December is finally upon us.
Those of us who are still stuck in the final stages of denial regarding the onset of winter and the upcoming New Year might as well face the fact that we’re fully in the season now – and for business owners, that means focusing on a fresh start for 2014. A big part of that is budgeting for the year – a process that can take a lot of time and cause a lot of stress, but one that is nonetheless necessary.
We’re lucky here at AIS Solutions. Finance is our day-to-day – it’s what we do for our clients and, to a lesser extent, when the work’s done, for ourselves as well. But if building a budget is something that you dread, and if you’ve been watching the calendar a little too closely lately, counting down the days until it’s time to pick things up and put it together, we’ve got an article that may interest you.
Scotiabank’s latest email newsletter contains a link to a piece that entrepreneur Roger Pierce recently published entitled 4 Steps to Build Your Business Budget. It takes a very detailed look at some things that can make process easier to manage, helping business owners focus on completing this essential task with a little less stress.
Here’s a look at one of the tips:
2. Make a spread sheet or use budgeting software
Your budget doesn’t need to be fancy. Start by creating a simple spread sheet with headers for Revenue, Expenses and Profit. Fill in the numbers you know, for predictable expense items such as rent, payroll, utilities, insurance premiums, interest costs and vendor expenses for things like janitorial services. Plug and play bookkeeping software typically contains budgeting programs to make the planning process even easier.
Many business owners hear the word “budget” and immediately think of a complex sheet with an overwhelming amount of fields, numbers and intricate details, but the truth is that it really isn’t all that complicated. As the article says, you can start simple and take care of what you know first. There is also different software that can help you along the way, making it easier to handle from start to finish.
While it may seem like an overly stressful and complicated process, creating a budget can be easier than it seems. Many business owners dread it simply for the idea of working with so many numbers over such a long period of time, but it’s an essential part of running a company and something you’ll thank yourself for doing when it’s done. We’d recommend giving this article a read if you’re a little spreadsheet-shy and would like some insights on how to make it a little more straightforward.
What do you think? Do you dread making a budget for the year? Did you find this article useful? Your thoughts are always welcome, so let us know!
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