Is It Necessary To Have a Business Plan?

Is It Necessary To Have a Business Plan?

by: scott morris

Are you planning to start a new business? Or are you considering expanding your current business and require a bank loan or investment from outsiders? If you are going to look for an investment of capital it is quite likely that you will be required to have a business plan. If you are starting a business, despite the work involved, a business plan can prepare you for the obstacles ahead and help ensure your success. A business plan is something that many small businesses fail to create, however, many business owners are adamant that having a written business plan is one of the keys to their present success. Creating a business plan forces you to contemplate possible obstacles to your business and prepares you to find solutions that will help you to overcome them. To find investors or get a bank loan, they will want to see that you have the experience or resources to run the business. They will want to see your projected income as well as your suggested repayment plan already laid out. Taking the time to do this is not only important for them, but it gives you a measuring tool to verify if your business is growing properly. You can gage your success on how close to the plan your business has actually performed. Perhaps you'll do worse, or perhaps you'll do better, either way it helps you determine how well your business is getting on. If you have never seen a business plan before you may be concerned that is is too difficult a proposition for you to manage on your own. While there are services available where you can hire someone to write a business plan for you, depending on your needs it may be wise to familiarize yourself with a business plan's layout. This will not only help you to provide the necessary information, but may encourage you to try your own hand at it. There's a free tool at www.bdc.ca which will assist you in creating a business plan. Some of the topics you will be required to explain are your Market, Customer, Competition, Marketing Plan, Research & Development along with financial forecasts. You may consider hiring someone to help you with your financial sheets after completing the written part of the Business Plan. Your Business Plan will become your guide and silent business partner - indicating where you need to improve and helping you stay one step ahead of your competition. Make it a priority to have this crucial road map for your business. About the author: Scott Morris's personal site on accounting business and business administrationhttp://businessexcel.com for more information, you can visit http://businessexcel.com

Do You Need Accounting Software For Your Small Business?

Do You Need Accounting Software For Your Small Business?

by: Jakki Francis

If you’re anything like me then you dislike with a vengeance doing your accounts and taxes. So how can you make this process easier, less painful and cut your accountancy fees? Well purchaseing an accounting software package is one way. First of all you need to decide whether you are going to keep your accounting records manually, that is using pen and paper, or whether you are going to computerize the process. If you decide that computerizing the process is the way to go then you need to decide whether to purchase an accounting software package, for example Sage or Quicken, or whether a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel will suit your needs better. As a general rule if you are a cash business that just needs to record income and expenditure then you are better off using a spreadsheet. So, should you choose an accounting software package? Yes if: · You have customers to whom you extend credit and you purchase goods in the same way · You process in excess of 50 transactions per month · Your business is an Incorporated Company (Limited Company in the UK) and · You are computer literate or are willing to learn! Before choosing the accounting software, speak to your accountants – they will be familiar with the various accounting software packages on the market and will be able to advise you. Most accountants use software in their office to process the bookkeeping for their clients and will have a working knowledge of the accounting software package they use. It may be cheaper for you to use the same one they do, because they can advise you how to get it up and running and will be on hand to answer questions, plus at your financial year end when your accounts need preparing it will be less expensive, believe me to have a compatible program. I also recommend doing some research yourself, you may be able to obtain a demonstration disk or download of the most popular accounting software packages and this will give you an idea of how they work and if they are user-friendly. The cost may also be an issue, so you need to decide on your budget. But consider how your business is likely to expand - you may outgrow that budget accounting software quickly and end up purchaseing the more expensive one anyway. Accounting software providers may also try and up-sell you a maintenance contract. Save your money! In my experience the established software providers will not have bugs in their systems. They will also try and upgrade you to the next version on a regular basis, but if the software is doing everything you need then there is no need to upgrade. Of course, you could also pay someone to do your accounts for you, either your accountant or a bookkeeper – the payoff being you don’t have to do it yourself and it frees you up to actually run your business! Copyright © Jakki Francis,(UK) About the author: This article is copyrighted. Please feel free to use it in it's entirety including copyright information and information about the publisher. Jakki Francis operates the website http://www.accountingsoftware-reviews.com