Year: 2022

Scaling up your business isn’t about steady growth over time. It’s about having a clear strategy for quickly expanding the business to achieve full-scale hypergrowth. Most startups grow organically, adding customers here and there and gradually expanding over time. Scaling up aims to accelerate this process, pushing your growth to move beyond that slow, organic pace. To achieve this, every element of your business model needs to be reviewed, refined and systemised – so you have scalability built into the company from the ground up. Systemise your processes and build scalability into your DNA Scaling up is a fast-paced, hectic …

It takes guts to start a business. It also takes a strategic mindset to succeed. Business owners are no strangers to weighing risk and navigating uncertainty, but the current climate has dialled everything up. Many business owners face the uncomfortable position of having to remap carefully thought-out succession plans and exit strategies and to consider selling their business before they’re ready and, possibly, for less than it’s worth. Transition may be a better option Rob Young, Managing Director of Platform 1, works with business owners on ensuring they get the best possible return when selling their business. Rob’s advice is …

If you want to stabilise your finances and grow the business, working to strict budgets becomes a necessity. Managing the cashflow twists and turns of a project can be hard work. But it’s easier to do when you have an agreed budget and can track your spending and performance. So, what’s the best way to stay in control of the budgets you’ve set? And how can you manage your cashflow position to make sure there’s always enough cash to fund the project? Understand the costs of each project Starting a project without fully understanding how much it will cost is …

As your accountant, we won’t just look after the financial side of your business, we can also advise you on the strategic side of your company, including the importance of business development as vital part of your growth plan. Business development (BD) is what helps your company move from slow, organic growth to fast-paced, hypergrowth. And it’s only by putting the right drive and expertise behind your BD that you can turn your strategic ideas into real success stories. So, how can we help you achieve this? Talk to you about your strategic goals The starting point for any kind …

The foundational goal of any business is to make a profit. As a business owner, that’s one of your key financial aims – to make enough sales, at a big enough margin, to generate profit from your enterprise. But how does profit differ from cashflow? And why is cash king? How do profit and cashflow differ? To really understand the difference between generating profit and managing cashflow, we need to look at what both these terms mean. You might think that delving into the accounts is a job for your adviser, but being in control of your profit and cashflow …

Business development is one of the most important areas of focus for any ambitious business. If you want your business to grow, that’s going to mean having a razor-sharp focus on new opportunities and strategies. That could mean exploring new markets, or nurturing new partnerships. It might mean diversifying to create new revenue streams, or coming up with new ideas to boost your profitability. But, ultimately, good business development comes down to having good ideas – ideas that broaden your reach, sales, revenues and external relationships. As the founder or CEO, it’s important to put business development at the top …

For your business to make money, you need to generate revenue. You produce revenue through your usual business activity, by making sales, getting your invoices paid, or taking cash from paying customers. So, the better you are at selling your products/services and bringing money into the business, the higher your revenue levels will be. But what actually drives these revenue levels? And how do you get in control of these drivers? Knowing where your cash is coming from is more crucial than ever As a trading company, you face the multiple challenges of a global recession, an increase in online …

Different business structures pay taxes in different ways. Although there are many taxes that a business might be affected by, the main ones are goods and services tax, income tax, pay as you go withholding tax for employees, payroll tax and excise tax. Other taxes that a business could encounter are fringe benefits, capital gains, property, vehicle and other duties and levies administered by state or local governments. Taxes Paid on the Business Activity Statement Once your business is registered for the relevant taxes, several are reported and paid as part of the monthly or quarterly activity statement. GST is …

Projecting your cashflow pipeline forwards is vital. To be able to navigate the future path of your cashflow, you need to start forecasting – so you can map out your financial position over the coming months and can take the appropriate action to safeguard your cash position. Plus, when you have access to detailed forecasts you can scenario-plan, search for cost-savings and look for strategies that will preserve your cashflow position. Forecasting your future cash pipeline Remaining in control of the cash coming into (and going out of) the business is the real focus, so you can accurately predict your …