How to effectively resource your business

Automate financial management

Having the resources to manage your business’ finances are vital but complicated spreadsheets are no longer your only option.

Modern technology now allows you to automate finance processes, monitor cash flow in real time and make payments on the move.

Using cloud-based accounting systems such as QuickBooks and Xero, and expense management tools like Dext also means you can comply with the roll out of the Government’s Making Tax Digital rules which require businesses to digitise their accounting and tax reporting.  

Collaboration and project management

Effective collaboration and project management is key to the success of growing businesses.

Encouraging a collaborative culture among your workforce can help you do this, as can making use of technology.

Tools like Teams, Trello and Slack allow businesses to share ideas, hold meetings, store documents and track projects. 

Modern technology also helps to improve the effectiveness of meetings. Software such as Word includes a feature to instantly transcribe conversations. There are also dedicated transcription apps such as Otter.ai and MeetGeek.

You can also make meetings more inclusive by using the live subtitles features in online meeting tools like Zoom and Teams.

Recruit and retain staff

A company’s people are one of its most important resources, so recruiting the right staff and keeping them in the company should be a key focus of a business owner.

As a business grows, you need people who are up to the job and able to deal with the potential challenges of a growing company.

If you have the budget, you can employ the services of a recruitment agency to find staff but ensure they have experience working in your sector, particularly for very specialist roles.

You can also do your own recruitment using online jobs boards and social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

Once you’ve got the staff, retaining them is crucial. While small businesses might not have the resources to match the large salaries offered by big companies, there are other ways you can keep employees loyal such as offering training and other benefits.

Other employee-related areas you need to think about include payroll and employment law.

Read more advice on recruiting and retaining staff here.

Outsource to experts

“Do what you do best and outsource the rest” is a business tagline first coined by famous management consultant Peter Drucker in the 1990s. His advice still applies today.

Outsourcing processes and functions to services offered by external firms can be helpful for small businesses on a tight budget because it is generally cheaper than employing internal staff.

It also provides access to expertise business owners might otherwise not be able to benefit from, and helps busy founders to focus on building their business rather than being concerned with time consuming admin tasks.

An accountant is an example of an outsourced expert. They can help you manage your finances, monitor your cash flow, comply with your legal responsibilities and avoid late payment penalties.

As your business scales, the advice of an accountant can also be crucial to ensuring you maximise opportunities and scale effectively.

Understand and reach customers

Defining and researching your business’ target audience is crucial from the start of your entrepreneurial journey and during periods of growth such as when you add a new product or service to your offering or begin to trade in another country.

Making sure that you fully understand your target audience means you can make sure you have sufficient and appropriate sales and marketing resources to reach the exact customers who are likely to want to buy your products or services. 

You’ll need to invest in market research activities to define your audience which could be actions you take yourself such as running polls and surveys, or by paying for the services of a market research specialist.

You should also analyse your competitors to understand the other businesses your potential customers might use. Ways to do this include looking at internet search engines, social media conversations and business directories.

You should also have the resources in place that allow you to monitor sales data to identify customer behaviour and buying patterns which may require you to make changes or improvements. You can do this using accounting software and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

For more advice on market research and competitor analysis, read this guide.

Find funding

Having the resources to effectively operate your businesses relies on you possessing the funds to do it. While this might be covered by sales of your products or services, there will likely be times when you need to access external finance.

You have various options including bank loans, credit cards, grants, Start Up Loans, angel investors, venture capital and crowdfunding. The most appropriate sources of finance will be dependent on the particular circumstance, stage and age of your business.

When applying for funding, you should be very clear about why you need it.

For most funding applications, you’ll require a strong business plan which outlines your overall business goals and objectives, plus your sales, profit and cash flow forecasts.

An accountant can help you formulate a watertight business plan. This will give you a better chance of your funding application being accepted.

For more advice on funding, read these TaxAssist guides:

• Eight ways to fund your small business
• How to get a bank loan for your business
• How to find and apply for business grants
• Is your company eligible for research and development tax relief?

How TaxAssist Accountants can help

At TaxAssist Accountants, we can help you with the right advice to support your business.

While our expertise covers tax, accounting, bookkeeping and payroll, we can also connect you with other providers we work with.

Contact us to find out more about our services and to book a free video or face-to-face consultation.

Date published 6 Apr 2023 | Last updated 20 Mar 2024

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

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