As you dive ever deeper into the complex world of small business operations, there are dozens of buzzwords that are being thrown at you as constantly as the fires that you need to put out every day. ‘Incentivise’. ‘Synergy’. ‘Bandwidth’. Enough! But here’s one you really do need to get your head around in a hurry: ‘Streamlining’. It sounds just as buzzword-y as the others, but it really does get to the core of what you’re trying to do — run your business as simply and efficiently as possible by trimming fat, perfecting processes and maximising profits. And if you’re really lucky, with time to ..read more

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy famously declared that humankind chooses to go to the moon “not because it is easy but because it is hard”. But he may well have been orating about owning a business, because while going it alone into the exciting vacuum of entrepreneurialism is most certainly hard, it is also a laudable and rewarding way to spend your energy and career. That’s because there are many perks of owning and running a business — but one of them is definitely not finding yourself with a plethora of spare time. Even a business owner skilled in delegating tasks can find that with lim ..read more

Once upon a time, Paul McCartney sang: “Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.” But he may as well have been crooning about trying to thrive in business in 2017. Because in contrast to the business world of yesterday, the economy is no longer predictable, competition is higher than ever, and technology is making things paradoxically simpler and more complex. So as the global economy grows more erratically, China slows down, monetary conditions tighten and capital gets harder to come by, the savvy CEO/CFO has some tough financial choices to make. Luckily, it’s 2017 and there are several ..read more

In the drive to cut costs, boost efficiency, offload unloved and time-consuming in-house tasks and leverage external expertise, many CEOs and CFOs are coming to the conclusion that outsourced bookkeeping is a worthwhile idea to explore. Indeed, quality outsourced accounting is now regarded as a headline way to cut costs – but there are plenty of other reasons to consider it. It means your in-house team focuses on growth rather than books. It means you leverage the big hardware, software and personnel investments that a specialist outsourced bookkeeping company is committed to making. And it gi ..read more

The whole profession of accounting is at the centre of a technological revolution. It’s all about the rise of the machines. Just about every aspect of bookkeeping appears set to be changed by Artificial Intelligence technologies. Just how much of bookkeeping is likely to be disrupted? More than 85 per cent, according to a forecast by the world’s leading management consultancy McKinsey & Company. But inside the next twelve months there are four major changes that will become apparent. 1. More efficient workflows – within limits AI is set to cut a swathe through the boring stuff, but it ..read more

Most companies now realise that outsourcing bookkeeping services is a way to focus on things that really matter to them. But many are still grappling with the question of whether sending work offshore is the right choice and, if so, how much to commit to an offshore solution. Many companies find themselves devoting resources to in-house accounting departments that are, invariably, under-utilised and very busy in the lead-up to tax reporting season but otherwise not so much. And the evidence for outsourcing those jobs is compelling. Potential savings of close to 50 per cent in some situations c ..read more

Whether you are a small enterprise struggling to keep up with mounds of paperwork and changing tax regulations or a larger corporation looking to free up valuable staff time, outsourcing makes good business sense. For those businesses looking to relieve their accounting and bookkeeping staff of the time-consuming minutiae which inevitably eats into their day, a few pertinent questions need to be addressed. What are the advantages of outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping? Which areas will have the largest financial impact and prove to be the most viable solution, both in the short and lo ..read more

Superman syndrome is derived by the same personal characteristics which makes small business owners and entrepreneurs successful. Successful business owners often have a strong willpower and a great sense of individualism, this is what led them to take the risk and believe in their ideas and themselves from the start. However there comes a time where these traits can hinder the growth of a successful start-up. So often, business owners hold onto tasks as they believe they know better. ‘I started this business, I grew this business, so who knows better than me?’ Sometimes they’re right, however ..read more