While there are literally hundreds of accounting reports that can help you run your business better, one of the most popular – and greatly underutilized – reports is the variance report. A variance report helps you compare how you are actually doing with either a past or expected performance. It makes it crystal clear how […]
You’re not alone if you’re having trouble attracting and keeping staff. A convergence of issues has created one of the greatest talent shortages in our lifetimes. With boomers retiring in large numbers, pandemic and opioid deaths, people not wanting to work for low wages, child care availability disappearing, tighter immigration policies, people rethinking their life […]
The last few years have been unlike any other in our lifetimes. As we close out 2021 and enter 2022, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what we’ve learned, what’s happening now, and what we want to accomplish in the next 12 months. Here are some things to consider. Celebrate Your Successes Give yourself […]
How effective is your sales function in your business? One way to answer that question at a deep level is to calculate conversion metrics for every step of your sales cycle. These numbers are not tied to any numbers on your balance sheet or income statement, but can help you realize a better return on […]
Keeping track of how you and your workers spend time is one of the most important things you can do in your business. Labor costs can be a large portion of expenses, and understanding how time is spent can help you manage your business better in a multitude of ways. Benefits of Time Tracking There […]
As we approach the holiday of giving thanks, it’s the perfect time to think about how we can use thank-you notes in our businesses and lives to express our gratitude to others. When to Say Thank You There are many opportunities in business to say thank you: When a client or associate sends you a […]
For service businesses, labor cost is the largest expense that is incurred in business operations. For many other types of businesses, the cost of labor is a large component of overall costs. Controlling labor costs so that they stay in line with what’s best for the organization is an important management function. Here are several […]
Time is our most precious personal resource; once we’ve spent it, we’ll never get it back. As busy entrepreneurs, we seem to have less time than anyone else, so it just makes sense to look for ways to use our time wisely. Here is one technique that has worked for many. The Four D’s When […]
The 2021 holiday sales season will give businesses a chance to continue their online migration from 2020 trends, with opportunities for more refinement and improvements. The key is to bring as much as possible online and integrate all of your customer touch points into an omnichannel of positive experiences. Let’s take a look at some […]
If you grant credit to customers or take recurring credit card payments, the unexpected can happen: a customer fails to pay on time, the credit card expires, or the check bounces. What can a business owner do to spend as little time as possible on these items but get the cash collected? Plenty. Here are […]