Is it time for a Spring clean of your business?

The days are a little longer and the nights don’t seem quite as cold which can only mean one thing – Spring is coming!

At this time of year, we often find ourselves clearing the cobwebs from our home and lives. The freshness of Spring really inspires us to make important changes. Have you considered Spring cleaning your business, though?

At The Kelvin Partnership, we believe it’s a great idea to use Spring as inspiration to take a step back and truly look at your business and any changes that can be made in the coming seasons.

Clear your emails

We all say we’ll do it eventually but the truth is, a clear inbox really does lead to a clearer mind. Clear an afternoon so that you can spend time clearing out emails, creating folders for future emails and deleting that mounting pile of email drafts. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you feel that your work is a little fresher!

If you’ve subscribed to a bunch of newsletters etc that you just no longer read, there are great services like Unroll.Me that offer unsubscribing services that are quick, easy and effective. This means that until you go through another subscribing spree, your inbox will be much cleaner!

Finances

When was the last time you revisited the terms of trade offered to your customers? Have you checked the current health of these terms?

If your customers aren’t making payments on time or consistently, it may time to have a conversation with them in order to minimise the potential for detrimental debts. The longer customers take to make payments, the more likely they are to be struggling with their personal finances but the question you need to ask yourself is do you really want to be doing business with people that aren’t paying you?

Ensuring that all payments are up to date and are being paid consistently is a vital task to ensuring that your business is financially healthy and your relationship with customers remains strong.

Are all of your finances and accounts up to date? If you’re finding that you’re struggling to keep on top of all accounting issues, it may be time to hire a chartered accountant. Chartered accountants can offer advice, undertake audits on your business and even offer business advice.

Quotation and estimations

Have a look through the quotes or estimates you have issued in the last six months and get back in contact with anyone who hasn’t accepted.  Maybe they didn’t have the money at the time and are now ready to proceed.  If you don’t ask you don’t get!  It’s down to you to remind them of your business.

In the quotes and estimates you’ve issued in the last 6 months, is there anybody you still need to get in touch with? Anybody who hasn’t yet accepted?

It may be the case that potential customers couldn’t afford your services at the time but are now ready to proceed. Remember, it’s your job to remind people of your business and what you can offer them. It truly is a case of don’t ask, don’t get!

Put the time aside to look through all of your pending quotations and estimations and make a list of those you’d like to revisit. Remind them of your business and what you can offer them.

Ensuring that potential customers know that they’re valued, even months later can only be beneficial for your business.

Many business enjoy the Socratic approach to following up on sales opportunities.

Improve your online presence

When was the last time you updated one of your social networks? How is the engagement across your social networks?

It can be tempting to let your online presence fall by the wayside when you have much more pressing tasks at hand but your online voice is now just as important as your offline voice. This means that your brand image, and message, must be consistent across all social networks but it also means that you must be updating your social channels regularly to improve visibility and engagement.

Improving your online visibility and engagement can potentially lead to new customers, new leads and a raised interest in your business generally.

If you’re looking to improve your online presence, Marketing Land offer a fantastic beginner’s guide to social media that can help you get on track!

Your team

Do you feel that your employees have the necessary skills to ensure that your business grows? Can they deal with any additional work that may come in? Having this conversation with staff ensures that you can plan for any staff increases that may need to occur over the next year.

Freelancer? Now is the time to consider if you need to take somebody on to help you. Planning now ensures that your customers won’t be let down or feel that they’re in the dark.

No matter what the size of the business, it’s vital to ensure that you ask yourself these questions.

How The Kelvin Partnership can help you and your business

At The Kelvin Partnership, we offer a range of accountancy services to small and large business. We are committed to providing financial solutions to help small businesses – from taxes to advice on business growth. In the coming new tax year, we know how important it is to have a ‘Spring clean’ of business and finances and we’re here to help.

To find out more about The Kelvin Partnership and how we can help you and your business, please get in touch– we look forward to hearing from you!