How to accelerate business growth in 2021: The Finance perspective

Business growth management and the factors impacting performance

Out-of-date systems: Many organisations are functioning with technology which, over time, has become less able to cope. This could be due to various factors: perhaps the volume of transactions being put through the system has increased significantly - or inefficiencies in the purchase-to-pay process have become embedded due to lack of flexibility. The result is that employees don’t have the tools they need to perform efficiently and the business isn’t able to easily scale up for business growth.

Disconnected data: Collating business information can be a long and drawn-out process if it is gathered in silos. With so much business data available it can be difficult to know where to start and many CFOs and finance teams find themselves spending more time reconciling information between systems than focusing on forward-looking analytics that direct business growth plans. Collaborative, timely, and informed decision-making is only possible with the appropriate technology, mechanisms, and data management in place

Changing working practices: Many businesses have partially adopted the cloud and put in place some mobile management applications, however if business growth is planned, it is important to understand whether the ongoing needs of the workforce and the business can be met. Flexible working patterns and remote working, the devices used to access business systems, and robust cyber security must all be considered from a business growth perspective - especially as the average annual cost for businesses who lose data or assets after a breach is £22,770.

ACTION POINTS: 3 practical ways to grow your business today

1. Improve the online experience
Online sales are on the increase. In 2020, it’s no longer enough to just have an online sales channel – it must keep up with evolving customer expectations regarding a positive online experience. For example a Chat facility is a popular option that would enable your employees to instantly answer sales queries and upsell whilst the customer is actively engaged with your business online. And ‘customer experience’ is crucial – so investing in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to support your employees is also a smart move. This allows your employees to instantly see the interactions a particular customer has already had. By putting together all the information your company collects from each customer in one easily accessible place, your staff can respond quickly, provide help and build relationships at every customer touchpoint

2. Put effort into customer retention
Losing customers can cause profits to plunge – so businesses running on thin profit margins should make time focus on retaining and building their existing customer base. This is effective in two ways: happy customers are more likely to return; and a solid reputation attracts new customers too. Introducing a proactive customer retention strategy across the business should at the very least involve ensuring employees understand how to engage customers and make every customer experience a positive one. Managers must also be empowered to swiftly remedy any problems that arise.

3. Harness big data across your supply chain
The supply chain sector already suffers from wafer-thin margins due to a variety of factors including a lack of drivers and warehouse space. However, supply chain industry experts recognise that the use of big data combined with specialist software has the potential to lift the industry to a new level. As your business plans for growth, it should also look closely at supply chain data to find ways to improve efficiency, accommodate increasing volumes, cut warehouse costs and identify opportunities to reduce delivery times.

ACTION POINT: Future planning to maximise growth using your people

People are key to growth plans. It used to be the case that the only way to build a successful multi-million turnover business was to hire lots of staff. This was partly because in the pre-automation age, more people were needed to carry out the tasks that computers couldn’t do. But things have obviously changed and a more streamlined and focused staff structure today could give your business a competitive advantage.

For many British businesses, the workforce continues to be the primary cost. Many businesses are starting to get a taste for the cost savings that automation can offer, however, there are obviously plenty of roles where it’s simply not practical to automate. Human skills remain valuable in many ways, and computers cannot yet make flexible strategic decisions, or apply judgement to solve unique problems.
Many employers also still value cross-functional teamwork and collaboration skills because working in silos can lead to systematised knowledge gaps in who is responsible for what, as well as time wasted on duplicate work.

When planning for maximising growth, assessing current staff as well as identifying new roles and skill requirements is a key task. Individuals can boost or impede future growth prospects, especially at senior levels.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that in recent years, the concept of the ‘intrapreneur’ – an internal employee who encourages innovation and vision – has gained traction. Deloitte cites statistics which suggest that a fifth of all employees demonstrate some level of entrepreneurial behaviour – suggesting that this is more common than might be assumed. When making growth plans, identifying the intrapreneurs in your business is a smart move.

ACTION POINT: Use real time accounting for business growth management

Relying on data from a month-end report to manage daily operations is no longer a smart strategy, not least because the information quickly becomes inaccurate and may not reflect a rapidly shifting business landscape. Having an up-to-date view of revenue, resource and performance allows businesses to operate at the speed of the market. Real-time accounting facilitates this agility, giving an up-to-date overview of key data from inventory levels to core finance ledgers. It’s easily accessible for reactive, confident decision-making across all areas of the business from finance to marketing to project management.

The benefits of real time accounting for business growth management are numerous:

1. Improved accuracy
Fewer errors means less time and money spent fixing them. Operating solely from spreadsheets or manually-updated records often comes with some degree of human error. Real-time accounting streamlines payroll, bills and annual tax return preparations so the finance team won’t spend long hours doing everything manually. Even small inconsistencies can cause costly delays which can negatively affect KPIs or unknowingly inform detrimental decisions. All of this could end up damaging the business growth process.

2. Confident decision-making
Real-time accounting services mean far greater clarity between the finance team, project or department managers, and the customer. By making it possible to update cloud-stored data instantly from mobile devices, everyone involved can confidently access ‘one version of the truth’ at all times. This helps reduce the number of discrepancies in spending and resource allocation. And that means less time is spent squaring away numbers reactively and more time is spent looking at how make improvements.

3. Easier to spot new opportunities
A major benefit of real-time reporting tools is having easy access to visual data. Seeing the numbers neatly laid out in charts and graphs makes it easier to highlight potentially lucrative business growth opportunities or flag any concerns before they become expensive problems. It can also be easier to pitch new processes or systems to key decision-makers who can quickly see the benefits for themselves.

4. Improved insight
Keeping an eye on cash flow in real time helps to highlight the aspects of the business which are profitable – and those that aren’t. For example, an online retailer using round-the-clock reporting could see that the channel receiving the highest order volumes isn’t actually the channel pulling in the most revenue. Valuable insights like this can effectively inform marketing efforts and help to accelerate business growth.

5. Better resource utilisation
Real-time accounting systems also automate some paper-pushing processes – such as making an expense claim or filling out timesheets. This means employees aren’t bogged down by repetitive tasks and are more able to keep up with the speed of the business. It also means they have more time to analyse areas for business growth.

If you are gearing up for business growth and need to get your finance team and systems working at their best, contact us. We have a host of ways to make life a whole lot easier for your staff and your business.