Five tips for the new financial year

BookkeepingBusiness Advice
Written By Books With Balance

By closing our FY22 books, we’re opening to new experiences, new goals, and further business development. This growth starts by reflecting on our FY22 finances and daily practices in order to implement more effective and profitable strategies for FY23.

Check out our top tips below to help you establish better practices in the new financial year.

1. Review your finances

By reviewing your financial statements from the previous financial year, you might be able to identify areas in which you can reduce your spending, potentially increasing your profit margin.
Some ways to reduce costs in the new financial year include:

  • Cancelling subscription services you no longer use

  • Buying supplies in bulk

  • Negotiating lower rates with suppliers

  • Regularly comparing supplier pricing and services

  • Altering your payment terms

2. Cash flow forecasting

There are two important practices to establish when we consider cash flow within a business – reporting and forecasting. The former referring to the data presented via profit and loss statements, the latter enabling you to make predictions of future cash flow.
Some ways to ensure you maintain a healthy cash flow throughout the financial year include:

  • Creating a monthly or quarterly cash flow statement that details the money coming in and out of your business

  • Creating a cash flow forecast document that estimates the amount of money coming in and out of your business for the new financial year

3. Re-evaluate your budgets and goals

Your business may have changed in the last twelve months for various reasons. It is important to review your business’ budgets and goals after drawing conclusions from your previous financial statements and cash flow forecasting so that you can best prepare for the new financial year.
Some areas to reassess include:

  • Short-term goals'

  • Long-term goals

  • Budgets

  • Your competition

  • The market

4. Review your compliance obligations

Businesses are obligated to follow the legal requirements set out by the government. With the turn of a new financial year, it is a good time to review your business’ legal requirements, identify any new obligations that your business must align with, and action the necessary steps.
The below legal requirements should be prioritised when reviewing your compliance obligations:

  • Workcover for employees

  • Submission of receipts and bills

  • Business-related insurance renewal

  • Claiming business-related items (not personal)

  • Lodgement of BAS’s

  • Superannuation % increase

  • Paying superannuation on time

  • Minimum wage increase

5. Work more efficiently

In order to achieve a sustainable work-life balance, it is crucial to develop efficient strategies that save you time, as well as support the continual growth of your business.
To attain this work ethic, your regular practices should comprise of:

  • Conducting regular clean-ups of your emails

  • Streamlining and automating recurring payments and invoices

  • Creating suitable deadlines and hitting them

  • Organising your records with a clear filing system

Books With Balance