Small Businesses and Numbers

How can financial Professionals help?

One of the most effective ways to manage an enterprise and maximize company profitability is to watch the numbers closely. Simply put, we want businesses to be successful – just think what it would mean to the economy and to employment statistics if the national business failure rate dropped by just a few percentage points?

At FinancialSoft, our experience so far has revealed a few key reasons why many small and medium sized businesses struggle:

Many (most?) Entrepreneurs do not seem to manage by the numbers. In fact, they tend to manage by the “seat of their pants” … if they have enough cash in the bank to meet obligations – and a net profit, everything must be OK! And it may be! But there is so much more potential for profitability, for growth and the increase in valuation that can come from an understanding of the numbers.
Errant Bookkeeping.

This was a surprise to us. We naïvely thought that bookkeeping rules were pretty specific so that if the rules were followed, it should be easy to do the calculations that reveal the essential metrics that financial statements can provide.

Poor time management. Many business owners are not comfortable discussing their financial statements so they give them little time…refer back to #1, above.

There are, of course, many reasons why a company may fail – but many are amazed to find that their financial statements, if properly interpreted, can provide the essential clues and direction to the root of the problem(s) and prioritization of appropriate solutions.

Looking for resources to grow and assist your resource base as a financial professional?

Consider some of the key points presented at the QuickBooks Connect Convention in the fall of 2016:

“Good business owners are good with numbers – if not, available applications on Apps.com can help” – Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble
“Work Smart, not harder” – Jerry Rice
“Working with Bookkeepers and Accountants increases odds of success for small businesses by 50 to 80%.” – Brad D. Smith, Chairman and CEO, Intuit
“Successful small businesses work with partners.” –Marcom Gladwell – author and public speaker
“The role of the bookkeeper is elevated in the automated world…becoming knowledge workers is key to growing into the next level of service as Bookkeepers”- Joe Woodard, CEO Woodard Consulting

Of course, Intuit’s main interest is to grow their community of loyal financial professionals, so the above comments should be viewed within that context…they made a very strong case for adoption of the time saving applications that are available on their App store – Apps.com. Most of the apps available are efficient because they automate various bookkeeping processes such as time sheets, invoices, etc.

While all of these efficiency apps can save time for the bookkeeping process…they are not likely to help the business owner identify opportunities to improve cash flow and increase profits. That is where Profit Gap, available on Apps.com https://appcenter.intuit.com/pg?locale=en-us comes in.

Almost all of the apps on Apps.com are designed to save time for bookkeepers,

Profit Gap is a perfect fit as an indispensable item for the Financial Professional’s tool box as it answers the points from QB Connect mentioned above:

It helps business owners understand the numbers – and makes the financial professional into a hero as they identify opportunities to find cash, improve profitability and grow.
Everyone in the company can be financially well informed and work smarter.
Odds for success will be improved.
Profit Gap as a communications tool will facilitate a successful partnership with the business – a mutually profitable opportunity.
The role of the financial professional will indeed be elevated as a key element of the businesses success.

Profit Gap is the ideal solution to help financial professionals take advantage of this opportunity as it provides the ideal communications tool to facilitate this exciting new opportunity. Get your free trial on Apps.com: https://appcenter.intuit.com/pg?locale=en-us.

FinancialSoft’s Profit Gap Financial Reporting System provides business intelligence to help business owners increase Cash Flow and Profits

The report includes powerful metrics and helps fine tune financial performance

To learn more, visit https://financialsoft.biz/

Small Businesses and Numbers – How Financial Professionals Can Help?