Management Effectiveness

Getting equipped to go forward

Premises and equipment form the basic infrastructure of your business. It can range from a rented office to a freehold factory, from an office chair to a computer system. They're all crucial to your operating efficiency.

There are very few companies these days that can say they'd be better off without computers to handle their accounts, control their stocks, write their letters, keep their records. You'll probably need transport as well - a car, a transit van, a fleet of vans.

Whatever the equipment you need, and wherever you need to be, every new business faces the same problem of how to pay for it. The five choices open to your are: borrowing; buying outright; renting/leasing; hire purchase; and contract hire. You may end up using all five, depending on the circumstances of each acquisition.

Good book-keeping keeps your business in order

One of the prime concerns a business should have is keeping its house in order. This means introducing book-keeping systems and procedures that will ensure you always know where you are and what's to be done next.

Short, intensive book-keeping courses are available through your local TEC, or LEC in Scotland, and through training organisations.

Budgeting and managing your cash flow

Once your business has been launched, your job will be to meet the targets set out in your business plan. This means knowing how to budget and manage your cash flow effectively. What you don't want to happen is to consistently fall below your break even point where your sales aren't sufficient to meet your overheads (although many businesses will have budgeted for losses over their early establishment stages).

Included in your business plan should be forecasts for profit and loss and cash flow. These form the basis of what you need to control your business.

If you're in doubt about how to manage your budget effectively, seek the advice of experts. Your Business Link or Business Shop will be able to help.

Our Guide to Collecting Money may help you manage your cash flow. This can be obtained by selecting Starting Your Business from our Contact Us page or calling us on 0800 521 607.