It’s nearly impossible to make good financial decisions without having access to accurate and reliable information, but gathering that information can be challenging at times, especially when you’re being pulled in different directions. Being that financial planning is an ongoing process, the sooner you begin keeping track of your business’s finances, the better you and your business will be in the long run.
So that begs the question: What financial information should you collect and how often should you collect it?
Whether you like it or not, proper financial planning is key to running a successful business of any kind. The data you collect should be accurate to ensure the decisions you make for your business are the right ones. Staying on top of your business’s finances can make a world of difference, especially when you’re under the gun. There’s always something you can do to put yourself and your business in a more desirable or advantageous financial position.
Some tasks are to be completed annually, quarterly, monthly, and even weekly. And if this seems like too much work to you, think again. World Class MSPs complete all these tasks successfully, and you can, too. You just need to get the ball rolling.
Here’s how often you should complete common financial tasks.
Annually. There are two types of financial planning you should complete annually: life and business planning. Even though these plans are slightly different from one another, they should align strategically with your vision for success (I’ll get into that more later). Both plans ideally should encompass your vision, core values, long-term plan, strategic plan, annual plan, and quarterly action plan.
Quarterly. Your quarterly action plan should be completed — you guessed it — quarterly. For your quarterly action plan, review past quarter’s goals and actions, set goals and action items for the upcoming quarter, and involve team members when appropriate. Also, evaluate your Macro Picanomics, Micro Picanomics, and MRR evaluator.
Monthly. Then there are your detailed financial review, cash-flow, and MSP Turning point, all of which should be updated monthly.
Weekly. There are also financial tasks every you should complete weekly, including assessing your cash balance, payables, and receivables. Even though you’re more than likely already aware of these numbers (at least I hope you are), staying on top of them allows you to make decisions more quickly.
Don’t forget about your personal finances! The above advice can and should also be applied to your personal finances. You must have the same kind of concept, discipline, and command to yield the same type of results with your personal finances. Remember: Your personal and business goals must align if you want financial success in your life.
At the end of the day, visibility enables you to make better business decisions, which is why visibility is so important when it comes to your finances. Basing your decisions on knowledge instead of feelings is how you can operate a financially healthy business in the long run. Let’s go people! Get started today.
