

2. Implement An Automated Invoice System

Too many businesses continue to experience a significant lag in their invoice process, negatively affecting cash flow. Automating the invoice process with advanced accounting software eliminates this delay, beefing up the cash receipts that fuel new work. It also helps to make sure one person is in charge of the invoice process. A company should dedicate an employee to the invoice process or save personnel expenses by outsourcing the work to an accounting service.

3. Make it Easy for Customers to Pay You!

The easier it is for clients to pay you, the faster they will send you the money they owe. Use accounting software that allows you to accept online payments whenever possible, an option preferred by most customers. Additionally, make sure the accounting software you chose optimizes revenue recognition and automates collections. Doing this allows transparency and control over the receivables process to ultimately maximize cash flow.

4. Maintain a Steady and Healthy Cash Flow

Finally, it is critical for managers looking to maintain a steady, healthy cash flow to plan for the future. Planning ahead is a trait shared by successful businesses, and those companies that operate on a month-by-month basis will inevitably run into problems such as meeting payroll. Consider utilizing accounting software that provides you with the data and analytics that you need to evaluate where you are and use that real time information to plan where you are going.

What are some steps you are taking to maximize your company’s cash flow? Have you had any success with any of the options above?

Why Use A Fractional CFO or Controller Services?

Why Use A Fractional CFO or Controller Services?

by | Feb 4, 2016 | Blog, CFO, Financial Services, Growth, Small Business

Identify Cost Savings and Increase Efficiency

In order to stay competitive, businesses are forced to examine all aspects of their operations to identify cost savings and drive efficiencies. The companies that do this successfully will be rewarded with increased market share and improved profitability.

The challenge for small business owners is how to effectively conduct this analysis without the knowledgeable resources to do it. Typically, small business owners will try to handle the company’s finances on their own, even though accounting is not their core strength. Consequently, owners can end up with poor financial reporting that impacts their understanding of their business operations.

Specific results of accounting and financial reporting shortcomings affecting small businesses include:
  • Inability to obtain bank financing or raise equity investments
  • The financial complexity of the business has outgrown the capability of existing staff
  • A lack of financial bandwidth on a specific project such as a M&A transaction
  • Inability to respond to growth opportunities due to misunderstanding the relevant financial implications
  • Misperceptions about the origin of profitability

Most Efficient Method for Small Business Owners

For many small businesses, hiring a full time CFO or Controller is not economically viable. However, outsourcing accounting, utilizing a fractional CFO or Controller service to access the financial expertise they need is affordable. On average, most small businesses (subject to size) should only spend between $15,000 and $60,000 annually for fractional services, compared to $90,000 – $120,000 annually to hire a full time CFO or Controller. Clearly, utilizing outsourced fractional CFO/Controller services makes sense for small businesses who are looking to identify cost savings and drive efficiencies.

IT Solutions for Staffing Companies

IT Solutions for Staffing Companies

by | Jan 20, 2016 | Cloud, Outsourcing, Software, Technology

Challenges Staffing Companies Face

When your business grows, you should celebrate, not suffer. Tell that to the finance team that’s trying to make your entry level accounting software and reliance on Excel spreadsheets work in a much more complex environment. Your employees may also be relying on spreadsheets to manage central processes. You may be struggling with disparate operating systems that create multiple versions of information and from multiple locations. This can in turn prevent your employees from having real time visibility into data. Consequently, this also prevents you from having real time insight into your pipeline, cash flow and business trends. Your burgeoning back office may be requiring more and more human and financial resources which you would prefer to deploy elsewhere.

Cloud Based Solution

If these are some of the challenges you are experiencing, you may want to consider utilizing an integrated cloud based management system. As a result, you have access to consistent and centralized data for you business. Most noteworthy, this allows your employees to view and share the same data – wherever they may be located. By connecting your employees throughout your organization to a single source of information, you can dramatically increase efficiency, reduce errors and eliminate redundancies.

Related: 5 Top Benefits of Cloud Technology

Cloud based management tools cost 77% less than onsite IT systems

You should consider switching to a cloud based management system if you have the following needs:

  • Integrate and automate your accounting and financial management systems
  • Access to information by job order/applicant/industry/placement/division in real time
  • Alternative payroll reporting and multi-location reporting
  • Automated A/P with online approval and payment

If you’re interested in learning more about financial planning in the cloud, download your free copy of our eBook below!